Does your father loves sushi? Is he concerned by topics such as mercury and PCB levels, overfishing, and species extinction? Even if he doesn't think about it too much, I'm sure he'll be happy to know more about sustainable consumption of sushi
supply that will enable him and the next generations to continue and enjoy a nice sashimi or shiromaguro (aka white tuna).
Sustainable Sushi answers the question on the minds of millions who enjoy eating fish: how can we indulge the desire to dine well while keeping our health and the health of the oceans in mind? With painstaking research found in no other book on the market to date, this pocket-size guide profiles dozens of the most common fish and shellfish one might encounter at a sushi bar, details where and how they are caught, whether or not they are safe, and how they figure in the current fishery crisis.
Does your dad secretly dream on growing vegetables and maybe some animal farms, or in other words, on becoming an urban farmer? If he does, this book, who was described by Michael Pollan as 'edgy, moving and hilarious' is the one for him.
An unforgettably charming memoir, Farm City is full of hilarious moments, fascinating farmer's tips, and a great deal of heart. When Novella Carpenter-captivated by the idea of backyard self-sufficiency- moved to inner city Oakland and discovered a weed-choked, garbage- strewn abandoned lot next door to her house, she closed her eyes and pictured heirloom tomatoes and a chicken coop. The story of how her urban farm grew from a few chickens to one populated with turkeys, geese, rabbits, ducks, and two three-hundred-pound pigs will capture the imagination of anyone who has ever considered leaving the city behind for a more natural lifestyle.
3. For the traveling father
Disappearing Destinations: 37 Places in Peril and What Can Be Done to Help Save Them
If your father likes to explore new places and cultures around the world, and only the thought about his next trip makes him happy, this is the right book for him.
Actually with this book he better hurry up. This book is a beautiful and memorable look at some of the most gorgeous endangered places on the planet. Machu Picchu for example is a mesmerizing, ancient Incan city tucked away in the mountains of Peru, but it is rapidly being worn down by the thousands of feet treading across its stones. Glacier National Park is a destination long known for the stunning beauty of its ice floes, but in our lifetimes it will have no glaciers due to global warming.
These places - along with many others across the globe - are changing as we speak due to global warming, environmental degradation, overuse, and natural causes. From the Boreal Forests in Finland to the Yangtze River Valley in China, this book is a treasure trove of geographic wonder, and a guide to these threatened destinations and what is being done to save them.
Does your father believe in the concept of small steps that make a difference? Does he want to apply it to changing his lifestyle and making it greener? That's where 'The Green Year' can help.
Most of us want to do the right thing for the environment, but making the commitment to change our fast-paced, convenience-oriented lifestyles can be more than a little daunting. What’s the answer? Take that giant commitment and cut it up into 365 little commitments that get met one day at a time. The Green Year does just that. More than a calendar, it offers simple, practical, affordable, and engaging activities that make going green a blessing rather than a burden.
5. For the father who believes in god
How Creation Care Will Change Your Faith, Your Life, and Our World
Is your father a man of faith? does he see Planet Earth as God's creation? if he does, and no matter what religion he is part of, he will be enjoying Michael Abbate's unique book.
Gardening Eden invites you to consider a new, spiritual perspective to practical environmentalism. The question is not whether our souls find expression and inspiration in our incredible planet, but how best to preserve that fundamental connection. Discover creation care as an act of worship and a call to deeper harmony with our Creator, our fellow gardeners, and our living Earth. Gardening Eden is the primer in how this shift will transform not only our world, but your very soul.
6. For the biz type father
Strategy for Sustainability: A Business ManifestoIs your father interested in business issues? Is he interested in how sustainability and business go together? Maybe he thinks green business is the right way to go but doesn't know exactly why? If you answer Yes to one of these questions, then this book, one of the most important books written so far about the integration of business and sustainability, is for him.
