15+ Sustainable Reads for 2022
The climate crisis is overwhelming, and it can feel like a problem that is never-ending and always changing. I personally feel much more empowered on my journey when I understand the topics I am passionate about, but that may just be the scientist in me! We have compiled a wide variety of books to get you thinking more broadly about the changes you are making, and how that is making a larger difference! I try to choose a book a month, and find some time throughout the week to sit down, decompress, and read.
Almost all of the books are linked to be purchased through a second hand book site so that you can “cut the crap” in every way 🙂 Check locally to see if you can check these books out at a library, borrow from a member of your community, or find at your own thrift store to reduce shipping and packaging. I personally try to read books from the library before purchasing so that I don’t end up with a bunch of books I am never going to re-read or reference back to.
I am always looking to grow this list, so send me a message on the Contact page with your favorite reads!
Are you looking for some Eco-friendly resolutions for 2022? Check out Cut the Crap’s list here!
Sustainable Lifestyle Changes
101 Ways To Go Zero Waste by Kathryn Kellogg
“In 101 Ways to Go Zero Waste , Kellogg shares these tips and more, along with DIY recipes for beauty and home; advice for responsible consumption and making better choices for home goods, fashion, and the office; and even secrets for how to go waste free at the airport. “It’s not about perfection,” she says. “It’s about making better choices.” This is a practical, friendly blueprint of realistic lifestyle changes for anyone who wants to reduce their waste.”
How to Give Up Plastic: A Guide to Saving the World, One Plastic Bottle at a Time by Will McCallum
“An accessible guide to the changes we can all make–small and large–to rid our lives of disposable plastic and clean up the world’s oceans How to Give Up Plastic is a straightforward guide to eliminating plastic from your life. Going room by room through your home and workplace, Greenpeace activist Will McCallum teaches you how to spot disposable plastic items and find plastic-free, sustainable alternatives to each one. And by arming you with a wealth of facts about global plastic consumption and anecdotes from activists fighting plastic around the world, you’ll also learn how to advocate to businesses and leaders in your community and across the country to commit to eliminating disposable plastics for good.”
Our House is On Fire: Scenes of a Family and a Planet in Crisis by Greta Thunberg and her family
“Steered by Greta’s determination to understand the truth and generate change, they began to see the deep connections between their own suffering and the planet’s. Written by a remarkable family and told through the voice of an iconoclastic mother, Our House Is on Fire is the story of how they fought their problems at home by taking global action. And it is the story of how Greta decided to go on strike from school, igniting a worldwide rebellion.”
The Story of More: How We Got to Climate Change and Where to Go From Here by Hope Jahren
‘In The Story of More , she illuminates the link between human habits and our imperiled planet. In concise, highly readable chapters, she takes us through the science behind the key inventions–from electric power to large-scale farming to automobiles–that, even as they help us, release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere like never before. She explains the current and projected consequences of global warming–from superstorms to rising sea levels–and the actions that we all can take to fight back. At once an explainer on the mechanisms of global change and a lively, personal narrative given to us in Jahren’s inimitable voice, The Story of More is the essential pocket primer on climate change that will leave an indelible impact on everyone who reads it.’
Forks over Knives : The Plant-Based Way to Health by Gene Stone
“After the ground breaking documentary Forks Over Knives, this book brings together the information presented in the film from doctors, scientists, and researchers such as Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, and Dr. Colin Campbell. This book presents success stories, the benefits of a plant-based diet, tips on transitioning, as well as 125 recipes to get you started.”
A Terrible Thing to Waste : Environmental Racism and Its Assault on the American Mind by Harriet A. Washington
“Science writer Harriet A. Washington illustrates the ways environmental racism hurts African Americans. In addition to sharing the facts, Washington explains to readers what they can do to combat environmental racism’s impacts on Black communities.”
Greenovation: Urban Leadership on Climate Change by Joan Fitzgerald
“In Greenovation , the eminent urban policy scholar Joan Fitzgerald argues that too many cities are only implementing random acts of greenness that will do little to address the climate crisis. She instead calls for “greenovation”–using the city as a test bed for adopting and perfecting green technologies for more energy–efficient buildings, transportation, and infrastructure more broadly. Further, Fitzgerald contends that while many city mayors cite income inequality as a pressing problem, few cities are connecting climate action and social justice-another aspect of greenovation.”
Isa Does It: Amazingly Easy, Wildly Delicious Vegan Recipes for Every Day of the Week by Isa Chandra Moskowitz
“This recipe book shows you how to make flavorful and satisfying vegan meals from scratch every day, often in 30 minutes or less. She shares 150 mouthwatering recipes like Sweet Potato Red Curry with Rice and Purple Kale or Bistro Beet Burgers, and shows just how simple and satisfying meat-free food can be. The recipes are supermarket friendly and perfect for busy readers.”
Our History Is the Future: Standing Rock Versus the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance by Nick Estes
“Written by professor Nick Estes, a citizen of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, the book is an account of the Indigenous-led movement against the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline, which transports oil underneath sacred Indigenous lands including the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Reservation. Estes puts the current movement into the historical context of the past two centuries of Indigenous activism in the U.S., exploring how years and years of resistance led to the #NoDAPL movement we know today.”
