Garbage Warrior

I'm going to veer off the traditional book path and review a movie that I recently ordered for my Library. I first read about the concept of Earthships from Chile's blog, Chile Chews, and do want to make sure I give credit where credit is due! As part of my initiative to bring Green books and movies into my Library I've kept an eye out for materials on the concepts and work of eco-friendly housing as it is an increasingly important topic.

Over a year later I encountered reviews of a movie describing the work of renegade eco-architect Michael Reynolds in the wonderful move Garbage Warrior. A brief trailer of the movie is featured above.

Two definitions are important for an understanding of the film's contents:

Earthship n. 1. passive solar home made of natural and recycled materials 2. thermal mass construction for temperature stabilization. 3. renewable energy & integrated water systems make the Earthship an off-grid home with little to no utility bills.

Biotecture n. 1. the profession of designing buildings and environments with consideration for their sustainability. 2. A combination of biology and architecture.

Now both of those definitions sound rather easy to understand in my opinion. We are searching to find ways to develop sustainable housing that use less energy, and perhaps may use readily available ingredients along the way. Unfortunately part of this film documents Reynolds incredible struggle to be allowed to experiment, research and develop concepts that may be crucial to architectural revolutions needed in our coming years with shrinking resources and climate destabilization.

Want to make things much more difficult? Throw in politicians and lobbyists that may have hidden agendas of which we are not aware that decidedly swing our ability to move forward in the opposite directions. Though Reynolds is obviously more the builder than spokesperson to politicians (creative thinker meets a few Type As) he perseveres and manages to make some headway through a restrictive maze of regulations.

There were a few key points that came out during the film that really made me stop and ponder how much we, as regular people, must stand up and support research revolutions. Creating homes that do not contribute to the "grid" of economy, challenging building and construction unions that want maintain the status quo (if you build homes out of recycled ingredients you may be challenging the bricklayers union) and creating a push to allow innovation is incredibly important.

Are safety and building regulations important? Absolutely yes. However part of the struggle is the film is even the right to research and develop beyond our current norms. Obviously we have to start changing how we build both for now and for our future, and without experimentation we will have no success.

Warrior documents the building crew as they take their radical ideas into areas of natural disaster to create self-sufficient housing out of ingredients that are readily available. One home built is made from recovered plastics and features an external lip that will catch and drain water into an underground storage area - also serving as a cooling mechanism for the household above.

The movie is entertaining, nicely paced and ties into our topics of sustainability. The documentary was eventually picked up and supported by the Sundance channel, and you may most likely find it in your local Library. If not, just ask!

I won't give away the ending, but I was left cheering because big change does come in the face of our everyday heros.

No Impact Man - The Movie

It's been a long time since I've cried at a movie. But that's exactly what I did last night watching the new documentary, No Impact Man. Not crying really but weeping, appreciation and laughing tears. I fell in love with the whole family it's about; Colin, Michelle and Isabella.

While I was aware from news bites that there was a guy in NY that had given up everything (I never considered what he was gaining) I didn't read his blog or follow. Then Beth at Fake Plastic Fish had an interview post with the guy, Colin, which had me take notice. After that the Green Phone Booth posted a review of his book. I was interested.

I went to the movie with a friend who has never carried a canvas bag; not unlike Colin's wife, Michelle. While I learned new low impact tips from him I was his choir in the audience. More importantly, Michelle related to the audience that had yet to hear the siren's green call. Her distaste for worms, choice words for bike riders; her melt down at giving up caffeine. She spoke from the beauticians chair getting her hair colored and from her air conditioned office at Business Week sucking on ice. And then she cooked her first dinner. We were all changed.

On the way out of the theater my friend asked, "Do you think the growers would refill the plastic shells I buy berries in if I return them to the store?"

I tried not to cry again.

The big ahhh factor is their daughter, Isabella. She was a mimicking sprite; as happy in the dark as she was in the garden.

