Recommended Books

There a quite a few good books out there relating to recycling and environmental issues. While I haven't read all of them nor am I an expert, I can at least point out the ones that helped me in the research process.

America Recycles gives us this reading list with their huge long list of recycling books they recommend, with recommendations for all ages.

Here are some books from my research that I recommend, with commentary. But be wary.

Idiot's Guide to Saving the Environment.: Please, please, if you're going to get no other book on environmental issues, get this book. It's an "Idiot's Guide" for a reason -the author gets right down to the facts, and presents them free from confusing language, misleading rhetoric, and that need so many writers have to make everything they write a persuasive essay. Unlike with other books, the reader is compelled to trust the author, and feel that they are gaining useful knowledge and information. I am SO impressed with this book, and I wish I had found it earlier in my research. Greg Pahl, the author, has a site here that has some excerpt from his book and just generally exposes you to the awesomeness of it.

Opposing Viewpoints: Garbage and Recycling: I have mixed feeling about this source. On one hand, it probably gave me the most comprehensive information about garbage and recycling and the problems associated with them. For even just the information it gave it was worth reading. However, what should stick out to your as to why this is going to be a poorly written book is the "Opposing Viewpoints" in the title. The editor of the book, and in fact the whole series (yes it is a series) makes the mistake of trying to pose a problem as two viewpoints only, and each viewpoint as equally valid, with each "pro" essay immediately followed by a "con" essay, with nothing in between. It reminds me of the debate about globabl warming: 90 something percent of scientists believe (okay, that's a bad science word; I should be saying "are convinced by the evidence that) that global warming is happening and is a problem, but when newspapers give equal airtime to both sides, it makes both sides seem just as equally valid. This is a lot of what the opposing viewpoints book is doing. The problem comes also, with the anti-recyclers making the same arguments over and over again, with not as much diversity of arguments, and the pro-recyclers having so much devotion to their cause that they can't notice when an argument breaks down, or won't recognize that recycling does in fact cost money (but so does garbage.) It seems to me very unnecessarily politicized, like a Democrat and Republican trading rhetoric but not really going anywhere.

My list of some things I disliked about this book and its bad arguments I made is so long it would clutter this page, so I made a whole other page for it here.

So maybe after all that, you're wondering why I would still recommend it to you. And I have to say that I definitely would. Here you can at least find out what the nutcases are arguing - which is useful, and learn many different facts and aspects of recycling and garbage that would not otherwise be together in one book. But read with a critical eye, and keep on the lookout for words that don't set right with you, because chances are it's for a good reason.

Ecotopia: I haven't read all of this book, but it looks fascinating. What would happen if a region of the United States formed their own nation dedicated to balancing human activities and preserving the environment?

Monkey Wrench Gang: I haven't read this one either, but it's a classic and comes recommended by my english teacher. It's a classic story of vigilante justice - except this time it's waging war against the machines that build roads and buildings and increase industrialization, all in an "ends justify the means" method of preserving the wildernes. Ultimately it bothers me that they are destroying machine by cutting wires, thus creating more unnecessary waste, but it gives you a perspective of what some people are willing to do.

Breaking New Ground, an autobiography by Gifford Pinchot. It's a fascinating struggle of one man to increase awareness of environmental problems and inspire others toward action. This is an old but still relevant book; I would really like to get my hands on it at some point.