John is the co-author of Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic (2001). His newest book, What's the Economy For, Anyway? Why It's Time to Stop Chasing Growth and Start Pursuing Happiness , was published in 2011. He is also the editor of Take Back Your Time (2003) and co-author of the children’s book, David Brower: Friend of the Earth (1992).

John has been an independent producer of television documentaries for 35 years. More than 15 of his programs have been broadcast in prime time nationally on Public Television. He is also the recipient of more than 100 regional, national, and international awards for film-making. The de Graaf Environmental Filmmaking Award, named in his honor, is presented annually at the Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival in Nevada City, California. He produced the popular PBS specials, Running Out of Time, an examination of overwork and time pressure in America; Affluenza, a humorous critique of American consumerism; Silent Killer, an examination of world hunger; and Buyer Be Fair, about the worldwide Fair Trade movement.

 

In 2005 John was the World Food Day George McGovern lecturer at the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome. He is a member of the Earth Island Institute Board of Directors and a member of the Balaton Group on International Sustainability, which meets annually in Hungary. His current interest is in a campaign to measure happiness in American communities and colleges.