Reading
Read books about eco-topics
A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold
A collection of influential nature essays first published in 1949, a year after conservationist Leopold's death. This edition features photographs of Leopold's former Wisconsin farm taken by Michael Sewell. Leopold's writings remain timeless and elegant.American Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau edited by Bill McKibben
At 900 pages, this sweeping anthology covers American eco-lit beginning with the early conservationalists like Thoreau and John Muir and ending with contemporary green scribes like Michael Pollan and Paul Hawken. Along the way, writers such as John Steinbeck, Buckminster Fuller, and others are featured.Blue Planet Run: The Race to Provide Safe Drinking Water to the World created by Rick Smolan and Jennifer Erwitt
Thirsty for change? Although heavy on the visuals—this volume features more than 250 photographs from top-notch photojournalists—Blue Planet Run also features essays addressing the global water crisis by eco-luminaries such as Bill McKibben, Paul Hawken, and others.Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by William McDonough and Michael Braungart
From the moment you pick up this innovative manifesto that calls for a complete end to the cycle of waste, you'll know you're in for something out of the ordinary: the book itself is waterproof, completely recyclable, and contains pages made from plastic resins and fillers.Ecotopia by Ernest Callenbach
Callenbach's 1975 sci fi yarn imagines Ecotopia, an environmentally correct but slightly sinister country consisting of Washington, Oregon, and northern California. In the novel, a New York reporter investigates the country 20 years after it seceded from the rest of the United States.Good News for a Change: How Everyday People are Helping the Planet by David Suzuki and Holly Dressel
Environmental scientist Suzuki and co-author Dressel move beyond headline-stealing, bad news bears eco-news with remarkable examples of individuals, organizations, and governments from around the globe making green strides.Judaism and Ecology Created World and Revealed Word
Inspire your Jewish friends with a book that explains Judaism’s deep concern for the well-being of the natural world. Written by 21 different contributors, this book examines the Jewish mystical tradition, Jewish environmental activism, and attempts to formulate a constructive Jewish theology of nature.Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
Dillard's Pulitzer Prize-winning, Thoreau-channeling 1974 work may not boast razzle dazzle and a page-turning plot, but its rich, lyrical language and thoughtful meditations on a sojourn spent in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains prove to be a pleasurable read.Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
Kingsolver—the acclaimed author of The Poisonwood Bible and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life—enchants with her 2001 novel set in Appalachia. The book contains environmental themes, multiple narrative voices, and Kingsolver's rich, patented sense of place.Rushing to Paradise by J.G. Ballard
Primarily known for his transgressive science fiction novels and meditations on automobile culture, like Concrete Island and Crash, this 1994 work from controversial British scribe Ballard is a riveting—albeit bleak—tale of an eco-crusade gone bad.Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
Marine biologist Carson's classic 1962 work is an in-depth look at the environmental perils of agricultural chemicals like DDT. Although she passed away two years after her groundbreaking book's publication, Carson's legacy lives on in the work of many environmental groups.The End of Nature by Bill McKibben
McKibben's provocative, ponder-worthy examination of global warming was a hot read when first published in 1989 and continues to be so today.The Green Book: The Everyday Guide to Saving the Planet One Simple Step at a Time by Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas M. Kostigen
Rogers and Kostigen reach for the stars in this smart, practical guide to achieving green one reasonable step at a time. A-listers like Robert Redford, Jennifer Aniston, Martha Stewart, and Ellen DeGeneres contribute anecdotes on their own eco-friendly lifestyle habits.The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook: 77 Essential Skills To Stop Climate Change by David de Rothschild
Amusing full-color illustrations, environmental facts, and instruction merrily collide in this cheeky but essential spin on survival guides of yesteryear. De Rothschild's book is the official tie-in volume to 2007's global Live Earth concerts.The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
This 1971 classic features all the things that children (and adults) love about the good doctor: infectious rhymes, vivid illustrations, and a fantastic cast of characters. This time around, Seuss inserts a resonant message of environmental stewardship.The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
Weisman's study in what-ifs imagines a world suddenly depopulated. How would Mother Nature go about mending the environmental wounds inflicted by mankind? Although some might find the premise a bit grim, Weisman signs off on an optimistic note, imagining the earth transforming itself back to Eden.Uno's Garden by Graeme Base
An eco-attitude can never be instilled too early. Base's fantastical, lushly illustrated picture book for children grades two though five is in the grand, green tradition of The Lorax.Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century edited by Alex Steffen
This thick, beautifully conceived volume, a companion to the popular site Worldchanging, is a treasure trove of everything you wanted to know about green but were scared (or hesitant) to ask. Forward written by Al Gore.
