Q: I'm a Portugese woman, and I try to live as eco-minded as possible. So sometimes I find myself quite sad about other people’s negligence, starting with my own family. Neither my parents nor sister (with 2 lovely little girls, ages 4 and 6) have green behavior. They don't even recycle!
This year I decided to make everyone handmade Christmas presents with stuff I keep and don't throw away. I'd like to add a book that would serve not only as a mind-shaker, but also as a guide to start being more sustainable. Can you recommend a good book?
...No problem if I don't find it translated in Portuguese. My family reads English. I don’t want to seem like a moralist with my presents, and of course all depends on the attitude at the moment you give people the present, but I just want to be sure I participated in informing them better. Thinking about the planet and the future home of my nieces while knowing my sister doesn’t really care kind of hurts me.
Sent by Sandra
Editor: Sandra, we've done a few books reviews on our site that would be worth checking out:
• Book Review: Wake Up and Smell the Planet
• Green Home Book Club: a list of recommended green living books with lots of comments from our readers!
We know our readers have a wealth of insight on this topic, so we're going to throw this question out to them. Readers, what books would you recommend?
Got a good question you'd like answered? Send your queries and a photo or two illustrating your question, and we'll see if the Re-nest editors or our readers can help answer your question.
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I recommend a less preachy book entitled "The World Without Us." It looks into the past to help predict the future and really exposes exactly what our impact on the planet has been. It doesn't give any lifestyle advice but is a great eye opener that many of my friends and family have been happy with as a recommendation.
view nboxwell's profile
I second "The World Without Us." I think it's out in paperback now, too. Along those lines, I'd also suggest Jared Diamond's "Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed." Again, no lifestyle advice, but it does offer many historical studies of societies that collapsed because of, among other factors, ignorance of how their actions impacted their environments. Also a really engaging read.
view safarikate's profile
Green for Life (by Gill Deacon) is excellent, I have read and re-read!
http://www.penguin.ca/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780143168430,00.html
view PEIgirl's profile
I'm registering all the suggestions...
Thank you! :)
view sandra_margarete's profile
I'm registering all the suggestions...
thank you! :)
view sandra_margarete's profile
"Green Greener Greenest" is an excellent choice for your reluctant relatives. It provides an explanation behind many products we encounter every day and offers three approaches to changing our habits (a "green" option, a "greener" option, and a "greenest" option), according to what is right for each individual reader. We can't all be perfect all of the time, and this book gives you the tools to decide where you are willing and able to make the biggest changes.
view abbyrose's profile