A summer of green reading in Chicago

The Chicago Tribune reported earlier this month (and thanks to Treehugger for the update) that Chicago's Mayor Richard Daley announced on a summer reading program with a green focus, named "Read Green, Live Green" program.

The program, which will run until the beginning of August, includes, according to the Tribune, a series of discussion groups aimed at celebrating nature and the threats against it. The program will be offering books, reading tours and performances for adults and children on environmental issues including climate change, energy and farming.

Children and adults will be able to explore the environment with a good read during the summer at any of the 79 Chicago Public Library branches.

Participating children will read, report on books of their choosing and have fun with green programs and projects. Children will receive a sticker for their book log for each book read, win book prizes and earn a Read Green, Live Green t-shirt by reading lots of books!The list of events for children can be found here - http://www.chipublib.org/dir_documents/SRP08_Kidsa.pdf.

Adults and teens will enjoy a unique combination of great books, author appearances, tours, performances and fun “green” workshops and events designed especially for adults and teens. You can check out the full list of events on this link - http://www.chipublib.org/dir_documents/srpa_08a.pdf.

So it looks like this is going to be a (hot) summer of green reading in Chicago, and hopefully many adults and children will go to Lake Michigan with a green-themed book they picked at a nearby library under their arm (or in their reusable bag..). I must say this initiative is really cool and it's great to see the city and its public library working together for having more Chicagoans reading about nature, the environment and other relevant issues. Kudos to Mayor Daley for this one!

I definitely hope that mayors with green agenda, such as Mayor Newsom of San Francisco and others, to join him and make the summer of 2009 the summer of green reading (ain't sound too catchy like 'the summer of love', but we can work on the name..).

Yours,

Raz @ Eco-Libris

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

Green Options - Ecopreneurs: We Must Be the Change

As part of Eco-Libris' ongoing content partnership with Green Options Media, we feature a post that was originally published by Megan Prusynski on June 20 on Ecopreneurist. Today's post is about the role of green business in changing the world.

As going green becomes more and more popular, it seems that everyone is jumping on the bandwagon. Consumers want more sustainable options for all their needs, and companies are beginning to listen. Or are they?

Maybe I'm just a little paranoid, but I don't tend to trust the megalithic corporations that have so much power and wealth today. So while I see many ad campaigns touting green promises and hear of many large corporations changing their ways, as much as I want to believe them, I have my doubts that many of these companies are truly committed to sustainability. The very nature of our economy leads companies to focus solely on profit and their own growth, at the expense of people and the environment.

Like it or not, we are a society dominated by corporate interests. Of the 100 largest economies, 51 are corporations; the other 49 are countries. Industry (and its lobbies) has an enormous sway on politics, public policy, the economy, our lives, and of course, the earth. As powerful forces in the world, companies are going to have to lead the shift to sustainability. Getting companies to do the right thing no matter what its effect on their bottom line is going to take a major paradigm shift. It's time for change, and we certainly can't count on the government to do anything very quickly, so we need business to lead the way.

As socially conscious business owners and ecopreneurs, we need to listen to Gandhi's famous words and "be the change we wish to see in the world." It's time to take the reigns, define sustainability for our companies and boldly pursue it. We can set our own standards if we have to, and then go above and beyond them. We can bring ideas like true cost economics and the triple bottom line to the forefront of business thinking and practice. We can share sustainable ideas that have worked for us with other business owners. We can invest in making our businesses more sustainable and ethical, and we can find ways to make a living at the same time. We can support other sustainable businesses we believe in and purchase fair-trade, organic, sustainably made products. We can market our goods and services by telling the truth about being green, instead of greenwashing. We can run our businesses the way that all businesses should be run: with integrity, responsibility, human dignity, and sustainability.

We can change the world if only we believe that we can. And given the influence businesses have, it's up to us to create this change. I'm not just talking about switching to recycled office paper, although that's certainly a good start. The stakes are high and we need massive change to steer us on a path towards sustainability. We'll have to rethink the way we do business, change minds, and transform society's priorities. If anyone can pioneer this change, it's those with entrepreneurial spirit and good hearts.

Calling all conscious ecopreneurs: the time for change is now. It starts with us. Let's be the change.

