Green Book Publishers
Eco authors: https://www.greenbooks.co.uk/home
There are many organisations that owe their existence to, or have been greatly inspired by, E. F. Schumacher. His books and other writings are still thought-provoking – in particular Small is Beautiful, which was first published in 1973. The range of his thinking is reflected in the diversity of the organisations that recognise him as their inspiration: they share a vision of social development that is sustainable and benign to both people and the environment. Green Books has also published a wide-ranging collection of artcles which he wrote for Resurgence magazine, entitled This I Believe and Other Essays. |
Permanent Publications/Permaculture Market. The Transition Town movement was inspired by permaculture, which has itself taken much inspiration from long-established indigenous peoples worldwide, and from copying Nature's ways. Here you'll find inspiring books on cultivation, building, waste treatment, communities, energy, beekeeping, money, medicine and more; some as free downloads. There are outdoor tools and hotbin composters, outdoor cooking equipment, and logo clothing. This is the place for subscribing to Permaculture Magazine. https://shop.permaculture.co.uk/.
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Our favourite books: |
The 'Future We Choose' is a remarkable book - predicting how our world will change if we continue as we are and the positive steps we can take to avert this global catastrophe.
Paul has summarised the book and the recommended actions from “The Future We Choose” by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac, former UN Executive Secretary for Climate Change and the Senior political Strategist for the Paris agreement respectively. The book’s essential message is that our future remains unwritten at this moment and that we have two choices remaining. We can still stave off the worst effects of climate change –and indeed would any one of us not wish to - but we must act NOW, no longer the next time we stumble across that can sitting before us on the street. Who, each and every one of us, do we choose to be? Its message is stark and clear, but it is positive, for we have everything we need to help us make that choice and take the right course. The authors identify “two worlds”, then examine “three mindsets” and “ten actions”. |
John Neale's new book: 'FIGHT THE FIRE'
"We are in the midst of a global pandemic and we are entering into a deep global recession and mass unemployment. Looming beyond that is the threat of runaway climate change. In every country, a great debate is beginning. The question are, what can be done about the economy and climate change? And what would a green new deal look like that meets the needs of people and the planet?"
Read the book free here:
drive.google.com/file/d/1gMEoEFLY5gIojqF3v6-yRqCaIUF4Xhbk/view?usp=sharing
"We are in the midst of a global pandemic and we are entering into a deep global recession and mass unemployment. Looming beyond that is the threat of runaway climate change. In every country, a great debate is beginning. The question are, what can be done about the economy and climate change? And what would a green new deal look like that meets the needs of people and the planet?"
Read the book free here:
drive.google.com/file/d/1gMEoEFLY5gIojqF3v6-yRqCaIUF4Xhbk/view?usp=sharing
The Future Earth
The first hopeful book about climate change. It shows readers how to reverse the short- and long-term effects of climate change over the next three decades.
The basics of climate science are easy. We know it is entirely human-caused. Which means its solutions will be similarly human-led. .
The first hopeful book about climate change. It shows readers how to reverse the short- and long-term effects of climate change over the next three decades.
The basics of climate science are easy. We know it is entirely human-caused. Which means its solutions will be similarly human-led. .
- - What could happen if we reduced carbon emissions by 50 percent in the next decade?
- - What could living in a city look like in 2030?
- - How could the world operate in 2040, if the proposed Green New Deal created a 100 percent net carbon-free economy in the United States?
The Garden Jungle by Dave Goulson
Dave Goulson gives us an insight into the fascinating and sometimes weird lives of these creatures, taking us burrowing into the compost heap, digging under the lawn and diving into the garden pond. He explains how our lives and ultimately the fate of humankind are inextricably intertwined with that of earwigs, bees, lacewings and hoverflies, unappreciated heroes of the natural world. |
Wilding by Isabella Tree
Giving up on conventional farming on heavy clay, they go for free-ranging look-after-yourself livestock, shocking their conventional neighbours but with impressive wildlife benefits. Review (download).
Shortlisted for the Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize 2019
Waterstones Non-Fiction Book of the Month for April 2019
In Wilding tells the story of the 'Knepp experiment', a pioneering rewilding project in West Sussex, using free-roaming grazing animals to create new habitats for wildlife. Part gripping memoir, part fascinating account of the ecology of our countryside, Wilding is, above all, an inspiring story of hope.
Giving up on conventional farming on heavy clay, they go for free-ranging look-after-yourself livestock, shocking their conventional neighbours but with impressive wildlife benefits. Review (download).
Shortlisted for the Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize 2019
Waterstones Non-Fiction Book of the Month for April 2019
In Wilding tells the story of the 'Knepp experiment', a pioneering rewilding project in West Sussex, using free-roaming grazing animals to create new habitats for wildlife. Part gripping memoir, part fascinating account of the ecology of our countryside, Wilding is, above all, an inspiring story of hope.
