Looking for a good climate change book to read during the Copenhagen talks?

If you're looking for a good book to read during the the Copenhagen climate talks, Jeff Biggers has an interesting summary on Grist of his favorite climate and energy books of 2009.

As Biggers mentions, this year we saw many good books released on climate destabilization, dirty energy policies, bogus Big Coal campaigns, a vibrant anti-coal movement, and more.

Among his favorites you can find Storms of My Grandchildren: The Truth About the Coming Climate Catastrophe and Our Last Chance to Save Humanity, by James Hansen, Coal Country: Rising Up Against Mountaintop Removal, by Shirley Burns and Climate Cover-Up, by James Hoggan, which will be reviewed here soon.

So check it out and get yourself one of these good books to accompany you on the next 12 days, or even as an interesting holidays gift.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: check our special holidays offer!

How to make tree planting cool again?

World Environment Day was celebrated worldwide last Friday. While looking in Grist, one of my favorite green information resources, I found that it extends its "Screw Earth Day Campaign" to the World Environment Day. Moreover, Grist added: Official couldn’t have said it better: Forget tree planting with a link to Cameron Scott's article on SFGate.com "Time to move beyond planting trees". Scott opens with the following:

"Tomorrow is World Environment Day, an international holiday the U.N. implemented shortly after the U.S. created Earth Day. Don't worry, I'm not going to tell you to plant a tree. I'm going to tell you to do something bigger, better, more fun, and less tedious. After all, caring about the world you live in shouldn't feel like going to a funeral (now, pick up the shovel...)."

You can agree or disagree with Grist and Scott, but thinking of it for a while, I found that the most worrying point here is that planting trees might not be so cool anymore! I mean, I know the tree planting is more of an example here given to make a point and I'm sure nor Scott neither Grist have nothing against trees. But at the same time, can you imagine someone making a point with a negative context about local food? I doubt..

Tree planting, once the star in the green skies, just doesn't seem to be that shiny anymore. I guess the example we see here is one reason why it happened - tree planting might be strongly associated with going green and supporting the environment just on one day (Earth Day or World Environment Day), giving people and businesses fake feeling they done their share to combat global warming. It also might be that people just get tired of it - maybe you can't be the green queen forever!

Anyway, I believe Grist and Scott show here that more than all tree planting might have an image problem - it's not about convincing that tree planting is super-duper important, but about making it cool again. So how do you do it? How do you make tree planting cool again?

Here are few ideas I thought about:

1. Learn from the current king - there's no doubt who is now the strongest and most popular green theme - it's local food. It means tree planting needs urgently its own Michael Pollan and Alice Waters, maybe a bestseller like "Omnivore's Dilemma", a movie everyone is talking about for months, and of course it wouldn't hurt if Michelle Obama will plant a nice tree in her garden.

2. Get some celebs to grab a shovel - if Scarlet Johnson or Brad Pitt were doing it (and not only once a year, but on a more regular basis), I'm sure that tree planting won't feel "like going to a funeral", or maybe it will, but everyone would like to join!

3. More fun, less tedious - it doesn't have to involve porn activism (although this one caught even Grist's attention), or guerrilla tactics, but anything that will make tree planting less tedious and more interesting and fun is more than welcome.

4. Get the coolest green biz on board - if green businesses such as TerraCycle, Nau or Better Place will push forward tree planting there's a chance some of their coolness will stick to the trees! Any more ideas? comments? feedbacks? we'll be happy to hear from you!

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolbris.net

*The photo at the top of the page is courtesy of our planting partner AIR

And now what? An average Jo got few ideas..

Now that the elections are over and we're full of expectations for the future to come, the question is of course what's next?

Grist have few suggestions and they found a creative way to show it:



Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net

Monday's green book: Wake Up and Smell the Planet

At the end of December we had our last part of the holiday green gift guide for book lovers, but we wouldn't like to stop recommending and reviewing interesting green books. Therefore, we start a new series (that hopefully will last forever..): Monday's green book.

So, every Monday we'll start the week by covering a green book that was published lately. We hope you enjoy it and if you want to review or recommend on a green book for this series, feel free to write me to raz [at] ecolibris [dot] net.

The first book on our green book series comes from Grist, one of my favorite green news sites:

Wake Up and Smell the Planet: The Non-Pompous, Non-Preachy Grist Guide to Greening Your Day

Author: Grist Magazine (Author), Brangien Davis (Editor), Katharine Wroth (Editor)

Publisher: Mountaineers Books

Published in: October 2007

What it is about: Grist describes their book as a a handy guide to making green decisions throughout your day.

It's not a guide about guilt, but about making little choices throughout the day that improve the planet - what to eat, what to wear, how to dispose of dog poop or diapers, how to travel from point A to point B, where to have a post-work cocktail, and so on.

Wake Up and Smell the Planet covers a full 24 hours of confusing and often contradictory options. Like a wise (and wisecracking) friend who isn't afraid to share secret tips, the book will give you easy tips for simplifying your life and lessening your impact.

Why you should get it: Grist gives you 8.5 reasons why you should buy it:

1. You'll always have answers to the peskiest eco-questions at your fingertips.
2. It's better than The Secret.
3. Little-known fact: a book uses only half the electricity of a computer!
4. Buy it for your friends, to spread the green love.
5. It makes a handy flotation device.
6. Where else can you get the real dirt on the Jolly Green Giant?
7. Books make you look wicked smart.
8. Did we mention you'll always have answers to the peskiest eco-questions at your fingertips?
8.5. Grist's employees like to eat.

What others say on the book:

"... the guide's actual guidance is relevant, hip and chockfull of witty word play ... a groovy green heap o' advice for working, working out, eating, shopping, commuting, raising kids, raising pets -- basically, for life." (The Seattle Times)

"Like Grist, this is a quirky, humorous, entertaining, and sometimes irreverent read ... Consider this guide an off-line beacon, bringing Grist's edgy authority, impeccable research, and planetary cheerleading to a broader audience." (Jeff Reifman of Idealog)

Why I like it: Grist is one of my favorite online green resources. It's like the green friend you always wanted to have - funny, smart, knowledgeable and always make the most complicated green issues accessible and understandable. and did I mention it's funny? So this is definitely the source you want to get tips from on how to go green. And also let's not forget that the book is printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper and printed with soy inks.

More reviews of the book:

- Arcadia Maximo on BellOnline

- Kayley on obviously.ca

- Stephanie on Apartment Therapy Re-Nest

Enjoy the book, and if you're looking for the full list of green books reviewed and presented on our blog, check out our green books page.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: plant a tree for every book you read!