Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis – Al Gore
December 17, 2009 by Bookman
Filed under Bestsellers, Energy and Climate, New Books, Recommended Books
This book is the sequel to Al Gore’s bestseller, An Inconvenient Truth, and this time, he offers a comprehensive overview of different solutions to tackle climate change.
From the Book
It is now abundantly clear that we have at our fingertips all of the tools we need to solve the climate crisis. The only missing ingredient is collective will.
Properly understood, the climate crisis is an unparalleled opportunity to finally and effectively address many persistent causes of suffering and misery that have long been neglected, and to transform the prospects of future generations, giving them a chance to live healthier, more prosperous lives as they continue their pursuit of happiness.
Our Choice gathers in one place all of the most effective solutions that are available now and that, together, will solve this crisis. It is meant to depoliticize the issue as much as possible and inspire readers to take action—not only on an individual basis but as participants in the political processes by which every country, and the world as a whole, makes the choice that now confronts us.
There is an old African proverb that says,
‘If you want to go quickly, go alone;
if you want to go far, go together.’
We have to go far, quickly.
We can solve the climate crisis. It will be hard, to be sure, but if we can make the choice to solve it, I have no doubt whatsoever that we can and will succeed.
AL GORE, from the introduction
Related Info
Check out the Our Choice website for a preview of the book chapters.
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Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal – Tristram Stuart
December 17, 2009 by Bookman
Filed under New Books, Recommended Books, Resources and Waste
An excellent look into how we waste food, from farmers, food producers, supermarkets to consumers, and what we can do about it.
From Amazon
With shortages, volatile prices and nearly one billion people hungry, the world has a food problem – or thinks it does. Farmers, manufacturers, supermarkets and consumers in North America and Europe discard up to half of their food– enough to feed all the world’s hungry at least three times over. Forests are destroyed and nearly one tenth of the West’s greenhouse gas emissions are released growing food that will never be eaten.
While affluent nations throw away food through neglect, in the developing world crops rot because farmers lack the means to process, store and transport them to market. But there could be surprisingly painless remedies for what has become one of the world’s most pressing environmental and social problems.
Travelling from Yorkshire to China, from Pakistan to Japan, and introducing us to foraging pigs, potato farmers, freegans and food industry directors, Stuart encounters grotesque examples of profligacy, but also inspiring innovations and ways of making the most of what we have. Combining front-line investigation with startling new data, Waste shows how the way we live now has created a global food crisis– and what we can do to fix it.
Related Info
Check out Tristram Stuart’s website for more facts, photos and campaigns on food waste.
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Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things – William McDonough and Michael Braungart
December 17, 2009 by Bookman
Filed under Design and Technology, Recommended Books, Resources and Waste
Cradle to Cradle shows that waste can become food for nature or to be used as technical nutrients for making new products. There is no such thing as waste.
From Amazon
A manifesto for a radically different philosophy and practice of manufacture and environmentalism
“Reduce, reuse, recycle” urge environmentalists; in other words, do more with less in order to minimize damage. As William McDonough and Michael Braungart argue in their provocative, visionary book, however, this approach perpetuates a one-way, “cradle to grave” manufacturing model that dates to the Industrial Revolution and casts off as much as 90 percent of the materials it uses as waste, much of it toxic. Why not challenge the notion that human industry must inevitably damage the natural world, they ask.
In fact, why not take nature itself as our model? A tree produces thousands of blossoms in order to create another tree, yet we do not consider its abundance wasteful but safe, beautiful, and highly effective; hence, “waste equals food” is the first principle the book sets forth. Products might be designed so that, after their useful life, they provide nourishment for something new-either as “biological nutrients” that safely re-enter the environment or as “technical nutrients” that circulate within closed-loop industrial cycles, without being “downcycled” into low-grade uses (as most “recyclables” now are).
Elaborating their principles from experience (re)designing everything from carpeting to corporate campuses, the authors make an exciting and viable case for change.
Related Info
Learn more about Cradle to Cradle design from the MBDC website or William McDonough’s website. You can also learn about the wisdom of designing Cradle to Cradle from this 20-min TED video by William McDonough.
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Worldchanging: A User’s Guide for the 21st Century – Alex Steffen
December 17, 2009 by Bookman
Filed under Business and Economics, Cities and Buildings, Design and Technology, Energy and Climate, Government and Politics, Lifestyle and Wellness, People and Education, Recommended Books, Resources and Waste, Science and Nature
This book compiles the bright green solutions that are found in the Worldchanging website.
From Amazon
Worldchanging is packed with information, resources, reviews, and ideas that give readers access to the tools they need to build a better future. Written by a diverse collaborative of innovators, Worldchanging demonstrates that the means for making a difference lie all around us.
This team of top-notch writers, brought together by Worldchanging.com founder Alex Steffen, includes Cameron Sinclair, founder of Architecture for Humanity, Geekcore founder Ethan Zuckerman, and sustainable food expert Anne Lappé, among many others.
Each chapter offers practical answers to important questions, such as: Why does buying locally produced food make sense? What steps can we take to influence our workplace toward sustainability? How can we travel, live, work, and learn in world-changing ways? How, in short, can we participate in building a better future locally and globally?
Worldchanging proves that a life that is sustainably prosperous, thoughtful and democratic, dynamic and peaceful, is not just possible, it’s here.
Related Info
Visit Worldchanging.com for more bright green solutions. Or watch this TED Talk by Alex Steffen on Inspired Ideas for a Sustainable Future:
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Green to Gold – Daniel Esty and Andrew Winston
December 17, 2009 by Bookman
Filed under Business and Economics, New Books, Recommended Books
Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage is a must-read for every CEO and business leader who wishes to include environmental thinking into the company’s strategy and achieve competitive advantage.
The authors first give a concise summary of the Green Wave that is sweeping the business community, the environmental problems and challenges companies faced, and the stakeholders involved in shaping environmental strategies.
Next, to help companies integrate the environment into business strategy, the authors introduce a toolkit including the Eco-Advantage Mindset, Eco-Tracking, Redesign and Culture.
Companies that have an Eco-Advantage Mindset usually:
- Look at the forest, not the trees
- Start at the top
- Adopt the Apollo 13 Principle
- Recognize that feelings are facts
- Do the right thing
The toolkit includes Eco-Tracking elements such as the AUDIO analysis to help companies understand their environmental impacts by looking at various categories: Aspects, Upstream, Downstream, Issues and Opportunities.
Companies should also Redesign their products and processes by adopting Design for the Environment (DfE) and closed-loop systems, and support the building of an eco Culture that promotes green thinking and innovation.
Besides the toolkit, the book helps companies to achieve Eco-Advantage by mapping out eight Green-to-Gold Plays, which are business strategies that reduce cost and risk, and increase revenue and intangible value:
Costs
1. Eco-efficiency – Improve resource productivity
2. Eco-expense reduction – Cut environmental costs and regulatory burden
3. Value chain eco-efficiency – Lower costs upstream and downstream
Risks
4. Eco-risk control – Manage environmentally driven business risk
Revenues
5. Eco-design – Meet customer environmental needs
6. Eco-sales and marketing – Build product position and customer loyalty on green attributes
7. Eco-defined new market space – Promote value innovation and develop breakthrough products
Intangibles
8. Intangible value – Build corporate reputation and trusted brands
It’s time for businesses to go green and Green to Gold is a valuable guide to help business leaders make profits while benefiting people and the environment. The book addresses both strategic thinking and practical actions that companies can adopt immediately to build an Eco-Advantage.
Related Info
Check out the Green to Gold website for more resources on using environmental strategies for your business.
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