Green Options - Book Review: LESS IS MORE (Embracing Simplicity for a Healthy Planet)

This post is brought to you as part of our content partnership with the Green Options. It was originally posted on Sustainablog by John Ivanko on September 2.

As millions of Americans are finding themselves waking up with less disposable income, fewer job prospects, less income thanks for forced furloughs or lost value in their 401(k)s, some are rediscovering the joys of growing our own food, sharing picnics with others in our community, going for hikes in the woods, or spending more time with our family. Instead of working at a job they hate, they're starting their own enterprise that makes the world a better place.

As it turns out, a new version of happiness is emerging based on relationships and connections to each other and nature, not all the goods found at the Mall. Many of us are choosing to live and work in a world where the economists (who presently dominate the national economy and national discourse) don't matter.

The authoritative new book from Cecile Andrews and Wanda Urbanska, Less is More: Embracing simplicity for a healthy planet, a caring economy and lasting happiness (New Society, 2009), is just the right tonic for these topsy-turvy times. Side-step stress, don't give into your fear, and thrive, instead, in a world of abundance where freedom and cooperation still reign.

My wife and I had a chance to peek at the advance galley of Less is More before it went to print and found Andrews and Urbanska masterful both in their prose and their ability to bring together an eclectic array of writers, thinkers and sustainability advocates who live in ways that echo what they write about.

Less is More is divided into three parts -- simplicity defined, solutions, and policies -- each containing short essays, analysis and inspiration from some of the leading sustainability, simplicity and community thinkers and doers. From Sarah Susanka discussing clutter and Robyn Griggs Lawrence' tome on wabi-sabi time to Juliet Schor's exploration of a carbon-friendly economy and David Korten's treatise on caring and connecting, a diverse array of perspectives woven throughout Less is More illuminate why there's greater freedom in having enough rather than always striving to have more and more. Writes essayist David Wann: "According to surveys taken by the US National Science Foundation for the past 30 years, even with the steady increases in income, our level of overall happiness has actually tapered off." So what's the economy for anyway, to support a bigger government or make a few really rich people richer?

As Andrews and Urbanska set out in the Introduction of Less is More, "Simplicity is asking yourself: 'How do I really want to live? What truly makes me happy? What are my actions doing to the planet? How does my lifestyle contribute to the greater good?'" These are questions I reflect upon daily as I operate Inn Serendipity Bed & Breakfast with my wife and son. The questions overlap with those that help distinguish ecopreneurship from entrepreneurship that I write about in ECOpreneuring.

Even if you're no stranger to the sustainability or environmental movement, there's plenty of hard-hitting research and provocative insights from Less is More contributors. For example, David Wann writes: "If so many of us are willing to die for our country, why are we afraid to live for it, moderately and unselfishly? Why do we place a higher value on convenience, size and speed than the well-being of living things (including ourselves)?" He calls for a change in the patterns of how and where we live, work and eat. It's exactly these kinds of changes that will contribute to a more sustainable tomorrow in a restoration economy, if only the politicians would pay closer attention. Maybe we can live richly on a budget.

Until then, we can do what we must in our life, our work and our community. We all know you can't buy happiness, great friends or a healthy community. By rediscovering the joy and satisfaction that comes from simplicity, frugality, and community, we can remake the world where everyone gets to share. Let Less is More inspire your journey.

From Read to Green - win a green book on a joint raffle of neighBORROW and Eco-Libris!

Last May we announced on our partnership with neighBORROW, a community-based website which provides members of local networks access to a collective online catalog of the items they each own individually. neighBORROW is making it easy and worthwhile for people to borrow things they need to use but don't need to own, including books of course.

Today we're happy to update you on a new raffle we're launching together that is part of an initiative entitled 'From Read to Green'.

This initiative aims to raise the consciousness of the waste (inefficiency) as well as the opportunity associated with books that sit around in people's homes after they have been read and to promote and encourage active book sharing and greening as a means to environmental, economic, and social advancement.

In this raffle neighBORROW members that balance out their books by planting trees with Eco-Libris can win great green books that were given by publishers and authors we work with.

The prizes in the raffle include:
Two packages of the 7 books released so far on the Little Green Books SeriesThis prize is a package including the 7 books released so far on the Little Green Books series, gift of the publisher, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing. Little Green Books cover a variety of subjects, teaching children about the dangers of global warming, the benefits of recycling, what they can do to help endangered animals, and much more.

