9 Eco-conscious books to read this year
It’s World Book Day today (Thursday 3rd of March), and – being the powerful, inspiring educational tools they are - books can help us learn how to lead greener lifestyles. We’ve compiled a list of great must-read books and novels for all of us eco-freaks to get stuck into this spring!
We’ve also curated a great list of eco books for kids, so don’t forget to check it out if you have little ones too. Did we forget any? Tell us YOUR favourite eco-conscious books!
Why do we have World Book Day (and why is it different in the UK?)
World Book Day is an international celebration, but here in the UK, it falls on the first Thursday of March. The rest of the world celebrates in April, but it was moved to be flexible in the UK so it wouldn’t coincide with Easter. Started by World Book Day, an incredible charity that provides vouchers for schoolchildren to buy their own books, it exists to remind and encourage people to continue reading and celebrating literature.
Here are 9 great eco-conscious books to read this year:
Habits & Lifestyle
1. Buy better consume less: create real environmental change by Sian Conway-Wood
This brand-new volume is great for advice on how to lower your consumption from large corporations, and how to hold the right people accountable in order to demand real change.
2. Go Toxic Free: Easy and Sustainable Ways to Reduce Chemical Pollution by Anna Turns
This is a great guide to have on hand at all times, delving into the world of chemical pollutants that exist beneath the surface, from the food we eat to the cosmetics we use.
3. The Climate Diet: 50 Simple Ways to Trim Your Carbon Footprint by Paul Greenberg
Focused on living better to fight climate change, this read is a great little motivator to change your daily habits to reduce your carbon footprint, with plenty of emphasis on eating right (something many of us need to work on!)
Plastics & Habitats
4. Turning the Tide on Plastic by Lucy Siegle
Plastic is one of the single largest contributors to the environmental devastation that we are witnessing today. This important and inspirational novel provides fantastic strategies for reducing plastic waste and is a must-read for those looking to avoid it as much as possible (which should be everyone!)
5. The Atlas of Disappearing Places by Christina Conklin and Marina Psaros
A picture says a thousand words - we know this is more visual than text-based, but this Atlas is a moving reminder of the beautiful places that are facing destruction at human hands and helps to reconnect with the climate crisis and see the devastation for ourselves.
6. A Life on Our Planet: My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future by David Attenborough
With a lifetime of experience and wisdom behind him, the words of Sir David Attenborough are sure to inspire any who read them. This is a journey through recent climate change through the eyes of the legendary documentarian himself, with stark warnings about the future that we all should consider.
Food & Farming
7. Kiss the Ground by Joss Tickell
Accompanied by the brilliant visual documentary of the same name on Netflix, this read puts great emphasis on how our dietary decisions can make a huge difference to climate change and will help you learn more about the most sustainable choices of food available.
8. Wilding: The Return of Nature to a British Farm by Isabella Tree
A project many of us have heard of by now, Wilding takes us through the painstaking and incredible journey involved with bringing nature back to the forefront of the UK, achieved by reintroducing native wild animals and plants to bring the ecosystem back into harmony.
9. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
An oldie but a goodie – this 1962 ground-breaking classic helped to bring about real change to climate policy in the US. Emphasising the environmental damage of pesticides and chemicals, Silent Spring is credited with a reversal in the US pesticide policy, a ban on DDT for agricultural uses, and helping to create the US Environmental Protection Agency.
These are just a few of the many incredible eco-conscious books that are out there. We’ve linked ethical places to buy these books where we can, but check out this great tool for finding sustainable alternatives to unsustainable bookshops.
Words by Emily Weedon