A few recent reads...
George Monbiot mentioned his book Heat: How to Stop the Planet from Burning (Random House) when he was interviewed the radio last fall after saying that to reduce the effects of global warming, humanity must reduce commercial air traffic
by 90 percent, which essentially means we must all stop flying. The book consists of his very compelling argument that the rich nations of the world must reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent by 2030 to prevent global warming of two degrees centigrade above pre-industrial levels; if we don't, certain major ecosystems will likely collapse and release carbon dioxide in a manner we can no longer control; if this happens, climate change is out of our hands. You might want to read this book if you or someone you love plans to live for the next 30 years or so.
After visiting the Gowanus canal, an infamously polluted waterway in Brooklyn, NY, Elizabeth Royte decided to follow her garbage around and write a book about it: Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash (Little, Brown and Company). She sorts her garbage into various categories (organic waste, metal, glass, plastic, paper) and then follows each to the transfer stations, organic fertilizer companies, sewage treatment plants, plastic, paper, and precious metals recycling facilities, and the landfills where it ends up. If you've ever wondered what happens to that battery or can of paint you furtively slip into the garbage, this is the book for you.
I borrowed Carol Off's Bitter Chocolate: Investigating the Dark Side of the World's Most Seductive Sweet (Random House) from the library after reading a friend's review in the local newspaper. The book covers the history and politics of chocolate, and specifically the the essential ingredient cocoa, nearly half of which comes from the Cote d'Ivoire and the surrounding region. Read this book to learn more about who grows and harvests the main ingredient in your chocolate bar (but has likely never even heard of chocolate). When a friend saw the book on the dining room table, she groaned and insisted that I don't tell her anything about the "dark side" of chocolate.
