Worldwide changes in weather patterns, rising ocean levels, and global warming are currently accelerating environmental as well as political crises all over the world. Overwhelming evidence points to human activity as responsible. How we inhabit this planet then must change if we are to survive. That change must begin practically in the way we design our cities and buildings in response to listening to the pulse of life on earth. Martin Heidegger's address, "Building Dwelling Thinking," will serve as a philosophical guide to motivate practical designs for life and for human flourishing through a different way of thinking about what it means for human beings to dwell on earth, not as plunderers but rather as preservers. Field trips to "green" buildings and rooftops in the Bay Area, as well as a wide range of documentary films, will supplement a reader.