Last week, I wrote about our outrageously wasteful and ecologically harmful holiday celebration customs here in the USA. And within that piece, I provided links to some of the greenest gifts out there, a few e-books regarding sustainability of our civilization and the future of humanity.

Building on that thought, I decided to provide you with a list of about a dozen, ultra-green e-books that you might want to give to your loved ones this holiday season.  Here is my top-ten list of the many things I love about e-books:

As for the meaning of ultra-green

That is my term for e-books that that are focused on promoting actions to improve the environment.

So, with that in mind, I have pulled together a list of eleven books (by eight authors) that you might want to choose as green gifts for family or friends. Not only will you be saving time and money, you will also be enlightening your loved ones relative to what is arguably the most  important topic in the history of humanity - our future as a species.

As a way of introducing most of the authors of the e-books featured below, I will use this slide from my public talks regarding the nine "big picture" scientists who have provided the foundation for my education on this most crucial of topics.

All nine of these scientists share one belief in common: The conviction that unless significant changes are made very soon in the way we all live, that we will drive our species to near-term extinction. How soon? Most of them say within a hundred years, although one is predicting our ultimate demise before 2030.

The three scientists on the top row are deceased: Jacques Cousteau, Frank Fenner and Robert Goodland. Although I don't have any of their e-books on my list, I do feature them prominently in the book that I am currently writing.

The six living scientists in the second and third rows are listed in order of their ages: James Lovelock, E.O. Wilson, T. Colin Campbell, Peter Wadhams, Guy McPherson and Stephen Emmott - and I have met the four youngest on the list.

My own conclusion is that we still have a chance to design and build a habitat for ourselves that will enable our species to survive indefinitely in harmony with the biosphere that gives us life. As I explained in an SOS Memo two weeks ago, our chances may not be that great, but, for the children of the world, we must never give up.

All of the authors listed below have contributed not only to my understanding of the dilemma we are facing, but have also helped to inspire me to envision and promote a road map for moving forward. The first one on my list, Dr. James Lovelock, turned 100 in July of 2019 and apparently he's still out walking five miles a day. 

Author #1: James Lovelock (UK) Age 100. A  truly "big picture" scientist who is famous for his GAIA Theory that the Earth is a    self-regulating "system" of which humans are a part. Lovelock has serious doubts about our future as a species, concluding:    If the Earth improves as a result of our presence, then we will flourish. If it doesn't, then we will die off.   

• His 2015 book, Rough Ride to the Future, does not seem to suggest that we are doing a very good job of improving the Earth; hence our chances of longterm survival are not that good. Click title link to purchase e-book on Amazon for $9.99.

• His 2019 book, Novacene, sounds a bit more hopeful as he envisions how AI cyborgs could play a pivotal role in helping us build a sustainable civilization that we could share with them. Click title link to purchase e-book for $12.99

Author #2: E.O. Wilson (USA) Age 90.  Twice a Pulitzer Prize winner, this world renown  Harvard professor of biology provides powerful guidelines for human survival in the three books listed below. A notable quote: Science and religion are two of the most potent forces on Earth and they should come together to save the creation.

• His 2014 book, The Meaning of Human Existence is a truly powerful eye-opener that is one of my favorite books of all time. I particularly like the final chapter, "Alone and Free in the Universe," and have listened to it more than ten times on Audible in my car. Click title link to purchase e-book for $8.74.

• His 2016 book, Half-Earth, Our Planet's Fight for Life, is a masterpiece, as he does his best to tell us how we can still save our species. Click title link to purchase e-book for $9.40.

Author #3: T. Colin Campbell (USA) Age 85. My good friend and colleague, he is the Cornell professor who connected the dots between what we eat, human disease and the survival of the biosphere that gives us life. In the introduction of his 2014 book, WHOLE, he stated: What we eat individually and collectively, has repercussions far beyond our waistlines and blood pressure readings. No less than our future as a species hangs in the balance.    

• His 2005 book, The China Study,  has been read by millions and has played a role in saving many lives. It's included here because of its powerful endorsement of plant-based eating not only for our own health but for the health of the planet. Click the title link to purchase the e-book for $9.99.

• His 2013 book, WHOLE, Rethinking the Science of Nutrition. At the time of publication, I was working closely with Colin on his non-profit board and was honored to be asked to write a praise that appears in the front of this book. Click the title link to purchase the e-book for $10.99. 

Dr. Campbell's books about nutrition are included on this list because of my own conclusions regarding the urgency of shifting away from eating animal-based foods due to their production cycle which is so destructive to many elements of our fragile  environment.

Author #4: Peter Wadhams (UK) Age 71.  Professor of Ocean Physics at the University of Cambridge and arguably the world's leading authority on the relationship between the melting of the Arctic Ocean and climate change. Highly  aware of the horrors that await us if climate change is not slowed soon, he states:  Our only chance is to urgently begin removing CO2 from the atmosphere.

• His 2017 Book, A Farewell to Ice: A Report from the Arctic. As Dr. Wadhams explains in this book, what happens in the Arctic, doesn't stay in the Arctic - and it is of critical importance to the survival of humanity. Click title link to purchase the e-book for $9.99.

Season's Greetings! 

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As for speaking, I continue to search for mainstream audiences who may have an interest in learning more about a realistically hopeful vision for our future - and their role in making that vision come true.

As such, I will travel anywhere for an opportunity to speak to one or more groups in each city that I visit. I will create a custom presentation for each audience and I only ask for travel expense reimbursement and a modest honorarium.

In the months ahead, I will continue to focus on the urgent need for a totally reinvented greening of our civilization - beginning with a model in the USA that could be applied globally over the next fifty years. 

 Order on Amazon 

My first blog on the crucial topic of totally reinventing our civilization was  posted 9-21-18 and  heads the list below. It was all about GRATOLA, an acronym that refers to the "green region" corridor running from Atlanta to Los Angeles.

Since then, I have posted more than forty additional pieces on that topic, including  this one on 9-4-19  in which I introduced the GBN (Great Big Northern) - one 25-mile wide corridor along the USA's northernmost border that would theoretically be capable of sustainably housing ALL 300+ million Americans in an area the size of Oregon.

Recently scheduled talks: A  VegFest in Sedona, Arizona in January and at Camp Plant-Stock in Black Mountain, NC, in August of 2020.

As for the specifics of my topic, I invite you to  contact me directly  about how I might tailor my presentation to best suit an audience you may have in mind: 

Universities,  churches,  think-tanks, legislative bodies, environmental  organizations, alumni associations, leadership clubs, PTA's  and/or civic groups who may appreciate a message of reality and hope for our future.