Read more about sustainable business:

• Nobody’s Really Going Green – Most Companies Just Pay Lip Service on Ecopreneurist


• The Six Sins of Greenwash… and How to Repent on Sustainablog


• Good Eco Entrepreneurs Don’t Greenwash on Ecopreneurist

Kayona Ebony Brown, author of "Tenth Letter", is collaborating with Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris is proud to collaborate with authors who wants to go green. Author Kayona Ebony Brown is such an author: For every copy sold of her new book 'Tenth Letter', a tree will be planted with Eco-Libris.

We also want to invite you to her signing in Washington DC this week. Every sold book in this event will be be given not only with the author's autograph, but also with our sticker saying "One tree planted for this book" will be given with every sold copy.

Here are details on the book and the book signing event:

Through an intense story of sex, lies, and cheating set in Washington, DC (no, it's not about the presidency),"Tenth Letter" gently offers therapeutic tactics for establishing successful relationships. It's the mark of a new genre: Self-help Urban Fiction and author Kayona Ebony Brown's vivid urban landscape and the characters that color her streets pulls you into the grind that is the contemporary young adult and leaves you with a more polished definition of what it means to love.

Come meet Kayona, pick up an autographed copy of Tenth Letter, and share your stories of falling in and out of love at the DC Bookman Book Signing Thursday, June 26th just outside the L'Enfant Plaza Metro in Washington, DC from 3-6pm.

Until then, catch up with her and her characters at www.TenthLetterNovel.com. Just as her novel enriches our spiritual community, purchasing the novel enriches our physical community – for every book sold Eco-Libris will plant a tree.

I was curious to know more about Kayona's passion about the environment and sent her few questions about it. Here are her replies:

What's the connection between an author of a novel and the environment?

Some say that you are a product of your environment. As a writer, I think that phrase should be taken literally; the more I consider what's good for the environment (the earth around me), the more I will consider what's good for me personally - from what I eat to how I live. As a product myself, I prefer a non-toxic, pure and clean environment, and as result, the writings I produce will come out the same.

Do you see also your company (Brown'sTone Industries), with its innovative vision, going green? and if so, why it is important to you and to your company to be involved environmental efforts?

Through small efforts everyday, I am personally becoming more considerate of the earth, so as I expand my company, I will also expand the way we do business by eventually converting to green - from the products we use in-house to the products we produce and sell. Part of my company's overall mission is to entertain, inspire, and educate.

We plan to lead in many ways by example, and exercising environmentally conscious practices is a message we want to pass on to our patrons, partners and competitors. It is important to help pioneer these great habits in the entertainment industry, which, I think may often overlook it.

Do you have any environmental message to your readers that you would like to share with us?

My message would be: start small. The thought of 'going green' is an overwhelming lifestyle change for most people, but every little bit helps. I started first by doing a little research to see what things I was comfortable with doing. One was: turning off the water while brushing my teeth or cleaning dishes. Second thing was: thinking about what I wanted before opening the refrigerator, so I wouldn't stand there for five minutes with it open.

One other small thing that I also do is try to patronize companies that are green. For instance, I drink Silk soymilk which uses wind energy to produce the product. By patronizing them, I feel like I'm doing a little something.

Do you see yourself writing on environmental issues in the future?

I've already begun to include environmentally conscious characters into some of my current projects. It's my way of getting a message across without blatantly forcing a message onto my audience.

Thank you, Kayona! And if you're in DC this Thursday, don't miss the opportunity to meet her at the DC Bookman Book Signing just outside the L'Enfant Plaza Metro, from 3-6pm.

The book is available online for sale on the book's website and on Amazon.com.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

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

The Galaxy Bookshop in Vermont joins Eco-Libris bookstores program

Eco-Libris is coming to Vermont! I am happy to announce that The Galaxy Bookshop in Hardwick, VT is joining the Eco-Libris bookstores program.

Customers at The Galaxy Bookshop will have the opportunity to pay $1 to plant a tree to balance each book they purchase in the store. They will also receive an Eco-Libris sticker (made of recycled paper) at the counter for each book they balance out, saying 'One tree planted for this book'.

Here's a little bit about The Galaxy Bookshop:

Linda Ramsdell opened The Galaxy Bookshop in the old Firehouse Building (which now houses G.R.A.C.E.) back in 1988, with a starting inventory of about 50 books. After spending time in two different locations on Main Street, Linda enlisted the help of many good friends who, with a number of grocery carts, "Moved The Galaxy in the Year of Hale-Bopp" to its current home on 7 Mill Street in Hardwick.

Now the store is housed in a former bank building, and they still have a large vault in the middle of the store, as well as a drive-through window that people occasionally use for picking up books. Cool!

