In which we present a selection of books which have relevance to environmental topics.

Kim Stanley Robinson:
Three Californias Trilogy
The Wild Shore
The Gold Coast
Pacific Edge
This set looks at Orange County under three very different futures: One where the rest of the world has nuked our major cities (so back to a very agrarian lifestyle), one where capitalism and development never stopped, so the area is a hyper-city with a huge military-industrial complex, and one which is KSR's version of a Utopia - a lovely world which is described as the background to the character plot. Reading and comparing all three gives a good look at which futures we might end up with.

Science in the Capital Trilogy
Forty Signs of Rain
Fifty Degrees Below
Sixty Days and Counting
This trilogy was published starting in 2004, and is set in a very near future with a president and science advisor (referred to only as 'Dr. Strangelove') who deny global warming, and in a world which (much like ours) is showing many signs of it. The series follows one of the chiefs of staff to a prominent senator (who is young, charismatic, and has a strong belief in change), his wife, a scientist with the NSF, and a guest advisor at the NSF who is originally from UCSD. Over the course of the series, the world hits tipping points in climate change, the effects show up, and the politics and science discussion results in that charismatic senator winning the presidency. Did I mention these were published in 2004,5, and 6? And that they are incredibly scary in many ways?

Kim Stanley Robinson writes science fiction that happens to also include well researched ideas from geology, psychology, politics, history about 10 other things, and particularly environmentalism and ecology. His writing generally has strong characters, interesting plots, good background, and really interesting things to think about. He is my favorite author.

Fred Krupp
Earth: The Sequel
On a more non-fictional note, this is an interesting look at possibilities in energy. Initial exposure to environmentalism and sustainability these days includes first generation things like ethanol and basic solar panels. This book looks at 2nd and 3rd generation things like organic and CIGS panels and gasoline from algae. While definitely written from a capitalist perspective, this book nevertheless has a lot of good information on what solutions we can think about using in the not so distant future.

Derrick Jensen
Endgame Volume 1: The Problem of Civilization
This book requires some disclaimers. First, the author is an anarcho-environmentalist - his primary premise is that civilization is not and can never be sustainable, and thus we should all be out helping to bring it down. That being said, he is a big fan of stating his assumptions and showing why he believes them. This means that, while you may not agree with some (or most) of his premises, you can hopefully see where he's coming from - and it leads to some good debates. It is also worth noting that this book is very aware of its semantics, and in many ways expects the same from the reader. It has a strong enough bias that you need to go into it with some background and awareness of words in order to not just agree with him (or disagree in the back of your mind) as you go along.
All that being said, I think it is well worth reading for anyone interested in a view that opposes just about everyone, and who wants a much more values oriented argument for why civilization is destroying the world. I cannot yet recommend the second volume as I have not read it.

That is all for me for now. Your suggested environmental books, please.

I found a book called Sun, Wind, and Light: Architectural Design Strategies

It's published by Wiley, and seems like the ruling authority on intro ecodesign

Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas Friedman:
This book is a very political book that deals with global overpopulation, signs and effects of global climate change, and growing economic globalization. I think it's excellent, mostly because I like Tom Friedman a lot, and a few notable things are a graph where he shows how as the price of oil went up the liberalization and granting of freedoms to people in OPEC slowed down, for example Iran. There's also a beautiful section that asks you to imagine something approximating a sustainable word complete with a smart grid with remote technology (for example as you're coming home you hit a button on your phone and your climate control, lights, etc. come on, and they've been off while you're out to save electricity, working from home to reduce transportation emissions, vastly more efficient appliances, localized solar panels that the utility helps you set up that generate more local, clean energy, and things like that. It ends with a call to action that you should change your leaders in order to effect the biggest environmental changes.

Cradle to Cradle by Michael Braungart and William McDonough:
This book is a piece of sheer brilliance that itself is made out of a sustainable, synthetic material that can safely be returned to the Earth and is waterproof (I spilled water on my library copy on purpose multiple times and there was no damage). It puts forth the idea that waste=food and should be eliminated. It posits that everything should be recycled into either one of two categories: natural and industrial. Industrial waste would be e-waste, metals, chemicals, etc. which should be recovered by the company and reused in future products. To accomplish this, the authors suggest that companies sell services rather than products. For instance, you pay for heating service rather than a heater and the company will maintain it for you, recycling the parts that cease to function. For the natural cycle, it suggests that things like packaging, even carpeting, and other things be made compost friendly material that can be littered with impunity. It goes through multiple case studies of work they've already done with varying companies, Braungart is a chemist, McDonough is an architect.

Natural Capitalism by Paul Hawken:
Paul Hawken's an excellent author, he also wrote Ecology of Commerce which, as far as I can tell, is a staple of environmental reading as well. This book deals with making all processes of modern industry and the economy compatible with nature. It goes through case studies of increasing efficiency by many fold, and examines causes of why that doesn't happen, namely that many companies are short sited and so deadline or budget-burdened workers often buy the cheapest part or appliance because there isn't time/the avenue for them to communicate the long term savings a more efficient model would bring to their boss. But the book goes further saying that efficiency is not enough, and that every material used should be environmentally safe, somewhat like Cradle to Cradle. It suggests a whole new politics, shown in a case study of Curitiba Brazil which scrapped its automobile-centered design in exchange for more green and park space, an amazingly sophisticated public transportation system, and city pride. City government is much more accessible to residents than an American would dream of, and constantly seeks to address multiple problems with everything they do rather than solving problems piecemeal and thereby creating more solutions.

The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery:
This examines the greenhouse effect and potential harms due to global climate change in detail, from the nature of the CO2 molecule, to how increased CO2 concentrations cause increased atmospheric temperature, which causes more water vapor (itself a potent greenhouse gas) to capture more infrared radiation thus accelerating the warming effect. It also suggests that a low level anthropogenic climate change was in effect even before the industrial revolution due to a snowball effect of burning small amounts of coal, cutting forests, and burning varieties of other fuels and that this actually kept the CO2 concentration artificially high preventing another global cold spell. It then discusses the effect our greenhouse gas emissions our having on the climate system and weather as a whole rather than simply increasing temperatures. I suppose it's better if you've already taken a climate class, I read it last summer, and now it makes more sense as I'm taking GEOL 0030 with Dr. Rosenmeier.

The World Without Us by Alan Weisman:
This book is pretty fascinating, it obviously talks about what would happen to the natural world if humans simply disappeared. It covers everything from how New York city's subway system would be overtaken by water almost instantly, to how bridges would fall apart, and cities would be overgrown by forest/plants in 500 years since plants' growing roots can displace concrete, etc. All the rats and cockroaches in cities would die without human provided heat, cats and dogs would go feral, nuclear power plants and oil wells/distilling plants would either gradually leak or explode depending on whether humans were able to power down certain systems before they disappeared, plastics would be left in the oceans and ground for thousands of years until some bacteria evolved to eat them, and in a few thousand years the only sign of our existence would be a space module that has essences of human culture recorded on it flying through the void, copper statues, plastics, and invasive species.

I'm done for now.