Admittedly I was biased toward the documentary from the beginning as Colin shopped for local food with flour sack towels and cloth produce bags. He spoke all my favorite things about sourcing food from near by. But he didn't overload our plates with food. He moved on to transportation, household cleaning products, cosmetics; the source of our power. He polished himself up for politics, volunteering, for talking to audiences. And while people were watching him, he was listening to the people doing the watching. Which is where he earned my final respect. He didn't flinch at the truth of criticism but neither did he give up in the face of it.

I'll likely read the book, but the movie was instant gratification, a night out; it was entertainment and inspiration. I give it a five out of five stars and recommend it to any audience. It's a love story, a comedy, drama and adventure. And strange enough to the way most of us live to nearly be considered sci fi.

I'd love to know how the movie impacts you if you have a chance to see it ( here's the schedule). And take a friend. They'll thank you.

Bothered By My Green Conscience

Not too long ago, another blogger suggested I read a book called Bothered by My Green Conscience by author and artist, Franke James. She even hooked me up with Ms. James who sent me a copy of her book for free. (Details on how to get my copy at the end of this review).

One sunny afternoon, I plodded down to the post office to see if my copy had arrived. Inside the post office box was a tiny little package, tightly wrapped and addressed to yours truly. When I opened it, I was surprised to find a small, brightly colored paperback filled with more doodles than words.

What I hadn't grasped, when I agreed to "read" the book, was that Ms. James is as much an artist as she is an author. Her "book" (or illustrated essay) documents her journey from caring less about the earth to fighting city government to go greener. Artwork illustrates her thoughts and steps as she moved toward a lighter and lighter footstep.

The book isn't ground breaking. There isn't much here that is new, that hasn't been experienced by most of us on our road to green (though her idea of replacing her driveway with plants was fairly revolutionary).

Still, I enjoyed Bothered By My Green Conscience and I enjoyed it immensely. Ms. James doesn't offer a new vision so much as a vision through different glasses. For the more visual learners amongst us, this book is a must. Her drawings are intriguing, unique, thoughtful and thought provoking. The book is small and a quick read. It offers just a little jolt of green-ness to get us over the next hump in our own personal journeys. I recommend it for the light and medium greens, especially those who think in pictures, and rate it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

And, now that I've absorbed my copy, it's time to share its wonderful uniqueness with you. To be entered to win my copy, pop over to The Green Phone Booth and leave your name in the comments. The winner will be announced next Friday, July 24.

Farm City: The Education Of An Urban Farmer

(First posted on 6/25/09 at kaleforsale)

I finished the perfect summer read, Farm City, by Novella Carpenter. The trouble is I finished it on the first day of summer. Now what do I do? I don't think anything is going to beat this book.

Farm City is a memoir but it's also bits and parts of how to, or how not to make a garden in the ghetto; on squatted land with an eventual farm yard of animals. The story reads like a novel. The characters are naturally characters; I fell in love with everyone. Except the prostitute looking butcher - there has to be someone not to like.

Novella is quirky, smart, driven and she has a seriously good heart. She made me laugh a lot and look at my own neighborhood with new eyes. There's a deserted house nearby with a sunny front yard that would be a perfect urban garden. The idea had never crossed my mind before. That's what this book does. Novella finds possibility and assistance in places generally looked away from. All is not pretty on the urban farm. Even when I was laughing.

To start with she's farming in Oakland, not Mayberry. A homeless man watches over the garden and offers constant advice. She hauls in free horse manure, forages from local dumpsters to feed the animals. She meets the neighborhood in the garden, invited and not. Even with the weeds and fish heads, I have to admit though, it sounded like fun.

The cute guy is nearly done with Farm City. He laughs out loud too. Stays up too late reading. "Where are you now?" I hungrily ask him. He tells me and we talk about it. It's almost like getting to read the book again.

Which is what I'm going to do - read the book again. That is unless I find an empty lot I can garden.