Galaxy is a general bookstore with a generous selection of books by Vermont authors. Their reading series, which runs April through November, showcases Vermont authors. This summer, They've hosted/will be hosting David Goodman, Leland Kinsey, Jennifer McMahon, Reeve Lindbergh, Madeleine Kunin, Archer Mayor, and others.

You can see our calendar of events here: http://www.galaxybookshop.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp?s=storeevents. On Galaxy's website (www.galaxybookshop.com), you can also find staff recommendations, information about local authors, and more.

Yours,

Raz @ Eco-Libris

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

Author Michael Kleiner on Mt. Airy Authors Day tomorrow in Philadelpia

Michael Kleiner is the author of the book "Beyond the Cold: An American's Warm Portrait of Norway" and a fellow SBN member. He is going to take part tomorrow (June 21) in Mt. Airy Authors Day at Lovett Memorial Library in Philadelpia.

Michael will discuss his book and also offer copies for sale, each and every one of them with our sticker on, demonstrating the fact that one tree is planted for each copy. We asked Michael to provide us with further details on the event and his book.

On June 21, Michael Kleiner will be among three authors at Mt. Airy Authors Day at Lovett Memorial Library, 6945 Germantown Avenue, Philadelpia, discussing his book Beyond the Cold: An American's Warm Portrait of Norway.

Readers have found Beyond the Cold to be much more than a travel book. Beyond the Cold traces the development of Michael's affinity and passion for Norway, its people and culture although he is not of Norwegian descent. It begins when he spent a year in Norway with my family at age 11 in 1969-70 (attending a Norwegian school) and his return trips as an adult. The book is unusual in that it is told through a child's eyes and memories and an adult perspective.

Among his adult trips was to attend the International Summer School at the University of Oslo with 500 students from 70 countries, returning to speak at the 50th anniversary of the Summer School and his honeymoon. As he has found a second home and family in Norway, Beyond the Cold shows the value of travel and multicultural experience, and a country that is more than cold weather.

The book has received many positive reviews including Fjell og Vidde, Norway?s largest outdoors magazine, The Norseman, and the newsletter of the Sons of Norway on Long Island, NY.

The book may be purchased at Buy Books on the Web (http://www.buybooksontheweb.com), Infinity Publishing's online bookstore, or call 877.BUY.BOOK or 610.941.9999.

Slides of the country will be shown, including travels above the Arctic Circle.

Event details:

Saturday, June 21st 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Three local authors with a global and historical perspective appearing at the following times:
1:15 Lori L. Tharps: Kinky Gazpacho: Life, Love and Spain
2:30 Elizabeth Farmer Jarvis: Mount Airy
3:45 Michale Kleiner: Beyond the Cold: An American's Warm Portrait of Norway

Adreess: Lovett Memorial Library, 6945 Germantown Avenue

Phone: (215) 685-2095

You're all invited!
Raz @ Eco-Libris

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

Deforestation data is avialable now on Google Earth

Google Earth is pretty cool. I have to admit I don't use it much, but when I do I enjoy it so much - navigating all over the world with my mouse. I can do it for hours.. And now you can not only navigate your way all over the planet with it, but also receive data on deforestation around the world.

Thanks to Treehugger, I learned about this important new feature created by David Tryse. He explains it on his website: "This KML shows deforestation data from a number of sources for different countries, including a live ticker for each country. The world has lost close to half of its forests already today, and the continued high pace of deforestation contributes greatly to climate change and the loss of biodiversity."

I tried it and it's really amazing. Very user-friendly and so informative. I tried to check for example Malawi, where we work with RIPPLE Africa to plant trees, and found out that "Malawi has lost 100% of it's original forests. None of its old forests today remain in an intact frontier-forest state. The total change in forest cover between 1990 and 2005 was -12.7% (-34.5% for primary forests, -15% for all natural forests)."

The problem with deforestation (like with so other environmental problems) is that we don't see it on daily basis, unless we live in an area suffering from it. And unfortunately, we care less about the things we don't see, or tend not to pay attention to them as we should have. I believe that the availability of this data on Google Earth can actually significantly increase the awareness to the problems of deforestation. And hopefully more awareness will be translated to more action and to less and less trees that are cut down. So thank you David for this important service!

So how do you install it? firstly, if you haven't downloaded yet Google Earth, go to http://earth.google.com/ and download it. If you did, just click here to download the file and you're all set!

