Read Green: Environmental Topics

Check these out in Brooks Library. Reading library books and checking out library films keeps our planet greener than if each individual were to buy those items themselves. Especially if you're only going to read or watch that material once!

Energy in America: A Tour of Our Fossil Fuel Culture and Beyond (BOOK): by Ingrid Kelley

" A Tour of Our Fossil Fuel Culture and Beyond, Ingrid Kelley delivers a concise yet comprehensive explanation of the key intersections of energy, the environment, the economy, and sustainability. Kelley describes how our power is generated and delivered, how to cut our still profligate use of it, what renewable energy options are open to us, and - most important to this audience - how planners can apply the lessons of sustainability in their communities . . . the chapter titled "Community Energy and Sustainability" is a goldmine for planners . . . I plan to use Kelley's book this spring as a text in my graduate school class on climate change. In fact, I think it should be on every planner's shelf."--Planning Magazine

Green Living Handbook: A 6 Step Program to Create an Environmentally Sustainable Lifestyle (BOOK): by David Gershon

A movement . . . of unquestionable zeal is challenging consumption at the grassroots . . . local support groups called EcoTeams are methodically helping members reduce the amount and kind of material that flows in and out of homes.
The New York Times

The process works even for those who consider themselves hard-core environmentalists. A senior sales executive and an EcoTeam member says, As a result of the awareness the group has brought us, we all have changed our consumption habits and our lifestyles, in the products we purchase, and the utilities we use .
The Philadelphia Inquirer

Unquenchable: America's Water Crisis and What to do About It (BOOK): by Robert Glennon

America faces a water-supply crisis. Profligate consumption of water for agriculture, power generation, industry, and homes has led to reduction of groundwater, threats to rivers, and danger to many of the nation’s lakes. Much of the blame for this state of affairs lies with uncontrolled growth in the nation’s South and Southwest. Desert cities such as Las Vegas use fountains as decorations. Phoenix households draw down the finite resources of ever-shrinking Lake Mead. In great detail, Glennon documents present and future water crises in Georgia, California, and even seemingly water-rich Michigan, noting that states generally end up competing with one another over water allocation and that international conflict follows in short order. Desalination offers little immediate hope because of economic and ecological barriers. Glennon submits a list of possible reforms to decrease water consumption. Some, such as waterless toilets, are technological innovations. Others, such as restructuring sewer systems, require governmental intervention. --Mark Knoblauch