Environmentalism Books and more – at your finger tips

Books Do you want to keep up on the latest new and upcoming books on a specific aspect of Environmentalism? Then every Wednesday check out The Green Life, or subscribe to their RSS feed and receive it on your computer. If your interest is Food Politics, then maybe Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal is a book for you. This is written by Tristram Stuart who has become so dedicated to reducing food waste that he has become a FREEGAN (some one who lives off discarded or self-produced food).  Through his investigations he finds out that it is not underproduction but waste  that is at the cause of world’s food problems. Or maybe it is Building Green Communities, then how about looking at Change the World for ten Bucks: small actions x lots of people = Big Change. This is by a London-based nonprofit We Are What We Do which has put together 50 actions that can lead to more sustainable communities. Each week they cover a different subject, such as: Forests, Building Green Communities and making craft projects from recycled or eco-friendly materials. You never know what you will find. It could be something new that you might just become passionate about. If you see a book that you think the Library should invest in, you can recommend it here.

NuCast “Future of Reading” features Dean Wakeling

I just finished watching the latest NuCast installment–a live discussion on the Future of Reading, with our library dean, Will Wakeling,  and Professor of English and Vice-Provost Mary Loeffelholz, along with Eve Bridburg, a literary agent, (moderated by Tawna Rathe). It started out with a discussion of the Kindle, and then took up the question of whether it’s different to read books, write about and discuss books, edit, sell, and preserve books, when books are digital. (Not to give anything away, but the short answer is “Yes!”)  It’s less than an hour long, and if you missed it, for now anyway you can watch it here.

Recommended Reading: Juleen Brantingham

I’m often classified as a literary nerd.

I’m proud to say that’s completely true. I absolutely love reading, but even those of us who enjoy burying our noses in a good book can occasionally suffer from short attention spans.

That’s where the beauty of short stories can truly be appreciated. Recently, I was introduced to the writings of Juleen Brantingham. I have quite a few short story compilations and though I have come across her name a handful of times, I’d never actually read one of her stories. In this instance, a story she had written entitled “Something About Camilla” came to my attention and I decided to give it try.

By the time I’d finished it, it had become an instant favorite. The story itself, which deals with a group of friends at their high school reunion, was quite good. However, it was the build up and development of the story that really impressed me. I wouldn’t quite call it a horror story, more like mystery with a few creepy moments sprinkled in.

Although the story is not easy to come across, it is available in Snell as it is a featured short story in Final Shadows – the last installment of the Shadows anthology.

The Race Beat: Then and Now

This coming Wednesday, the Library is co-sponsoring a talk titled “The Race Beat: Then and Now” along with the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project (CRRJ), the Northeastern University Law School Forum, and the School of Journalism. With Gene Roberts, Hank Klibanoff authored The Race Beat, winning a Pulitzer for the work in 2007.  Klibanoff, former managing editor of the Atlanta Constitution and a distinguished journalist (with a successful stint at the Boston Globe), is currently managing editor of the Cold Case Truth and Justice Project.  As he describes it, “this multimedia, multi-partner project uses investigative reporting to dig out the truth behind unsolved racial murders that took place during the modern civil rights era in the South.  The project, led by the Center for Investigative Reporting, is using professional reporters, documentary filmmakers, multimedia experts, public interest advocacy groups and lawyers to fill in history’s huge gaps, to correct its myths and to bring exposure, reconciliation and, where possible, criminal prosecution.”  Klibanoff, a long-time resident of Atlanta, is working on a Corporation for Public Broadcasting-funded treatment for a four-part documentary series on unsolved civil rights murders. Joining Hank Klibanoff will be Judy Richardson, award-winning filmmaker (Eyes on the Prize, American Experience’s Malcolm X Make it Plain), educator, and lifelong social and civil rights activist.  Richardson was a staff member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) for three years in the early 1960s.  Richardson will show a clip from her newest documentary, Scarred Justice: The Orangeburg Massacre 1968. Described as a “powerful antidote to historical amnesia,” the film has won wide acclaim. Margaret Burnham, Director of CRRJ, will moderate.

The Race Beat: Then and Now

Wednesday, October 7th, at 6 p.m.

Northeastern University School of Law

65 Forsyth Street; 230 Dockser Hall

World March for Peace and Nonviolence

World March for Peace and Nonviolence logo October 2, 2009 the anniversary of Gandhi’s birth has been declared the “International Day of Nonviolence” by the United Nations and it is also the day for the start of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence This march, as it circles the world, is calling for the end of war, nuclear weapons and the elimination of all violence (physical, economic, racial, religious, cultural, sexual and psychological). The World March for Peace and Nonviolence will be starting in New Zealand on Friday at 9.30 am on October 2, 2009 from the Gandhi statue, at the Wellington Central Railway Station, Wellington. The march will continue on through 90 countries, over all 6 continents ending on Janurary 2nd, 2010 at the foot of Mount Aconcagua in the Andes Mountains (Punta de Vacas, Argentina). The marchers will be joined along the way by others who stand for peace and nonviolence, and are trying to create a better world for us all. The cities that the march passes through will be holding many different events such as marches, forums, conferences and sporting, cultural, and social events all related to Peace and Nonviolence. Some of the Proposals of the World March are: “nuclear disarmament at a global level,” “the signing of non-aggression treaties between countries,” and “the progressive and proportional reduction of conventional weapons.” These have been created in the hope that they will inspire and create a consciousness for peace and disarmament. If you would like to follow the march there is a map on the World March for Peace and Nonviolence webpage. To see more information on the World March for Peace and Nonviolence, check out these two webpages, March for Peace and Nonviolence and March for Peace and Nonviolence-New Zealand. If you are interested in learning more about Gandhi,  the peace and non-violence movement, and nuclear disarmament, be sure to check out the resources available in Snell.  And you may also be interested in our upcoming talk on Bertrand Russell, another philosopher and peace activist, on October 28.