And now, the second installment of Green Reads for this week.
From the New York Times’ Dot Earth blog, a list of reader recommendations for what Obama should do on behalf of the planet when he takes office. I’m sure presidents-elect are a wee bit busy to actually read these kinds of things, but I wish someone on Obama’s team at least would take a look at this. My addition to the list: Obama should set a personal example of buying less new stuff, and he should talk about it. “Malia and Sasha wanted a new toy for the dog, so we all went to Goodwill and salvaged a stuffed animal.” That would be so awesome.
From Building Green, a blog post on learning about water shortages in the Ground Zero of water shortages: Las Vegas. It’s got some great photos of water being wasted before the writer’s very eyes. Wonder what one could write about Charlottesville that’d be comparable? Maybe an account of lawns being fertilized despite the negative effects on the Chesapeake, or an indictment of air pollution driven by energy-wasting houses?
On Re-Nest, a nomination of Repair as the fourth R in the ol’ Reuse, Recycle, Reduce trinity. Makes sense to us. “Mend tools” used to be on every farmer’s to-do list; fixing is a great skill, with a cool factor at least as high as tarot reading.
From Island Press’s Eco-Compass Blog, a pretty fascinating take on what the recent economic crash means in terms of peak oil and the history of the world. Peter Newman sez we’re witnessing the end of the “oil” period and the beginning of…something else. And that it’s gonna hurt, economically, but that it’s inevitable, and ultimately means progress.
Keep sending your recommendations! A good one from a commenter on my last post.