Here you will find reading lists that your friendly library staff have curated. These lists reflect the display that is currently up in the Learning Commons. You can find these and other books within the display.
Books & eBooks
Ai for the Sustainable Development Goals
What is artificial intelligence? What are the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? How does AI affect the SDGs? Artificial Intelligence has a real impact on our lives and on our environment, and the Sustainable Development Goals enable us to evaluate these impacts in a systematic manner. This book shows that doing so requires us to understand the context of AI - the infrastructure it is built on, who develops it, who owns it, who has access to it, who uses it, and what it is used for - rather than relying on an isolationist theory of technology. By doing so, we can analyze not only the direct effects of AI on sustainability, but also the indirect - or second-order - effects. AI for the Sustainable Development Goals shows how AI potentially affects all SDGs - both positively and negatively.
Call Number: eBook
The Circular Economy
A Circular Economy seeks to rebuild capital, whether this is financial, manufactured, human, social or natural, and offers opportunities and solutions for all organisations. This book, written by Walter Stahel, who is widely recognised as one of the key people who formulated the concept of the Circular Economy, is the perfect introduction for anyone wanting to quickly get up to speed with this vitally important topic for ensuring sustainable development. It sets out a new framework that refines the concept of a Circular Economy and how it can be applied at industrial levels. This concise book presents the key themes for busy managers and policymakers and some of the newest thinking on the topic of the Circular Economy from one of the leading thinkers in the field. Practical examples and case studies with real-life data are used to elucidate the ideas presented within the book.
Call Number: eBook
Dictionary of Sustainability
The Dictionary of Sustainability provides clear and accurate definitions of the extensive vocabulary that has developed in this emerging and interdisciplinary field, saving considerable time from searching through the massive quantity of information of differing degrees of quality that is available through the Internet. Providing authoritative definitions of standard terms used by scholars and practitioners it provides a clear and thorough conceptual framework and ensures those delving into topics for the first time, or returning to them, can quickly find what they need. It also contains careful use of cross-references, and includes several expanded entries to provide readers with nuanced understanding of important topics. The dictionary will be essential reading for all students studying sustainability topics, as well as a handy reference for practitioners wanting to make a sustainable difference in the workplace.
Call Number: GE 196 .R635 2017
The Earth's Blanket
Renowned ethnobotanist Nancy Turner distills in this volume her decades of experience working with First Nations in the Pacific Northwest. The Earth's Blanket explores the wealth of ecological knowledge and the deep personal connection to the land and its history that is encoded in indigenous stories and lifeways, and what they may be able to teach all of us about living in harmony with our surroundings. Scholarly in its thinking but accessible in its writing, The Earth's Blanket combines first-person research with insightful critiques of Western concepts of environmental management and scientific ecology to propose how systems of traditional ecological knowledge can be recognized and enhanced. It is an important book, a magnum opus, with the power to transform our way of thinking about the Earth and our place within it.
Call Number: GF 21 .T87 2005
Modeling for Sustainable Development: a Multidisciplinary Approach
Sustainable development is a highly integrated concept that encompasses many disciplines such as economics, social sciences, culture, technologies, natural resources, and environmental domains, while achieving sustainable development is a comprehensive multidisciplinary process involving coordination and function. Through research and teaching, the transdisciplinary science of sustainability is a fundamental part of this approach. This book offers approaches to develop a transdisciplinary perspective that encompasses the natural, social, and human sciences in the search for a sustainable society.
Call Number: eBook
Original Instructions
Indigenous leaders and other visionaries suggest solutions to today's global crisis. Original Instructions are ancient ways of living from the heart of humanity within the heart of nature. Explores the convergence of indigenous and contemporary science and the re-indigenization of the world's peoples. Includes authoritative indigenous voices, including John Mohawk and Winona LaDuke. For millennia the world's indigenous peoples have acted as guardians of the web of life for the next seven generations. They've successfully managed complex reciprocal relationships between biological and cultural diversity. Awareness of indigenous knowledge is reemerging at the eleventh hour to help avert global ecological and social collapse. Indigenous cultural wisdom shows us how to live in peace--with the earth and one another. Original Instructions evokes the rich indigenous storytelling tradition in this collection of presentations gathered from the annual Bioneers conference. It depicts how the world's native leaders and scholars are safeguarding the original instructions, reminding us about gratitude, kinship, and a reverence for community and creation. Included are more than 20 contemporary indigenous leaders--such as Chief Oren Lyons, John Mohawk, Winona LaDuke, and John Trudell. These beautiful, wise voices remind us where hope lies.