Rating: Definitely five stars
Recommended for: Gardeners, Gleaners, Memoir Readers, Social Activists and People-that-like-to-laugh

Book Review: The Green Collar Economy

Last fall I won the book The Green Collar Economy by Van Jones in a give-away right here on The Bookworm. I intended to read it and pass it along, but when I received the book, I was thrilled to see that it was a signed copy. Sorry, guys, I’m keeping it!

The Green Collar Economy is a blueprint for how to solve two problems at once: help the environment by increasing conservation and green power generation while creating of hundreds of thousands of green jobs, mostly filled by people at the lower end of the economic scale. The proposal is idealistic, but it is a real solution and if we could do it, it really would solve both problems.

I was particularly impressed by Jones’s understanding and commitment to helping less advantaged groups. He correctly points out that the environment cannot be saved solely by those with higher incomes who care about saving polar bears. We have to reach everybody in order to make a real change. Corporations know this, and they exploit the poor for their own purposes by scaring them that environmental legistration will cost them their jobs.

This book and the proposals in it would make great reading for every member of Congress and the current administration. By some things I’ve heard, I wonder if Obama has already read it. I would recommend, even require that everyone in elected office and their staff read The Green Collar Economy. 5 out of 5 stars.

For some reason, it took me months to get through the book and just as long to write my review. I don’t think that’s a commentary on the book, but rather I’ve observed that when books get too heavy into economics, I slow down. If you enjoy reading about economics, by all means you should read this book. If not, check it out from the library and skim. It’s good stuff.

Books at the Farmers' Market

I found this bit of independent book store news about Powell's in Portland in a digest at the Ethicurean.

Powell's is setting up a table at the Portland Farmers' Market with books to match the season. Planting in the spring, harvesting and canning in the fall. You get the picture. It's a smart idea.

But I wonder if I'd spend my cash on a book instead of tomatoes. It would be a tough choice.

Do independent booksellers sell books at your farmers' markets? Do you think it's a good idea?

Book Review: Hot, Flat & Crowded

I was happy to see the comment last week on the Monday roundup from Heather at Simple Green Frugal that she was going to review Thomas Friedman's latest book. And even happier when she agreed to share her review here. Heather's review is the premier for Hot, Flat and Crowded at the Bookworm. After reading the review I anticipate seeing more reviews for it though. Thanks for being first, Heather!

Although I've seen him interviewed a number of times on The Daily Show, "Hot, Flat, and Crowded" was my first Thomas Friedman read. The premise of the book is that the Earth as we know it today is "hot" (in the wake of global warming), "flat" (technology in communication and commerce has made it a "small world after all" in that we have access to the world, it's knowledge, and it's products with a second's notice), and "crowded" (the Earth's population is growing at an alarming rate).

As global warming meets instant gratification for a world full of people by today's standards of consumption, we get a host of problems ranging from what he calls "petrodictatorship" (the people against whom we are fighting the war on terror are the same people from whom we buy our oil - just a little conflict of interest) to widespread energy crisis (all the coal in the world can't get every human being up to the American standard of living).

Friedman stresses that America has fallen behind in it's status as a world leader; that while other countries have braced for the challenges ahead and are decades farther along in the pursuit of energy independence, economic stability, and sustainable living, the US has become lax. In generations past, we were such a leader and we can become one again, but only with determination, focus, and innovation.

“We have been living for far too long on borrowed time and borrowed dimes. We need to get back to work on our country and on our planet. The hour is late, the stakes couldn't be higher, the project couldn't be harder, the payoff couldn't be greater.”

He goes on to insist that,

“...if all the world's people start to live like us, it would herald a climate and biodiversity disaster. Does that mean that we don't want people to live like us anymore? No. It means that we have to take the lead in redesigning and reinventing what living like us means... Because if the spread of freedom and free markets is not accompanied by a new approach to how we produce energy and treat the environment, then Mother Nature and planet earth will impose their own constraints on our way of life - constraints and limitations that will be worse than communism... Without it, we are not going to be free much longer - and neither will anybody else.”

