TFF Reading List
Tuesday, January 16th, 2007 (New Projects)
Marc and MK have been doing events for years now, selling handicrafts, handing out literature, interacting with folks and “show and tell” of our favorite books. We have now had multiple requests for a reading list and here is our attempt at an annotated list of our favorites.
The Great Work: Our Way into the Future, by Thomas Berry, 2000.
(A must read, providing us with our spiritual guidance and a thorough critic of our culture and society. Berry creates a transcendent understanding of being on the planet and oneness with creation. He borrows from indigenous and Eastern cultures, though well grounded in understanding of Judeo-Christian traditions. All his books are a must read, but this is where you should start)
Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, by Richard Louv, 2005.
(Must read for parents, teachers or educational reform advocates… in other words, everyone. See previous Book Review in Nov. 2006)
Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution, by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins, and L. Hunter Lovins, 1999.
(”bible” for the future, covers market externalities and efficiencies of creating socio-economic structures in tune with ecological systems. IT is natural capital from which all forms of capital follow.)
The Small-Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses Are Beating the Global Competition, by Michael H. Shuman and Bill McKibben, 2006.
(How to build “Local Living Economies” and why community leaders need to shift the way they promote growth and development)
Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble, by Lester R. Brown, 2006.
(Best summary of our impending ecological collapse and what we can do about it. Depressing as hell the first half, but full of hope and promise, the second. With just 2% of GDP invested in sustainable development we can save the planet and lift the growing population out of poverty)
The Weather Makers: How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth, by Tim Flannery, 2006.
(Best written/supported summary of human induced climate change, brilliant and scary)
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, by Jared Diamond, 2004.
(Very thorough assessment of the human condition, using historical case studies of collapsing civilizations, primarily due to environmental negligence. Don’t be surprised if we collapse the planet, which it is where we seem headed without radical shift in the way we think and act)
The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, by Michael Pollan, 2006.
(Brilliantly written review of our primary form of connection with our world, Chapters on Industrial Corn and Ag. and Permiculture are fabulous. He fails to see the environmental consequences of eating meat, even raised under sustainable systems and goes to light on the ethical aspects, though his review of industrial meat production should turn anyone away. Sustainable food production is primary and we must support local small farmers.)
The Republican War on Science, by Chris Mooney, 2006.
(Great review of major issues of our times, the role of science in our life and formation of policy and the criminal actions of the far right, corporations and social conservatives. Time for a revolution to save truth.)
Crimes Against Nature: How George W. Bush and His Corporate Pals Are Plundering the Country and Hijacking Our Democracy, by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2004.
(If you aren’t outraged, you aren’t paying attention, and the Dems. aren’t so great either. Time for political reform, place to start: www.fairvote.org)
Must see DVDs:
“Life and Debt”- IMF and World Bank austerity and free trade neo-liberalism demolish Jamaica’s home-grown industries, tourism fails to be a vehicle for development
“Mindwalk”- Quantum mechanics rules over Newtonian-Cartesian thinking
“The Corporation”—Reform of Capitalism must start with the Corporations legal right to be viewed as a person, an outrage resulting in pathological behavior.