Go Green for Earth Day!
Happy Earth Day! Today is a day to celebrate and appreciate the Earth and all it has given us. Fifty-four years ago to this day, the first Earth Day was observed by roughly 20 million US citizens. Over the course of twenty years, Earth Day gradually spread to other nations until 1990 when it went worldwide! A resounding success, Earth Day continues to be celebrated around the world every year.
In honor of this glorious Earth Day, I have decided to share some Earth-related books and publishers in this blog post! From environmentalism to Earth Day facts to eco-friendly publishing companies, it is time to get our hands dirty and dig deep into all things Earth! Take root and enjoy the wonders of Mother Earth.
Looking to enjoy some good, ol’ fictional stories about the environment? A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter is a wonderful tale for that! A Girl of the Limberlost follows a determined young woman by the name of Elnora, who spends her days protecting and maintaining the swamplands in her area, while aiming for the opportunity of education for herself. Published in 1909, before Earth Day was even a thing, this novel has been regarded as Classic Literature, and adapted into a film four times! Stratton-Porter was a nature photographer, an early naturalist, and well-known supporter of the conservation of the Limberlost Swamp and other wetlands, often using her position as a well-known author to promote conservation efforts.
Have a preference for nonfiction stories? Feeling kind of environmentally conscious? The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming by David Wallace-Wells may just be a good fit! Wallace-Wells holds nothing back in his deep dive into the terrifying possibilities that may await humanity as global warming continues to worsen and the effects of it become more and more apparent. The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming is as much a call to action as it is an informative warning to all those that read it. Published fairly recently in 2019, The Uninhabitable
Earth: Life After Warming has been honored as a #1 New York Times’ Bestseller, and one of the best books of the year by The New Yorker, Time, NPR, and many others.
What about publishers? Hoping to find some green publishing companies? Mountaineers Books, Green Writers Press, and Chelsea Green Publishing are just a few of the many publishing companies that are environmentally friendly or progressive. Mountaineers Books is a non-profit organization made up of “outdoor enthusiasts” with the goal of educating others about environmentally important issues, and helping others to develop love and compassion for the Earth. Founded in 1906 (another thing before Earth Day began being observed!) and based in Seattle, Washington, Mountaineers Books works in tandem with several other non-profits in their advocacy for the good of the environment.
Green Writers Press is a woman-owned, low-profit publishing company in Vermont that publishes books, audiobooks, eBooks, and, more recently, poetry through their partnership with Sundog Poetry Center via soy-based inks and FSC-approved paper and printers. Green Writers Press primarily publishes online to reduce their carbon footprint and the use of fossil fuels, so although they do print physical copies, those copies are print-on-demand to reduce waste. The work that they publish is also centered around being environmentally friendly, responsible, and sustainable.
Chelsea Green Publishing is an employee-owned company based in Chelsea, Vermont that publishes political and practical views on environmental living (e.g. gardening, farming, renewable energy, healthy foods, etc.). Founded in 1984 (fourteen years after the first Earth Day was observed), Chelsea Green Publishing puts their money where their mouth is by printing on recycled paper, and offering books in audiobook format, thus reducing their carbon footprint.
All in all, there’s a whole world to be explored when it comes to the Earth (no pun intended, ha!), and I hope that I was able to provide a little peek into it for you. Happy Earth Day, and thanks for reading!