Call Number: GF 50 .O74 2008
Sustainability: What it is and how to measure it
Sustainability: What It Is and How to Measure It begins with a succinct business-focused summary of how to think about the risks and opportunities associated with sustainability. The author then includes his proprietary framework, The Corporate Sustainability ScorecardTM C-suite rating system, including the over 140 key sustainability indicators that are used to rate an organization's sustainability efforts. Each KSI includes examples from organizations around the world, giving the reader a complete and unbiased understanding of all aspects of sustainability. The Scorecard has been developed over the past 20 years and used by more than 70 corporations to rate themselves on sustainability. Gilbert S. Hedstrom illustrates the use of the Scorecard with hundreds of examples. He discusses sustainability transformation, governance, and strategy and execution. Social responsibility and environmental stewardship form important parts of his discourse in this important contribution to the debate on sustainability that will benefit business executives and those interested in sustainability and business. Read the author's related article on the NACD blog here: https://blog.nacdonline.org/posts/pge-lessons-oversight
Call Number: eBook
The Sustainability Handbook
The Sustainability Handbook covers all the challenges, complexities and benefits of sustainability for businesses, governments and other organizations. It provides a blueprint for how organizations can reach or exceed economic, social and environmental excellence. It offers a host of practical approaches and tools including a model sustainability policy for organizations, summaries of sustainability codes and tips on selecting them, an extensive collection of metrics and a wealth of supplementary reference material. This is the essential reference for every organization in pursuit of sustainability.
Call Number: HC 110 .E5 B563 2015
Web Resources
David Suzuki Foundation
"We collaborate with Canadians from all walks of life, including government and business, to conserve our environment and find solutions that will create a sustainable Canada through science-based research, education and policy work."
International Institute for Sustainable Development
The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) is an award-winning independent think tank working to fulfill a bold commitment: to create a world where people and the planet thrive.
The Lazy Person's Guide to Saving the World - UN
End extreme poverty. Fight inequality and injustice. Fix climate change. Whoa. The Sustainable Development Goals are important, world-changing objectives that will require cooperation among governments, international organizations and world leaders. It seems impossible that the average person can make an impact. Should you just give up?
No! Change starts with you. Seriously. Every human on earth—even the most indifferent, laziest person among us—is part of the solution. Fortunately, there are some super easy things we can adopt into our routines that, if we all do it, will make a big difference.
Have a look at just a few of the many things you can do to make an impact!
Sustainable Development Report
The Sustainable Development Report (formerly the SDG Index & Dashboards) is a global assessment of countries' progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. It is a complement to the official SDG indicators and the voluntary national reviews.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals are a call for action by all countries – poor, rich and middle-income – to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. They recognize that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and address a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while tackling climate change and environmental protection.
Videos
Achieving Global Sustainability and Real Prosperity
In this program, Hazel Henderson discusses with Frank Dixon, MBA, author of Global System Change, the massive transition now underway to innovate and build societies powered by renewable energy and resources. All are based on more cooperative sharing models. This transition management is driven by paradigms beyond traditional economics, based on new understanding of human behavior and the integrated science of Earth systems. This new knowledge is seeping into financial models, steering investments to more sustainable production, and promoting ecosystem regeneration. Transition management methods require redefining growth and prosperity and reshaping our political systems, mass media and lifestyles. These changes are underway at every level-from individuals and communities to nations, corporations and international organizations.
Greenwashing : the secret that some 'eco-friendly' brands don't want you to know video
Do you ever see companies using terms like "sustainable" or "eco-friendly?" It could be a clue that they are doing something called greenwashing. That's when an organization, product label or even an individual misleads consumers about their environmental practices or benefits of a product. And they usually do this to get people who care about the environment to spend their money on them.
I am Greta
The story of teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg is told through compelling, never-before-seen footage in this intimate documentary from Swedish director Nathan Grossman. Starting with her one-person school strike for climate action outside the Swedish Parliament, Grossman follows Greta -- a shy student with Asperger's -- in her rise to prominence and her galvanizing global impact as she sparks school strikes around the world. The film culminates with her extraordinary wind-powered voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to speak at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York City.
Sustainable Food Product Design
Sustainability has become a major focus of food scientists around the world. This program introduces the producers who are dedicated to providing the best for both consumers and the environment in packaged and processed foods. The video takes students through each stage of the food design process, identifying some of the key elements that should be considered when looking at sustainable product design. Topics include nutritious meals, sustainable ingredients, eco-friendly packaging, eating local, seasonal, and organic food, and more.
Suzuki Diaries: Sustainability in Action
The Suzuki Diaries is a road trip, a travelogue, an adventure. The legendary David Suzuki and his youngest daughter Sarika, a university student about to start her own career in the sciences, are full of hope as they travel to Europe to see what sustainability truly looks like. In Germany, Denmark, France and Spain, they set out to meet the people working to restore the equilibrium between human needs and planetary limits. They find a renewable energy expert, a biodynamic farmer and writer, a blogging bike enthusiast, two meticulous industrial designers, and a political powerhouse in the green movement. What they discover is that sustainability can be built into the fabric of contemporary life, not just by environmentalists but by anyone, across the full spectrum of society. The idea, innovations and inspiring individuals David and Sarika encounter prove that sustainability does not mean sacrificing quality of life. The Suzuki Diaries illustrates what is truly possible if humans have the will.