Yours,

Raz @ Eco-Libris

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

'My Green Bookshelf' with Sophie Young, founder of g=9.8

Two weeks ago we started with a new series 'My Green Bookshelf', where we're taking a look at the reading habits of interesting people from the green world with special focus on their green reading.

As a small token of appreciation to our guest on the series, Eco-Libris will plant with its planting partners 50 new trees on behalf of each and every participant!

Today we are very excited to have with us a special guest from France: Sophie Young, the founder of g=9.8 (http://www.g98.fr/).

g=9.8 is an organic lingerie and loungewear brand g=9.8 offers a unique combination of seductive ecology: naturally sensual, combined with the velvety touch of pine fiber. Yes, all the sexy items manufactured by g=9.8 are made from a fiber originating in the branches of white pine (the pine trees used to produce this material are grown specifically for this use and new ones are replanted to replace ones used for production). Production is made locally in France.

Sophie graduated in 1995 from the University of Architecture in Paris. Her work focused on the creation of a recycling site in the center of Paris, visited as a museum. In 2005, after several years working in architecture, she founded g=9.8 in order to create a line of underwear respectful of eco-principles, such as minimizing the water consumption in the industrial production, eco-packaging, waste recycling and eco-marketing.

Sophie, as you can see from her replies to our questionnaire below, is not just an innovative creator of sexy eco-friendly lingerie, but also a passionate reader.

When do you find the time to read? what are your favorite genres?

I read at night, every so often. Usually, I read a book I like in 3 or 4 times.

My choice varies and is eclectic. I like biographies. I gobble up good mangas, some are excellent history books (in particular the Gen series, by Keiji Nakazawa, a Hiroshima survivor who tells his story and agony). I read lots of books on world war II (books by Primo Levi, among others).

Nevertheless, my favourite book is '84 Charing Cross Road' by Helene Hanff, a work that cannot be classified. I also liked 'Sex and the City' by Candace Bushnell ! I already read it two times.

How many books do you have in your library at home?

I cannot say, but I have a linear shelving of nearly 10 meters with lots of architecture books, and quite a lot of mangas. I lent the other books I like and thus they are no longer in my library.

Photo: A small part of Sophie's home library

What's your favorite green book?

Without hesitation, a book by Pierre Rabhi, 'Parole de Terre', but also 'Conscience et environnement', another book by the same author.

Who is your favorite green author?

Pierre Rabhi, but to be honest every history books are green references to me. They show how daily life was in the past and especially they tell us about the rhythm of life, which is, to me, the cornerstone of sustainable development.

What green books do you have in your library at home?

'Pourquoi j’ai mangé mon père' by Roy Lewis, a few architecture books about nomadic settlement or green buildings for instance, such as the book written by the architect Glenn Murcutt.

Many mangas about the rhythm of life in the past, like for instance 'Seton' by Jiro taniguchi or 'La bicyclette rouge' by Kim Dong HWA, a Korean manga writer. Recently I liked 'Into the Wild' by Jon Krakauer.

Do you borrow books from friends? do you lend yours to others after you read them?

I lend the books I liked to others but they never come back to me, except the ones I only lend to my closest relatives. I buy or borrow books.

Are you registered to a library?

I am registered to a library but I only go to the children library near my house. Adult libraries have become impersonal media libraries, and I don’t really like to go there, I prefer a book I have heard about.

If you had to go to a deserted island, what 3 books would you take with you?

1. '84 Charing Cross Road' by Helene Hanff,
·2. a book I have not read yet but that I really want to discover. For example '80 hommes pour changer le monde' by Mathieu Le roux and Sylvain Darnil.
3. and maybe the biography of Nelson Mandela which I have not read yet (your previous interviewee really enjoyed it!)

What's your favorite bookstore?
All of them. There are two bookstores I really like, I always go in if I walk past them.

Entre les Lignes - 110 rue St Dominique 75007 PARIS
In the museum of the arts décoratifs ( fashion museum in the LOUVRE) in Paris -107, rue de Rivoli 75001 PARIS
Chantelivre (adults and children’s bookstore) - 13 r Sèvres 75006 PARIS 01 45 48 87 90

E-books - for or against?

E-books are not user-friendly neither in the desert, nor in a garden, and nor in the evening in one’s bed, so for now I do not need them.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

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

* photos of Sophie Young and the g=9.8 lingerie are courtesy of Sophie Young.