Sustainability Book Club

This semester we decided to try a different approach to the book club. Since everyone seems to be overly busy during the term, we thought we'd wait and do a summer reading list book club event. Below we've started a list of summer reading options related to sustainability (more will be added by 4.22.08). A few of these titles will be selected for summer and fall discussion sessions, to meet the needs of folks here on campus during the summer months and the many who aren't! We hope to see you at one of our discussion events!

Apollo's fire: Igniting America's clean energy economy
by Jay Inslee and Bracken Hendricks, Forward by President Bill Clinton
Since we're inviting Congressman Inslee to campus in the fall to talk about his book, we thought we should include it on the list.

Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to save civilization
by Lester R. Brown of the Earth Policy Institute
As the name suggests, this is the third edition of this book. The Earth Policy Institute (EPI) offers a free copy of the book on their Web site. EPI indicates that with this and past editions of the book, many purchasers returned and purchased multiple copies to distribute to friends, family, and political decision-makers. Ted Turner has distributed some 3,600 copies to government and business heads around the world, as well as "the world's 672 other billionaires" (yeah, they're not really on our facebook networks, huh?).
Discussion Dates: To be announced

Collapse: How societies choose to fail or suceed
by Jared Diamond
Through a series of case studies from Greenland to Wyoming, Diamond posits that societies have repeatedly been faced with extreme environmental degradation that threatens their existence, that societies are generally aware of their dire circumstances, but usually choose not to respond in the most favorable manner.

The river cottage cookbook
by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Looking for a new cookbook? Want one that also gives you information on growing your own garden and raising some animals? A big hit in the United Kingdom, check out this environmentally-friendly cookbook.

The middle path: Avoiding environmental catastrophe
by Eric Lambin
Reviews report that this book written by geographer Lambin "provides a concise, readable summary of the present state of the environment and considers what must be done if environmental catastrophe is to be avoided." Looking for a different view of how to avoid the impending disaster of climate change? Consider this book.