The year 2022, perhaps more than any other, has been about urgent conversations on the environment, the climate crisis, and the health of the planet and all who inhabit it. The recurring extreme climate events around the world and the pandemic have reminded us how closely intertwined all life is with nature.
William Shatner, the actor known for his iconic role of Captain Kirk in the Star Trek show and who, at 90 years, became the oldest person to travel to space, in his book Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder reflects as he is moving away from Earth, “I turned back toward the light of home. I could see the curvature of Earth, the beige of the desert, the white of the clouds and the blue of the sky. It was life. Nurturing, sustaining, life. Mother Earth. Gaia.”
“I turned back toward the light of home. I could see the curvature of Earth, the beige of the desert, the white of the clouds and the blue of the sky. It was life. Nurturing, sustaining, life. Mother Earth. Gaia.”
As we step into the new year and take stock of the year gone by, it is a good time to celebrate our planet and remind ourselves of the wonders of our only home. And what better way to do this than through books?
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” ― Dr Seuss
So, find yourself a cozy corner, curl up, get a warm cuppa, and set off on a journey of discovery through the eyes of explorers, wanderers, experts, and eco-writers! Our recommendations of books will ignite your curiosity, fire up your imagination, get you thinking and reconnect you with the beauty of our planet.
- How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need – Bill Gates
Overview:
Billionaire Bill Gates may not be your conventional climate activist, but this book is a practical, no-nonsense text on how we can combat Climate Change. He has done extensive research & proposes to that we aim for zero emissions by 2050 if we are to have any chance to save our planet.
Noteworthy Quote:
“The cruel injustice is that even though the world’s poor are doing essentially nothing to cause climate change, they’re going to suffer the most from it.”
- This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate – Naomi Klein
Overview:
Author Naomi Klein focuses on capitalism, debunks all the myths we are regularly fed, and demonstrates how the obsession with free market and growth is closely linked with global warming and the climate crisis. It is a good starting point for readers to understand this global crisis and decode the challenges of the 21st century.
Noteworthy Quote:
“So, we are left with a stark choice: allow climate disruption to change everything about our world, or change pretty much everything about our economy to avoid that fate. But we need to be very clear: because of our decades of collective denial, no gradual, incremental options are now available to us.”
- Zero Waste Home – Bea Johnson
Overview:
How many of us have the “too busy to make changes” attitude to our way of life? Living sustainably may seem like a task but this book, a practical step-by-step guide, will make you run out of excuses as the author gives you zero-waste solutions that are easy to adapt to your lifestyle! Known as the mother of the zero-waste movement, her ideas are accessible and executable making this a must-read!
Noteworthy Quote:
“Refuse what you do not need; reduce what you do need; reuse what you consume; recycle what you cannot refuse, reduce, or reuse; and rot (compost) the rest.”
- The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable – Amitav Ghosh
Overview:
The author Amitav Ghosh delves into the failure of imagination, literature, and culture, to talk about climate change and its impact. The book takes an expansive look into the role of politics, history, culture, and colonialism in driving conversations on climate issues.
Noteworthy Quote:
“Among Gandhi’s best-known pronouncements on industrial capitalism are these famous lines written in 1928: “God forbid that India should ever take to industrialism after the manner of the West. If an entire nation of 300 million [sic] took to similar economic exploitation, it would strip the world bare like locusts.”
- Silent Spring – Rachel Carson
Overview:
This book, released in 1962, is considered to have started the global environmental movement at the grassroots level. It focuses on the negative effects of chemical pesticides in agriculture. A must-read to help understand the legacy of environmentalism, Rachel’s work is said to have led to the creation of the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Noteworthy Quote:
“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature – the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”
- The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis – Amitav Ghosh
Overview:
The Nutmeg’s Curse, Amitav Ghosh’s second book on the ecological crisis, is excellent follow-up reading to The Great Derangement. Using nutmeg as a metaphor, the book links the planetary crisis to the discovery of the New World and the sea route to the Indian Ocean and explains how the effects of climate change today stem from Western colonialism and the exploitation of indigenous people.
Read our review here.
Noteworthy Quote:
“As we watch the environmental and biological disasters that are now unfolding across the Earth, it is becoming even harder to hold on to the belief that the planet is an inert body that exists merely in order to provide humans with resources.”
