Whether you’re looking for a guide to aid your journey towards a sustainable home, reduce your carbon footprint, or understand the science behind the climate crisis, these seven thought-provoking reads will empower you—and the planet.
Feel-Good Homes: How to choose the right heat pump for a comfortable, healthy, sustainable home by Drew Tozer
Empowering homeowners to break free from the limiting “it is what it is” mindset, NRCan-registered energy advisor Drew Tozer’s revolutionary new book Feel-Good Homes demonstrates how right-sized HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) and other upgrades can be used to create comfortable, healthy, sustainable homes.
With expertise in building science and heat pumps and a decade of experience in renewables and energy conservation, Tozer is passionate about breaking down science into accessible guidance for homeowners. After exploring the underlying causes of comfort and health problems – and the science behind those problems -Feel-Good Homes introduces Tozer’s HAVEN method as a path for homeowners to find the right solutions within their goals, needs, and budget.
HAVEN is based on Tozer’s real-world experience and outlines the five most important factors for homeowners to consider when replacing HVAC or completing an energy retrofit:
H – heat load
A – air leakage
V – value mindset
E – environmental control
N – necessary infrastructure
Whether it’s a homeowner taking their first steps to solve problems that matter to them, or someone exploring the benefits of heat pumps, Feel-Good Homesis an energising call to action. Tozer catalyses contractors and homeowners to work collaboratively using the HAVEN method to achieve remarkable results transforming average houses into feel-good homes.
One Garden Against the World: In Search of Hope in a Changing Climate by Kate Bradbury
Five years after writing her first nature memoir, The Bumblebee Flies Anyway, Kate Bradbury has a new garden.
It's busy: home to all sorts of wildlife, from red mason bees and bumblebees to house sparrows, hedgehogs and dragonflies. It seems the entire frog population of Brighton and Hove breeds in her small pond each spring, and now there are toads here, too. On summer evenings, Kate watches bats flit above her and for a moment, everything seems alright with the world.
But she knows habitat loss remains a huge issue in gardens, the wider countryside and worldwide, and there's another, far bigger threat: climate change. Temperature increases are starting to bite, and she worries about what that will mean for our wildlife.
In her uplifting new book, Kate writes passionately about how her climate-change anxiety pushes her to look for positive ways to keep going in a changing world. As in her first memoir, she invites you into her life, sharing stories of her mum's ongoing recovery and her adventures with her new rescue dog, Tosca.
One Garden Against the World is a call to action for all of us - gardeners, communities and individuals - to do more for wildlife and more for the climate. Climate change and biodiversity loss go hand in hand, but if we work together, it's never too late to make a difference.
The Big Switch: Australia's Electric Future by Saul Griffith
Climate change is a planetary emergency. We have to do something now - but what? Australian visionary Saul Griffith has a plan. In The Big Switch, Griffith lays out a detailed blueprint - optimistic but feasible - for fighting climate change while creating millions of new jobs and a healthier environment. Griffith explains exactly what it would take to transform our infrastructure, update our grid, and adapt our households. The same natural advantages - incredible resources on an enormous continent - that helped Australia prosper in the 20th century are the ingredients for becoming the most prosperous, entirely renewable, economy in the world.
'The point is, we don't have to be perfect to solve climate change. We just need to be electric. If we go hard and go early on cutting emissions - and if by doing so we encourage other countries to increase their ambition and follow us - we have everything to win. We'll be winning so much, we'll win, win, win, win, win. Lower energy prices for all Australians. Driving our vehicles will be cheaper than it has ever been. Heating our homes and our showers will be cheaper too. The average household will probably save $5000 a year or more on energy and car expenses.’ - Saul Griffith
Sustainable Energy - Without The Hot Air by David J C MacKay
If you've ever wondered how much energy we use, and where it comes from – and where it could come from – but are fed up with all the hot air and 'greenwash', this is the book for you. Renewable resources are 'huge', but our energy consumption is also 'huge'. To compare 'huge' things with each other, we need numbers, not adjectives.
Sustainable Energy – without the hot air addresses the energy crisis objectively, cutting through all the contradictory statements from the media, government, and lobbies of all sides. It gives you the numbers and the facts you need, in bite-sized chunks, so you can understand the issues yourself and organises a plan for change on both a personal level and an international scale – for Europe, the United States, and the world. In case study format, this informative book also answers questions surrounding nuclear energy, the potential of sustainable fossil fuels, and the possibilities of sharing renewable power with foreign countries.