Subscribe to environmental magazines
Adbusters
With its subversive covers, provocative, activist-oriented commentary, and eye-catching design, this Canadian magazine—"concerned about the erosion of our physical and cultural environments by commercial forces"—is one of those rare titles that leaps at you off the newsstand.E/The Environmental Magazine
Eighteen year-old E is "a bimonthly 'clearinghouse' of information, news and resources for people concerned about the environment who want to know 'What can I do?' to make a difference." Intrigued? This mag is available in print ($19.95/year) and digital ($14.95/year) formats.GOOD
Ben Goldhirsh's bimonthly bible of do-goodery is beautifully designed and executed, filled with stellar journalism, and the clincher: 100 percent of your subscription rate goes toward a nonprofit of your choice, ranging from the Natural Resources Defense Council, Slow Food, YouthAIDS, and more.Green Guide
What started as a newsletter in 2004 and then evolved into a popular website is now a glossy consumer magazine available in print or as an e-subscription. The premiere issue contains features on cars, cleaning products, and a carbon "diet."Mother Earth News
Mother Earth News, "the Original Guide to Living Wisely," covers an array of topics, including health, gardening and farming, transportation, homesteading, and DIY advice. The subscription rate is $10 for one year (six issues). Sister publication of The Utne Reader.Mother Jones
Although Mother Jones doesn't exclusively report on eco-topics—it's renowned for hard-hitting investigative journalism covering a range of cultural, political, and social issues—environmental justice is a crucial concern. The magazine was founded in 1976 and became the first general interest magazine to go online in 1993.Orion
Founded in 1982 as Orion Nature Quarterly, Orion is the centerpiece of the Great Barrington, Massachusetts-based nonprofit environmental group Orion Society. This bimonthly magazine was hailed as "America's finest Environmental Magazine" by the Boston Globe.Sierra magazine
Want the finest in conservation-related journalism to arrive in your mailbox every other month? To do so, you'll have to join the Sierra Club, but with various membership levels that support a solid cause with considerable eco-pull, it's a choice you won't regret.The Ecologist
Founded in 1970 by Edward Goldsmith, this venerable British publication is a leader in coverage of environmental affairs. Instead of focusing on the after-effects of current events, the magazine zeros in on the root causes via thought-provoking features and photojournalism.Yes!
As part of the Bainbridge Island, Washington-based nonprofit Positive Futures Network, the Yes! goal is in "Supporting You in a Just and Sustainable Future." Recent features include a profile of Pete Seeger and a look at The Secret Life of Plug-In Cars.
Read e-books
Amazon.com Kindle bookstore
Have an Amazon addiction but minding your paper intake? Peruse the wide selection of books (along with newspapers, blogs, and magazines) available for download onto the Kindle e-reader. New releases and New York Times Bestsellers are all available for $9.99.Booken Cybook Gen 3 Ultralight
This nifty little e-reader from French company Booken boasts impressive ecopaper technology and the ability to read the common Mobipocket format. What's more, you can listen to your favorite MP3s while curling up with an e-book.BooksOnBoard
Want to lose yourself in Dark Needs at Night's Edge on the subway without fellow passengers gawking at the cover? This title, along with thousands of others in a wide range of genres, is just a quick download away. The most common DRM formats are available—Mobipocket, Microsoft Reader, eReader, and Adobe Reader—along with tutorials for those new to e-reading.eBooks.com
eBooks.com, "The Digital Bookstore," offers over 100,000 popular, professional, and academic titles on its easy to navigate website. You'll find a bit of everything, from Dickens to Dave Barry, so hunt away. There are also extensive enviro-related sections like ecology, environmental conversation and protection, and animal rights.eReader.com
Boasting 103 categories, eReader.com is a virtual bookseller with over 25,000 fiction and nonfiction titles along with newspapers and magazines. All are available for easy download to your handheld computer, PC, or laptop (both Mac and Windows persuasions).iRex iLiad ER-100
You can feast your eyes upon more than Homer's epic poem with this e-book reader. Not only does the iLiad store a dozen e-books and newspapers (more with a memory card), but you can also write, take notes, or doodle on its screen using a special stylus. An ideal tool for harried business travelers surrounded by a storm of pens and paper.Kindle wireless reading device
Bid adieu to piles of paperbacks, newspapers, and magazines and say hello to Kindle from Amazon.com. This innovative e-book reader gives you easy access to over 110,000 books, magazines, and newspapers (auto-delivered automatically) in one compact gadget.Sony Reader Digital Book PRS-505
The Sony Reader, a sleek (more compact than most paperbacks) e-book reader can "turn" over 7,500 pages with one single battery charge.
Comments
5:50pm
Tip #8: Buy a kindle (amazons digital reader) and never kill another tree again!
12:56am
I would like to suggest an informative new site. The complete Green Living Journal is on line at the publishers website
www.columbiariverpress.com Lots of practial information on green living.
4:47pm
I would like to see how we can share the importance personal care products ...both from an ecological point of view but also an ingredient safety point of view. The organizations like www.ewg.org may help on ingredients and www.Earth 911 on the difficulties of recycling plastic pumps, caps and etc that are not needed. Do not get fooled on false organic claims in personal care.
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