Janet McNeill

<written for the North Renfrew Times in August 2007>

Looking for some great summer reading? Consider checking out one of these books – all three of them available at Deep River Library.

Blessed Unrest – How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw it Coming (Viking, 2007), by Paul Hawken, is a wonderfully inspiring read that, along with plenty of other interesting information, provides a history of the environmental and social justice movements. For Hawken, these two movements really represent two sides of the same coin, since “The way we harm the earth affects all people, and how we treat one another is reflected in how we treat the earth.”

Hawken lays out some interesting facts about well-known figures Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Mohandas Gandhi, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King. He suggests that it was events and philosophies from the 1800’s that led to today’s environmental movement.

A key concept for Hawken, one he mentions repeatedly, is human intention. As he points out, while we cannot always control what happens in our lives, or in the world, “What distinguishes one life from another is intention, the one thing that we can control.”

Another central concept for Hawken is his notion that the environmental/social justice movement is functioning as the earth’s immune system. He quotes a variety of scientists who describe how the human immune system works, including immunologist Gerald Callahan, who says “faith and love are literally buried in our genes and lymphocytes.”

As a person with a life-long addiction to the power of words, I find this book a positive treasure trove of inspirational language. Hawken is not only amazingly articulate himself, he peppers the book with the words of a wide variety of scientists, historians, writers and activists. His take on human evolution alone makes the book worth picking up!

He says “Evolution is not about design or will; it is the outcome of constant endeavors made by organisms that want to survive and better themselves. The collective result is intoxicatingly beautiful, rife with oddities, and surpassingly brilliant, yet no agent is in control. Evolution arises from the bottom up – so, too, does hope. When fire destroys a forest, the species and plants that were lost will reassert themselves over time. Seeds that have lain dormant for decades and that germinate only when subjected to intense heat will come to life, and bloom in the spring. These plants may have deep taproots that bring up minerals, or broad leaves that create a canopy to help preserve topsoil from sun and rain. The older the forest, the more resilient its capacity to regenerate. Humanity is older than the oldest forest. Its capacity to adapt and restore is vastly underestimated. Evolution is optimism in action. Being compelled to make more of ourselves is the human lot.”

The second book I recommend is Worldchanging: A User’s Guide for the 21st Century (Abrams, 2006); it too is a wonderful source of inspiration! Its 600+ pages are full of ideas from soup to nuts on how human energy, determination and ingenuity are being harnessed in every possible sphere of life on the planet. For more details on book content, visit http://www.worldchanging.com/book/

A third book worth taking a look at is Cancer: 101 Solutions to a Preventable Epidemic (New Society Publishers, 2007), by Liz Armstrong, Guy Dauncey and Anne Wordsworth. As the jacket states, “If you don’t have cancer right now, you know someone who does.” But this book is not a lament – it’s a call to action with plenty of practical, down-to-earth suggestions for cancer prevention. The book is similar to Stormy Weather: 101 Solutions to Global Climate Change (Guy Dauncey is co-author of both of these books) in listing solutions for individuals, parents, youth, action groups, labour groups, governments, businesses, etc. Each section is short and easy to digest and contains numerous references for locating further information. While the book makes for somewhat sobering reading (cancer is not exactly a light topic!), it’s also very empowering. Like Blessed Unrest, it contains many inspirational quotations.

Happy reading!