3 reading recommendations for Presidents Day

Tomorrow is Presidents Day and it's holiday for many people who will enjoy the long weekend. This is also a great opportunity to get to read something and especially things you put aside waiting for some free time..

I just had that with three articles that waited for me and I wanted to share with you and recommend them for tomorrow (or any other given day..). We got here two articles on green issues and one about books, and all of them are really interesting, so you're welcome to check it all!

Praise the Lord and Green the Roof / Joseph Huff-Hannon (New York Times, February 1, 2009)

A story about an order of Episcopal nuns who are building what will be the first "eco-convent" in New York City. This is a great example of how religion and ecology goes hand in hand, nurturing each other. Here's a part of the article that refers to this issue:

Then, about 10 years ago, the sisters began to discuss a mission to care for the environment. They may embrace environmental concerns more tightly than do many other religious orders, but it is their religion, they say, that was their bridge to a green life.

“We began talking more deeply amongst ourselves about how spirituality and ecology are linked, how we could more fully appreciate that the universe is a creation of God,” Sister Faith Margaret said, speaking in the hallways near the front door, which is lined on both sides with ferns, philodendron and other plants. “Some days I get up in the morning when the trees are about to pop, and I think, ‘How did God decide all of this?’ ”

Original URL

If you don't have a subscription to the NYT, you can find a copy of the article on this link.

Books Gone Wild: The Digital Age Reshapes Literature / Chris Jackson/Getty (Time, January 21, 2009)

How technology is changing the book market? this interesting article (thanks to Publishing Talk for the link) is analyzing the current trends in the publishing industry and tries to envision the future of this industry, where digital content and self publishing will make it a whole lot different from what we know today.

Here's a little look at the future from the article:

Not that Old Publishing will disappear--for now, at least, it's certainly the best way for authors to get the money and status they need to survive--but it will live on in a radically altered, symbiotic form as the small, pointy peak of a mighty pyramid. If readers want to pay for the old-school premium package, they can get their literature the old-fashioned way: carefully selected and edited, and presented in a bespoke, art-directed paper package. But below that there will be a vast continuum of other options: quickie print-on-demand editions and electronic editions for digital devices, with a corresponding hierarchy of professional and amateur editorial selectiveness.

The article is available at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1873122,00.html

In Beverage Industry, Sustainability Sells / Bill Roth (Entrepreneur.com, February 4, 2009)

Bill Roth (who is also collaborating with Eco-Libris) writes on the green trends in the beverage industry and where you can find green entrepreneurial opportunities there. Here's one of my favorite parts in this article about green coffees, which benefits both the coffee growers and the environment:

Here's why I have such hope for the green economic revolution: The sales for these green coffees are exploding.Rainforest Alliance Certifiedcoffee had average sales growth of 106 percent each year from 2003 through 2006. In 2007, more than 91 million pounds of Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee was sold worldwide. In the U.S., these coffees are sold by Mars Drinks, Wal-Mart, Whole Foods, Pom Wonderful and Caribou Coffee, and can be found in more than 50,000 supermarkets, convenience stores, cafes, restaurants, hotels and corporate offices worldwide.

The article can be found at www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29016166

Enjoy!
Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net