Churches Together in Cumbria
Understanding the Environment - The Contemporary Crisis
BOOKLIST June 2009
ATKINSON, David Renewing the Face of the Earth. Canterbury Press, 2008.
BAPTIST UNION OF GREAT BRITAIN, METHODIST CHURCH, and UNITED REFORM CHURCH Hope in the Future: Christian Discipleship in the Context of Climate Change. BUGB, MC and URC, 2009.
BERRY, R.J. *** God’s Book of Works; The Nature and Theology of Nature. T&T Clark, 2003. Theologians begin here.
BERRY, R.J. ed *** When Enough is Enough: A Christian Framework for Environmental Sustainability. Apollos, 2007. A collection of biblical expositions.
BERRY, R.J. ed. * Environmental Stewardship: Critical Perspectives - Past and Present. T & T Clark, 2006. Detailed inspiring texts, packed with ideas and concepts. Hard work, but worth it.
BERRY, Thomas ** The Dream of the Earth. Sierra Club Books, 1988. Religious ecological philosophy.
BOSSEL, Helmut ** Earth at a Crossroads, Paths to a Sustainable Future. CUP, 1998. The concepts of competition versus partnership.
BROWN, Lester R. ** Outgrowing the Earth; The Food Security Challenge in an Age of Falling Water Tables and Rising Temperatures. Earthscan, 2005. The current and coming food shortage crisis.
COHEN, Joel E. ** How Many People Can the Earth Support? Norton, 1995. Definitive study.
COX, John D. ** Climate Crash. Abrupt Climate Change and What it Means to Our Future. Joseph Henry, 2005. Research in Greenland behind abrupt change.
CURRY, Patrick ** Ecological Ethics : An Introduction. Polity, 2006. Begin here for ethical studies.
DALY, Hermann E and COBB, John B. *** For the Common Good; Redirecting the Economy Towards Community, The Environment and a Sustainable Future. Green Print, 1990. Best introduction to eco-economics and eco-theology. Community studies start here. Regrettably out of print
DALY, Herman E. and ELGAR, Edward Ecological Economics and Sustainable Development. Clear thinking set of essays and speeches to the World Bank.
DEANE DRUMMOND, Celia Eco Theology. DLT, 2008. Academic in approach.
DIAMOND, Jared *** Collapse; How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive. Penguin/Allen Lane, 2005. Important summary of the issues. Includes practical examples of the complexity of the crises, both success and failure.
DiMENTO, Joseph F. C. and DOUGHMAN, Pamela Eds. *** Climate Change: What it Means for Us and Our Children. MIT, 2007. Straightforward explanation.
DRESNER, Simon *** Principles of Sustainability. 2nd ed. Earthscan, 2008. Clear explanation of the complexities.
EHRLICH, Paul and EHRLICH, Anne *** One With Nineveh; Politics, Consumption and the Human Future. Island Press, 2004. USA based but very clear in its approach. Sections on population are good.
FAGAN, Brian *** The Long Summer: How Climate Changed Civilisation. Granta, 2004. Frightening archaeology of the last 15,000 years.
FELLS, Ian and WHITMILL, Candida *** A Pragmatic Energy Policy for the UK. William Cook Holdings, 2008. Free from publisher a Sheffield steel firm: 0870 787 2353. Excellent private publication.
FLANNERY, Tim ** The Weather Makers: The History and Future of Climate Change. Penguin , 2006. Summarises current climate research. (See also Future Eaters. Grove, 1994. Ecological history of Australia.)
FRIEDMAN, Thomas L . ** Hot Flat and Crowded; Why the World Needs a Green Revolution and How We Can Renew Our Global Future. Allen Lane, 2008. Solutions and politics, esp USA.
GIDDENS, Anthony ** The Politics of Climate Change. Polity, 2009. What is being done internationally.
GIRADET Herbert *** Cities People Planet: Liveable Cities for a Sustainable World. Wiley, 2005 How we can address the many many challenges of urbanisation and live sustainably in the urban environment.
GLOVER, Charles ** The End of the Line: How Overfishing is Changing the World and What We Eat. Ebury, 2004. The current state of the oceans.
GORE, Al ** An Inconvenient Truth. Bloomsbury. 2006. Photos and diagrams from the film. Introduction using graphs and photos. An easy read. Young peoples edition is the best of the two. (Also Earth in the Balance. Earthscan, 1992.)
GOTTLEIB, Roger S. *** A Greener Faith: Religious Environmentalism and Our Planet’s Future. OUP, 2006. Positive review of the involvement of the churches and green theology.
HARDING, Stephan *** Animate Earth; Science Intuition and Gaia. Green Books, 2006. A very positive text from a Deep Ecology viewpoint. Science and spirituality combined.
HAWKEN, Paul *** Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming. Viking, 2008. Grass roots green movements are now the largest movement ever.
HENSON, Robert*** The Rough Guide to Climate Change. 2nd ed. Rough Guides (Penguin), 2008. Excellent basic reference book.
HICKMAN, Leo *** A Good Life: A Guide To Ethical Living. Eden Project/Guardian. 2005. The best green lifestyle reference book. (See also A Life Stripped Bare for the humorous side of living greenly.)
*I* HILLMAN, Mayer *** How We Can Save The Planet. Penguin, 2004. Excellent review of the current situation, prospects and solutions.
HOPKINS, Rob The Transition Town Handbook: From Oil Dependency to Local Resilience. Green Books, 2008. A manual and reasons for becoming a Transition Initiative.