So far so good. I'm following along nicely. With the middle classes in China and India growing and demanding the "American" lifestyle, the Earth can't keep up with our consumption requirements. The Earth can't meet our demands and unfortunately, we're not really in a position to call the shots (aka Mother Earth certainly has the power to kick us kids out of the house). But then in his solutions, he contradicts himself from one chapter to another. In one chapter he says we can't "force" companies to go green and in other chapters, he says that in a green revolution, companies must be green or die. Ok.

Another example, and a quote I heartily agree with, Friedman says,

“Green is a value that needs to be preserved in and of itself, not because it's going to make your bank account richer, because it makes life richer and always has. At the end of the day that is what the "ethic of conservation" is also about. An ethic of conservation declares that maintaining our natural world that is a value that is impossible to quantify but also impossible to ignore, because of the sheer beauty, wonder, joy, and magic that nature brings to being alive.”

Sounds great, but in an earlier chapter, in a literary illustration of what the future might look like, he describes a very Jetsonian (as in the cartoon the Jetsons) lifestyle where every little nook and cranny of life is managed for us by a computer. Do you remember the Jetsons being very in touch with the "sheer beauty, wonder, joy and magic that nature brings to being alive?" His quote talks about being in touch with nature, yet an entire chapter earlier in the book is about how the green revolution will mean more "stuff" for everyone. Everyone can have the consumeristic American lifestyle. Yeah. Great.

But if I had to sum up Friedman's solution to "hot, flat, and crowded" in four words it would be "technology will save us." This is where it all falls apart for me. Heaven forbid anyone actually reduce their consumption. That would be un-American. Now, I'm not saying that there's no place for technology (in a sustainable future there certainly is); but this utopia he creates where the US government leads the world to create an entirely new infrastructure where the whole world can live the American dream through constant economic growth as well as endless consumption (but who cares because it's all sustainably powered) theory is a bit unrealistic, no?

Not that I believe it's wrong to work toward that utopian dream where the world's supply of products is produced in sustainable buildings, using sustainable resources; and he is definitely on the right track when he explain how and why we need to rethink the way we build buildings, do business, and engineer vehicles... but that's only one piece of the puzzle and frankly, Friedman pokes fun at what I view as a very equal and necessary puzzle piece - the power of the individual to do great things.

In the chapter, "205 Easy Ways to Save the Earth," he remarks that the efforts of the current "green revolution" isn't a revolution at all, but rather a costume party where we all have fun and the only thing that matters is that we "look" green. It's the fashion of the day. To a point I agree. The movement HAS to be more than everyone changing their light bulbs, but at the same time there are REAL people out there making REAL changes. Tell No Impact Man (or the lives he's inspired) that his journey has been for naught because within seconds consumptive demands in China negate anything he has ever done.

We have to fight this battle for life on planet Earth in two ways. Sure, our government (and I agree it HAS to be the US government) MUST lead the world in making innovative changes to reduce our impact on the Earth. BUT (and I think Friedman greatly underestimates us), there are people who know the stakes, they understand the odds, and they make changes in their life every day as well as inspire others in the process. And so has evolved a generation of individuals who see this goal of endless economic growth as the joke that it is. They know that living a simpler, greener, and more frugal life isn't about deprivation, it's about reconnecting with what makes us human. It's about health, and happiness, and quality of life. Great. Fund technology, give us wind and solar power, give us greener options, but don't underestimate the power of a simpler life; a life more in tune with the earth; a life without the distraction of "stuff."

Ok. I'm off my soapbox. Back to the book. Honestly, I learned a lot and it's worth spending the time to read. I agree with his synopsis of the problems, but in the end his solution sounds like a world with just more "stuff." I don't believe that is the answer. Technology can and will help us, but so will good old-fashioned values where nothing goes wasted. If you do check out the book, don't be discouraged that we are wasting our time in pursuit of a more simple-green-frugal life. I believe the only way out of what he calls "hot, flat, and crowded" is mindfulness. The kind us little guys practice every single day.

Book Review: The Green Collar Economy

Dear Mr. President-Elect.