What sets these books apart from other "green" books is that in addition to the themes, the manufacturing of these books is also environmentally friendly. The books are printed on recycled materials with vegetable or soy inks. You can read about the Green Little Books at http://www.simonlittlegreen.com.

20 Easy Ways to Help Save the Earth by Coach Pedro and Susan Adam-Rita (1 copy)
20 Easy Ways to Help Save the Earth is a book full of great ideas to put into practice that will help you change little things and have a great impact. The main reason for this book is to educate, inspire, and empower children to protect the environment.Written and illustrated in a fun way, Ways to Save the Earth is a book for the whole family to enjoy and share important ideas. We all share this EARTH, so let us take good care of it.

This book is bi-lingual, written both in English and Spanish. You can read more about Coach Pedro and this book at THEIR WEBSITE.

Catch the Wind by Anne Johnson (2 copies)
Catch the Wind takes readers on a journey that will teach them about wind energy and the importance of making environmentally responsible choices. It was developed with input from educators and experts from within the wind industry. Children can follow Nels, an inquisitive boy, as he visits a wind farm with his father to discover the power of the wind.

Diagrams of wind turbines and their components as well as key terms, defined in a glossary, make up the educational content of Catch the Wind. While exploring topics such as renewable energy, the history of wind power, and the steps to building a wind farm, Catch the Wind also raises awareness of wind power as a viable source of clean, renewable energy. More details about the book can be found at THEIR WEBSITE.

Rumer & Qix: The Race to Terra Incognita" by Kathleen Wilson (one copy)
The story follows a 16-year-old apprentice reporter, Rumer, and her sidekick, Qix, who become obsessed with reports by credible witnesses of bizarre nature sightings coming through the indie news feeds. Rumer & Qix have a creeping feeling that things are terribly amiss on their seemingly perfect planet because by the 31st century there are no more natural plants or animals, they've all been replaced by perfect, synthetic replicas by the mega-conglomerates that manufacture 'Syncov'.

The mysterious nature sightings are simply dismissed as lunacy by everyone but Rumer, who soon finds herself enlisted by MoNa (Mother Nature) to help fight an epic battle with Dr. BigCo (head of the mega-congloms) to turn things around on the planet before its too late ... You can read more about the book at THEIR WEBSITE.

Where the Buttercups Grow by Shelley Meyer (one copy)
What happens when a mother-daughter team combine the beauty of buttercups, the power of storytelling and a great respect of nature to create a wonderful book with amazing art? In a beautiful field, the buttercups grow, but when two children have no respect for nature, garbage begins to pile up high.

Are the days of the buttercups over, or will help come to rescue the buttercups from a fate more deadly than illness? See the difference that children can make when they set their mind to it and decide to take care of Mother Earth. Beautifully written by Shelley Meyer and vividly illustrated by her daughter Tessa Meyer, this inspiring and powerful story will find a spot on every child's list of favourites, especially when they can carry the story forward in their own lives and plant their very own buttercups. This wonderful title is doubly special because for every book 1 tree has been planted. More details on the book can be found at THEIR WEBSITE.

Pagans on the Wildside: Campfire Cooking edited by Edain Duguay (one copy)
This eBook, edited by Edain Duguay, is the first eBook of the 'Pagans on the Wildside' series. This informative and interesting eBook contains recipes for cooking breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert and snacks with a campfire. Also included is a short campfire story by renowned Bard John David 'Hobbes' Hickey and a Campfire Handfasting, with a menu and recipes.

Within this unique eBook there are also tips and personal experiences, which show the inventiveness and humour of their Pagan and Heathen contributors. You can read more about it at THEIR WEBSITE.

How do you participate in the raffle? it's very simple:
1. Join neighBORROW (http://neighborrow.com/signup.php)
2. Add books to your neighBORROW list of items you would like to lend or donate
3. Go to Eco-Libris website (http://www.ecolibris.net) and balance out books by planting trees on Eco-Libris website (1 Book = 1 Tree = $1).
4. Add on the comments box in the PayPal payment page (the purchase on Eco-Libris website is made via PayPal) the magic word "neigh*borrow." Or you can send an email to info@ecolibris.net following the purchase with "neigh*borrow in the subject.

That's it! You're in! Each purchase, no matter how many books you balance out (the minimum on the website is 5 books), will receive one entry to the random drawing scheduled for September 1st. (we reserve the right to extend the drawing until December 31st, 2009).

