The importance of diversity is overlooked in the social realm, yet decisions made in that realm affect all of society for generations. Planners tend to ignore ecological diversity because they don understand it. Ecological Diversity in Sustainability: The Vital and Forgotten Dimension makes that clear. The author tackles this difficult problem: how are we to maintain sustainable diversity in the Earth's ecosystems and our cultural systems? He provides examples of how natural and cultural diversity have been reduced by altering the linkages between climate, soil, water, air, forests, animals, and people. The book is divided into three parts. Part one examines diversity as it is found in nature, part two considers how culture affects diversity through its evolution, and part three explores the diversity of Nature as seen through culture in an attempt to guide culture toward social/environmental sustainability.