In less than two weeks, you will be inaugurated and will have more power to change the world than most of us dream of. I am sure you are being bombarded by pleas, petitions, and emails. Well, I know you are because I've signed a number of those.

The American people have big plans for you and a lot of hope. We are looking for real change and you have signaled that, at a minimum, with respect to Climate Change, you will give it. You are proposing billions of dollars for new green jobs in an effort to stimulate the economy. A Green New Deal, in effect.

I hope that, before making that proposal, you and/or your advisers read The Green Collar Economy by Oakland activist, Van Jones. It's a great book that emphasizes the importance of growing a greener, cleaner economy and doing it by including all segments of the population - those in the inner cities, the rural dwellers, the incarcerated, the highly educated and those without a degree. Mr. Jones explains that, to be successful, this movement needs to be about providing economic opportunities and a better life, and not just "saving the earth."

Mr. Jones lays out all kinds of green jobs - from increasing energy efficiency and building renewables to mass transit, reducing waste and farming, the greenest job of all. He explores how we can train a legion of new green collar workers and how we can transition more highly skilled workers into greener careers.

I'd be happy to lend you my copy of the book but my husband wants to read it first. He's interested in green business ideas and boy, oh boy, is this book overflowing with lots of those. For instance, Mr. Jones talks about a Los Angeles-based group called Tree-People that works to reduce water pollution by building cisterns to capture water and reduce polluted storm run off while creating hundreds of jobs. It is estimated that, over a period of thirty years, the city and country will save $300 million in water and other costs. Imagine if we expanded that from the LA area to state or country-wide. We'd be rolling in green dough and reveling in fresh water.

The great thing about this book is that Mr. Jones gets it. He understands that we are in the midst of an economic melt down. That we are facing a dramatically heating planet with dwindling resources. But he also gets that if we all work together - and that includes the government, Mr. Obama - then we can come up with some really inventive solutions that will not only create jobs and stimulate the economy but also provide us with a cleaner, healthier planet and a better lifestyle.

You might want to ask all members of your Cabinet to read this and, heck, go ahead and recommend it to the public at large. Everyone can find something useful from this book. Personally, I'd rank it 4.5 out of 5 and recommend it for anyone interested in living green or getting a job.

Good luck in the next four years. I'm counting on some real green changes.

Sincerely,

Green Bean

Book Review: Crimes Against Nature

With politics dominating the headlines everywhere, why not also The Blogging Bookworm? Our guest green pundit, Bobbi from To Live Local recently polished off Robert Kennedy, Jr.'s book about the Bush Presidency and its impact on the environment. Thank you for sharing with us, Bobbi.

With President Bush deep into what I, as the mother of teenagers, call ‘senioritus’, you might ask why you should read Crimes Against Nature by Robert Kennedy, Jr. now, a book about what Bush and his oil buddies did. Even I asked myself that question, other than that the book was free (at the library) and small (my patience for tomes not what it once was). But it’s clear to me that I need a foundation to my growing political action. I need to understand about endangered species, the effects of strip mining in West Virginia, and the nuclear power plant meltdown just miles from my parents’ home in the West San Fernando Valley and the cancer it caused so many neighbors, including my parents and sister. How did the Republican administrations hack away at our freedoms through the rape and pillage of our resources?

Kennedy’s New York Times best seller meticulously lays down the case for how corporate cronyism got put into place so that government, ‘the problem’ to Reagan era Republicans, could be drowned in the bathtub. Read it and learn exactly how corporate types from the oil, gas, coal and nuclear industries were appointed as regulators to protect their own from ‘We the People.’ Rollbacks out of view from the public, manipulating and suppressing scientific data, intimidating enforcement officials and masking it in Orwellian doublespeak – it’s all here in well written detail. Kennedy has a highly readable style and while you may not be able to retain each reference, the overall effect is compelling.