HOUGHTON, John *** Global Warming. The complete briefing. 3rd Ed. CUP, 2004. Standard text. (See also Climate Change and Sustainable Energy. Pamphlet published by Met. Office, 2005. Hopeful summary.)
INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE ** 4TH Report. CUP, 2007-8. Well indexed reference tools. Climate Change: Vol 1. The Physical Basis: Vol 2. Mitigation of Climate Change: Vol 3. Impacts. Adaptation and Vulnerability.
JACKSON, Tim Prosperity Without Growth. Sust Dev. Comm. Report. SDC, 2009.
KORTEN, Elizabeth ** Field Notes From a Catastrophe. Bloomsbury, 2006. A journalist’s view of what is happening now.
*I* KUNZIG, Robert and BROECKER, Wallace *** Fixing Climate; The Story of Climate Science and How to Stop Global Warming, Green Profile, 2008. One of the best introductions to the subject - and hopeful.
LAWSON, Nigel An Appeal to Reason; A Cool Look at Global Warming. Duckworth, 2008. Well argued scepticism, but wrong.
LEAKEY, Richard ** The
Sixth Extinction; Biodiversity and its Survival. W&N, 1996. Humanity’s effect on biodiversity and the current
extinction.
LOVELOCK, James** The Vanishing Face of Gaia; A Final
Warning. Allen Lane, 2009. The most stark yet, but hopeful that 500,000 humans
will survive.
LOVELOCK, J. E.** Gaia. A new look at life on earth. OUP,1979.
Important as it explains why the Earth is so sensitive to pollution and
changes. The concept of feedback loops and the earth as a single living entity.
See also Midgely, Mary: Gaia the next Big Idea. Demos, 2001. Also Revenge of
Gaia, Allen Lane, 2006. It is already too late as feedback has already begun to
a new less hospitable stable state. We shall be living in the Arctic in the
future!
LYNAS, Mark ** High Tide. News from a warming world. Flamingo, 2004
Current happenings … sea level rise ... deserts .. floods ... thawing of permafrost etc.
LYNAS, Mark *** Six Degrees. Our Future on a Hotter Planet. 4th Estate, 2007. Summarises the research on temperature rise from the inevitable 1 degree to 6 degrees, using both computer modelling and palaeoclimatic research. Scary whatever temperature is reached, but not over sensationalised.
too late as feedback has already begun to a new less hospitable stable state. We shall be living in the Arctic in the future!)
MEADOWS, Donella and others *** Limits To Growth; The 30 year Update. Earthscan, 2005. .Results of the MIT WORLD3 computer modelling. Vitally important study with some unexpected chapters from a scientific text.
MEYER, Aubrey ** Contraction and Convergence; The Global Solution to Climate Change. (Schumacher Briefings) Green Books, 2000. Pamphlet.
NAISH, John Enough: Breaking Free From the World of More. Hodder, 2008
PEARCE, Fred ** The last Generation; How Nature Will Take Her Revenge for Climate Change. Eden Project, 2006. Are we discounting our future?
PEARCE, Fred *** When Rivers Run Dry; What Happens When Our Water Runs Out. Eden Project, 2006. A shortage of fresh water before the oil runs out is a distinct possibility.
POLKINGHORNE, John and BEALE, Nicholas Question of Truth. Westminster, John Knox Press, 2009.
PORRITT, Jonathan** Capitalism as if the World Matters. Earthscan, 2005. Important eco-economic text.
REES, Mervyn * Our Final Century; Will the Human race Survive the Twenty First Century? Heinemann, 2003. The Astronomer Royal gives us a 50% chance. Scary.
ROBERTS, Paul * The End of Oil. The decline of the petroleum economy. Bloomsbury, 2004. New age economics.
SACHS, Jeffrey * Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet. Allen Lane, 2008. Practical
applications of the Stern Report.
STERN, Nicholas *** A Blueprint for a Safer
Planet: How to Manage Climate and Create a New Era of Progress and Prosperity.
Bodley Head, 2009. Practical application of the earlier report
STERN, Nicholas ** The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review. CUP, 2007. Important review of an economic road map for the future where business as usual is not an option. Complex, but important. Nearly 700 pages.
TUDGE, Colin *** So Shall We Reap. Alan Lane/Penguin, 2003/4. Excellent. Eco-farming. Paperback version has additional chapter responding to critics of hardback edition.
UN, Pub. IUCN, UNEP and WWF *** Caring for the Earth: A Strategy for Sustainable Living. IUCN, UNEP and WWF, 1991. One of the early key texts; still relevant.
VILLIERS, Marq de ** Water Wars: Is the World’s Water Running Out? Phoenix, 1999.
*I* WALKER, Gabrielle and KING, David *** The Hot Topic:
How to Tackle Global warming and Still Keep the Lights On. Bloomsbury, 2008.
Begin here for a good introduction to the subject.
WILKINSON, Richard
and PICKETT, Kate The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies
Almost Always Do Better. Allen Lane, 2009.
Not strictly a green book, but this is how we must progress for a
transformed society to tackle global warming.
WILSON, Edward O. *** The Creation; An Appeal to Save Life on Earth. Norton, 2006. The vital importance of biodiversity and how we should respect it.
WILSON, Edward O. ** The Future of Life. Little Brown, 2002. Top professor’s view of the future of
biodiversity. Hopes that we will only get away with a 25% extinction. This is
hopeful?
WORLDWATCH INSTITUTE *** State of the World 2009:
Confronting Climate Change. Earthscan, 2009. Submission of WWI to Copenhagen.
Essential reading.
*** Excellent, very important.
** Important text.
*I* Good introductions