In late March, the United Nations released a report stating that the Earth is likely to cross a critical threshold for global warming within the next ten years, and that we need to make an immediate and drastic shift away from fossil fuels to prevent the planet from overheating dangerously beyond that level. As we prepare for major changes in how we live, what can we learn from emerging conversations about “green consumption” and a “new economy” focusing on visions of resilience and sustainability, in which stronger, more connected communities become the social fabric for an ecologically balanced economy? 

Juliet Schor is an economist and sociologist at Boston College. Her research focuses on work, consumption, and climate change. She is currently leading a global research team studying companies around the world who are giving employees 4-day, 32-hour schedules with 5 days of pay. Her most recent book is After the Gig: how the sharing economy got hijacked and how to win it back, which won the Porchlight Management and Workplace Culture Book of the Year. Previous books include the national best-seller The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure, widely credited for influencing the national debate on work and family; and True Wealth: How and Why Millions of Americans are Creating a Time-Rich, Ecologically Light, Small-Scale, High-Satisfaction Economy. She has served as a consultant to the United Nations, and is a co-founder of the Center for a New American Dream (newdream.org), a national sustainability organization.  

Join Malcolm Clemens Young in honor of Earth Day for a conversation with Schor about the intersection of climate change and the economy, and what it means to be a green consumer. 

Buy After the Gig 

Watch TED Talk: The case for a 4-day work week 

About the Guest

Juliet Schor is an economist and sociologist at Boston College. Her research focuses on work, consumption, and climate change. She is currently leading a global research team studying companies around the world who are giving employees 4-day, 32-hour schedules with 5 days of pay. Her most recent book is After the Gig: how the sharing economy got hijacked and how to win it back, which won the Porchlight Management and Workplace Culture Book of the Year. Previous books include the national best-seller The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure, widely credited for influencing the national debate on work and family; and True Wealth: How and Why Millions of Americans are Creating a Time-Rich, Ecologically Light, Small-Scale, High-Satisfaction Economy. She has served as a consultant to the United Nations, and is a co-founder of the Center for a New American Dream (newdream.org), a national sustainability organization where she served on the board for more than 15 years. A graduate of Wesleyan University, Schor received her Ph.D. in economics at the University of Massachusetts. Before joining Boston College, she taught at Harvard University for 17 years, in the Department of Economics and the Committee on Degrees in Women’s Studies. Read more. 

About the Moderator

The Very Rev. Dr. Malcolm Clemens Young is the dean of Grace Cathedral. He is the author of The Spiritual Journal of Henry David Thoreau and The Invisible Hand in Wilderness: Economics, Ecology, and God, and is a regular contributor on religion to the Huffington Post and San Francisco Examiner.    

About The Forum  

The Forum is a series of stimulating conversations about faith and ethics in relation to the important issues of our day. We invite inspiring and illustrious people to sit down for a real conversation with The Forum’s host and you. Our guests range from artists, inventors, and philosophers to pop culturists and elected officials, but the point of  The Forum is singular: civil, sophisticated discourse that engages minds and hearts to think in new ways about the world.  

Give to Grace

You can help us bring the arts to life at Grace with a gift today to The Forum. Click here to give.  Learn all the many ways to give.

Become a Cultural Member 

Be one of the first to join this new program and enjoy discounts on a robust schedule of arts, music, cultural offerings, and more! Plus, you’ll also support Grace Cathedral in its visionary activities and initiatives. Learn more.