Reading List
American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century
by Kevin Philips
In this disturbing book, Phillips outlines in detail just how much trouble this US ‘empire’ is in. He describes in compelling terms why the era of the US superpower may be coming to an end.
The Body of God: an Ecological Theology
by Sallie McFague
“On our planet we are the self-conscious aspect of the body of God, the part of the divine body able to work with God, the spirit who creates and redeems us, to bring about the liberation and healing of the earth and all its creatures.” McFague outlines a theology of God immersed in creation, and we immersed in God, part of God’s body within the unfolding creation story. An important restatement of theology in the context of scientific revelations.
Earth Dance: Living Systems in Evolution
by Elisabet Sahtouris
Sahtouris eloquently describes the journey of evolution, the biological connections of all life, the role of the human in evolution, the threat and the hope posed by our presence on earth.
Field Notes from a Catastrophe
by Elizabeth Kolbert
Sobering, clear recounting of the threat of climate change. Accessible articulation of the science behind it. A damning indictment of the failure to act on the part of the US government. Clarion call to action.
The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community
by David Korten
Makes the case that we humans are a choicemaking species that at this defining moment faces both the opportunity and the imperative to choose our future as a conscious collective act.
The Great Work: Our Way Into the Future
by Thomas Berry
Noted monk and so-called ‘geologian,’ Berry provides a stark diagnosis of the deleterious manner in which humans have lived on the planet, one that could end in the extinction of the human altogether. In this profound reflection on what is wrong with us, Berry also speaks of the ‘great work’ before us, “to carry out the transition from a period of human devastation of the Earth to period when humans would be present to the planet in a mutually enhancing way,” from “the terminal Cenozoic [era] to the emerging Ecozoic era.” No less than that. The book is foundational within Earth Spirituality circles, a must-read.
High Tide: The Truth About Our Climate Crisis
by Mark Lynas
Travelogue through communities impacted by global warming around the world — powerful and deeply moving.
The Ingenuity Gap: Facing the Economic, Environmental, and Other Challenges of an Increasingly Complex and Unpredictable World
by Thomas Homer-Dixon
“Never before have we been able to disrupt the fundamental processes of Earth’s climate and ecology…the problems that we face today spill across geographical and intellectual boundaries, their complexity often exceeds our wildest imaginations, and they converge and intertwine in totally unexpected ways.” Technology has made our world so complex and fast-paced that our minds cannot keep up with the pace of change, creating an ‘ingenuity gap.” As the gap widens, we are losing control of our destiny. Not an easy read — dense, loaded, compelling, and very, very important.
Integrating Ecofeminism, Globalization and World Religions
by Rosemary Radford Ruether
Knits together four concerns: globalization, interfaith ecological theology, ecofeminism, and deglobalization movements and thought. Examines how gender needs to be connected with inter-faith ecological theology and with critical analysis of globalization.
Like Grains of Wheat: A Spirituality of Solidarity
by Margaret Swedish and Marie Dennis
Articulates the spirituality of solidarity that has emerged from 25 years of US faith-based solidarity work with the people of Central America.
Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update
by Donella Meadows, Jorgen Randers, Dennis Meadows
An essential resource for understanding the extent of the crisis of ecological overshoot — living way beyond the means of the planet to sustain and nurture us. It is the update of a book that early on sounded the alarms about what it would mean to live on a depleted planet as population grows and we continue to organize our economies around extraction, consumption and waste. Thirty years later, with all the data updated, the authors conclude that things are worse than predicted 3 decades ago. This alarm needs to be put at the heads of sleeping religious and cultural leaders, educators and politicians, communities that care about what kind of world we will leave to the generations coming after us.
The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the 21st Century: Surviving the Converging Catastrophes of the 21st Century
by James Howard Kuntsler
A doom-and-gloom scenario of what it will mean to face the end of oil, climate change, and the resulting breakdown of civilization.
The Revenge of Gaia: Earth’s Climate Crisis & the Fate of Humanity
by James Lovelock
Very frightening account of how humans, by our unsustainable levels of consumption, are breaking down Gaia, the Earth’s self-regulating balance of life.
The Two-Mile Time Machine: Ice Cores, Abrupt Climate Change and Our Future
by Richard Alley
A leading climate scientist describes the research of probing ice cores and ocean sediments to understand how climate changes and why. Warns that climate could change abruptly, and that global warming could be a trigger.
The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and the Renewal of Civilization
by Thomas Homer-Dixon
We are headed into a time of great upheavals, breakdowns, and collapses. Civilizations have gone through such times many times in human history, collapses of empires, greatness and diminishment, usually as a result of overreach and depletion of basic resources. Only now the potential for vast destruction is greater than ever before. Homer-Dixon does not promise a way to avoid catastrophe, but rather how to live through it. He writes of how such times can awaken the best in human ingenuity and creativity, offering the potential for renewal amidst the breakdowns. This book changed how I think about these things!