11 July 2009

Some Good Books on the Environment

Some Good Books on the Environment

I have recently read Al Gore’s “Earth in the Balance” which is a pretty good overview of the environmental issues facing the world.  It is lucid and comes up with some sensible political strategies to managing the potential ecological issues impacting our planet.  It is a pity that while it was written in 1992, little progress has been made and a current review of the situation would be “little has changed”.

So here are the very few books that have had an impact on the way I see the planet and our impact on it:

  • Carson, R. “Silent Spring” Hamish Hamilton 1963
  • Gore, A. “Earth in the Balance” Earthscan 1992
  • Lovelock , J.E. “Gaia:  A New Look at Life on Earth” Oxford University Press 1979
  • Schumacher, E.F. “Small is Beautiful” Blond & Briggs 1973

What I am really disappointed by is that there are no good books that I have so far come across about the environmental impact mankind is having on water.  This is poor, since the amount of chemicals that we are pouring into our oceans and rivers and lakes is truly frightening.  There are books of course, but nothing that offers any profound insight into the damage we are causing, nor how we should address this major environmental issue.