Kennedy starts with a discussion of “the ‘public trust’ or commons – those shared resources that cannot be reduced to private property, including the air, flowing water, public lands, wandering animals, fisheries, wetlands and aquifers.” Some of the first acts of tyrants are handing over the public trust assets to private hands, the privatization of the commons. Indeed, “the legendary outlaw Robin Hood became a potent symbol of defiance against King John’s efforts to reserve England’s deer and wildlife for the privileged classes. When King John attempted to sell off the country’s fisheries and to erect navigational tolls on the Thames, the public rose up and confronted him at Runnymede in 1215, forcing him to sign the Magna Carta, which includes provisions guaranteeing the rights of free access to fisheries and waters.”

Kennedy builds his case, like the environmental lawyer he is, layer upon layer. Just his patience in pursuing legal means astounds me. I’d be pulling my hair out.

Here are some more quotes:

“You show me a polluter and I’ll show you a subsidy. I’ll show you a fat cat using political clout to escape the discipline of the free market and load his production costs onto the backs of the public…free market capitalism is the best thing that could happen to our environment, our economy, our country….free markets, when allowed to function, properly value raw materials and encourage producers to eliminate waste – pollution – by reducing, reusing and recycling…Corporate capitalists don’t want free markets, they want dependable profits, and their surest route is to crush the competition by controlling the government. The domination of our government by large corporations leads to the elimination of markets and, ultimately, to the loss of democracy.”

And the final paragraphs may goad you to action as they did me.

“Generations of Americans will pay for the Republican campaign debt to the energy industry and other big polluters with global instability, depleted national coffers and increased vulnerability to oil-market price shocks. They will also pay with reduced prosperity and quality of life at home. Pollution from power plants and traffic smog will continue to skyrocket. Carbon dioxide emissions will aggravate global warming. Acid rain and mercury will continue to sterilize our lakes, poison our fish, and sicken our people. The administration’s attacks on science and the law have put something perhaps even greater at risk – our values and our democracy.

George W. Bush and his court are treating our country as a grab bag for the robber barons, doling out the commons to giant polluters. Together they are cashing in or air, water, aquifers, wildlife and public lands and divvying up the loot. They are turning our politicians into indentured servants who repay campaign contributions with taxpayer-funded subsidies and lucrative contracts and reign in law enforcement against a booming corporate crime wave.

If they knew the truth, most American would share my fury that this president is allowing his corporate cronies to steal American from our children.”

Though it may feel like today’s headlines, the copyright on this book is 2004. As we continue to twist in the wind of the ongoing and unbelievable financial debacle, I know why I needed to read “Crimes Against Nature” and why I would suggest you do too. We’re going to be living with the results of the last 30 years for a long, long time. In order to undo the mess, we’ll have to remember the revolutionary stuff we come from and become the leaders we need or find some to follow since it’s so painfully obvious that we have none.

Here’s a UC Television clip of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. talking about his book. I’d line up behind him.

Rating: 3.5 - 4 out of 5. Highly readable, not dry, with a touch of biting humor, passionate. He makes a case, theme stated at the beginning and the end, years of accumulating evidence presented in between. Be willing to take the journey with him.

Recommended: Dark green, perhaps a kelly. Definitely for the partisan. Excellent grounding for political junkies and activists. Aside from being a Kennedy, he's a well respected, major player in the movement.

Global Values 101

O.k., so it isn’t a book that I would strictly define as a “green read.” But I do think that it fits the fundamental spirit of what many of us are “going green” for. Recognition of our little cosmic part of our globe, and our impact of such. For many of us being green isn’t only about reducing our numbers, our impact, our footprint. It is recognizing our global responsibility and how our impact translates to another person we may very well never meet.

So thus said, I’d say READ THIS BOOK. I’d actually go so far as to say that I think I’ve found a book that should be given to every high-schooler or college freshman. Mandatory reading list my friends, I say right up there with the best of them.

