Green Group discussion

Hello all!
This Group lists a lot of members and is one of the only Green/Environmental Groups you can find on Goodreads ...but absolutely nothing seems to be happening here. Our moderator, Riley, hasn't checked in since October of last year. There are no current books being read and no chat/conversation threads. Given the incredible importance of this topic and the upcoming Climate Summit in 2015 (Dec) I would like to see this Group become more active. Is there any interest out there is getting this thing up and running?? Riley, if you're out there, what say you? We need some help! Thanks! Gail

I agree, Gail. We need a moderator who can stick to the job. That would be the starting point.

Do groups have to have moderators, or can we just talk to each other?

I add stories from time to time. So let's start doing more talking. Good idea, Nola. For me, the environment is problem #1.

There is a list on Listopia (top right of the page, click the toolbar arrow beside Explore) for books recommended by the Green Group. I've placed a good few recent books there in lieu of the bookshelf here. Vanishing Arctic; Meltdown in Tibet; Toms River - plenty of excellent books out there for us to discuss.

The trouble is probably that we are each too busy to want to take on more roles.

So what do you do after you click on Listopia? I went there, but I'm not sure how to get to this list? The bookshelf seems to have a lot of books on it. Can it be narrowed down?

Hi all. I agree with Clare, I can't take on another role! I'm very, very active in my local Sierra Club and that precludes my doing anything more right now. As for requiring a moderator, another group I'm in on Goodreads, the Liberal Politics group, had gotten to the same point as this one ... kaput. A new moderator showed up who is excellent. He has begun to push our polls, started threads on issues we care about and is energizing the group. He is making a big difference. In fact, they are now reading Naomi Klein's latest book on climate, which I've read and loved. They are including environmental issues in the things they cover. I may focus more on that one because the moderator is doing such a good job. Check out the group. It is an example of what a moderator should be doing. I will continue to check in here and hope that someone decides to take on moderator functions, though I don't know how we go about getting a new one!

At the top of Listopia page, there will be a Search Lists function box. If you type in green group, or environment, anything of that nature, you should be offered a few lists. Down low on the right is a box to search by key words, which is the words under a list instead of in the title. You can try there if nothing show up that suits your purposes in the top box.

When people add to a list, that one comes up on the first page under lists that are currently being used, so it gets more attention. There are also lists for Tibet, China, pollution, various animals, types of tree, and so on.

Thanks, Clare. I found it.

Has anyone contacted Riley directly?

She isn't active in Goodreads. First someone needs to volunteer to be a moderator. Then we can add as many as possible on to the list. I moderate other things so I can't do it. But I will help contribute.

I don't think a moderator is not required for a internet based group think where everyone has the same access and the same volume.

Books are a double edged sword. They can educate a person so they know more about a subject after the simple act of reading a book. But they can also provide an escape route so one doesn't have to do anything except read books to appear to be doing something.

If books were going to change the world then Charles Dickens should have destroyed artificially induced poverty but they haven't. And it's not his fault. He did his job. He made books that were entertaining and educational for many years after his death. And still are. Probably hundreds of millions of people are familiar with his ideas. Strange as it may seem putting people in jail for their debts is making a comeback according to the financial and legal industries. So much For Dickens.

Rachel Carson put everything on the line with Silent Spring. A woman all alone going up against big business and in those days the slogan of the day was "Better living through Chemistry". Everyone was saying it no matter which side of the street one was on. Instead of eagles dropping out of the American sky we have bees dropping out of the sky. Another warning heard round the world, listened to, but not extrapolated. And many countries still use DDT.

People extrapolate ideas by reading someone else's ideas. By talking about ideas in public or private. It is what is done after the reading is done. This is a complex world that no one really understands how it works. This is also a book site for book readers who want to discuss books they have read. For 99 percent of the groups that works. When talking about how the planet works that doesn't work. It is not a static picture, it needs constant questioning to understand what is happening.

This category could be a clearing house for readers recommending books and what they got out of them so that others can the same book or something similar. A group of people reading the same book only restricts the flow of information which is actually the real story.

With the advent of the internet every article written can have hyper links to every point of view that touches that idea. It can have links to define or illustrate hard to understand points. Instead what we have is article after article carefully scrubbed of conflicting data to keep the message on point which contradicts the whole point of the internet. The internet connects contradicting information and points of view. Think six blind smart men and an elephant. All the old fables are true. If you white wash your message to keep the priorities clear you are putting out half the total message. While it looks good on paper, it is lying by omission. Making it a useless document. Clear on the message it is getting through to people but useless in changing anything as it is but a half built plane that will never take to the air in flight.

Environmental themes are showing up in fiction books quite often.
Crime stories are usual suspects for this field.
Even in standard romance, a heroine is a hydrologist investigating the polluting of a lake, or the hero is a sniper hired to shoot wolves while the heroine represents an environmental group dedicated to preserving wolves.
So a bookshelf could contain fact and fiction both. What about finding out how to free up the bookshelf here and allowing members to post books? That would be a start.
I'm writing again so have even less time than the last time I posted.

Hi :-) I don't have a huge amount of time to devote to this but I would love to sort out the mess of comment threads and the bookshelf. I'm not so sure about the ongoing stuff but I'd like to give it a go!

So how do we make you a moderator?

Any mod would be better than none, Lucy!

Great, I've asked Riley to add me as a moderator.

