Features
Read your way to a greener 2008
 |
| Polly Ghazi and Rachel Lewis' eco-diet book |
Want to do your bit for the environment in 2008 but not sure where to start?
Worry not, there's a wide range of helpful books to both inform and inspire the
eco-activist in you.
From shopping for environmentally-friendly fashion to growing
your own vegetables, here Waterston's booksellers select their top ten books
for your step-by-step approach to making a difference
1. Get informed
Rough Guide To Climate Change, by
Robert Henson (Rough Guides, £10.99)
Get to grips with climate change
and what it means for the planet
with the aid of this guide, which
cuts a swathe through scientific
research and political debate.
This book lays out the facts and
assesses the options - global and
personal - for dealing with the threat of
a warming world. This updated edition,
out on Thursday, includes new information
from the 2007 report from the
International Panel on Climate Change
and an updated politics section to
reflect post-Kyoto developments.
Discover how rising temperatures
and sea levels, plus changes to extreme
weather patterns, are already affecting
life around the world. The guide
explains how governments, scientists
and engineers plan to tackle the
problem and has in-depth information
and lifestyle tips for how you can help.
2. Make eco-friendly home
improvements
Haynes Eco House Manual, by Nigel
Griffiths (Haynes, £19.99)
Whether you want to work out the
payback period on a wind turbine
or find out about the most ecofriendly
floor covering, this manual
covers every aspect of domestic
eco-renovation from heating
and electrical systems through to
building materials and organising
your outdoor space.
All the information is presented in
a clear and practical format with colour
photography throughout. With up-dodate
information on emerging renewable
sources of power, along with
step-by-step projects for the home and
garden, this is an invaluable resource
for all home owners.
3. Grow and cook your own veg
Jamie At Home: Cook Your Way To The
Good Life, by Jamie Oliver (Michael
Joseph, £25)
With the help of Jamie, do your bit
for the environment as well as your
tastebuds by cooking vegetables
grown in your garden.
This book provides simple nononsense
yet delicious recipes from
Jamie, as he gets to grips with his
vegetable patch and demonstrates how
to create mouth-watering dishes from
humble ingredients you can grow in
your own garden. Includes planting tips
so you can get your hands dirty, too.
4. Become self-sufficient
Sufficient: A Modern Guide To
Sustainable Living, by Tom Petherick
(Pavilion Books, £25)
And if Jamie has got you in the
mood, why not take the plunge and
become completely self-sufficient?
Tom Petherick's book is designed
to inspire, educate and encourage
a process of change towards a simple,
gentle and sustainable way of living.
Many of us want to make a shift in our
lives by slowing down and consuming
less. This book is a guide to starting that
process, however and wherever you
currently live in the world.
"Sufficient" is a passionate approach
to understanding why changes need to
be made and how they can be achieved
in a fun and life-enhancing way.
5. Go organic in the garden
Going Organic, by Bob Flowerdew (Kyle
Cathie, £19.99)
With his vast experience as an
organic gardener, Bob Flowerdew
takes you through essential
gardening skills, the common
pitfalls, cultural, pest and disease
problems (identifying each one
and how you can combat it), and
how to help your garden to fix itself
with natural solutions such as bird
boxes and companion planting.
The common problems are identified
and outmanoeuvred by wit, cunning
and simple, safe remedies rather than
reaching for a bottle of poison.
This book contains all the knowledge
and tips you need to solve most garden
problems while becoming a more
competent gardener, more naturally.
6. Shop locally
River Cottage Diary 2008 by Hugh
Fearnley Whittingstall (Bloomsbury £10)
Support local farmers and producers
and reduce the carbon footprint
of your weekly food shop with the
aid of this diary.
This year, the theme for the River
Cottage Diary is "Regionality and local
food" and it is a seasonal companion to
engage and inspire you throughout the
year. Each month Hugh celebrates the
food and food heroes of a different
region of the UK, with information
about what is especially good from each
area, lists of seasonal fruit, vegetables
and meat, and three cut-out-and-keep
classic local recipes.
As always in this week-to-view diary,
included are useful foodie dates (including
many of the major food festivals and
agricultural shows), websites, planting
tables, seasonality charts, weights and
measures and even moon phases.
7. Reduce your carbon footprint
The Low Carbon Diet, by Polly Ghazi and
Rachel Lewis (Short Books, £12.99)
The Low Carbon Diet is for all those
out there who really want to save
the planet but just haven't got
around to it.
It provides an easy-to follow
programme for individuals and families
to cut down the carbon calories they
consume at home, on the road and
at play. No preaching, no doommongering.
Just practical, achievable,
everyday actions that can make all the
difference - to your carbon weight,
bank balance and fitness level. Not to
mention the health of the only planet
we have!
8. Become a green fashion
goddess
Green Is The New Black, by Tamsin
Blanchard (Hodder & Stoughton, £12.99)
For girls who care about global
warming - and next season's hot
looks - this book is a must-have
accessory.
Does your shopping addiction
contribute to climate change? From the
truth about fast fashion to the best
biodegradable shoes, from guilt-free
spending sprees to the joys of swishing
parties, Tamsin Blanchard is your
guide to all things fair trade and
fabulous. She explains the principles of
ethical fashion, from why it matters to
how to do it. Plus, you'll find fun facts
and essential directories on every
aspect of sustainable stylish living. If
you want to change the world and your
wardrobe, don't go shopping without it.
9. Enjoy eco-friendly holidays
The Happy Campers, by Tess Carr and
Kat Heyes (Bloomsbury, £14.99)
Ditch the carbon-heavy jet-set
holidays in far-flung places and
explore the beauty of the Great
Outdoors of our very own island
with this inspirational and practical
guide to "happy camping".
Packed full of practical tips and
brilliant ideas from where to go and
how to find a good campsite to how to
set up your camp and build a campfire,
this book will also show you the magic
of camping. With chapters on delicious
recipes invented collected and cooked
over years of camping, how to entertain
yourselves at camp and the wild world
around us, it even has a star-gazer map
to help you identify those constellations
and a meteor shower calendar to spot
a falling star.
10. Recycle more
Jazzy Jewellery: Recycle Materials To
Make Cool Accessories (Kingfisher
EcoCrafts series, £5.99)
Encourage your children to recycle
more with the aid of the innovative
EcoCrafts series which shows how
to recycle everyday objects such as
newspapers, bottle tops, glass
jars and CDs into stylish, highly
individual gifts and decorations
you won't find in any store.
Jazzy Jewellery contains 12 ideas for
funky, eco-friendly accessories - perfect
as original fashion statements to swap
and share, or as presents for friends and
relatives. From cute and colourful party
items to Mother's Day gift ideas, these
accessible and simple-to-follow projects
will keep children engrossed for hours,
as well as saving them money and
helping the environment.
Books are available from www.waterstones.com
4:03pm Wednesday 9th January 2008
Print 
Email this
What are these links for?
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
More on Digg
More on del.icio.us
More on Furl
More on reddit
More on NowPublic/
More on Yahoo!
