Green Group discussion

I thought it might be fun to have a thread where members can list their favorite green books.

Looking forward to getting ideas from each of you!

I know I will add on to my list, but here's an initial listing:

- The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
- Hot by Mark Hertsgaard
- The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard
- Walden by Henry David Thoreau
- Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
- Wild by Cheryl Strayed
- Anything written by Ed Abbey
- The American Forests essay by John Muir
- Save the Whales, Screw the Shrimp essay by Joy Williams
- The Milagro Beanfield War by John Nichols

Lost Mountain by Erik Reece was about mountain removal coal mining. Absolutely devastating.

Jimmy wrote: "Lost Mountain by Erik Reece was about mountain removal coal mining. Absolutely devastating."

Jimmy - I've heard good things about Lost Mountain. I need to put it on my "to read" list.

Here are the books that I have read that I most highly recommend for this group:

1. Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough
2. Dirt, the Erosion of Civilizations by David R. Montgomery
3. Permaculture: A practical guide for a sustainable future by Bill Mollison
4. The Humanure Handbook: A guide to composting by Joseph C. Jenkins
5. Collapse: How societies choose to fail or succeed by Jared Diamond
6. In Defense of Food: An eater's manifesto by Michael Pollan
7. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
8. Eaarth: making a life on a tough new planet by Bill McKibben
9. Fast Food Nation: The dark side of an all american meal by Eric Schlosser
10. The Call of the Wild by Jack London

Bill McKibben is a great man who created 350.org, a group I recommend others here get involved in.

Jimmy - Bill McKibben is great, but didn't know that he created 350.org. I'll have to check it out.

Justin - great list. I'm embarrassed to admit that while I know a lot about Silent Spring, I've never actually read it. One of these days. And loved In Defense of Food and Fast Food Nation - as well as their documentary, Food, Inc.

My favourites (in no particular order):

Introduction to Permaculture
Permaculture: A Designers' Manual
Silent Spring
The One-Straw Revolution
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth
Back From The Brink: How Australia's Landscape Can Be Saved
Not on the Label: What Really Goes Into the Food on Your Plate
Eat Your Heart Out: Who Really Decides What Ends Up on Your Plate?
A World Without Bees
Listen... Our Land Is Crying: Australia's Environment: Problems and Solutions

I'm going to have to check out the Permaculture books - on two people's lists so far.

Lynnm - That is a good idea. The book I recommend is huge, text book huge. However, it is as much philosophy as it is mechanics. The philosophy is the result of reflection on his experiences farming and understanding the broader context of how the earth works, its swirls, eddies, patterns and processes. I keep it close to my bed and pick it up every once in a while to become inspired once again.

I pinched my father's copy. Great book.

I loved Song of the Dodo by David Quammen. There will be a goodreads Q and A with him on October 15 for his new book:

http://www.goodreads.com/photo/group/...

Justin - great list. I'm embarrassed to admit that while I know a lot about Silent Spring, I'v..."

Lynnm - That is exactly what motivated me to read Silent Spring! A bit dated now, it is still an enlightening read. The style is simple and clear and it really brings you back to a simpler time. The 50th anniversary celebrations have brought out the fact that we now use more pesticides than we did when the book was published. Unbelievable.

"The 50th anniversary celebrations have brought out the fact that we now use more pesticides than we did when the book was published. Unbelievable." :(:(

Justin wrote: "Lynnm - That is exactly what motivated me to read Silent Spring! A bit dated now, it is still an enlightening read. The style is simple and clear and it really brings you back to a simpler time. The 50th anniversary celebrations have brought out the fact that we now use more pesticides than we did when the book was published. Unbelievable. "

That is unbelievable...and sad and scary.

I try to buy organic fruits and vegetables and anything else that is available as organic so that the pesticides are cut down.

Some of my favourites :)

Getting to Maybe: How the World Is Changed
Natural Capitalism
The Story of Stuff: How Our Obsession with Stuff is Trashing the Planet, Our Communities, and our Health—and a Vision for Change
Here On Earth: An Argument For Hope
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
Earth User's Guide to Permaculture
Superbia!: 31 Ways to Create Sustainable Neighborhoods
Psychology for a Better World: Strategies to Inspire Sustainability
In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed

Hey I was just thinking, it would be great to make a Green Group book list on listopia. There are a few environment book lists there already but if we create our own and all focus on the one group we might be able to get it to come up on the main listopia page which could encourage more people to add to it and to read green books.
We could also add a link to the Green Group in the description of the list to let more people know about the list.

What do you all think? I'm happy to set up the list and get it started if people think it's a good idea.

Good idea.

Lucy wrote: "Some of my favourites :)

Getting to Maybe: How the World Is Changed
Natural Capitalism
The Story of Stuff: How Our Obsession with Stuff is Trashing the Planet, Our Communities, and our Health—and..."

Lucy, love your list! And I also really liked Honore's In Praise of Slowness. I took so much of that book and incorporated it into my everyday life.

And Superbia! sounds good. Tomorrow, I'm going to post a discussion on Tiny Houses and Transition Towns - some of the ideas from Superbia! might fit in well with the discussion.

Lucy wrote: "Hey I was just thinking, it would be great to make a Green Group book list on listopia. There are a few environment book lists there already but if we create our own and all focus on the one group ..."

I think it is a great idea! Go for it - if you need help, let me know.

Is it something that anyone in the group can add to? Or just the person who starts the list?

(BTW - apologies for the delay in responding. Correcting papers this week...)

Hey Lynn, I have done this now, the book list is here. I have started it off, and anyone else can add to it if they want to. Maybe you could advertise it to the rest of the group?

Lucy wrote: "Hey Lynn, I have done this now, the book list is here. I have started it off, and anyone else can add to it if they want to. Maybe you could advertise it to the rest of the group?"

Thanks, Lucy! That's great.

Next time I send out a message to the entire group, I will add this on.

I would add Kim Stanley Robinson's Antarctica as one of my favorites.

The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating Elisabeth Tova Bailey

I tend to chose authors rather than individual books, but certainly I'd have these on my list:

from Annie Dillard:
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
Teaching a Stone to Talk: Expeditions and Encounters

from Loren Eiseley:
The Star Thrower
The Immense Journey: An Imaginative Naturalist Explores the Mysteries of Man and Nature
All the Strange Hours: The Excavation of a Life

from Henry David Thoreau:
Walden
Civil Disobedience and Other Essays

from Carl Sagan:
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space

from Diane Ackerman:
A Natural History of the Senses
The Rarest of the Rare: Vanishing Animals, Timeless Worlds