Lucy wrote: "Great, I've asked Riley to add me as a moderator."

Nice one. Look forward to getting involved in a revitalised group!

I like the look of this. People I can learn from who do things, not just join groups and remain passive!

Stef, below is an excerpt from my author's blog, which is on my GR page.
I also read and review books on environmental and health issues, among others, and place the reviews here and on Amazon. I expect plenty of other people are doing things but do not post about it here. Maybe that would be a good start, just to tell one another what we are up to. This may inspire some people to be more active in their own lives.

Blog extract:
"I also enjoyed a talk on Climate-Smart Agriculture in the RDS. This brought expert farmers from New Zealand and Ireland to debate how farmers, dairy and beef producers in particular, can plant trees to offset climate heating gases and take other measures to help abate climate change problems. Adding more fibrous matter to the soil, avoiding winter poaching of the soil and smart buildings that reduce power needs are all helpful, as is bringing fodder from close by instead of long distances. I took the opportunity of the question time to make a plea for tree planting to consider biodiversity. A stand of pinus radiata or sitka spruce is a dark and sterile environment. A better idea is to mix trees including native trees, and to plant a soft edging of native shrubs like elder and hawthorn. This will increase the biodiversity present tenfold."

Hi all,
I've been so busy as an environmental activist, I've had no time to check in to Goodreads! I'm glad to see that Lucy stepped up. I hope I can chime in now and again.

I'd love to hear what you've been up to, Gail.

Clare wrote: "I'd love to hear what you've been up to, Gail."

Oh Clare, that's a long list! I retired almost a year ago and immediately started getting involved in my local Sierra Club. I'm now Vice chair (at the local Group), Chair of Communications (state level), Program Chair (local), Publicity Chair (local), and mistress of our Twitter feed (state-wide). I've been finalizing some details for our annual fundraiser; I engaged the speaker, Julene Bair, who wrote a great memoir about her life as a prodigal farmer's daughter and her worries about the draining of the Ogallala aquifer. I highly recommend it! It's called "Ogallala Road". The event is Saturday so I need to help with that.

I also have been re-reading Naomi Klein's book, "This Changes Everything" for my book club, which meets every two weeks for almost 2 hours each time to discuss it; that book is having a significant impact on the women in my group. Reading it a second time has been even more impactful on me ... she is framing my view of the world and what we need to do to change things.

Last week I organized (on the fly) bringing an environmentally themed film to our local theater. "Merchants of Doubt" was a fabulous movie about the book of the same name. Naomi Oreskes, who's someone I much admire, was a co-author and featured in the film. I think it really hit a lot of people hard to realize how the climate denial machine works. A haunting film. I can't rid my mind of it. I must say it was very rewarding to hear how much people appreciated a chance to see it.

I'm participating in a national training program on how to engage youth in environmental activism, a challenge to say the least. I'm learning a lot that I hope to put into practice. Younger people have so much to lose and yet it is hard to mobilize them. If anyone here has any experience with that, I'd love to hear it!

And in between that, I'm trying to organize three other programs, one of which is a concert for June!

All of this is to raise the alarm about Climate Change and to hopefully mobilize people in my area to push government to take substantial action to put the brakes on. I live in Kansas, which presents its own challenges, a significant one being that the Koch brothers absolutely control politics and the legislative agenda here.

Other than that, not much. :)

And you?

It's a very simple step for Riley to add Lucy as a moderator. Is Riley even around?

You are certainly busy, Gail! Well done!

During the last few years health issues among my family have stopped me getting around as much as before, plus the economy has slowed down and my work has almost all dried up. I'm a tree surgeon and when looking at clients' trees I always advise them as best I can for their needs and the environment. So I'm not doing as much of this as previously.

I support the Royal Dublin Society and their Farm Forestry Awards, which contain an award for biodiverse farm forests. The RDS also holds many talks on industry, agriculture, environment and the arts, which I attend when I can to educate myself. I'm also taking an evening course.

Any time I travel I explore the history and natural history of the location, whether Ireland, Malta, Canaries or Arizona.

During the last several years I have been writing, with independent publishing since 2013, and my books all contain an environmental edge. Most of them are fiction so far including YA books. Some are SF in a near future where we can see the effects of climate change.

I also review books on a pretty much wholesale basis, with Fresh Fiction taking most of my reviews of recent books. I try to pick books which are important for the environment and which will help the authors. Even fiction is good - lots of crime has a natural setting.

On a personal basis during the last few years I've got our home fully insulated to new government standards. I drive a 2001 diesel van, walk a lot rather than drive, don't upgrade phones or buy new clothes and handbags, recycle almost everything. I keep a garden which attracts rare butterflies and endangered bumblebees. I feed the birds in winter.
I've been updating appliances as old ones need replacing, to high energy efficiency ratings, including lightbulbs. Some of our heating is supplied by burning wood, which is scrap wood or logs I bring home from work. We waste just about no food and compost any we can, feeding other scraps to the birds.

Much of the above can be easily done by anyone, and does not require membership of societies, so I'd recommend that people look at what positive steps they can take. Sometimes the idea of taking political steps is big and scary, but each person can help in his or her own way. I believe the first priority has to be keeping well informed.

You will have to go to the Contact Us section of Goodreads and ask them to make you a moderator, Lucy. That's the only way since Riley is not active here. Let us know if you do this.