READING TABLE

Choices for Sustainable Living, Northwest Earth Institute.  This book was recently used as a text by the Leon County Extension's class on "Food & Diet: Gateways to Sustainability" course.  

Previously:


Clean Break: The Story of Germany's Energy Transformation and What Americans Can Learn from It by Osha Gray Davidson.

Bet The Farm: How Food Stopped Being Food, by Frederick Kaufman

30 Eco-Trips in Florida: The Best Nature Excursions and How to Leave Only Your Footprints, by Holly Ambrose.  

The book won an award from the Florida Outdoor Writers Association in 2006.
Available at the Leon County library or order through your (few remaining) independent local bookstore.  Published by the University Press of Florida, there are a few color photographs on the website, along with additional articles here.

Priceless Florida: Natural Ecosystems and Native Species by Ellie Whitney, D Bruce Means, Anne Rudloe, Eric Jadaszewski, Illustrator.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope, by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer.  An amazing story of potential, determination and the importance of wonder.  Consider the possibilities of harnessing wind energy at the village level across Africa!

UnspOILed:  Writers speak for Florida’s Coast.  A collection of 38 writers, scientists and students share their abiding love of Florida’s Gulf of Mexico coast and its sea life. Unspoiled reminds us that now is the time to shift from the oil dependent, industrial economy that is devastating our planet and driving climate change. It is time to transform our culture into a way of living in balance with the greater web of all beings, a culture based on truly sustainable lifestyles and clean, renewable energy sources.   You can purchase a copy in Tallahassee or order online at http://www.unspoiledbook.com/

Nonprofit Guide to Going Green (Hardcover) by Ted Hart covers everything from greening fund raising to greening the office.  How does a non-profit create a green marketing plan, create a green event,  efficient, carbon neutral travel, green the break room?  Hart is the founder of the international e-Philanthrophy Foundation and created the people to people fund raising websitewww.p2pfundraising.org

Mirage. Florida and the Vanishing Water of the Eastern U.S.,  by Cynthia Barnett is a must read for everyone who wants to understand not only Florida’s future, but the entire southeast, as we continue unmitigated growth and development.  The Watercrunch blog has an interview with Ms Barnett that’s worth reading.

Paving Paradise: Florida’s Vanishing Wetlands and the Failure of No Net Loss by Craig Pittman and Matthew Waite explains how and why the state’s wetlands are continuing to disappear. 

Florida possesses more wetlands than any other state except Alaska, yet since 1990 more than 84,000 acres have been lost to development.  Journalists Craig Pittman and Matthew Waite spent nearly four years investigating the political expedience, corruption, and negligence on the part of federal and state agencies that led to a failure to enforce regulations on developers.  They expose the unseen environmental consequences of rampant sprawl, and explain how wetland protection creates the illusion of environmental protection while doing little to stem the tide of destruction.

The Universe in a Single Atom - The Convergence of Science and Spirituality by his holiness the Dalai Lama.

Caffeine for the Creative Mind by Stefan Mamaw and Wendy Lee Oldfield.  How do you photograph smelly???

Heat by Bill Buford. A memoir of a kitchen slave that turns into a appreciation of slow food, community and what food really means to people who devote their lives to the art of cultivation and cooking of sustenance, without regard to commercialization, money or mass production.

EcoVillages - a Practical Guide to Sustainable Communities by Jan Martin Bang.  Social implications, alternative energy and the economics of living on the planet in a more sustainable way.

Janisse Ray’s Ecology of a Cracker Childhood. Janisse attended FSU as an undergrad. She is a lifelong environmental activist who worked with others to preserve the Pinhook swamp in Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp.

Vision Keepers by Tallahassee author, Doug Alderson.  Preserving the earth, Hopi culture and world peace. Doug is a member of the Heart of the Earth.

Support your local, independent bookstores, buy these books and more!