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting green reading!

Eco-Libris is partnering with neighBORROW.com

Bill McKibben says in his book 'Deep Economy' that in the developed world a sense of community is likely to make people happy much more than money. And he's definitely right. Therefore, we're very happy to announce our new partnership with a new venture that is looking to provide this sense of community - neighBORROW.com.

So what is neighBORROW?

neighBORROW combines the traditional notion of borrowing a cup of sugar from a neighbor with modern technology, using the Internet to facilitate borrowing and lending of nearly anything among people in existing local communities and other established networks.

another answer... neighBORROW is a free, interactive web site that boasts a real-time, centralized and consolidated database that identifies books, movies, CDs, and other miscellaneous items that may be available to borrow in your apartment building, office building, neighborhood, school, place of worship or from any group of people imaginable.

How it supports the environment? When people buy things and use things more efficiently, there is less of a demand for natural resources needed to make these items. For example, if you borrow a book from a friend, rather than buying a copy of your own, you are helping to save the tree needed to make that book. Not to mention the CO2 used for production of other items. Also, since neighBORROW is local, much of the items are shared locally, reducing or eliminating the need for shipping. More generally, more efficient use and conscientious efforts to waste less, gets everyone in better habits and helps everyone realize that the earth's resources are not something that we can take for granted.

Eco-Libris is partnering with neighBORROW to encourage neighBORROW-ers that lend/borrow books to balance out their books by planting trees with Eco-Libris. Eco-Libris will also be integrated into the rating system of neighBORROW, so when neighBORROW-ers use Eco-Libris, their rating (think about eBay sellers' rating) is being improved.

neighBORROW is a very cool idea.The web site instantaneously and electronically catalogs the aggregate collection of all of the items entered by its members into a searchable database. In essence, neighBORROW.com converts this group of neighbors, co-workers, classmates, (even verified strangers) into a fully functioning library of stuff.

The user-friendly interface allows for searching and browsing, and facilitates communication between lenders and borrowers to coordinate real-world exchanges of available, actual things within a neighBORROW hood.

And they aleady have over 5,000 people (neighBORROW-ers) in over 300 places (neighBORROW-hoods) saving money and the environment by borrowing from an inventory of over 10,000 things (neighBORROW-goods) listed and available. They are accepting new neighBORROW-ers in communities, on campuses, and at companies all over the world.

For more information and to become a neighBORROW-er visit their website at http://www.neighborrow.com/

You are also welcome to see Adam Berk, the founder of neighBORROW at MSNBC:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
http://www.ecolibris.net/

We did it! Our Facebook community has grown to over 1,000 members!

We are very happy to announce that we ended a very successful green campaign on Facebook.

The campaign that took place on April focused on our Facebook group and included tree planting, giveaway of green books and an effort to increase our Facebook group to 1000 members.

And we did it! On April 30 we reached our goal and on May 1, we had 1036 members! Now, we're going to plant a tree on behalf of all the 455 new members that joined our group on April, so all together we'll have 455 new trees to be planted with our planting partner AIR in Guatemala.

So it's time to say thank you to all the participants in our campaign - to the new members, to the existing members that encouraged their friends to join, to friends who helped us to spread the word and last but not least - to all of our partners that donated great books for the giveaways we had during the campaign. THANK YOU ALL!

Our work on Facebook though has not ended and we'll continue to provide our growing community with information and updates on our work and quest to make reading more sustainable, photos from the planting areas of course and special offers from our partners.

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

Green Options: Sustainable Living Rule #2: Have FUN

As part of Eco-Libris' ongoing content partnership with Green Options Media, we feature a post that was originally published by Caroline Savery on June 30 on Sustainablog. Today's post includes useful advice for those who wish to to live sustainably.

If the revolution isn't fun, you're doing it wrong.

I often wonder what people imagine when they hear I'm trying to live environmentally sustainably for three months. Do they picture me living in a tree, hunting rabbits and eating grass? Do they think "oh, I could never do that for myself," or do they think I'm lying?

Sure, establishing and maintaining a sustainable lifestyle goes against the grain. It can be draining, and it may not be possible to implement the chosen lifestyle modifications in your expected timeframe, which can be discouraging.

But to innovate a way of living that is in keeping with your ideals can be the most empowering thing you ever do. Sustainable living is creative--it will always require imagination and a good dose of gumption. It gets you "out there," doing new and radical things that you may have never thought you would do. That, my friends, is living!