Climate Change Explained
Climate Change For Beginners by Dean Goodwin, Ph.D.
“The evidence continues to mount: Climate change is for real! But what does it all really mean, and what can we do about it? In this concise, highly readable narrative, a leading environmental scientist and educator takes a scrupulously balanced approach to explaining the history of global climate monitoring and change. Here are the who’s, how’s, what’s, when’s, where’s and why’s of the interaction between human activity and recent trends in the Earth’s climate.”
Irreplaceable: The Fight to Save Our Wild Places by Julian Hoffman
“This is a book about the power of resistance in an age of loss; a testament to the transformative possibilities that emerge when people come together to defend our most special places and wildlife from extinction. Exploring treasured coral reefs and remote mountains, tropical jungle and ancient woodland, urban gardens and tallgrass prairie, Julian Hoffman traces the stories of threatened places around the globe through the voices of local communities and grassroots campaigners as well as professional ecologists and academics. And in the process, he asks what a deep emotional relationship with place offers us–culturally, socially, and psychologically.”
Six Degrees by Mark Lynas
“Based on this forecast, author Mark Lynas outlines what to expect from a warming world, degree by degree. At 1 degree Celsius, most coral reefs and many mountain glaciers will be lost. A 3-degree rise would spell the collapse of the Amazon rainforest, disappearance of Greenland’s ice sheet, and the creation of deserts across the Midwestern United States and southern Africa. A 6-degree increase would eliminate most life on Earth, including much of humanity. Based on authoritative scientific articles, the latest computer models, and information about past warm events in Earth history, Six Degrees promises to be an eye-opening warning that humanity will ignore at its peril.”
The Green Boat: Reviving Ourselves in Our Capsized Culture by Mary Pipher
“Mary Pipher emphasizes the importance of taking small, positive steps to preserve what’s important, drawing from her own experiences as part of a group fighting energy company TransCanada’s installation of the Keystone XL oil pipeline across the Midwest, which will sit atop the Ogallala Aquifer, the source of 40% of the United States’ fresh water. The challenges she confronts reveal surprising answers to the critical questions we face: How do we mobilize ourselves and our communities to work together to solve global problems? How do we stay happy amid very difficult situations? And what is the true meaning of hope? Both profound and practical, The Green Boat explains how we can attend to the world around us with calmness, balance, and great love.”
Why Women Will Save The Planet by Friends of the Earth
“Big cities, with their often high levels of pollution, can be seen as a major problem when it comes to climate change. But big cities can also help be part of the solution for climate change, especially if women are empowered, argues Why Women Will Save the Planet. Showcasing pioneering city mayors, key voices in the environmental and feminist movements, and academics, the essays in this book make the case for women’s empowerment for climate action and the powerful change it can bring.”
Footprints: In Search of Future Fossils by David Farrier
“Crossing the boundaries of literature, art, and science, Footprints invites us to think about how we will be remembered in the myths and stories of our distant descendants. Traveling from the Baltic Sea to the Great Barrier Reef, and from an ice-core laboratory in Tasmania to Shanghai, one of the world’s biggest cities, Farrier describes a world that is changing rapidly, with consequences beyond the scope of human understanding. As much a message of hope as a warning, Footprints will not only alter how you think about the future; it will change how you see the world today.”
Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn’t, and Why It Matters by Steven Koonin
“Steven Koonin draws upon his decades of experience–including as a top science advisor to the Obama administration–to provide up-to-date insights and expert perspective free from political agendas. Fascinating, clear-headed, and full of surprises, this book gives readers the tools to both understand the climate issue and be savvier consumers of science media in general. Koonin takes readers behind the headlines to the more nuanced science itself, showing us where it comes from and guiding us through the implications of the evidence. He dispels popular myths and unveils little-known truths.”
The Rule of Five: Making Climate History at the Supreme Court by Richard Lazarus
“On an unseasonably warm October morning, Joe Mendelson, an idealistic young lawyer working on a shoestring budget for an environmental organization no one had heard of, hand-delivered a petition to the Environmental Protection Agency asking it to restrict greenhouse gas emissions from new cars. […] The Rule of Five tells the dramatic story of how Mendelson and the band of environmental activists and lawyers who joined him carried his case all the way to the Supreme Court. It reveals how accident, infighting, luck, superb lawyering, politics, and the arcane practices of the Supreme Court collided to produce a legal miracle. The final ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA , by a razor-thin 5-4 margin brilliantly crafted by Justice John Paul Stevens, was a landmark victory that paved the way to important environmental safeguards which the Trump administration fought hard to unravel and the Biden administration seeks to restore and expand.”
Wisdom for a Livable Planet by Carl McDaniel
“The author profiles the work of eight visionaries who have dedicated their lives to various environmental issues. Each story provides a portrait of an individual’s valiant and inspiring campaign to improve the conditions for life on our planet. Taken together, the work of these people points the way toward creating an ecologically centered civilization in which a brighter future for all life, including human, is possible.”
Thanks for reading this article! Be sure to save this resource to keep referring back to throughout the year. 🙂
