by Damla
With the sea levels rising higher and the devastating natural disasters we face in all corners of the world with increasing frequency, the future of our world (and our place in it) becomes a more pressing and relevant question each passing year.
That being said, don’t worry; I am not here to signal our impending doom or to trigger anyone’s anxieties over the inevitable. I am well aware that tackling the enormity of the climate crisis on an individual level can seem like an impossibly challenging task. After all, it is the big names that profit from the global capitalist system that are responsible for an overwhelming majority of the environmental degradation and pollution that accelerates the speed of climate change.
However, I am in the shamelessly optimistic camp of “every little bit helps.” If you are like me, and looking for small changes to make in your daily life that help build towards a more environmentally-conscious future, take a look at these top picks for sustainability-friendly books:
EAT GREENER
We Are The Weather – Jonathan Safran Foer
“Collective action is the way to save our home and way of life. And it all starts with what we eat, and don’t eat, for breakfast.
With his distinctive wit, insight and humanity, Jonathan Safran Foer presents the essential debate of our time as no one else could, bringing it to vivid and urgent life and offering us all a much-needed way out.”
Leftovers: A History of Food Waste and Preservation – Eleanor Barnett
“A topical and richly entertaining history of food preservation and food waste in Britain from the sixteenth-century kitchen to the present day.
At a time when a third of the food we produce globally is wasted, Leftovers links its central historical focus to humanitarian and environmental issues of urgent contemporary interest – including climate change, globalisation, scientific advancement, poverty and inequality.”
Eating Animals – Jonathan Safran Foer
“Brilliantly synthesizing philosophy, literature, science, memoir and his own detective work, Eating Animals explores the many fictions we use to justify our eating habits-from folklore to pop culture to family traditions and national myth-and how such tales can lull us into a brutal forgetting.”
This book also comes with a seal of approval from our buyer for the Social Sciences section, Isabelle.
“You don’t need to be a vegetarian to eat like one! With over 100 recipes, Rosenstrach shows readers how she got her family on board with a weekday plant-based mentality and lays out a plan for home cooks to follow, one filled with brilliant and bold meat-free meals.”
TRAVEL GREENER
The Sustainable Travel Handbook – Lonely Planet
“This practical and inspiring guide motivates travellers to take a responsible approach to the impact of travelling. Whether you’re looking to reduce your carbon emissions, enjoy a more responsible wildlife-watching experience, harness culinary tourism for good or enjoy an eco-friendly city break, this guide has got you covered.”
The Responsible Traveller – Karen Edwards
“Here is your ticket to positive, guilt-free, sustainable and ethical travel. The Responsible Traveller will show you how to make real changes that result in more thoughtful and conscientious travels, while also doing your very best for Planet Earth. Learn about the environmental and social effects of tourism and increase your cultural awareness.”
Sustainable Escapes – Lonely Planet
“This is Lonely Planet’s guide to the world’s best eco-friendly resorts and experiences. From eco-lodges with cutting-edge sustainability initiatives to tours designed to protect wildlife and empower communities, you’ll discover remarkable places where you can feel good about spending your time and money.”
Flight-Free Europe – Lonely Planet
“Discover how to explore Europe sustainably with this ultimate collection of 80 no-fly itineraries. Featuring trips that range from a weekend to a month, we show you how to avoid chaotic airports and reduce the carbon footprint of your travel with detailed route maps and transport connection information for trains, buses, ferries and more.”
“Zero Altitude follows Helen Coffey as she journeys as far as she can in the course of her job as a top travel journalist – all without getting on a single flight. Between trips by train, car, boat and bike, she meets climate experts and activists at the forefront of the burgeoning flight-free movement. Over the course of her travels, she discovers that keeping both feet on the ground is not only possible but that it can be an exhilarating opportunity for adventure.”
BUY GREENER
“A call to action for consumers everywhere, Consumed asks us to look at how and why we buy what we buy, how it’s created, who it benefits, and how we can solve the problems created by a wasteful system.”
Our Lília also strongly recommends this book: “It lets us see ways to be the change, to better understand the world and to accept that we need to deal with the situation in which we all live.”
Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don’t Know You Have – Tatiana Schlossberg
“From a former New York Times science writer, this urgent call to action will empower you to stand up to climate change and environmental pollution by making simple but impactful everyday choices by examining the unseen and unconscious environmental impacts in four areas-the Internet and technology, food, fashion, and fuel.”
How to Give Up Plastic: Simple steps to living consciously on our blue planet – Will McCallum
“This book offers a handy guide for what we can do in our own homes, communities and workplaces to start bringing about the end of our plastic dependent age. Packed with the latest research, useful tips, and anecdotes from scientists in the field and success stories from local communities round the world, this is an essential overview of why we should all be working together no matter where we are in the world to reduce the amount of plastic being produced.”
And finally, happy Earth Day! Here is to a greener, cleaner, more biodiverse future.
