Summer Reading for a "Hugger": Sustainable Society, Global Warming, Energy, Climate Change

I’ve just updated my wish list at Amazon. Removing books I’ve read, reviewing books I’d like to read, and adding some more books to get to soon…

So many books, so little time....

I spend some time “in the trenches” reading blogs and trying to stay current in the climate change debate. It’s a bit of the wild west out there, with some pretty wild talk on every side of the issue.

That’s why I think it’s a good idea to go off to a quiet place on a regular basis with a good book. Of course, my idea of a good book may not be your idea of a good book. Admittedly, some of the books I read can be a little dry. Still, there are a lot of good books that help wrap our collective heads around some very complex issues and ideas, instead of rapping each other upside the head with our opinions, as is many times the case in the blogosphere.

So here are books I’ve either already read or will read soon. Feel free to comment and leave your own review on these or any other environmentally focused books you’ve read.

The Environmental Reader

Eco-Economy by Lester Brown

Eco-Economy by Lester Brown. Lester is president of Earth Policy Institute and the founder of the Earthwatch Institute. This book gives a thorough look at how our economic assumptions need to take into account Earth's ecosystems before we can truly create a sustainable society. Eco-Economy: Building an Economy for the Earth

The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery

The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery. Flannery lays out the case for global warming in this thorough yet readable book. A great place to get grounded on the issue when you decide you'd like to wade into the blogosphere and get in the middle of a screaming match! After reading this book, you'll probably be the smartest one there. The Weather Makers : How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth

The Science of Disorder by Jack Hokikian The Science of Disorder: Understanding the Complexity, Uncertainty, and Pollution in Our World. This book by Jack Hokikian will help you see the world in terms of the second law of thermodynamics (a.k.a. entropy) and help you understand how these basic and inescapable laws impact our civilization and environment. A very interesting and enlightening book. The Science of Disorder: Understanding the Complexity, Uncertainty, and Pollution in Our World

Beyond Oil by Kenneth Deffeyes Beyond Oil: the View from Hubbert's Peak. Kenneth Deffeyes is a longtime geologist who discusses the various forms of fossil fuels available and the concept of "Hubbert's Peak" or the proposition that we are at or near peak world oil production. A little dry in spots, but Deffeyes tries to insert some humor here and there. Making it through will give you a thorough grounding on Hubbert's Peak and the prospect for our near-term outlook on energy production. Beyond Oil: The View from Hubbert's Peak

The Bottomless Well: The Twilight of Fuel, the Virtue of Waste, and Why We Will Never Run Out of Energy. And now for something completely different! Peter Huber and Mark Mills tell us that most of what we think we know about energy is myth and why waste is good (unavoidable in any case) and energy is plentiful. The Bottomless Well: The Twilight of Fuel, the Virtue of Waste, and Why We Will Never Run Out of Energy

The Party's Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies. Richard Heinberg takes a cold hard look at the great gas-guzzling party of the last hundred or so years and what it may mean for the near future. Not the cheeriest stuff, but it's important to face these issues head-on, whether you agree with Heinberg's outlook or not. The Party's Over: Oil, War And The Fate Of Industrial Societies

The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century. Okay, maybe things are getting a little bleak here, if we're just looking at the titles. But James Howard Kunstler writes a very compelling book and makes the reader think hard about our current civilization and what it portents for the future. The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century

And a Couple Books from My Wish List...

Hope, Human and Wild: True Stories of of Living Lightly on the Earth. Bill McKibben and other writers express cautious optimism for saving our environment from further devastation. After reading some of the books mentioned above, a little cautious optimism is welcome! Hope, Human and Wild: True Stories of Living Lightly on the Earth (World As Home, The)

Kicking the Carbon Habit: Global Warming and the Case for Renewable and Nuclear Energy. William Sweet gives a "sweeping survey" of our energy options in the face of global warming and climate change. I look forward to reading this book. Kicking the Carbon Habit: Global Warming and the Case for Renewable and Nuclear Energy

Well, I think this is good to get us started on our environmental reading. These are complex issues and sometimes the outlook does look pretty bleak. But the better informed we are, the better we can harness hope with clear-headed thinking and an awareness of the issues we face to come up with viable solutions. Let all the yelling and screaming go on in other's blogs. We Huggers are well-informed and know that the environment doesn't have a political agenda.
Happy Reading!

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Summer Reading for a "Hugger": Sustainable Society, Global Warming, Energy, Climate Change

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