The White Road and other Stories – A Short Stories Collection is Going Green

Congratulations to British-Israeli author Tania Hershman, whose first book, The White Road and other Stories, published by UK's renowned Salt Publishing, is finally going into the stores today, September 1 2008.

Hershman contacted us last year in order to make her upcoming collection of short stories more sustainable by planting a tree with Eco-Libris for every copy printed. We were happy to oblige, and been following the publication process ever since.

Born in London in 1970, she moved to Jerusalem, Israel, in 1994. Her background as a science journalist of 14 years, writing for publications such as WIRED, NewScientist and others, gave are a scientific grounding in writing several “science-based” stories.

Hershman's tenacious focus on short stories is fascinating. Whereas many readers and authors think of short stories as only a stepping stone for the fledgling author on the way to their first novel, Hershman and others believe it to be an exalted genre of its own. She even launched The Short Review, a website dedicated to the reviewing of short story collections.

A subset of her interest in short stories manifests itself in her flash fiction. These are short shorts of 1000 words or much much less. Think of it as haiku fiction if you will, where every word should be worth its metaphorical weight in gold.

Curious? Good! Support this green author and get your own copy here, or ask your local independent bookstore to grace its shelves with some copies. I can't wait to get my mine, so expect a review and updates on readings and other events pretty soon.

Yours,
Eylon @ Eco-Libris

Plant a Tree for Every Book you Read!

Related blog posts:

BlogHer's first book "Sleep is for the Weak" is going green with Eco-Libris

"Of Parrots and People", a new book of author Mira Tweti, endorses Eco-Libris

Are we out of time? Author Bill Roth is answering in a new book and collaborating with Eco-Libris!

Can wheat straw replace trees as a source of paper?

Today I read a very interesting article at WorldChanging by Rod Edwards ("Paper from Wheat, not Wood"), who reports from Canada about exciting developments in what seems as a very eco-friendly alternative to trees as the source of paper: Wheat.

No, it's not the case of corn here where a food crop is transferred into (what some think is) a product's green alternative crop. We're talking here about pure agricultural waste - wheat straw.

The issue comes up following the printing of the Canadian National Geographic magazine's June issue, which was printed using 20% wheat straw. The rest of the paper was made of 40% post-consumer recycled paper and 40% virgin paper.

Well, the wheat straw pulp was imported from China (because straw-pulping facilities have yet to be retrofitted in Canada), and that's not that eco-friendly, but the point was definitely made in terms of feasibility and quality of this alternative. And the potential is huge, as we can learn from the Canadian printer Dollco, which was part of this effort and explains in its news release what could be the impact of using wheat straw for printing paper in Canada:

The majority of Canada's paper is currently made from Boreal forests and Temperate rainforests. Straw from Canada's wheat harvest could produce 8 millions of tonnes of pulp—equivalent to the paper volume used by the North American newspaper industry every year. That could result in a saving of 100 million trees each year—without impacting food production or increasing energy inputs, while providing a new source of income for grain growers.

Sounds good to me. Kind of the win-win deal we always look for in our search for green alternatives to virgin paper made of trees. I always thought that agricultural waste or crops such as hemp (which personally is my favorite of all these options) can become eventually a significant part of the basket of green alternatives to the virgin made paper. The main obstacle I guess it the cost.

I couldn't find anything about it in Edwards' article, but I my guesstimation is that the main obstacle in spreading this alternative is cost - wheat straw is probably more expensive than virgin paper. I guess this reality won't significantly change until carbon dioxide will be taxed and then the pricing of wheat strew will be more competitive (if not even cheaper). This is the only way to make sure the June issue won't remain a one-time green demonstration, and many publications will follow suit.

The wheat revolution can definitely start in Canada. This point was also emphasized by Nicole Rycroft, executive director at Markets Initiative, which was also part in this initiative, who said: "Canada is well positioned to become a leader in a brand new resource industry that is also an environmental solution for the twenty first century. Our world needs environmental solutions. Here's one at the farm gate and we've identified hundreds of commercial paper consumers ready to buy it."

