Ten Environment Books that Changed the World

Friends of the Earth in their print journal 'EarthMatters'  (July 2012)  published a list of ten books that  they believe changed the Earth. Actually there are plenty of other Top Ten Environment Booklists just try Googling it!
There is a Cardiff based slant to this blog entry...I thought I'd check the list against Cardiff Met Library and Cardiff Public Library catalogues-here's the result . Information about how to join Cardiff Public Library is here. Follow the links from the book titles  for more information.

Small is Beautiful by E F Schumacher

book on order at Cardiff Met Library

 The Complete Book of Self Sufficiency by John Seymour

book available from Cardiff Public Library

Earth from the Air by Yann Arthus-Bertrand

book available from Howard Gardens Library check the catalogue here

No Logo by Naomi Klein

book available from Cardiff Met Library check the catalogue here

The Ages of Gaia by James Lovelock

Books by Lovelock are available from Cardiff Met Library check the catalogue here

 Living Downstream by Sandra Steingraber

  the one book neither Library Service stocked

Cod: a biography of the fish that changed the world by MarkKurlansky

book available from Cardiff Public Library

Food for Free by Richard Mabey

book available from Cardiff Public Library

Collapse: how societies choose to fail or succeed by JaredDiamond

book available from Cardiff Met Library check the catalogue here

The Animals of Farthing Wood by Colin Dann

Farthing Wood books available from Cardiff Public Library

 

Ideas about landscape

Andy Goldsworthy
Elder leaf patch

edge made by finding leaves the same size
tearing one in two
spitting underneath and pressing flat on to another
Helbeck, Cumbria
October 1983

If you are interested in Landscape from many viewpoints and not just from the aesthetic or Fine Art perspectives then you will enjoy following the thoughts on Landscapism a blog written by Eddie Proctor. His most recent blog is 'a Manifesto for a Working  Landscape' which covers all possible aspects of 'Landscape' and contains a plea to bring them all together and stop thinking and planning for them separately. Don't miss the links on the left of his blog page including one to the on-line Preview of the Andy Goldsworthy Digital Catalogue DVD Volume 1: 1976-1986 where you will find rare and early examples of Goldsworthy's work scanned in from his personal slide catalogue and there's also a link to  my favourite old rockers who used to work in the music industry and now celebrate nature, beer, music and art in equal measure on their wonderful blog 'Caught By the River'.

Bright Ideas Lighting

Inhabitat (a weblog forum for emerging trends in architectural interior and product design), in partnership with Philips Lighting recently ran a competition called Bright Ideas Lighting. The idea of the competition was to showcase the potential of LED lighting. They were looking for examples of inspiring eco-friendly lamps that make smart use of materials, and are designed to work with low-energy LED replacement bulbs like Philips AmbientLED. (Since LED bulbs are low heat, this was an opportunity to get creative with other materials that might be off-limits with traditional incandescent bulbs). The panel of expert judges selected 20 finalists based upon aesthetics, creativity, sustainability, practicality, and commercial viability. Readers then voted for the winner.

The winner, designer Edward Chew,  cut box drink cartons into hundreds of strips and folded them into pieces to create his Tetra Pak lamp . Along with its retro looks and attractiveness it is also a creative example of upcycled design and craftsmanship – it was even assembled without the use of any adhesives!

Read about the competion and the other winners here

Patricia Johanson landscape architect, artist, designer and ecologist

'For over twenty years Patricia Johanson has patiently insisted that art can help to heal the earth. For the last ten years she has been creating large-scale projects that posit a radical, yet utterly practical vision. She works with engineers, city planners, scientists and citizens' groups to create her art as functioning infrastructure for modern cities'. you can borrow the book by Kelley from Howard Gardens Library.

Here is a Youtube interview with Patricia Johanson  discussing her recently completed biosculpture installation in Finland and talking about her approach to what she does. The video was created for Remediate/Re-vision at Wave Hill in New York, an exhibition curated by Jennifer McGregor in August 2010. Follow the Wave Hill  link for a downloadable catalogue of the exhibition so that you may read about  the work of 15 major art & ecology artists . I met Patricia in Turkey many years ago at an art and ecology conference. She is articulate and pioneering. She describes her position as 'working at the cutting edge of what is known and what is just hoped for'.