Written Resources: Difference between revisions

BOOKS

Brown, L.R. 2001. Eco-Economy: Building an Economy for the Earth. Norton. 333 pp.
Review: This book is by one of the greatest contemporary environmental thinkers and writers, and offers serious alternatives to current global economic practices. SustainableDavid 18:20, 13 August 2008 (PDT)

Carson, R. 1963. Silent Spring. Houghton Mifflin. 378 pp.
Review: Ah, this is my Queen. Trained as a marine biologist (see the next book listed), Rachel Carson wrote one of the most important books ever in the field of environmental and naturalist literature. As the cover of a new commemorative cover states, this book is "the cornerstone of modern environmentalism". It is one of four or five books every naturalist should read, by one of the most courageous writers of all. SustainableDavid 18:20, 13 August 2008 (PDT)

Carson, R.L. 1951. The Sea Around Us. Oxford Univ. 230 pp.
Review: This is an earlier, lesser known title from Miss Carson, but the scope of her knowledge and the strength of her prose conveys the beauty and subtlety of the marine environment like no one else, and provides a sample of what "Silent Spring" would convey 12 years later. A newer (2003) commemorative edition is beautiful. SustainableDavid 18:20, 13 August 2008 (PDT)

Darwin, C. 1859. On the Origin of Species. 460 pp.
Review: Worth every long minute, this one of the most influential and controversial books of all time. If you are going to argue one side or the other, you need to understand the issue. SustainableDavid 18:20, 13 August 2008 (PDT)

Lee, A., and P. Foreman. 1999. Chicken Tractor--the permaculture guide to happy hens and healthy soil. Good Earth Publ. 318 pp. ISBN 0-9624648-6-4.
Review: This is among the best examples of appropriate technology. Make a bottomless cage, keep chickens in it, and move it around the surface of your area to control vegetation, insects, turn the soil over a bit, and fertilize it. Eat the eggs, eat the chickens, in a process requiring little energy. SustainableDavid 19:18, 13 August 2008 (PDT)

Leopold, A. 1949. A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There. Oxford Univ. 226 pp.
Review: If Rachel Carson is my Queen, here is my King. Aldo Leopold produced one of the clearest, simplest, most beautifully written books of all naturalist literature, and one everyone should own and read. A quick read that you will return to again and again, it is both instructional and inspirational. Listed above is the original, but it has since been released in later editions, and any one of them is priceless. From his pen to your heart, soul, and mind. Although he also wrote, in the 1930s, the first and perhaps the most important textbook on wildlife management, Sand County Almanac is his greatest and most accessible. If you buy one book, let this be it. SustainableDavid 18:20, 13 August 2008 (PDT)

Lomborg, B. 2001. The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World. Cambridge Univ. 515 pp.
Review: This is a very controversial book, full of apparently objective, wide-ranging, highly-documented evidence that the state of the planet is much better than anyone thought. However, the entire premise has been thoroughly discredited, its statistics have been properly criticized as manipulated, but it remains a worthwhile read, if for no other reason, how the other side thinks (or not). SustainableDavid 18:20, 13 August 2008 (PDT)

Myers, N. (Ed.). 1984. Gaia: An Atlas of Planet Management. Anchor. 272 pp.
Review: The title sounds very ambitious, but this is an excellent volume, with a wealth of information on the subject. It may be 20+ years old, but it still applies, and it pulls no punches. SustainableDavid 18:20, 13 August 2008 (PDT)

Thoreau, H.D. 1854. Walden.
Review: This is unquestionably one of the most important books of all to naturalists. Nothing else need be said, except that this book is available in many editions from many publishers. You can get it free online. Find it, read it (frequently!), and keep it close at hand next to the great works of Carson, Leopold, and Muir. SustainableDavid 18:20, 13 August 2008 (PDT)

ARTICLES

Hardin, G. 1968. The Tragedy of the Commons. Science V. 162. 6 pp.
Review: Here is an extremely thoughtful and convincing paper on how human population is destroying the commons, and how technical solutions have no effect, and how "mutual coercion, mutually agreed upon" is the means of achieving the moderation of human population. Its impact is great and it deserves much more attention and application. SustainableDavid 18:20, 13 August 2008 (PDT)

Pacala and Sokolow. 2004. Stabilization Wedges - Solving the Climate Problem. Science. 6 pp.
Review: This is a very good technical treatment of the many aspects needing attention, and which have demonstrable potential, to slow and reverse anthropogenic global warming. SustainableDavid 18:20, 13 August 2008 (PDT)

White, L.T., Jr. 1967. The historical roots of our ecologic crisis. Science, V. 155. pp. 1203-1207.
Review: Touching on human behavior, history, religion, and culture, this is a great paper. As a measure of its perception and dead-on accuracy, religious figures have tried to discredit and disprove and dismiss it ever since. It puts a vast range of problems into perspective, and sweeps away myth and propaganda. SustainableDavid 18:20, 13 August 2008 (PDT)

PERIODICALS

Home Power. Bimonthly. English. Ashland OR, USA. ISSN 1050-2416 www.homepower.com
Review: Independent and around since 1987, this is the best USA resource for small scale energy sustainability. Wind, solar, microhydro, politics, events, how-to, and many practical solutions are all routinely included. SustainableDavid 18:20, 13 August 2008 (PDT)