Meat, a benign extravagance by Simon Fairlie.
An exploration of the difficult environmental, ethical and health issues surrounding the human consumption of meat. It lays out in detail the reasons why we must decrease the amount of meat we eat, both for the planet and for ourselves and explores how different forms of agriculture shape our landscape and culture.
An exploration of the difficult environmental, ethical and health issues surrounding the human consumption of meat. It lays out in detail the reasons why we must decrease the amount of meat we eat, both for the planet and for ourselves and explores how different forms of agriculture shape our landscape and culture.
The Running Hare by John Lewis-Stempel,
About how a chemical free field is so much better for wildlife. As an experiment Lewis-Stempel rents an ordinary arable field (his own property is a hill farm) to plough and manage in the old-fashioned way, transforming it into a traditional wheat field to attract wildlife. Even ― he hopes ― hares. The work is back-breaking but the rewards are sublime. Like the hares, Lewis-Stempel’s words dance."
About how a chemical free field is so much better for wildlife. As an experiment Lewis-Stempel rents an ordinary arable field (his own property is a hill farm) to plough and manage in the old-fashioned way, transforming it into a traditional wheat field to attract wildlife. Even ― he hopes ― hares. The work is back-breaking but the rewards are sublime. Like the hares, Lewis-Stempel’s words dance."
I am an Island by Tamsin Calidas
A hymn to the wild, full of fine observation of the natural world. A message that rings true for these testing times. This is a startling book, a vivid and terrifying reminder of how an island can seduce, madden - and ultimately sustain those brave enough to endure its confines and persevere as an outsider in a close knit community to learn how to 'live off the land' on a traditional Scottish croft.
A hymn to the wild, full of fine observation of the natural world. A message that rings true for these testing times. This is a startling book, a vivid and terrifying reminder of how an island can seduce, madden - and ultimately sustain those brave enough to endure its confines and persevere as an outsider in a close knit community to learn how to 'live off the land' on a traditional Scottish croft.
CLIMATE by Charles Eisenstein
“This is a groundbreaking book. Eisenstein makes an inspiring, positive, and convincing case for a full and proper understanding of the present human predicament.” Satish Kumar, founder of Schumacher College
In the final pages of this book, Eisenstein lists almost 20 practical, bold, and far-reaching policy changes to promote and change our current system ''Story from one of Separation' to a 'New Story of Interbeing'.
He concludes: “The vision of a Green World is not fantasy; nor, however, is realistic. What it is, is possible. It requires each one of us to dedicate ourselves, unreasonably and with no guarantee of success, to our unique form of service. It requires that we trust our knowing that a healed world, a green world, a more beautiful world is truly possible.” (Page 278)
Perfect for anyone who is dreaming of and wants to participate in the transformation of our current society and world to the society and world of our highest future possibilities and potential
“This is a groundbreaking book. Eisenstein makes an inspiring, positive, and convincing case for a full and proper understanding of the present human predicament.” Satish Kumar, founder of Schumacher College
In the final pages of this book, Eisenstein lists almost 20 practical, bold, and far-reaching policy changes to promote and change our current system ''Story from one of Separation' to a 'New Story of Interbeing'.
He concludes: “The vision of a Green World is not fantasy; nor, however, is realistic. What it is, is possible. It requires each one of us to dedicate ourselves, unreasonably and with no guarantee of success, to our unique form of service. It requires that we trust our knowing that a healed world, a green world, a more beautiful world is truly possible.” (Page 278)
Perfect for anyone who is dreaming of and wants to participate in the transformation of our current society and world to the society and world of our highest future possibilities and potential
Rob Hopkins’ bits from 2030
“Longing, on a large scale, is what makes history” Den Dellilo
“The future must enter you long before it happens” Rilka
Books
Freedom Dreams: the radical black imagination, Robin D G Kelley. Dreams of Black Afro-American activists. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/90528.Freedom_Dreams
We do this til we free us, Marianne Kaba. Mariame Kaba is an American activist, grassroots organizer, and educator who advocates for the abolition of the prison industrial complex, including all police (Wikipedia). "Organizing is both science and art. It is thinking through a vision, a strategy, and then figuring out who your targets are…” (£15, from WH Smith)
The Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler (Obituary in the Guardian). A science fiction dystopian novel set in an Earth heavily affected by climate change and social inequality. More plot details on Wikipedia. 2 editions, 4 copies with Cheshire Liibraries. https://cheslive.koha-ptfs.co.uk/cgi-bin/koha/opac-search.pl?idx=&q=The+Parable+of+the+Sower&branch_group_limit=&weight_search=1
Emergent Strategy, Adrienne Maree Brown “It is a guidebook for getting in right relationship with change, using our own nature and that of creatures beyond human as our teachers.” Her website – https://adriennemareebrown.net/book/emergent-strategy/. “Self-help, society-help, and planet-help to shape the futures we want. A resolutely materialist spirituality based equally on science and science fiction: a wild feminist and afro-futurist ride! Inspired by Octavia Butler's explorations of our human relationship to change, Emergent Strategy is radical self-help, society-help, and planet-help designed to shape the futures we want to live.”
