Response-Able: How to Live Well Over Time on Planet Earth
NEW BOOK
by Jaimie P. Cloud
“This book is a kind of magic. It is a catalytic collection - of ideas, perspectives and tools - that can dispel inaction and generate thinking and practices that support life and wellbeing.”
–Dr. Stephen Sterling, Author, and Professor Emeritus, Sustainable Earth Institute, University of Plymouth.
“A compelling book for anyone who feels they can do better and simply need guidance to experience a regenerative, response-able way of living that contributes to the health and resilience of the Commons.”
-Xiye Bastida, Climate justice activist, storyteller, and Executive Director of Re-Earth Initiative, a global youth-led organization
“A better future begins in our imagination and imagination begins in minds open to larger possibilities. Jaimie Cloud's life work is a master class in educating for imagination, equipping students to see what could be, not just what is and to join imagination to action. Response-able is essential reading for teachers at all levels to foster imagination for competent Earth citizenship. It is possible!”
–Dr. David W. Orr, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Oberlin College.
About The Book
This book is for young people. Young in age, and young at heart. It can be read in class with a teacher’s support and guidance, and it can be read individually and in community. The goal of the book is to inspire, motivate, and prepare young people to think about the world, their relationship to it, and their ability to influence it in an entirely new way.
Jaimie has been educating others for sustainability for over thirty years. Her work captures the thinking of a myriad of giants whose shoulders she explicitly stands on, as she weaves a compelling story of hope and regeneration. This is the new paradigm in the making.
She honors her mentors, teachers, and students by drawing from a rich and varied assembly of disciplines. From game theory to allegory, and from the new brain science to the physical laws and principles derived from nature, this is a book to keep handy on the road ahead.
The book is divided into four sections:
Part One explores the importance of a game on mindset and of holding a vision of the future that is worth aspiring to. One that pulls, pushes, and draws us closer and closer to it with gusto and magnetism. This section includes visions that have come into existence already, as well as stories of children, young people, organizations, companies, towns, and regions who are currently making a huge impact on our course correction to the future we want.
Part Two describes the old, outdated and retro ways of thinking that got us here in the first place, and explores the implications of those mindsets on the design of everything unsustainable in our lives.
Part Three suggests new ways of thinking as the counterforce to decline. It includes strategies for opening people’s minds so they can contribute to sustainability most effectively over time, and offers steps we can take together to make the shift.
Part Four is a practical selection of things you need to know, so that you can do and be well on your journey. You will have an opportunity to find your Compelling Purpose, receive some tips for being an educator as well as an actor in this world, and learn how to recognize and protect the Commons and how to be discerning as you become science and media literate.
More Praise for Response-Able
“For more than thirty years, Jaimie Cloud has been helping educators and leaders see the world—and their classrooms—through a different lens: one that reveals how deeply unsustainable our habits of thought and learning have become, and how powerfully we can change them.
In this insightful and engaging book, Cloud takes readers on a journey from unsustainable thinking to sustainable action. Drawing on decades of research and real-world practice, she unpacks the complex ideas behind sustainability with rare clarity and humor. Each chapter is a conversation—sometimes challenging, always hopeful—that invites us to rethink how we live, learn, and lead.
Witty, wise, and refreshingly human, this book reminds us that transforming education is not only possible—it’s essential. And at its heart beats a truth we can all feel:
We are all in this—individually and together.”
–Dr. Marie Alcock-Hubley President of Learning Systems Associates and Founder of Tomorrow's Education Network
““Response-able" is a timely and empowering guide for young people and those shaping their futures. Jaimie invites us to rethink how we live and learn on this planet, blending wisdom, science, and imagination to show that a sustainable future begins with how we choose to think and act today.”
—Prof. Daniella Tilbury, Chair, Networks of Leaders and Institutions for Future Generations (NIFG) and sustainability education change maker.
“Inventing a regenerative world as laid out in Jaimie Cloud’s compelling , Response-able: How to Live Well Over Time, emerges as a real possibility. As readers we are given a much-needed sense of hope and inspiration. Shedding light on sustaining our shared commons as human beings, the book considers how we can reimagine our vision and create fresh approaches. Cloud is a master interdisciplinarian and brings her understanding of science, politics, economics, human nature, institutions and the artistic spirit to the challenge of helping us at this critical juncture. The writing is clear and accessible as she shares decades of research from her work throughout the world. Response-able is fresh and provides actionable strategies to all concerned global citizens. A must-read!”
–Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs Internationally recognized curriculum design expert and author
”Want a thriving future, and have fun while creating it? Then hop on board for the ride! Jaimie’s thought-provoking, practical guide is your ticket. It’s bursting with fresh ideas for building the kind of future we actually want, even as the world seems determined to squeeze every last drop out of our planet.
At a time when education systems fail in preparing us to respond meaningfully, Jaimie delivers a punchy, insightful toolkit full of strategies to sharpen your thinking, upgrade education, and help shape the tomorrow we desire. So what’s holding you back? Run, don’t walk, to get your copy!”
–Dr. Mathis Wackernagel, Co-creator of the Ecological Footprint, Co-founder of Global Footprint Network, Co-inhabitant of planet Earth
"What I love most about this book—and there is SO much to love—is that Jaimie speaks directly to young people rather than to the institutions that have lost their courage and creativity. Living well over time demands not only a “grand course correction,” but also the capability to carry out the changes necessary to make the synergistic relationship between people and place sustainable.
Jaimie Cloud has indefatigable optimism, and an unshakable belief in our potential to be in community with the environment and one another. With this latest contribution, I feel like we’ve been handed an innovative AND actionable blueprint for strengthening our capacity to meet the challenges of our time—and for that, I am deeply grateful.”
–Robert Greene, Principal, Cedar and Burwell Strategic Consulting
“Response-able is essential reading for educators preparing future Earth stewards to think critically, act wisely, and design regeneratively. Guided by Buckminster Fuller’s design-science spirit, Jaimie Cloud offers a clear, hopeful blueprint for futures literacy and action. Through vivid stories and inviting language, she helps readers imagine boldly, think in systems, and nurture a culture of integrity and reciprocity. May her invitation to join our grand course correction, and to help make “what’s possible” real, resonate in classrooms and communities around the world.”
–Dr. Linda Booth Sweeney, Systems Educator and Award-winning Author
“Jaimie Cloud is the deepest thinker on the planet regarding how we need to educate the next generations for a different future. She combines important science with powerful stories, to bring alive a critical skill set for generations to come. Congrats Jaimie on an amazing book.”
–Dr. David Rock, Author, Co-founder and CEO, Neuroleadership Institute
“I’ve known Jaimie Cloud for a quarter of a century and have always loved her persistent faith that we human beings can create the future we all want, helping generations of young people believe in this vision by inspiring them to focus on the possible. I wish every young person could have Jaimie as a teacher—reading her words of wisdom in this book is the next best thing.”
-Anna Lappé, Sustainability Advocate and Executive Director, Global Alliance for the Future of Food, Bestselling Author, Diet for a Hot Planet: The Climate Crisis at the End of Your Fork and What You Can Do About It
PRE-ORDER RESPONSE-ABLE
1 ebook - $15.00
You will receive a Digital Copy of my book when I publish.Class sets of paperback books (10+ books) - $15.00 each
If you buy a class set of 10 books or more, the price of the paperback book or ebook is $15 each.1 paperback copy of book - $20.00
You will receive 1 paperback edition of my book when I publish.1 signed copy of the book - $30.00
You will receive 1 signed paperback edition of my book when I publish (the additional cost will offset the costs of printing for students).1 Day Intro to EfS + 1 signed copy of the paperback book - $150.00
You will receive a signed paperback edition of my book when I publish. You will be invited to join our one day Introduction to Education for Sustainability (virtually or in-person at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY) on August 11, 2025.Curriculum Design Studio + 1 signed copy of the paperback book - $499.00
You will receive a signed paperback edition of my book when I publish. You will be invited to join our Curriculum Design Studio (virtually or in-person at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY) from August 11 to August 15, 2025.
Q&A
When is the deadline to preorder?
There is no deadline. Your support helps fund the costs of publishing, production, and marketing of the paperback, ebook, and audiobook.
Can I purchase more than one book?
You can purchase multiple books by changing the quantity or you can purchase a class set of 10 or more books at a discounted price.
When will the book be available?
The book will be available in the fall 2025.