Kudos to all the parties behind this initiative - Canadian Geographic magazine, Ottawa printer Dollco, the Alberta Research Council, and the environmental advocacy group Markets Initiative! We will keep following to learn how the wheat alternative will be further developed.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Plant a tree for every book you read!

Kansas, here we come!

We're very excited to have a new bookstore from Kansas joining our bookstores program - The Raven Book Store.

This independent bookstore is located on 6 East 7th Street in Lawrence, Kansas. It was just recently reopened under new management and you're invited to give them a visit if you're in the neighbourhood.

Now customers at the Raven Book Store 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'.

Store Hours:

Monday - Wednesday: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Thursday-Friday: 1:00 AM - 8:00 PM

Saturday: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Sunday: 1 PM - 5 PM

The store's website: http://www.ravenbookstore.com/

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Visit Eco-Libris website at http://www.ecolibris.net

Signing event of 'Sleep is for the Weak' at a book festival in Georgia (with our stickers!)

Few weeks ago we wrote about our collaboration with BlogHer's first book "Sleep is for the Weak," edited by Rita Arens (http://surrenderdorothy.typepad.com) and starring 23 bloggers. This weekend we're celebrating the book's first signing event, where a tree will be planted for every book sold there! And it all happens in a great book festival in Georgia.

Just to remind you, 'Sleep is for the Weak' (Chicago Review Press, September 2008) brings together the best parenting essays written by the most talented mommybloggers in the blogosphere. The anthology provides clever, humorously true stories every parent can relate to, and tackles issues that many mothers and fathers face but are reluctant to discuss.

Here are the details of the event:

On Saturday, August 30, Kristen Chase (motherhooduncensored.net) and Mir Kamin (wouldashoulda.com), contributors of 'Sleep is for the Weak' will promote their book in reading and signing at the Deactur Book Festival in Decatur, GA. The event will take place from 11:15 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. at the Presbyterian Church - 205 Sycamore St., Decatur, GA 30030 (that's the smaller of two spaces the church building has, not the main sanctuary).

Kristen and Mir will talk, read, and take questions for 45 minutes. Immediately following, they'll do a book sale & signing, provided by Charis Books & More (www.charisbooksandmore.com) just outside the chapel. . This event is free and open to the public.

As I mentioned, a tree will be planted with Eco-Libris for every copy sold at the event, and buyers will also receive with their signed copy our sticker (made of recycled paper) saying "One tree planted for this book".

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Decatur Book Festival Presented by DeKalb Medical is the largest independent book festival in the country and one of the 10 largest overall. Each year, more than 250 authors and 50,000 festival goers crowd the historic downtown Decatur square to enjoy book signings, author readings, panel discussions, an interactive children’s area, live music, parades, cooking demonstrations, poetry slams, writing workshops, and more.

You can also find much more information on the website (www.decaturbookfestival.com), particularly here: http://www.decaturbookfestival.com/2008/About-DBF/index.php

So don't miss this event on this great festival, enjoy the book and get some sleep :-)
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Visit Eco-Libris website at http://www.ecolibris.net

Green Options - Book Review: Serve God Save the Planet

As part of Eco-Libris' ongoing content partnership with Green Options Media, we feature a post that was originally published by Robin Shreeves on August 22 on Sustainablog. Today's post is a book review of a very interesting and unique green book.



















I've read a lot of books in the past year about going, being, living, embracing... green. I haven't felt I've wasted my time reading any of them, but every so often one of them will stand out above the rest. I just finished reading J. Matthew Sleeth's book Serve God Save the Planet, and it is one of those books.

For much of the later half of the 20th century, there was a divide between American Christians and environmentalists. There were individual Christians who were involved in environmentalism, but the mainstream church in America ignored the subject. Over the past decade that has been changing, and mainstream Christians are beginning to wake up and smell the shade grown, organic coffee. Books like Sleeth's are much needed in explaining the hows and whys of it all to Christians who are trying to figure out their place in what to many of them is a new green world.

I found Sleeth's book so engaging because he's attempting to live the life that I am attempting to live, too. He and his family have considerably downshifted. They continually purge their lives of stuff, live more simply, grow their own food, and seek new ways to help the planet all while realizing that they have a responsibility to the people on the planet, too.