Anything about Sun Ra. A book of his writings: ‘The Immeasurable Equation’. About him - https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/07/05/how-sun-ra-taught-us-to-believe-in-the-impossible
Black Utopias: Speculative Life and the Music of the Worlds, Jayna Brown about the black imagination. The concept of utopia as a way of exploring alternative states of being, doing, and imagining in Black culture. (https://www.dukeupress.edu/black-utopias)
In The Black Fantastic, Ekow Eshun, art exhibition and book of it. https://www.wgsn.com/en/blogs/black-fantastic-ekow-eshun
The Ministry for the Imagination (no such title), Kim Stanley Robinson:
Or Ministry for the Future - sci-fi, the World gets crazy trying to stem climate change… https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/nov/20/the-ministry-for-the-future-by-kim-stanley-robinson-review-how-to-solve-the-climate-crisis, or Wikipedia. KSR biography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Stanley_Robinson
8 copies with Cheshire Libraries, https://cheslive.koha-ptfs.co.uk/cgi-bin/koha/opac-search.pl?idx=&q=Kim+Stanley+Robinson&branch_group_limit=&weight_search=1
“Ministry for the Imagination” is a Rob Hopkins’ podcast, available only on subscription, referred to on a list of some of his podcasts at https://www.robhopkins.net/podcast/
Black Imagination on Black Futures, Natasha Maria, compilation “asks Black people to respond to three simple yet profound questions about one’s origin, self-healing rituals and alternate world visions in which Black people feel safe and are valued.” https://www.black-imagination.com/book
Podcasts
From What If to What Next (patreon.com/fromwhatiftowhatnext), subscribe (£3/month) for excluive early access to episodes of From What Is to What If, fortnightly Ministry of Imagination podcasts, interactive Q and A.
Accidental Gods, Manda Scott “accidental gods is a podcast and membership programme exploring how we can create a future that we would be proud to leave to the generations to come.” A free newsletter. Manda’s website. “we have the power of gods to destroy our home, but we also have the chance to become something we cannot yet imagine, and by doing so, to transform the nature of ourselves – and all humanity.” https://accidentalgods.life/
If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea – Antoine St Exupery
Black Quantum Futurism, Rasheedah Phillips – search! https://www.blackquantumfuturism.com/, a literary and artistic collective
Field Recordings from the Future, Rob Hopkins’ project, completion awaited. Sounds from a quieter future, well, more bikes and beavers. See https://www.robhopkins.net/field-recordings-from-the-future/
Introductory podcast, with episodes of From What If to What Is, on MuckRack: https://muckrack.com/podcast/rob-hopkins/episodes/introducing-field-recordings-from-the-future/
“Longing, on a large scale, is what makes history” Den Dellilo
“The future must enter you long before it happens” Rilka
Books
Freedom Dreams: the radical black imagination, Robin D G Kelley. Dreams of Black Afro-American activists. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/90528.Freedom_Dreams
We do this til we free us, Marianne Kaba. Mariame Kaba is an American activist, grassroots organizer, and educator who advocates for the abolition of the prison industrial complex, including all police (Wikipedia). "Organizing is both science and art. It is thinking through a vision, a strategy, and then figuring out who your targets are…” (£15, from WH Smith)
The Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler (Obituary in the Guardian). A science fiction dystopian novel set in an Earth heavily affected by climate change and social inequality. More plot details on Wikipedia. 2 editions, 4 copies with Cheshire Liibraries. https://cheslive.koha-ptfs.co.uk/cgi-bin/koha/opac-search.pl?idx=&q=The+Parable+of+the+Sower&branch_group_limit=&weight_search=1
Emergent Strategy, Adrienne Maree Brown “It is a guidebook for getting in right relationship with change, using our own nature and that of creatures beyond human as our teachers.” Her website – https://adriennemareebrown.net/book/emergent-strategy/. “Self-help, society-help, and planet-help to shape the futures we want. A resolutely materialist spirituality based equally on science and science fiction: a wild feminist and afro-futurist ride! Inspired by Octavia Butler's explorations of our human relationship to change, Emergent Strategy is radical self-help, society-help, and planet-help designed to shape the futures we want to live.”
