|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
LEARN MORE
Books, Films, Journals and Web Sites
"Environmentally friendly cars will soon cease to be an option...they will become a necessity."
-Fujio Cho (President of Toyota Motors, North American International Auto Show, 2004)
New Jersey Environmental Organization
Books
Good News For a Change, How Everyday People are Helping the Planet, David Suzuki and Holly Dressel.
The Sacred Balance, David Suzuk (Deep Ecology)
Green Living: The “E” Magazine Handbook for Living Lightly on the Earth (Voluntary Simplicity)
Take Back Your Time: Fighting Overwork and Time Poverty in America, John de Graaf, ed. (Voluntary Simplicity)
Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream, Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Jeff Speck (Discovering a Sense of Place)
Global Woman, Nannies, Maids, and Sex Workers in the New Economy, Barbara Ehrenreich and Arlie Russell Hochschild (Globalization)
Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv (Healthy Children, Healthy Planet)
The Weather Makers, Tim Flannery (Global Warming)
Journals and Web Sites
Relevant Times, Fresh Ideas for Sustainable and Healthy Living. This brand new journal is published in New Jersey and features local businesses, practices and people here in our home state. www.RelevantTimes.com
Yes Magazine, Mission is to support you and other people in building a just, sustainable and compassionate world. www.yesmagazine.org
Orion, This journal explores an emerging world view. Informed by a growing ecological awareness and the need for cultural change, it is a forum for thoughtful and creative ideas and practical examples of how we might live justly, wisely and artfully on earth. www.orionmagazine.org
Ode, an international news magazine. Publishes stories of people and ideas that are making a difference www.odemagazine.com
Additional Resources are listed with specific topics.
Books
The Challenge to Power, John C. Harrington
Socially Responsible Investing: Making a Difference and Making Money, Amy Domini
Journals and Web Sites
www.greenatworkmag.com At the forefront of the Greening of America.
www.realmoney.org published by Co-op America www.coopamerica.org/pubs/realmoney/
www.greenbiz.com, Business, the environment, the bottom line
www.newalternativesfund.com New Alternatives Fund is a Socially Responsible Mutual Fund Emphasizing Alternative Energy and the Environment.
www.eco-bank.com ShoreBank Pacific, a Washington State chartered, FDIC insured bank, is the first commercial bank in the United States with a commitment to environmentally sustainable community development
Books
The Overspent American: Why We Want What We Don't Need, Juliet Schor
No Logo, Naomi Klein
Journals and Web Sites
Co-op America: www.coopamerica.org
Green Pages: A directory of products and services for people and the planet, www.coopamerica.org/pubs/greenpages
Responsible Shopper: www.responsibleshopper.org
Real Money: www.realmoney.org
Consumers Reports, Greener Choices: Products for a Better Planet. www.GreenerChoices.org
Ideal Bite: A sassier shade of green: 365 (one each day) suggestions for living lighter www.idealbite.com
Energy Star, www.energystar.gov, is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy helping us all save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products (saves about 1/3 energy) and practices. Strict guidelines for appliances, electronics, business partnerships, homes, congregations. Look for the energy star logo whenever you shop.
World Watch: Good Stuff? - A Behind-the-Scenes Guide to the Things We Buy,.www.worldwatch.org click on publications
Books
Consumers Guide to Home Energy Savings. 8th ed. Alex Wilson, Jennifer Thorne, and John Morrill. A publication of American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy
The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices: Practical Advice from the Union of Concerned Scientists by Michael Brower, Warren Leon
Journals and Web Sites
www.aceee.org: American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy: dedicated to advancing energy efficiency as a means of promoting both economic prosperity and environmental protection.
www.ase.org: Alliance to Save Energy promotes energy efficiency worldwide to achieve a healthier economy, a cleaner environment, and greater energy security.
www.eere.energy.gov:
The US Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Journals and Web Sites
www.usgbc.org click on LEED: A voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance sustainable building.
www.energystar.gov Products in more than 40 categories are eligible for the ENERGY STAR including appliances, heating and cooling, home envelope, electronics, office equipment, lighting, etc. They use less energy, save money, and help protect the environment.
ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs use 66% less energy than a standard incandescent bulb and last up to 10 times longer. Replacing a 100- watt incandescent with a 32-watt CFL can save you at least $30 in energy costs over the life of the bulb.
www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/heating_cooling.html - Adjusting the thermometer. Heating and cooling your home uses more energy and drains more energy dollars than any other system in your home. Typically, 45% of your utility bill goes for heating and cooling. Heating and cooling systems in the United States together emit 150 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, adding to global climate change. They also generate about 12% of the nation's sulfur dioxide and 4% of the nitrogen oxides, the chief ingredients in acid rain. Adjusting your thermostat seasonally up or down from 72deg. saves 1-3% of your energy bill.
Insulate and weather strip - Adding insulation, plugging leaks and weather stripping will reduce the amount of energy needed to heat and cool your house which saves both money and helps keep the planet cool. Your local hardware store is the place to visit for materials and information.
Books
Divorce Your Car!
: Ending the Love Affair with the Automobile by
Katie Alvord.
In this affable history-cum-how-to, she tracks the dramatic, negative
impact of automobiles from the early days of the 1900s to the present.
Among the evils are severe pollution levels, high rates of death and
injury in car accidents, a decline in other modes of transport and
sprawling highway development.
Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream by Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Jeff Speck.
Asphalt Nation: How the Automobile Took Over America and How We Can Take It Back (Paperback) by Jane Holtz Kay
Journals and Web Sites
www.epa.gov/greenvehicles for information that will help you identify clean and fuel efficient vehicles in any part of the country.
Film
Who Stole the Electric Car
Books
The Newman's Own Organics Guide to a Good Life: Simple Measures That Benefit You and the Place You Live, Nell Newman, Joseph D'Agnese
Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the all American Meal, Eric Schlosser 288 pgs.
Chew on This: Everything You Don’t Want to Know about Fast Food, Eric Schlosser, 316 pgs.
Meal by Meal: 365 Meditations Finding Balance Through Mindful Eating, Donald Altman. Available at www.innerocean.com
Eat Here: Reclaiming Homegrown Pleasures in a Global Supermarket, Brian Halweil, a World Watch Book available at www.worldwatch.org
Hope’s Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet, Frances Moore Lappe and Anna Lappe, 448 pgs.
The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, Michael Pollan, 450 pgs.
Taste Life!: Organic Recipes, Leslie Cerier,Ed., 132 pgs.
The Organic Cooks Bible, Jeff Cox. 560 pgs.
Journals and Web Sites
www.100milechallenge.com, Now that’s local.
www.buyfreshnj.org Buy Fresh, Buy Local, Farmshed Alliance located in north west New Jersey.
www.slowfood.com. Slow Food, An international Organization whose aim is to protect the pleasures of the table from the homogenization of modern fast food and life.
www.mbayaq.org: Click on “Seafood Watch” for a printable pocket size guide to overfished and high mercury containing seafood. pdf format
www.state.nj.us/jerseyfresh/searches/urban.htm Farmers Markets: For a listing of farmers markets in your neighborhood.
Film
Thirst: Privatization of the Water Supply (DVD), Alan Snitow and Deborah Kaufman, 62 min. Bullfrog Films
The Future of Food, (2 disc DVD) Deborah Koons Garcia.
Books
New! An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore (a full length movie)
Red Sky at Morning, Gustave Speth
The Weather Makers, Tim Flattery
Notes from a Catastrophe, Elizabeth Kolbert
Boiling Point, Ross Gelbspan
Journals and Web Sites
www.carbonfund.org: Offset your personal CO2 emmissions
www.climatecrisiscoalition.org: Keep up to date with a daily or weekly “Newsfeed” of global warming news.
www.coolcities.us: So far more than 300 mayors have pledged to reduce CO2 emissions according to the Kyoto protocol. New Jersey Sierra Club program.
www.davidsuzuki.org: Take the Nature Challenge.
www.fightglobalwarming.com: How to Calculate your personal or household’s impact. A project of Environmental Defense: www.environmentaldefense.org
www.nrdc.org/globalWarming National Resources Defense Council, Up to date reports, how-to lists, actions.
www.rmi.org: Rocky Mountain Institute's focuses on market-based profitable measures to reduce greenhouse gases.
www.sierraclub.org/globalwarming: Promotes solutions to global warming using current and cutting-edge technology that will reduce our use of fossil fuels.
www.ucsusa.org/global_warming.org: Union of Concern Scientists, Outstanding organization. Various issues, overviews, solutions, actions.