Written by David MacKay, who was an esteemed Professor of Engineering at the University of Cambridge and Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK Department of Climate Change, this is an uplifting, jargon-free and informative read for all. In it, David debunks misinformation and clearly explains the calculations of expenditure per person to encourage people to make individual changes that will benefit the world at large.
If you've thrown your hands up in despair thinking no solution is possible, then read this book - it's an honest, realistic, and humorous discussion of all our energy options.
Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet by Hannah Ritchie
Feeling anxious, powerless or confused about the future of our planet? This book will transform how you see our biggest environmental problems – and how we can solve them.
It’s become common to tell kids that they’re going to die from climate change. We are constantly bombarded by doomsday headlines that tell us the soil won’t be able to support crops, fish will vanish from our oceans, and that we should reconsider having children.
But in this bold, radically hopeful book, data scientist Hannah Ritchie argues that if we zoom out, a very different picture emerges. In fact, the data shows we’ve made so much progress on these problems that we could be on track to achieve true sustainability for the first time in human history.
Packed with the latest research, practical guidance and enlightening graphics, this book will make you rethink almost everything you’ve been told about the environment. From the virtues of eating locally and living in the countryside, to the evils of overpopulation, to plastic straws and palm oil , Not the End of the World will give you the tools to understand our current crisis and make lifestyle changes that actually have an impact. Hannah cuts through the noise by outlining what works, what doesn’t, and what we urgently need to focus on so we can leave a sustainable planet for future generations.
These problems are big. But they are solvable. We are not doomed. We can build a better future for everyone. Let’s turn that opportunity into reality.
Cheaper, Faster, Better: How We’ll Win the Climate War by Tom Steyer
Renowned investor and climate champion Tom Steyer gives us a unique and unvarnished perspective on how we can all fight climate change—joyfully, knowledgeably, and even profitably—at a time of unparalleled consequence and opportunity.
Every day the news is filled with stories of extreme weather that threatens our cities, our health, our tornadoes wiping out whole communities; droughts that ignite catastrophic wildfires; storms flooding roads and destroying infrastructure; rising water levels that jeopardize entire nations; new climate-related diseases that threaten our health. Just as World War II raised an existential threat that united Americans in a common cause, the dangers of climate change are similarly challenging all of our previously held notions of the future—and our only hope, as Tom Steyer sees it, is to unite together to take action in a collective movement akin to a war effort. Steyer has been on the forefront of the climate war for well over a decade, leveraging his investment expertise, business knowledge, and community-organizing skills to support sustainable climate solutions.
In this accessible book—aimed at reaching everyone from Wall Street investors to college students—he explains how capitalism is an effective tool for scaling climate progress, offers his candid take on fossil fuel enablers, and explains why immediate action on the climate front will not only be our key to a healthy and viable future but also an investment in the future of our economy. Steyer tells his own story of coming to understand the urgency of climate action, and, in short, interstitial chapters, he showcases the inspiring work of people on the front lines, whose innovative approaches provide hope for meaningful change. The urgency to act is imperative—and time is running out—and yet Steyer feels confident that we will win this war, precisely because there has never before been a moment more necessary or more rewarding to come together to secure a healthy future for ourselves and the planet.
Good News, Planet Earth: What’s Being Done to Save Our World, and What You Can Do Too! by Sam Bentley
Join sustainability enthusiast and climate activist Sam Bentley as he shares the hopeful developments combating climate change!
Do you feel like climate change is just getting worse and there's nothing you can do to stop it? Good news-there are tons of efforts already underway to save our planet, and we'd love for you to join the fight.
Good News, Planet Earth!is your go-to guide to learn all about the amazing sustainable developments that are happening worldwide to combat global warming, pollution, deforestation, the use of wasteful products, and threats to our diverse wildlife.
Inside you'll find:
· 25 chapters covering ocean-cleanup innovations, composting initiatives, animal rights activism, efforts to greenify public spaces, solar power advancements, public transportation solutions, and more!
· 100 actionable steps you can take to fight climate change and live more sustainably!
An uplifting and informative call to action for any environmentally conscious individual, Good News, Planet Earth! is the small but mighty book that might just help save the world!