- Soil Not Oil: Environmental Justice in an Age of Climate Crisis – Vandana Shiva
Overview:
It is now well known that agricultural practices have played a role in the climate crisis. In this book, the author, environmentalist Vandana Shiva, takes us through the current global and local scenarios, the solution, the benefits of small-scale traditional agricultural practices and more. An eye-opener for all, it is a must-read for a better understanding of the effects of industrial agriculture, and the possible solutions.
Noteworthy Quote:
“Climate change is not just a problem for the future. It is impacting us every day, everywhere.”
- A River Runs Again – Meera Subramanian
Overview:
An engineer-turned-farmer brings organic food to Indian plates; villagers revive a dry river; cooking stove designers persist on the quest for a smokeless fire and many such stories inhabit this book. Meera Subramanian travels in search of ordinary people across India who are engaged in diverse ways in tackling the environmental catastrophe that India faces, and brings us stories of hope.
Noteworthy Quote:
“But as India travels on this path of progress, masses of Indian citizens are being left behind, and the lands and waters that have sustained India’s people for millennia are beyond compromised.”
- Rising – Elizabeth Rush
Overview:
Labeled as “the book on climate change and sea levels that was missing” by the Chicago Tribune, Rising tells the story of the coasts of America and the effects of climate change suffered by these regions as they face devastating hurricanes, rising sea levels, and more. The book features many firsthand stories and testimonials, making it a must-read to get a global perspective on challenges faced by people living on coastlines.
Noteworthy Quote:
“Sometimes a key arrives before the lock. Now I am thinking, sometimes the password before the impasse. These words, when spoken or written down, might grant us an entry into a previously unimaginable awareness – That the coast, and all living beings on it are changing radically.”
- Green Humour for a Greying Planet – Rohan Chakravarty
Overview:
Satire can be as effective in communicating a message as serious and urgent books and scientific studies. This book by cartoonist Rohan Chakravarty packs in a punch with its gentle yet sharp takes on issues surrounding global warming, nature, wildlife, and more, that are both funny and poignant.
Here is an example that will make you seek more Green Humour!
No book list on planet Earth and climate issues can be complete without some suggestions to inspire our young citizens who will inherit the planet from us.
So, here are 2 of our all-time favourite children’s books, that will help your little Earth warriors explore the wonders of their home!
- A Cloud Called Bhura: Climate Champions To The Rescue – Bijal Vachharajani
Overview:
An adventure story cleverly written to make young readers aware about climate-related issues, this is a thought-provoking story of hope and friendship. Amni wakes up one morning to find the sky taken over by a huge, looming brown cloud. Where and how did this cloud appear? As she and her friends Mithil, Tammy and Andrew start finding out more, Mumbai starts reeling from the effects of this toxic cloud. Will Amni and her friends be able to save the day?
Noteworthy Quote:
“On most days, Amni could see the following from the twenty-first-floor window of their building in Glen Meadows society: Mrs Daruwalla’s apartment, a colourful line of Mrs Daruwalla and family’s clothes hanging out to dry, pigeons roosting and pooping on the parapet, a mango tree with no mangoes on it, a piece of the sky. But today, Amni couldn’t see anything. Correction — all she could see was a thick haze. Everything was greyish brown, like on an overcast monsoon day. There was no sky, there was no sun.”
- The Boy Who Grew a Forest: The True Story of Jadav Payeng – Sophia Gholz
Overview:
Distressed by the destruction caused by deforestation in his native land, an island on the mighty Brahmaputra river, the young Jadav Payeng decides to take matters into his own hands by planting trees. What starts as a small effort, grows into something extraordinary. This brilliant, larger-than-life true story makes you believe that often all it takes is just one determined person to make a difference. While it is a great read for kids, Jadav Payeng’s story is a heartwarming read-along for grown-ups too.
Noteworthy Quote:
“Only by growing plants, the Earth will survive”
We hope these thought-provoking books will enrich your world in the new year. As you tick each one off your reading list, make sure to pass it on to a friend or even introduce it to your book club!
If you are keen to learn more about the fashion industry, check out our list of must-read books on the reality of fast fashion here. And if you want to mix these up with some movies and documentaries, here is your definitive guide to eco-cinema!
Note – All images of book covers, courtesy Goodreads.
