Earth Day: Resource Guide
Today is Earth Day, and this week is National Park Week. These are both super exciting, non-holiday holidays for me. I normally celebrate Earth Day by volunteering and picking up trash on Belle Isle, but that isn’t an option this year. Since we are all stuck at home for at least 2 more weeks, I thought it would be a great time to share a resource guide of books, podcasts, and organizations that inspired Chad and I to start Earth Without Us. Have we left off some good resources from our list that you’d like to share with us? Let us know what inspires you this Earth Day in the comments!
Books
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert
The Sixth Extinction is one of my all-time favorite books. Elizabteh Kolbert walks the reader through the past mass extinctions and all the evidence that we are currently in the midst of a sixth mass extinction. Spoiler: the sixth mass extinction is caused by humans.
This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate by Naomi Klein
In This Changes Everything, Naomi Klein explores the links between climate change and the economy, touching on everything from social inequalities to geoengineers. The book is really good, but very dense, so it’s hard to summarize. Just read it.
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
In Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer discusses the relationships she has observed between plants and animals, and asks the reader how they too can form a reciprocal relationship with the natural world.
A Short History of Progress by Ronald Wright
If you’ve ever met me, I’ve probably told you to read A Short History of Progress. In this book, Ronald Wright explores the rise and fall of civilizations throughout time and space, and the connections between them all. This book provides fantastic evidence for what to do, and what not to do, to avoid another collapse.
Podcasts
99 Percent Invisible
This podcast is all about overlooked aspects of design and architecture. Every episode's topic seems mundane, but is somehow incredibly fascinating. I’ve been a listener for years, and have yet to hear one bad episode. While the podcast does not focus on the environment or climate change, specifically, it does frequently discuss how we interact with the world around us. A few episodes to try that are related to the environment and climate change are Missing the Bus, National Sword, Built on Sand, Separation Anxiety, and Right to Roam.
Reveal
Reveal is an investigative journalism podcast. The Center for Investigative Reporting does fantastic work diving into current social issues and explaining what they find in an approachable way. Environmentally focused episodes of note: Scuttling Science, The Refuge Revealed, and To the Ends of the Earth.
Throughline
Throughline is a podcast from NPR that traces the historical roots of current day issues and events. Two really interesting episodes to listen to are The Litter Myth and Planned Obsolescence.
Videos
Neither of us consume much information via video - I’m much more of a reader, and Chad is a listener - but here are a handful of videos we think are thought provoking and solutions oriented:
Non-Profits
Leave No Trace Center is a non-profit that provides guidelines and educates people on how to protect the outdoors while still enjoying outdoor activities. I personally try to follow their guidelines whenever I’m camping, hiking, or just going for a walk in the park.
USA Facts is a non-profit that uses data gathered by different government agencies to create reports on various topics. The organization just released a new report, State of the Earth, for Earth Day that focuses solely on energy and the environment.
Ann Arbor Reuse Center is one of my favorite local thrift stores. The Reuse Center focuses more on household goods and building supplies than a lot of other thrift stores in the area; they even sell locally sourced wood.