Global Values 101 appealed to me greatly because I enjoy works of religion, philosophy, theology, history, etc. But I also like the translation of the ideas into everyday practicality and how they make a difference in our lives. How to these grand ideas move into our everyday perceptions of our culture, and how do they influence us to act and react. GV101 gave one of the most insightful looks at our cultural philosophy and how it translates into the state of the world and our national politics.

This book is divided up into sections, with essays from experts in a variety of fields responding to thought provoking student questions. The sections are:

-History and Investigations
-Labor and Economy (of particular interest to green readers)
-Diversity and Equality
-Brutality, Bloodshed, and Resolution
-Religion and Ethics
-Distance and Proximity

The experts include theologians, ethicists, physicians, literary scholars to diplomats and journalists. The questions and answers literally slammed me up against the wall with the insightful brilliance. Seriously. And it makes you want to dive deeper into each experts own unique published works.

In this one book I was pondering gender equality, our perceptions on “fighting for our country” vs. “fighting for our government,” consumerism and the infantilization of American voters. If you are looking for a multi-faceted read that makes you think, makes you question, and maybe even a little idealistic then grab a copy. Green read fans will find nuggets scattered throughout, especially on topics of economics and consumption.

The section of Q and A featuring Juliet Schor, economist and author several books including The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure grabbed my attention. She shoots it to us straight in that Americans are not clearly seeing the impact of shop, buy, work. Though we work longer hours now we still assess our level of happiness by a model of work and spend. It is a numbing pattern that creates waste, debt and an ultimate progressive life dissatisfaction. The discussion of New Consumerism will certainly interest fans of Affluenza.

As a librarian I rarely say “buy this book.” But this is one that I’m actually trotting off to the bookstore to purchase so that I can mark it up, mark my own references and use the highlighter on many a page. I’ve renewed my Library copy twice already and I haven’t had enough as I’m now reading passages for a second time. That speaks volumes in my world.

My one beef? Maybe this is trivial, but right smack on front is a quote from Susan Sarandon. Don’t get me wrong, I truly admire her acting works and political efforts, the lady has class! But it does bug me that lately everything does have to have some sort of celebrity endorsement on it in some form or fashion, even a book of profound relevant content from Harvard University.

Book Review: Deep Economy

I checked Deep Economy out of the library on two separate occasions but I really didn't want to read it. The first time, I got the book at the same time as Simple Prosperity: Finding Real Wealth in a Sustainable Lifestyle. The latter was on hold and therefore could not be renewed so I gobbled it up, reveled in its positive tone, and embraced my simpler lifestyle for the wealth it offers.

I renewed Deep Economy - the full two times allowed by the library. I couldn't make myself read it though. I had heard from several sources that it was dry, depressing, wrong even. I just couldn't let go of my Simple Prosperity high and so I let Deep Economy go back to the library.

Melinda and Burbanmom kept telling me, though, that Deep Economy was a great book. It was not depressing, they urged. It was important for our time. They convinced me that I at least needed to read the book. So again, I checked it out. And again, I renewed it the allotted two times. On the final due date, I decided I had postponed long enough. I'd suck up the fines (no judgment please) and try to get through it as quickly as possible. I needed to check this book off of my list.

And I'm so glad I did.

Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future by Bill McKibben was not, for me, earth-shattering or eye opening. But one's earth can only be shattered so many times. And frankly, I'm not sure I need my eyes opened any further right now. They're pretty darn open after a year of green reads. What I'm looking for now is solutions and of those, Deep Economy offers plenty.

McKibben offers anecdotal stories from all around the globe as evidence that local communities can flourish, that we can adapt to climate change and reduce our impact by thinking inventively. McKibben points to the bus system in Brazil as an example of making mass transit successful without expensive subways that take decades to build. He holds up "the special period" in Cuba, where the country converted to urban organic agriculture after losing access to Soviet oil. He spotlights the farmer in New York who produces offers milk, vegetables, eggs, honey and meat on his farm and who is not seeking to create an historical farm but to improve his own quality of life. McKibben also looks to the "Rabbit King" of China - a man who received rabbits from Heifer International, breed them very successfully, and ultimately set up programs in China to help poor families get free rabbits and learn to care and breed them. We see that, done right, local economies build vibrant communities strong enough to adapt to climate change and also reduce environmental impact, hopefully blunting climate change's force.

