I am happy to present you with part 7 of Eco-Libris blog's holiday green gift guide, the guide that will help you find the best green books to give as gifts this holiday season.Today we have the pleasure to bring you a recommendation of Alex Steffen of Worldchanging. Alex recommends on one of the most interesting and comprehensive green books published in the last couple of years, which he knows very well as he also edited it.Alex Steffen has been the Executive Editor of Worldchanging since he co-founded the organization in 2003, as the next phase in a lifetime of work exploring ways of building a better future. In a very short time, Worldchanging has become the most widely-read sustainability-related publication on the Internet, with an archive of over 7,000 articles by leading thinkers around the world. Steffen works tirelessly to share Worldchanging's ideas and message worldwide through regular speaking appearances to influential audiences and at leading companies such as Weiden + Kennedy, Nike, Amazon, Ideo, Arup, Nau, Yahoo! and the World Travel and Tourism Council.
Prior to founding Worldchanging, Steffen worked as an environmental journalist on four continents (where he wrote about everything from Japan's fast breeder reactor program to the UN "Earth Summit" in Rio de Janeiro). That work led him to provide strategic consultation to over 50 environmental groups. He also served as president of the board of Allied Arts (the venerable Seattle urban design advocacy group), a co-founder of the Livable Communities Coalition and the Fuse Foundation, and has served on the boards or steering committees for numerous other NGOs and campaigns. Steffen's media work extends into newspaper, radio, and an on-air television, and he started the short-lived but influential magazine, Steelhead, in the mid-nineties.
Alex Steffen's recommendation for this holiday's gift is:
Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century
Author: Alex Steffen (Editor), Al Gore (Foreword), Bruce Sterling (Introduction)
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams Inc.
Published in: 2006
What it is about: Worldchanging: A Users Guide for the 21st Century is a groundbreaking compendium of the most innovative solutions, ideas and inventions emerging today for building a sustainable, livable, prosperous future.
From consumer consciousness to a new vision for industry; non-toxic homes to refugee shelters; microfinance to effective philanthropy; socially responsible investing to starting a green business; citizen media to human rights; ecological economics to climate change, this is the most comprehensive, cutting-edge overview to date of what's possible in the near future -- if we decide to make it so.
The Worldchanging book contains over 600 pages, divided into 7 sections which include a vast range of topics.
Stuff: green design, biomimicry, sustainable food, clothing, trade and technology.
Shelter: green building and landscaping, clean energy, water, disaster relief and humanitarian design.
Cities: smart growth, sustainable communities, transportation, greening infrastructure, product-service systems, leapfrogging and megacity challenges.
Community: education, women's rights, public health, holistic approaches to community development, South-South science, social entrepreneurship and micro-lending, and philanthropy.
Business: socially responsible investment, worldchanging start-ups, ecological economics, corporate social responsibility and green business.
Politics: networked politics, new media, transparency, human rights, non-violent revolution and peacemaking.
Planet: the big picture - everything from placing oneself in a bioregion to climate foresight to environmental history to green space exploration.
Why it's a great gift: Here's some of what people have said about it:
Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century
Author: Alex Steffen (Editor), Al Gore (Foreword), Bruce Sterling (Introduction)
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams Inc.
Published in: 2006
What it is about: Worldchanging: A Users Guide for the 21st Century is a groundbreaking compendium of the most innovative solutions, ideas and inventions emerging today for building a sustainable, livable, prosperous future.
From consumer consciousness to a new vision for industry; non-toxic homes to refugee shelters; microfinance to effective philanthropy; socially responsible investing to starting a green business; citizen media to human rights; ecological economics to climate change, this is the most comprehensive, cutting-edge overview to date of what's possible in the near future -- if we decide to make it so.
The Worldchanging book contains over 600 pages, divided into 7 sections which include a vast range of topics.
Stuff: green design, biomimicry, sustainable food, clothing, trade and technology.
Shelter: green building and landscaping, clean energy, water, disaster relief and humanitarian design.
Cities: smart growth, sustainable communities, transportation, greening infrastructure, product-service systems, leapfrogging and megacity challenges.
Community: education, women's rights, public health, holistic approaches to community development, South-South science, social entrepreneurship and micro-lending, and philanthropy.
Business: socially responsible investment, worldchanging start-ups, ecological economics, corporate social responsibility and green business.
Politics: networked politics, new media, transparency, human rights, non-violent revolution and peacemaking.
Planet: the big picture - everything from placing oneself in a bioregion to climate foresight to environmental history to green space exploration.
Why it's a great gift: Here's some of what people have said about it:
"To build that future, we need a generation of everyday heroes, people who—whatever their walks of life—have the courage to think in fresh ways and to act to meet this planetary crisis head-on. This book belongs in the library of every person who aspires to be part of that generation." Al Gore.
"Read it: it may change your life." Elizabeth Kolbert, New Yorker Writer.
Thank you Alex for your recommendation! This is a great book and one I'm personally going to give it to a dear friend of mine (can't disclose names before giving it..)
Thank you Alex for your recommendation! This is a great book and one I'm personally going to give it to a dear friend of mine (can't disclose names before giving it..)
If you choose to give your friends or family this book as a gift on the holidays, you are more than welcome to balance it out with Eco-Libris, add its sticker to the book and make it the perfect green gift for the holidays. And of course, don't forget to check the website of Worldchanging, one of the most mind-provoking environmental websites out there.
And just a reminder, here are the other recommendations we had so far on our guide:
Part 1 - The Man who Planted Trees by Jean Giono
Part 2 - Home Work : Handbuilt Shelter by Lloyd Kahn
Part 3 - The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
Part 4 - The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
Part 5 - Deep Economy by Bill McKibben
Part 6 - The Armchair Environmentalist by Karen Christensen
The whole guide can be found here - http://www.ecolibris.net/holiday_guide.asp.
Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
Eco-Libris: a great green gift for the holidays!
Now you can find on our website two special offers for the holidays - holiday greeting cards and holiday certificate gifts.
And just a reminder, here are the other recommendations we had so far on our guide:
Part 1 - The Man who Planted Trees by Jean Giono
Part 2 - Home Work : Handbuilt Shelter by Lloyd Kahn
Part 3 - The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
Part 4 - The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
Part 5 - Deep Economy by Bill McKibben
Part 6 - The Armchair Environmentalist by Karen Christensen
The whole guide can be found here - http://www.ecolibris.net/holiday_guide.asp.
Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
Eco-Libris: a great green gift for the holidays!
Now you can find on our website two special offers for the holidays - holiday greeting cards and holiday certificate gifts.
