10 Insightful and Empowering Books on Sustainability

Ashlee Piper’s no-nonsense approach to reining in our consumerist impulses has made her a regular commentator on TV and a role model for people who want to leave a lighter footprint. Her journey started with a two-year pledge to buy nothing new, a way to discard what she calls “conditioned consumerism.” When she completed that challenge, she found herself not only out of debt and free of clutter, but far better in health and spirits. She even freed up personal time after she stopped scrolling and shopping online. Now she’s sharing her tips for easy everyday actions to simplify your own life while saving the planet in the process. “No New Things is just what the doctor ordered. This book is transformational” (Katie Couric).

Birdgirl is a moving nature memoir by birder, environmentalist, and activist Mya-Rose Craig, who has traveled the globe with her family since she was an infant in search of rare birds and landscapes. While she’s witnessed the world through its wild wonders, she’s also experienced threats to that fragile beauty, from the environmental devastation wrought by pollution and man-made climate change to the persistent spread of racism and her own mother’s battles with mental health. Birdgirl captures Craig’s remarkable life story, detailing the solace that nature provides in times of crisis and reminding us all that nature deserves to be protected at any cost. 

Ever wondered how the lifestyle choices you make contribute to the climate crisis? Wonder no more. Mike Berners-Lee has done a deep dive into the cause and effect of daily actions, whether it’s choosing to drive an SUV to work or ride an electric scooter, or chowing down on slabs of beef rather than munching a salad. Of course, one’s carbon footprint is inextricably connected to wealth (private jet, anyone?), and not everyone can afford to make the most environmentally friendly choices. Still, The Carbon Footprint of Everything is a useful resource and a reminder that we all have a part to play in combating climate change and leading a more sustainable existence.

Journalist Dana Thomas has traveled the world researching the global fashion industry, shining a bright light on the murky business choices and exploitative worker practices of “fast fashion” outfits. She’s also profiled breakthroughs in high-tech fashion and sustainable clothing production, pointing to innovative methods such as 3-D-printing clothes, recycling fabric, creating clean denim while saving gallons of water in the process, and even growing materials in labs. In Fashionopolis, Thomas pulls back the curtain for all of us to see, revealing the steps you can take to make your wardrobe as sustainable as possible. “Thoroughly reported and persuasively written, [Thomas’s] clarion call for more responsible practices in fashion will speak to both industry professionals and socially conscious consumers” (Publishers Weekly).

The New York Times bestseller Drawdown bills itself as “the Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming.” It’s a crucial read, a blueprint for going forward. Paul Hawken has pulled together a collection of in-depth research on every aspect of the climate crisis, from international finance to food production to cutting-edge science, all designed to illuminate both the problems we face and the solutions we can promote. And these are real, practical solutions — Hawken discusses harnessing tidal, wind, and solar energy; restoring farmland; promoting clean cook stoves globally; educating girls to strength communities’ resilience to climate change; reducing food waste; and eating plant-based meals. If you’re looking for a comprehensive book on sustainability and how you can help reverse the impacts of global warming and overconsumption, this is an excellent place to start.

It takes a talented writer to blend science-based and traditional views of nature, and botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer is up to the task. A member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Kimmerer grew up with deep respect and devotion for nature and plants, learning that we’re partners with the natural world, not its overseers, and that we must listen to it if we hope to lead a more sustainable life. She describes Braiding Sweetgrass as “an intertwining of science, spirit, and stories,” and that’s perfect. Her life experiences and love of science are shared in eloquent stories, creating what author Elizabeth Gilbert calls “A hymn of love to the world.”

You could add “zero-fuss” to Chef Bonneau’s title — she’s practical not zealous, encouraging us to follow her tried-and-true strategies for reducing our use of plastic (think glass jars for storage, freezing, everything), cooking and preserving fresh, unprocessed food, and composting. Many of her suggestions in The Zero-Waste Chef give a hat-tip to Grandma and simpler times, when no food was wasted and pickling ruled. Slow down, cook from your pantry, adapt recipes to use what you already have, and think how you will use every scrap. Save the world — and money!

An Oxford University data scientist offering an alternative to global gloom and doom? Yes. Hannah Ritchie stresses the importance of quantifying evidence before taking action — that, she says, can help channel our passion into the most effective causes. While she believes there are reasons to be encouraged, she doesn’t downplay our global sustainability crisis; instead she suggests taking a broader view and responding to systemic forces. Ritchie hopes to replace paralysis with practical action in Not the End of the World. And she’s confident we can do this if we just work together: The subtitle of her book on sustainability is “How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet.”

Readers may recognize Hope Jahren from her memoir Lab Girl, which earned the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography and the American Association for the Advancement of Science Prize for Excellence in Science, among other awards. The Story of More is just as readable and interesting. Jahren parlays her scientific knowledge into lively chapters explaining the causes and effects of climate change, both natural and human. She has a talent for making complicated science easy to understand, and she doesn’t shy away from hard truths as she lays the facts on the line. Jahren also shares her recommendations for ways we can fight to reduce the threat of climate catastrophe, making this a proactive as well as a scholarly work.

Greta Thunberg is still just 22 years old. It feels as if she has been our environmental conscience for longer. In The Climate Book, she gives us a variety of perspectives from more than a hundred experts, from meteorologists to engineers, geophysicists, oceanographers and economists to historians, philosophers, and Indigenous leaders. Thunberg’s aim has always been to share the facts of climate change so we will be informed and then act; here she shares her discoveries of the extent of greenwashing and attempts to hide evidence of the environmental crisis we face. There is hope: As her publisher writes, “If