Let me introduce my new book and share what inspired me to write it.

About the Book

The Sustainability Blueprint – Practical Climate Adaptation Actions for You, Your Family, and Your Community offers an action-oriented and practical new approach to the two major challenges threatening humanity and the planet: the climate crisis and the ongoing disasters.

This organized and comprehensive approach to a sustainable way forward, by improving self-reliance, offers hope and optimism. 

In the book, I explain why self-reliance is the cornerstone of foundational change and the key to our future: it reduces our carbon footprint and fosters a sustainable lifestyle—now and into the future—while improving our health and protecting our families and livelihoods from disasters. I then guide readers through a progressive, three-phased blueprint from survival to self-sufficiency to sustainability. This is a doable action plan—a bridge to resilient communities and a sustainable future. 

I believe that turning things around now will define life for generations and become our legacy. Choice + Action = Legacy

On a More Personal Note

People have asked what motivated me to write this book and how I came to create such a revolutionary blueprint for families and communities.

My motivation has been fueled by an intense passion and a profound love and respect for humanity and the natural world. The thought of harm or trauma that could have been prevented is dreadful. I developed this blueprint from my experience, my ability to see global challenges and how they connect from a bird’s-eye perspective, and my expertise in developing practical solutions to complex problems. Allow me to explain.

I have spent my life working to solve complex problems in disaster mitigation and response, community and public health and education, and humanitarian operations. It has become clear to me that we desperately need to strengthen our resilience to be able to overcome current and future challenges, let alone, of course, stop destroying the planet.

I have seen the increasing frequency and magnitude of disasters devastating vulnerable communities, as well as the climate crisis fast destroying our survivability. These two elements, combined with our increasing dependency on external sources, have put us on a path to self-destruction. We need an effective and practical solution for families and communities—and fast.

Global and national organizations have been developing strategies to address disasters and the climate crisis, but their work alone is not enough. I realized that while solutions were being developed at a higher level, the rest of us needed to generate power and influence from the bottom up. We will meet in the middle, I hope, to ignite real change, collectively. Ordinary individuals need to assume a much bigger role and take their futures into their own hands.

I have seen many communities waiting for someone else to step up. In the meantime, residents continue to live according to the status quo, perpetuating the problem. Over time, we have built system upon system to support us, and in doing so, we have somehow delegated our responsibilities and subsequent power to these systems. 

The thing is, our lives and livelihoods have always been our responsibility, just as it is our responsibility to protect the planet. Why did we ever choose to destroy the very planet that provides so generously and abundantly for us? What were we thinking? Or maybe we weren’t thinking. It is as if we have been asleep or unconscious for decades and are only now waking up. Well, it is time. It is time to wake up and get serious about our future.

Families and communities have become more vulnerable and dependent on external sources for their survival. Self-reliance is desperately needed. An impediment in reclaiming our roots has been the assumption that if families are self-reliant, the economy will suffer. Our economy is predicated on the belief that it’s better for business when a vulnerability is created and a subsequent need can be filled for a profit. Valuing profit over long-term health and well-being is not a strategy that we (or the planet) can afford to entertain anymore.

The true strength of our society resides in families and communities, yet tools to help them build resilience are scarce. Information about disasters and the climate crisis is complex and confusing, and not very practical in terms of what one can do to prepare for disasters, mitigate the climate crisis, create a sustainable society, and set the stage for our grandchildren.

Yet the solutions are clear to me. To be honest, I have always had a knack for cutting through the crap and pinpointing practical solutions to complex problems. So, I decided to dedicate my energies to develop tools to support families and communities.

Seven years ago, I mapped out a plan for families to build strength and resilience at the most basic level: survival and essential needs. You see, most people weren’t even ready to manage small emergencies, let alone global crises. So, I wrote my first book, The 7 Steps to Emergency Preparedness for Families: A Practical and Easy-to-Follow Guide to Prepare for Any Disaster. It covers all the bases of how to survive for short periods while preventing harm to your family and protecting your livelihood. There is no better way to understand self-reliance than to learn about basic needs and what it takes to survive.

Then, as the climate crisis advanced exponentially, and we found ourselves in a global pandemic, I saw families even more distressed and vulnerable. If this isn’t a sign that we need to become more resilient, I am not sure what is! I was angry, deeply sad, and fiercely compassionate to see such susceptibility and trauma. It was time to offer the world the next set of strategies, not just to survive, but to thrive. So, I wrote this book.

I developed this blueprint with the simple goal of helping humanity and the planet as best as I can. It holds my vision, experience, skills, intuition, and love for humanity and the natural world. I hope it will help you prevent unnecessary harm and trauma in your family and community, lead to strength and resilience, and protect our beautiful, miraculous, and bountiful planet.

To learn more about this book and read the preface and table of contents, visit www.kimfournier.com.