Anything about Sun Ra. A book of his writings: ‘The Immeasurable Equation’. About him - https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/07/05/how-sun-ra-taught-us-to-believe-in-the-impossible
Black Utopias: Speculative Life and the Music of the Worlds, Jayna Brown about the black imagination. The concept of utopia as a way of exploring alternative states of being, doing, and imagining in Black culture. (https://www.dukeupress.edu/black-utopias)
In The Black Fantastic, Ekow Eshun, art exhibition and book of it. https://www.wgsn.com/en/blogs/black-fantastic-ekow-eshun
The Ministry for the Imagination (no such title), Kim Stanley Robinson:
Or Ministry for the Future - sci-fi, the World gets crazy trying to stem climate change… https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/nov/20/the-ministry-for-the-future-by-kim-stanley-robinson-review-how-to-solve-the-climate-crisis, or Wikipedia. KSR biography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Stanley_Robinson
8 copies with Cheshire Libraries, https://cheslive.koha-ptfs.co.uk/cgi-bin/koha/opac-search.pl?idx=&q=Kim+Stanley+Robinson&branch_group_limit=&weight_search=1
“Ministry for the Imagination” is a Rob Hopkins’ podcast, available only on subscription, referred to on a list of some of his podcasts at https://www.robhopkins.net/podcast/
Black Imagination on Black Futures, Natasha Maria, compilation “asks Black people to respond to three simple yet profound questions about one’s origin, self-healing rituals and alternate world visions in which Black people feel safe and are valued.” https://www.black-imagination.com/book
Podcasts
From What If to What Next (patreon.com/fromwhatiftowhatnext), subscribe (£3/month) for excluive early access to episodes of From What Is to What If, fortnightly Ministry of Imagination podcasts, interactive Q and A.
Accidental Gods, Manda Scott “accidental gods is a podcast and membership programme exploring how we can create a future that we would be proud to leave to the generations to come.” A free newsletter. Manda’s website. “we have the power of gods to destroy our home, but we also have the chance to become something we cannot yet imagine, and by doing so, to transform the nature of ourselves – and all humanity.” https://accidentalgods.life/
If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea – Antoine St Exupery
Black Quantum Futurism, Rasheedah Phillips – search! https://www.blackquantumfuturism.com/, a literary and artistic collective
Field Recordings from the Future, Rob Hopkins’ project, completion awaited. Sounds from a quieter future, well, more bikes and beavers. See https://www.robhopkins.net/field-recordings-from-the-future/
Introductory podcast, with episodes of From What If to What Is, on MuckRack: https://muckrack.com/podcast/rob-hopkins/episodes/introducing-field-recordings-from-the-future/
Other Books:
- Live Green – Derbyshire Wildlife Trust. 52 changes to life and home to reduce impact.
- Human Kind – Rutger Bergman. Are we beasts or saints? Rutger believes the latter, and explores why we might thing otherwise
- Hope in the Dark – Rebecca Solnit. With so much change, don't despair: it's time to act.
- The Wild Edge of Sorrow – Francis Weller. Grief matures us, but it's something that should be communal, not hidden away. 1.5 hour video interview with Francis Weller
- The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know is Possible – Charles Eisenstein. Take aim and believe in a good future.
- Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re in Without Going Crazy – Joanna Macy. The transition from a doomed economy of industrial growth to a life-sustaining society committed to the recovery of the world.... The Great Turning is a story of Active Hope.
- Terror Management Theories (waiting on links from Gen Robinson)
Interesting Articles
- https://www.nytimes.com/.../how-to-help-climate-change...
- https://www.theguardian.com/.../mary-robinson-climate...
- https://www.theguardian.com/.../how-scientists-are-coping...
- https://www.brainpickings.org/.../erich-fromm.../...
- Live Green – Derbyshire Wildlife Trust. 52 changes to life and home to reduce impact.
- Human Kind – Rutger Bergman. Are we beasts or saints? Rutger believes the latter, and explores why we might thing otherwise
- Hope in the Dark – Rebecca Solnit. With so much change, don't despair: it's time to act.
- The Wild Edge of Sorrow – Francis Weller. Grief matures us, but it's something that should be communal, not hidden away. 1.5 hour video interview with Francis Weller
- The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know is Possible – Charles Eisenstein. Take aim and believe in a good future.
- Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re in Without Going Crazy – Joanna Macy. The transition from a doomed economy of industrial growth to a life-sustaining society committed to the recovery of the world.... The Great Turning is a story of Active Hope.
- Terror Management Theories (waiting on links from Gen Robinson)
Interesting Articles
- https://www.nytimes.com/.../how-to-help-climate-change...
- https://www.theguardian.com/.../mary-robinson-climate...
- https://www.theguardian.com/.../how-scientists-are-coping...
- https://www.brainpickings.org/.../erich-fromm.../...