9/12 Creation Corner Column: GREEN BOOK FESTIVAL WINNERS, ETC.

GREEN BOOK FESTIVAL WINNERS, ETC.   In upwards of twenty-two categories annually for the past several years the Green Book Festival has announced winners, runners-up and honorable mentions.  The competition honors "books that contribute to greater understanding, respect for and positive action on the changing world environment."   Among the winners in the "spiritual" category are, for 2012   Francis Woke Up Early--Josephine Nobisso (13th c. Assisi, children's picture book, many awards from other festivals) God is Green--Diane Holland (Bible verses, children's book). Easy to be Green activity books by same author; publisher is www.allfortheone.com (re: earth).  Motto: "Educating Children for a Greener Tomorrow."   2011: Twelve by Twelve: A One-Room Cabin Off the Grid and Beyond the American Dream--William Powers won the over-all contest.  It details "Powers' stay at a stark cabin without running water and electricity...with a smaller carbon footprint."  The book "is inspirational" and has a "page-turning style " with a "deeply introspective analysis."   2010: Green Like God--Jonathan Merritt ("mandatory reading for church goers", said Publisher's Weekly; the author is spokesman for the Southern Baptist Environment and Climate Initiative). The Gospel According to the Earth--Matthew Sleeth (basic to www.blessedearth.org promoting Christian earth stewardship). An Altar in the World--Barbara Brown Taylor (prolific author, Episcopal priest, university professor, Christian Century editor-at-large).  Sub-titled "A Geography of Faith."   Other categories in the contest, besides spiritual, are animals, audio-spoken word, biography/autobiography, business, children's, comics/graphic novels, cookbooks, e-books, fiction, gardening, how-to, legal, mystery, non-fiction, photography/art, poetry, science fiction, teenage, white papers, wild card, young adult.   For more information: www.greenbookfestival.com    Of related interest to readers may be:   On a Farther Shore: The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson--William Souder, published on the 50th anniversary of Silent Spring.   "How We Know Global Warming is Real and Human Caused" is the cover story from a recent Skeptic magazine. Climate Change Q & A Climate Deniers' Arguments and Climate Scientists' Answers http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/12-02-08/#feature   Engaging With Climate Change: Psychoanalytic and Interdisciplinary Perspectives--edited by Sally Weintrobe.  "Written for the general reader, Engaging with Climate Change is the first book of its kind to explore in depth what climate change actually means to people.  It brings members of a wide range of different disciplines in the social sciences---the human sciences---together in discussion.  The important insights that result have real implications not only for how policy makers relate to people about the issue, but for us all."   Among the comments by reviewers are these, advertised in the 30Aug12 issue of the London Review of Books, p. 20:   "By bringing together some of the most cutting-edge and creative thinkers on the ecological crisis, this anthology builds a persuasive case for how a greater understanding of human psychology---including the psychology of denial, compassion and cruelty---can help break the climate deadlock.  A powerful riposte to the notion that climate communicators have only two options: relentlessly terrify the public, or try to fool them into action without mentioning the word 'climate.'"                                                                Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine   "I read this book straight through in two days.  More shocking than a fantasy novel, more touching than an individual intimate story, it is an interdisciplinary book of high quality that shows how people hardly dare to face the truth about climate change and how psychoanalysis helps us explore the reality, inside and out our minds, beyond defensive illusions and tragic disavowal."   Stefano Bolognini, MD, President Elect of the International Psychoanalytic Association   "Throughout the book, we are repeatedly reminded of two most basic facts: that we are all much less rational than we care to think, and that we are of, not above, the natural world."         Chris Ripley, CBE, Professor of Climate Science at University College London UK