Deb Baker – Interim Reference Librarian
Because this year’s Concord Reads book, Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, focuses on eating locally, our first post on Ohrstrom library’s “Inspirations for Sustainable Living” display featured resources helpful for learning about the ethical, environmental, and health impact of food choices. The display also includes a diverse selection of books on global warming, from Bill McKibben’s activist handbook Fight Global Warming Now to Eric F. Lambin’s The Middle Path: Avoiding Environmental Catastrophe and Bjorn Lomborg’s Cool It: the Skeptical Environmentalist’s Guide to Global Warming. Are you concerned about the social justice impact of environmental issues? Check out Paul Hawken’s Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came in To Being, and Why No One Saw It Coming.
For an overview of the scientific and governmental response as well as data on the social impact of global warming, explore a new reference book at Ohrstrom, Human Development Report 2007/2008, Fighting Climate Change: Human Solidarity in a Divided World published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), by director and lead author Kevin Watkins. UNDP’s annual report measures the health, welfare, economic and physical security and well being of people in 175 UN member nations plus Hong Kong and the Palestinian Territories, as well as the status of international treaties on human rights, the environment, and labor. Each year, the report opens with an extensive analysis of a key international development issue, and this year’s focus is climate change and the responses, projected outcomes, and potential impact on human development around the world. Both cautionary and hopeful, this is a useful and fascinating read.
No time to pore over a book? Check out a film instead, such as Design e2 , a six part PBS series on green architecture narrated by Brad Pitt; or The 11th Hour , Leonardo Di Caprio’s film on earth’s human footprint. With so many sustainability resources at Ohrstrom library, you are bound to find something to intrigue and inform.
HELPFUL FOR: Leadership for Social Justice, Topics in Global Events
FUN FOR: global citizens, Eco-Action members, debaters, future pundits and policy wonks, tree huggers, activists, voters
Wibowo Sulistio
Hi Deb,
Glad to see Blessed Unrest featured in your library. I’m just dropping by to let you know that WiserEarth (www.wiserearth.org), a website created as a follow up of that book is up and running. In case you wish to direct readers to a site where they can connect and collaborate with other concerned citizens.
There’s also a poster, a student handbook (leaflet) you can print out if you wish.
WiserEarth is non-commercial, free to use, and free of advertisements. So there’s no catch in what WE offer other than the desire to help map and connect the largest movement in the world described in Paul’s book.
With best regards,
Bowo