giftpplgreen

Hey, it’s not easy being green, as Kermit the Frog so eloquently reminds us. But there is now a wealth of books out there to help the green activist, those worried about global warming, and those of us who just want to become more self sufficient. Here are just a few of my favourites:

9780522858549 Greeniology 2020
Tanya Ha

Maybe you don’t have the energy to change the entire world, but would like to green up your little patch of it. Well, then Greeniology might be right up your alley. Environmentalist and journalist Tanya Ha has just released the third edition of her bestselling book, fully updated with all the details on how to reduce your eco-footprint in every aspect of your life. Practical, punchy and very easy to understand, this is the perfect book for those looking to take those crucial early steps along the path of sustainable living.

veggie The Little Veggie Patch
Fabian Capomolla and Mat Pember

Food security is shaping up to be on of THE major issues of the twenty-first century. So, what better way to ensure your personal food security than learn how to grow your own food? The authors of this book have a huge amount of experience with their Melbourne-based company, The Little Veggie Patch Co., which installs edible gardens into backyards, balconies and small spaces.

This book gives you all the basics and plenty more on growing your own food, with info on getting the best compost happening, building your own raised garden beds, and an A-Z of edible plants, with troubleshooting tips for each. Here is a plethora of practical information on growing food that will have you saying proudly at the dinner table: ‘I grew it myself!’

46 Forty-Six Square Metres of Land Doesn’t Normally Become a House
Stuart Harrison

While you are growing your own food, you may like to also consider the size of the space you live in. Did you know that Australians live in the largest houses in the world? Yes, those McMansions that litter our suburbs like ugly oversized building blocks have not gone unnoticed. The bigger the house, the greater the waste of resources, and the higher your carbon footprint upon the planet.

A new architecture book provides the antidote to the McMansion by glorifying tiny, space-efficient, truly beautiful homes. Written by award-winning Melbourne architect Stuart Harrison, this book profiles 45 tiny houses from around the world, wasting absolutely no space in the telling. This is a fantastic book for those design, architecture and space-oriented sustainability buffs that will have them downsizing in no time.

9780810997462 Worldchanging: A User’s Guide for the 21st Century (Revised and Updated)
Alex Steffen (ed.)

The first edition of this compilation of green ideas, innovations and projects happening around the world was always at reach on my desk while writing my book, A Lighter Footprint.

Five years later, the new edition has more than 160 new entries and all updated content. Including colour photographs, and with a veritable who’s who of the green movement providing content and ideas, it has plenty of inspiration to keep even the most jaded greenie motivated.

9781573244862 The Next Eco Warriors
Emily Hunter (ed.)

Talk about inspiring, this is a book about ordinary people out there on the front lines fighting for the environment in very tangible, and often extremely dangerous, ways. It includes Australians Benjamin Potts, who risks his life to save whales on the Sea Shepherd boats, and Allana Beltran, the Weld Angel, who became the iconic image of the protest against logging the Tasmanian forests in 2007, along with Jamie Henn, who helped kick-start the very powerful 350 movement in America, and other amazing activists from all over the world.

You can hardly fail to be inspired by the risk-taking ingenuity of these remarkable people and you might pick up some handy tips for your own activism at the same time. So take a leaf out of their book, go out there and take a stand against the forces of climate skepticism and corporate greed. Just do it – do it now!

9781107691681i The Garnaut Review 2011
Ross Garnaut

Finally, for the more serious-minded folk, we venture down the rocky path of policy and politics. You can’t get much more authoritative than Garnaut on the economic, political and environmental case for Australia providing a concerted response to climate change. And his reports are, somewhat surprisingly, incredibly readable and pragmatic.

This comprehensive update to the 2008 review takes into account the global financial crisis and recent policy developments around the world to help chart the path that Australia needs to take to reduce emissions and prepare for a low-carbon future. Take note of his recommendations, PM Gillard certainly is.

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angela__crocombe Angela Crocombe is the Children’s Book Buyer at Readings St Kilda, mother to a precocious two-year-old, and the author of two books on sustainable living, A Lighter Footprint: A Practical Guide to Minimising your Impact on the Planet and Ethical Eating. She has aspirations to live a simpler life in a completely self-sufficient house, preferably on a hilltop, where she can keep chickens, grow all her own food and read books at a leisurely pace. Alas, she is still too addicted to her daily latte and wonderful local bookshop (Readings, of course!) to retreat to that hilltop just yet.