Early on in the book, Sleeth refutes many of the reasons he hears Christians and others using to not care for the planet - reasons from "God gave us dominion over everything." (which some use to abuse the earth instead of care for it) to "I bought my SUV because its bigger, weighs more, sits up higher, and is safer in a crash. If I'm going to be in a wreck, I want my family to be safe." to "Tree huggers worship nature. I don't want to be involved with them."

Monday's green books series: 'Plan C' by Pat Murphy

Think for a minute about our energy problems. What do you do when Plan A (business as usual - using dirty fossil fuels) is destructive and the implementation of Plan B (maintaining consumption levels while switching to renewable energy sources) is questionable. How about Plan C? That's the offer of our book today on our blog's green books series.

Our book for today is:

Plan C: Community Survival Strategies for Peak Oil and Climate Change

Author: Pat Murphy

Pat Murphy is the executive director of The Community Solution. He co-wrote and co-produced the award-winning documentary The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil, has initiated four major Peak Oil conferences and has given numerous presentations and workshops on the subject. He has extensive construction experience and developed low energy buildings during the nation's first oil crisis.

Publisher: New Society Publishers

Published on: June 1, 2008

What it is about (from the publisher's website):
Concerns over climate change and energy depletion are increasing exponentially. Mainstream solutions still assume a panacea that will cure our climate ills without requiring any serious modification to our way of life.

Plan C explores the risks inherent in trying to continue our energy-intensive lifestyle. Using dirtier fossil fuels (Plan A) or switching to renewable energy sources (Plan B) allows people to remain complacent in the face of potential global catastrophe. Dramatic lifestyle change is the only way to begin to create a sustainable, equitable world.

The converging crises of Peak Oil, climate change, and increasing inequity are presented in a clear, concise manner, as are the twin solutions of community (where cooperation replaces competition) and curtailment (deliberately reducing consumption of consumer goods). Plan C shows how each person's individual choices can dramatically reduce CO2 emissions. It offers specific strategies in the areas of food, transportation, and housing. One chapter analyzes the decimation of the Cuban economy when the USSR stopped oil exports in 1990 and provides an inspiring vision for a low-energy way of living.

Plan C is an indispensable resource for anyone interested in living a lower-energy, saner, and more sustainable lifestyle.

Why you should get it:
1. Even if you don't agree with Murpy's analysis or recommendations for actions, it's always beneficial to hear another opinion that doubt Plan B, which so many believe that is the (only) cure to our energy problems. Murphy also might be wrong about his estimate the plans A & B will lead us directly to plan D (Dieoff), but he might be right.. so it's definitely worthwhile to listen and consider the plan he's presenting.

2. What if technology is not the solution? Murphy talks about the strong belief in technology which is like a religious faith. He points out that both two major plans – A & B count on technology. But at the same time energy related developments are not as impressive as technological developments in other areas, so maybe we shouldn't put all the eggs in one basket of technology?

3. Plan C makes sense in many ways (small is beautiful, conserving, sharing, community solutions, etc.), and even though some people might find it extreme and intimidating because of the changes it requires in their lifestyle, it shouldn't be taken lightly. The idea eventually is to get the human race back sustainably on the track and any plan that has a good chance to do it should be taken into consideration, including Plan C.

What others say about the book:
"Here's a powerful and persuasive glimpse of the future. You may not agree with every detail and recommendation, but the overriding message is incredibly important: Cheap fossil fuel has made us the first humans with no practical need of neighbors. That has to change, for reasons ecological but also psychological. The world on the other side of cheap oil may be a little less comfortable than the one we grew up in, but it may also be much sweeter" Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy; co-founder 350.org

"In Plan C, Pat Murphy has not only shown us the life we should lead - he has shown us the life we must lead - if we are to survive on this planet" Adam Corson-Finnerty, author of World Citizen: Action for Global Justice.

Want to learn more on Pat Murphy's ideas? check out this talk he gave on the subject of 'Beyond Sustainability: Surviving Oil Peak". The video here is the first part and below you will find links to the other parts.



Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLonDzUYgu8&feature=related

Part 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvzCbldi_QM&feature=related

Part 4 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOdXe5W1uoU&feature=related

If you're looking for other interesting green books, you are invited to check out our green books page on our website's green resources section.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

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

"Of Parrots and People", a new book of author Mira Tweti, endorses Eco-Libris

Finally in bookstores! The new book of author Mira Tweti, "Of Parrots and People: The Sometimes Funny, Always Fascinating, and Often Catastrophic Collision of Two Intelligent Species" is now available for sale.

The collaboration of Eco-Libris with the author, Mira Tweti, that started in her last book "Here, There and Everywhere", continues here as well! The book endorses Eco-Libris there is an entire page (page 304) devoted to Eco-Libris and how readers can balance out their copy of the book on Eco-Libris website.

The option to green up the book by planting tree with Eco-Libris and to receive our "One tree planted for this book" stickers, will be offered on some of the upcoming signing events as well! You can find the full list of the singing events at the new Parrot Press website: http://www.parrotpress.net

So what's the book all about? Here's a description from its Amazon page:

There are an estimated 50 million parrots kept as pets the U.S. alone, their numbers surpassed only by dogs and cats, yet these complex creatures are not your typical domesticated animal, and they remain a mystery to many. Most people don’t know that parrots score at the level of 3-to-5 year olds on human intelligence tests. Nor that they can live to 100 years or more. Nor that pound for pound parrots are worth more on the black market than cocaine. Their startling beauty, social sophistication, and uncanny ability to bond with humans have made parrots sought-after pets, but few people realize how fragile and endangered many parrot species have become.

In Of Parrots and People, award-winning journalist and parrot expert, Mira Tweti, reveals the world of a family of birds that is far more complex and advanced than we’ve acknowledged. Tweti relates stunning scientific findings on the intelligence, personality, and rich lives of parrots that challenge our most widespread and flawed assumptions about non-primates. And she explores the intense and often humorous emotional connections these birds form not just with their flockmates, but with the “parronts” (as some “parrot parents” call themselves) who keep them as pets, often pampering them as they do children.

Of Parrots and People also takes on the much larger, serious issues of animal welfare that are the unfortunate consequences of the “bird boom” of the last few decades. Despite the high demand for them, many parrot species are endangered in the wild from rampant trapping and habitat destruction, while those in captivity are quickly becoming the fastest growing category of unwanted pets, living lives of neglect or abuse.

Avian rescuers can’t handle the number of birds that need help, and the Humane Society of the U.S. is advocating euthanasia rather than warehousing birds that will outlive their caretakers. Yet unregulated bird breeders continue to put over a million young birds on the market each year from parrot mills across the country. It’s an untenable situation of cruelty, especially for such an evolved and intelligent species, and it’s just one of the many newsworthy topics that make Of Parrots and People just as hard-hitting as it is soft-hearted.

Tweti tirelessly follows the parrot trail around the globe, from the living rooms and pet stores of America, to hotbeds of illegal trade in Mexico. She examines threats of avian flu, and takes a first hand look at encouraging progress in eco-tourism that may be our only way to protect these stunning species from being hunted to extinction.

Comprehensive in scope and passionately written, Of Parrots and People is a unique and vivid addition to popular works on animals and their behavior, and an important new voice in the burgeoning environmental and conservation movement.

The book's advance press reviews are really great. Here's one from Sabra Brea at Sabra's Parrot Rescue in Miami: "Having been involved with parrots for over 30 years and having now having my own Parrot rescue Sanctuary, I can say with conviction that this is one of the most amazing, well researched, delightful books I have ever read! The author covers alot of territory re: all aspects of captivity, abuse, behavior etc. it is a fascinating read and should be a keeper for all involved with parrots in any way or those contemplating acquiring a parrot. I congratulate Mira Tweti on a job well done!I am purchasing several copies for parrot friends. I could not put it down. A truly important and fantastic book!"

What a great book. Enjoy it!

Yours,

Raz @ Eco-Libris

Plant a tree for every book you read!