This book is the definitive work on business strategy for sustainability by the most authoritative voice in the conversation. Leave your quaint notions of corporate social responsibility and environmentalism behind. Werbach is starting a whole new dialogue around sustainability of enterprise and life as we know it in organizations and individuals. Sustainability is now a true competitive strategic advantage, and building it into the core of your business is the only means to ensure that your company - and your world - will survive.
7. For the father who likes to be clean
Clean Body: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing Yourself
If your father likes to spend a lot of time in the bathroom and he even knows the name of the shampoo and soap he uses, not to mention using facial cream, this book can be a great fit for him.
Clean Body, written by cleaning guru Michael DeJong, is not merely about washing away the dirt: it embodies a mindset, a philosophy, an alternative to mass consumerism. DeJong draws from Eastern belief systems—especially the element theory in Chinese medicine and Asian cooking—and harmoniously balances five pure essentials in his recipes, using baking soda, lemon, olive oil, salt, and white vinegar as the basis for his all-natural concoctions. Including special, separate sections for men and women, Clean Body has ideas for everything from facial exfoliants and natural aftershave to moisturizers and creams for itchy skin, discolored knees, and smooth feet. EVERY part of the body, from head to toe, is covered.
Do you hear your father can't stop talking about BP or peak oil, clean coal, smart grid, safety of nuclear power, and other energy related issues? Is he worried? And maybe he just wants to know more about them. In any case, we've got the perfect book for him.
In Who Turned Out the Lights? authors Scott Bittle and Jean Johnson offer a much-needed reality check: The "Drill, Baby, Drill" versus "Every Day Is Earth Day" battle is not solving our problems, and the finger-pointing is just holding us up. Sorting through the political posturing and confusing techno-speak, they provide a fair-minded, "let's skip the jargon" explanation of the choices we face. In the end, the authors present options from the right, left, and center but take just one position: The country must change the way it gets and uses energy, and the first step is to understand the choices.
9. For the father who drinks only bottled water
Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It
Did you father forget the taste of tap water? do you see him all the time with a bottle of water in his hands? well, maybe it's time for revealing the world behind these bottles, and no book is better for that matter like Bottlemania of Elizabeth Royte.
In Bottlemania, Elizabeth Royte ventures to Fryeburg, Maine, to look deep into the source—of Poland Spring water. In this tiny town, and in others like it across the country, she finds the people, machines, economies, and cultural trends that have made bottled water a $60-billion-a-year phenomenon even as it threatens local control of a natural resource and litters the landscape with plastic waste. Moving beyond the environmental consequences of making, filling, transporting and landfilling those billions of bottles, Royte examines the state of tap water today (you may be surprised), and the social impact of water-hungry multinationals sinking ever more pumps into tiny rural towns.
10. For the father who wants zero impact
No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process
Does your father really want to go all the way and be good to planet earth? If he's looking to minimize his footprint and get it as close to zero as possible, but not sure how you actually do it in a modern and unsustainable world, here's a book about someone who did it in no other place than New York City and gained many important lessons on the way. What would it be like to try to live a no-impact lifestyle? Is it possible? Could it catch on? Is living this way more satisfying or less satisfying? Harder or easier? Is it worthwhile or senseless? Are we all doomed or can our culture reduce the barriers to sustainable living so it becomes as easy as falling off a log? These are the questions at the heart of this whole mad endeavor, via which Colin Beavan hopes to explain to the rest of us how we can realistically live a more “eco-effective” and by turns more content life in an age of inconvenient truths.
If you choose to give your father a book as a gift, you are welcome to balance it out with Eco-Libris, add our sticker to the book and make it the perfect green gift for Father's Day!
Happy Father's Day! If you haven't bought your father anything yet and you're looking for a last-minute idea that can be delivered in 60 seconds, and your dad has an e-reader or tablet we have an idea for you, or actually 10 ideas!
by Colin Beavan - Farrar, Straus and Giroux (April 1, 2010)
by Bill McKibben - Times Books (April 13, 2010)
by Thomas Friedman - Picador (April 1, 2010)
