In our traditional compilation on the occasion of Sant Jordi’s Day, this year we highlight 10 essential titles on the climate emergency.
Aware of the benefits of reading in the creation of a more mature and enlightened society, ERF proposes the following ten points of view on climate emergency and sustainability.
We wish you a great Sant Jordi 2023!
‘Contra la sostenibilitat‘, by Andreu Escrivà
With a provocative title, we can see how they often want to “give us (or, better yet, sell us) a pig in a poke”.
Brands have understood that including the message of “being sustainable” on their labels, even if it is a half-truth or just “pure theater”, is appreciated by the consumer and… they take advantage.
For this reason, this hybridization between fiction and realism makes us “drop the blindfold” and denounces a situation of blatant deception.
Andreu Escrivà is an environmentalist and author of the award-winning book “Encara no és tard: claus per a entendre i aturar el canvi climàtic (Bromera, 2017)”.
‘Sitopia. Cómo pueden salvar el mundo los alimentos‘, by Carolyn Steel
Food, a vital need, nothing trivial.
The author of “Ciudades hambrientas” focuses on how our diet, the food we eat 3 or more times a day (in affluent societies), connects us not only to our own bodies, but also to homes, cities, countryside, nature and time.
His recipe combines the pleasure of eating, coexistence with the beings with whom we cohabit and the planet.
Only through a conscious and slow decision, we will be able to continue enjoying nature and gain in health.
Carolyn Steel is an architect and professor and was proclaimed by The Ecologist Magazine as a visionary of the 21st century.
‘Terra cremada. Revolució o extinció‘, by Eloi Juvillà
The very title reveals the urgency to act, connecting with the principles and strength of youth movements in defense of the planet.
We must remember where we come from and recognize what is the undeniable and stubborn reality. Faced with the denial or immobility of some, the author opts for action. It is no longer enough to become aware and move from climate change to climate emergency. Now is the time for collective struggle and leadership on decarbonization, degrowth and inequalities. It is time to free ourselves from the superfluous and stay with the essence.
Eloi Juvillà is an architect specializing in sustainability and healthy cities. He works to make the buildings of the Diputació de Barcelona a model of efficiency and climate neutrality.
‘Net positive. How courageous companies thrive by giving more than they take‘, by Paul Polman & Andrew Winston
Beyond a book about large corporations, it is a compilation of lessons learned from transformation processes in which concepts such as cohesion, equality, health, biodiversity and sustainability have triumphed… from a human scale, with the premise that there cannot be healthy people on a sick planet.
It is not just a matter of not emitting carbon into the atmosphere, but of being able to have a positive impact on the environment.
We need leaders with courage, pioneers who illustrate that change is possible and we need to accelerate the pace. Beyond goodwill or philanthropy, the math works out.
Paul Polman led the multinational UNILEVER and advises on climate action and inequality in business and Andrew Winston is a recognized thinker on global business strategy and trends.
‘Energia sobirana. Com Catalunya pot ser autosuficient en energia renovable‘, by Ramon Tremosa and Jaume Morron
Wind and sun, abundant to varying degrees in our country, are no longer the energy of the future, they are the energy of the present.
In addition, the authors bring to the table another natural resource that was ‘domesticated’ decades ago: water. And how to take advantage of the potential of dammed water to make reversible power plants that, at the same time, are large energy storage facilities.
Ramon Tremosa is a member of the Parliament of Catalonia, Minister of Business and Knowledge of the Generalitat (2020-2021), and Jaume Morron is partner and director of dialEC – Communication for Sustainability.
‘Per què les dones salvaran el planeta‘, by various female authors
Behind the voices of Christiana Figueres, Patricia Espinosa, Zandile Gumede or Yayo Herrero…, there are life experiences from different continents.
However, they all send a choral message about the role of women and gender equality as one of the basic premises of climate action and social justice.
Beyond a historical reparation of women as mainstays of life, perhaps ecofeminism is the last hope of our species.
‘Eco-houses. Sustainability & Quality of life‘
As a catalog, we discover homes in which the symbiosis between the ecosystem and the territory with the built space is one of the basic coordinates.
Sustainable construction and design are also nourished by the respectful use of materials and resources, energy efficiency or other ad hoc strategies, depending on the site.
This organic and long-lasting vision of the building and its relationship with its surroundings combines perfectly to offer sustainable, sensory and healthy spaces.
‘La muerte de los bosques‘, by Francisco Lloret
Questions such as: What is a forest, how does it work, why are some forests collapsing all over the planet, are answered throughout the pages of paper, just one of the products that come out of the forest.
Through a journey through different continents, the author alerts us to the suffering of the forests. These generous beings provide us with services, often unknown or ignored. Thus, we obtain raw material, concentrate biodiversity or favor a certain climatic comfort. We thank them for it with their overexploitation.
Many simultaneous causes are contributing to the collapse, with the major aggravating factor of climate change and drought, both of which are major and result in virulent and inextinguishable fires or aggressive plagues.
Forests are a source of life and are screaming at us to rethink our relationship with them.
Francisco Lloret is Professor of Ecology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and researcher at the Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF).
‘Regénesis. Alimentar al mundo sin devorar el planeta‘, by George Monbiot
As urbanites, we perceive the countryside and rurality as a bucolic and harmonious space. Monbiot radically dismantles this fanciful and romantic idea with the conviction that the agri-food industry, and especially livestock farming (including extensive livestock farming), are voracious and pose an environmental threat.
It proposes to rethink our model with new strategies of production, food consumption and diet, to move towards a re-naturalization and spontaneous re-generation of ecosystems.
George Monbiot is a journalist and political activist. He writes a weekly column for The Guardian and is the author of Heat (Heat: How to stop global warming), among others.
‘Rescuing the Planet: Protecting Half the Land to Heal the Earth‘, by Tony Hiss
A proposal as daring as it is necessary, to protect half of the earth by 2050, a symbolism that does not hide the urgency of letting the planet keep pace.
Several voices, in the form of a mosaic and according to their way of seeing the world, point this out. From the earth sciences or engineering, among others, or from the common sense of the native peoples of America, who know well the secrets of this living organism, our planet, we are invited to join hi.
Tony Hiss is a journalist who has been a regular contributor to The New Yorker magazine, author of the award-winning “The Experience of Place”.
