The Outdoor Citizen

"A groundbreaking volume from the president and CEO of the Appalachian Mountain Club makes the profound argument that to preserve the environment, a revolution must take place in which every person becomes a champion for nature and the outdoors. In The Outdoor Citizen, John Judge coins the term "the outdoor citizen" delivering his remarkably persuasive argument that we must all become citizens of the natural world, owning and instilling in the next generation a keen interest in the outdoors and reconnecting with life's most essential foundation: nature. Over the next quarter century more than three billion people will join the middle class in the developing world at a rate of 140 to 170 million annually. This new group of consumers will demand more goods and services and use prodigious amounts of energy. This could lead to a ten-fold increase in carbon emissions and devastating, irreversible effects on the earth. Through The Outdoor Citizen, there is, at last, an easy-to-follow plan for all people to contribute to the cause of preserving the environment. It is also a call to action to commit to an active outdoor lifestyle and make the outdoors an epicenter for our communities. It is a game-changer for saving our environment and an entry point into a world of healthier and happier people."--Provided by publisher.

John Judge is an internationally renowned advocate for connecting people with the outdoors, conservation stewardship, and advancing the outdoor economy. He is the founder of Next Ecology, which strives to create a new era of human-nature interdependence. Next Ecology works with partners to advance an outdoors open and accessible to all. From small parks to large conservation lands, they believe high quality user experience and engagement are key to improve living standards for humankind while fostering a new era of conservation stewardship. Judge served as president and chief executive officer of The Trustees of Reservations (The Trustees), the oldest statewide land trust in the United States, which cares for nearly twenty-seven thousand acres and welcomes more than two million people annually to its 123 reservations. Prior to his role with The Trustees, he served for ten years as president and chief executive officer of the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), which was founded in 1876 and is the oldest outdoor recreation and conservation organization in the United States, with a community of hundreds of thousands of outdoor enthusiasts, program participants, conservation advocates, members, volunteers, and overnight guests. Judge has also served as the chief planning and economic development officer for Springfield, Massachusetts, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Greater Boston, and worked in a variety of nonprofit leadership roles. He is a graduate of Stonehill College and the Harvard Kennedy School, and lives in Greater Boston, MA.