Film
An Inconvenient Truth: Al Gore
The Great Warming
Global Dimming (available through GSEI)
Too Hot Not to Handle (available through GSEI)
Being Caribou (available through GSEI)
Trees and Forests are the earth’s best friend. They:
- Sequester CO2 (takes it out of the air)
- Holds the soil in place
- Temper the climate
- Prevent flooding
- Add beauty and value to your home and neighborhood
- Is a natural air-conditioner
- Provide food
- Provide products i.e., rubber, shellac, cork, lumber, etc.
- Provide home for birds and small animals
“Rutgers Cooperative Extension Service.” Pamphlets, guides, expert advice for planting the right tree for your property.
"When the well's dry, we know the worth
of water."
-Benjamin Franklin ( 1706-1790), from Poor Richard's Almanac
Organizations
American Forests
is the nation's oldest nonprofit citizen conservation organization,
founded in 1875. Their efforts helped create the National Park and
National Forest systems in the U.S. Through the Global ReLeaf program,
American Forests plants millions of trees each year and advocates the
benefits of both rural and urban trees, good science, and sound policy.
They make wonderful celebratory gifts.
www.americanforests.org
Books
Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, Richard Louv, 2006. Connecting to nature is essential to a child’s development and well being. Unfortunately today’s children are spending more time at the computer than romping around outdoors.
Born to Buy: The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture, Juliet B. Schor “target young kids directly and consistently, appeal to them and not the adults in their lives and get your product name in their heads from as early an age as possible… Schor exposes what she believes to be a huge cesspool of materialism, consumerism and commercialization that could be, and perhaps already is, leading to a generation of kids with no concept of what is important and truly necessary in life.” from the Publishers Weekly review.
Recycled Crafts: Earth Friendly Projects and Activities You Can Create, Laura Martin, 2004. This how – to book transforms trash to treasure is also filled with easy to understand ‘facts’ and fun-filled ideas on how to make a difference.
Kids Book of Awesome Stuff: “You are part of a wonderful web of life.” So starts this unusual book. It explains the interrelated workings of the things that makes life possible and beautiful. The puzzles, games, stories and activities will keep the youngster coming back for more. It is most suitable for grades 3-6.
Tips for Parenting in a Commercial Culture, Center for the New American Dream: This booklet offers parents, educators, and concerned citizens a wealth of info that will provide a broader understanding of what children face today, and offers tips and resources to help parents and others band together to protect children from intrusive and harmful advertising.
The Motherhood Manifesto: What American Moms Want and What to do About it, Joan Blades, Kristen Rowe-Finkbeiner, 2006 From professional women who hit the maternal wall, to childcare workers who can't afford quality care for their own children, this book captures what it means to be a mother in America today.
Journals and Web Sites
American Museum of Natural History www.amnh.org click on “ology” for a most interesting and entertaining site for kids. Eight categories to investigate with a special section for educators, a secret club, collect cards and creative projects. What a treasure.
Blue Butterfly: Creating a Healthier Future for Children. Five Easy Steps 1. Avoid the use of Pesticides and insecticides, 2. Use non-toxic household cleaners and products, 3. Clean up indoor air, 4. Eat more organic food. 5. Use plastics wisely. The reasons and steps to take are clearly stated. www.bluebtterfly.org
Film
The Cost of Cool:
Youth, Consumption & The Environment
Michael Tobias • 2001 • 27 min
www.videoproject.com
Not Under My Roof: Protecting you Baby from toxins at home. 15 min. www.checnet.net
New Jersey Environmental Organization
Journals and Web Sites
Clean Ocean Action: www.CleanOceanAction.org - Making Waves to Save Our Seas
Genesis Farm, Ecological Learning Center, N.J.: www.genesisfarm.org - Genesis Farm is a learning center for Earth studies.
New Jersey Audubon Society: http://www.njaudubon.org/ - Fostering environmental awareness and a conservation ethic while preserving wildlife and natural systems since 1897
New Jersey Conservation Foundation: http://www.njconservation.org/ - Preserving New Jersey's land and natural resources for the benefit of all.
New Jersey’s Environmental Center: http://www.njenvironment.org/ - Focuses on NJ Environmental laws and education.
New Jersey Public Interest Research Group: http://www.njpirg.org/ - Citizen Lobby and Law and Policy Center”
New Jersey Sierra Club: http://newjersey.sierraclub.org/ - Protect America's Environment For Our Families, For Our Future
Passaic River Coalition: www.passaicriver.org - Land and water resource advisory organization offering maps, meeting schedules, current issues, and links.
New Jersey also has many watershed associations, river keepers, and local environmental organizations.
Please fill out form to find out more about Garden State Earth Institute and the programs.