I agree with McKibben. I think local communities are the future. Not that we become less of a globalized society but that we learn to build support systems here, embrace our unique longitudinal differences, and thereby reduce our footprint. I am convinced that farmers' markets and CSAs are the answer to our food problems. In addition, to providing clean, safe food, they connect us with the source of our food and with others eating it. I do think that we need to help developing countries continue to improve their quality of life but, as McKibben, notes according to a different standard than ours. Ours is not sustainable and by changing the way we live, we will create a different standard to be embraced. McKibben urges other local endeavors - more locally owned radio stations (like that idea), more locally focused energy (like the idea, not sure how it can actually play out) and even local currency (mmm?).

Should you read Deep Economy? Yes. Will it rock your world? Maybe. I agree with Arduous in that I think a book's impact has a lot to do with when you read it, which books you've read before and where you are in your life. Will it depress you? I doubt it. Deep Economy is a positive, thoughtful book full of solutions for the future. Some may work, others may not but that is not the point of the book. The point is to start thinking smaller, more local, and start solving the problem of climate change instead of merely bemoaning it.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Recommended for newly green and medium green readers, and for dark green readers who are looking for solutions and inspiration.

Book Review: Break Through

Last month, I finished the book, Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility by Ted Nordhaus & Michael Shellenberger. It has taken me quite some time to write this review because (1) I don't particularly excel in book reviews and (2) I am not quite sure how I felt about the book.

The book opens with a look at Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech. The authors point out that the speech was so inspiring because it focused on what we can achieve and overcome, after taking only a very brief sojourn into the "nightmare" of discrimination. Unlike King's speech, which was uplifting and motivating, the message of the environmental movement tends to fixate on the nightmare - pollution, species extinction, global warming, and ecosystem collapse. Certainly those fears are too real but the Break Through authors posit that the Civil Rights movement succeeded because people were inspired into action, rather than scared into it.

Nordhaus and Shellenberger then spend the middle chapters exploring where the environmental movement has failed - protecting the Amazon instead of relieving Brazil's debt, fighting environmental racism, which the authors claim does not exist, and resisting change, even when it is change for the better (e.g., the installation of Cape Wind within Robert Kennedy, Jr.'s home turf). These chapters, while interesting, seemed out of place - almost like separate essays. I suppose authors feel that they need to detail what is wrong in the first half of a book so that they can devote the second half to solutions.

And, thankfully, those solutions do come. Instead of dwelling on tragedies inflicted by humans, the authors shift the environmental lens to focus on the extraordinary achievements of our species. Humans were once prey. "That there are nearly seven billion of us alive today is a sign of our success, not failure." (151) We humans are capable of great miracles. If we come together, we can overcome anything. The old environmentalism centered on limits, sadness and fear. The new politics is a "politics of overcoming." It triggers feelings of joy, happiness and pride.

How to motivate the masses, though, to join such a positive political movement? The authors examine the rampant insecurity of Americans today. We have more money, resources, material than fifty years ago and, yet, we are less happy, more worried and less generous. Nordhaus and Shellenberger attempt to explain why and offer a means to security. They also look to the rise of the Evangelical church for clues on bringing people together to share a sense of belonging and fulfillment.

In many ways, Break Through is a tough read. To pick it up, one must be determined to finish it. To not meander too long on the tangential paths laid out by the authors. It is, however, a hugely important read written by people whom my husband would call "thought leaders." It challenged the way I think about the green movement and what I believe needs to be done politically. I am glad I read it.

*Robin left a comment when we launched The Blogging Bookworm, suggesting that reviews rate books on a scale of 1-5 (5 being best) and recommend the book for newly green, medium green or dark green readers. Great idea! So here goes:

RATING: 4 out of 5 stars

READERS: Recommended for medium to dark green readers.