Top 5: Best Environmental Books (that changed my outlook on life)

Ishmael
Daniel Quinn

Profound at the time I read it, Quinn’s book is still a decent reread six years since I first picked it up. This is the first book that really got me interested in environmentalism, and also challenged me to look at our problems – and how to deal with them – from a different angle.

In this book:
-A historical perspective on Genesis, Cane and Abel, the Bible in general – all told from an anthropologist’s perspective
-A new approach to environmentalism, focusing less on making our current technology more green, and more on learning to live without it.

“But why? Why do you need prophets to tell you how you ought to live? Why do you need anyone to tell you how you ought to live?”

*****

Earth Abides
George R. Stewart

I read this on the recommendation from a college professor I went backpacking with last year. Maybe I’m an anthropologist at heart, because this is yet another book written from an anthropologist’s perspective. The main thesis: how man can live with nature; the nature of man, in general; what it means to with the world rather than against it.

In this book:
-All of the knowledge we’ve accumulated over the years can’t protect us when we’re forced to live like real human beings.
-Human existence is inconsequential to the survival of the world, but learning how to survive in the world is important to human existence

“The Earth abideth forever” (think, the Dude abides)

*****

Breakfast of Champions
Kurt Vonnegut

Just a damn good book; it deals with youth and old age, environmentalism, war, and a whole host of other human issues.

In this book:
-Kilgore Trout walking through the pond infested with plastic, and getting his legs caked in it
-Man, in general, attempting to exert himself upon an unwilling world. See: Sacred Miracle Cave

“Make me young again!”

*****

Permaculture
Bill Mollison

How to manage land on an individual level, and be able to grow, care for, and harvest from your own property. This book first introduced me to the concept of growing food in a smart, purposeful way. Mass agriculture propped up with subsidies, chemical sprays, and overuse of water resources will not stand forever. Permaculture points us in a different, better direction.

In this book:
-Living with the land, rather than against it

“…cultures cannot survive for long without a sustainable agricultural base and landuse ethic.”

*****

The Last Forest
Brian Kelly and Mark London

I read this a few years ago, and it inspired me to learn Brazilian Portuguese. On a separate, similarly fun story, I met the great-grandaughter of Theodore Roosevelt after attending a CCGA (Chicago Council on Global Affairs) meeting about this book. The story told within these pages is important and unique because it shows how a rapidly developing country is managing its people, natural resources, and environment at the same time. This is a practical approach to large-scale land management.

-Land use and environmentalism are not just simple moral issues; people’s lives depend on the environment in very complicated and real ways.

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