Green Publishers: Turning Over a New Leaf
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 06. 4.07
Online media is great, and there is certainly an ecological benefit to paper-free publishing. However, sometimes there’s nothing like a good book when you really want to get to the heart of the matter. Yesterday we brought news of the Centre for Alternative Technology’s book publishing program, and in doing so, we realized that there are many other important publishers of green books that we have not covered on TreeHugger, so we thought we’d do a little run through of some of what’s out there.
Take Chelsea Green Publishing for instance. While we’ve covered important titles of theirs, like Food Not Lawns, before, and we mentioned them in our guide for authors on How to Green Your Book, we are yet to do a post on this wonderful institution. Founded in 1984, Chelsea Green bills itself as ‘the preeminent publisher of books on sustainable living.’ Boasting over 400 titles, Chelsea Green includes high profile political titles like Don’t Think of an Elephant, inspiring fables like The Man Who Planted Trees, and important how-to guides like The Strawbale House on its list.
Chelsea Green is also the US distributor for Green Books, a UK-based publisher with titles like Diary of an Eco-Builder and Organic Gardening: The Natural No-Dig Way. Green Books are also responsible for publishing the highly influential series of Schumacher Briefings, which is inspired by the late economist E.F. Schumacher, and which includes Bioregional Solutions for Living on One Planet, whose authors were interviewed by TreeHugger here.
Staying on that side of the Atlantic for now, Eco-logic Books is another publisher and distributor of important, practical titles on green living and sustainability. This Bristol-based company has a catalogue covering a huge list of subjects, and has produced books on LETS, Seed Saving, Farmers Markets, Green Woodworking, Yurt making and Allotments.
Finally, for the more academically minded, there is Earthscan, which describes itself as one of the world’s leading publishers on sustainable development. Recent books include From Kyoto to the Town Hall, Voluntary Carbon Markets, and Scaling Urban Environmental Challenges.
Of course we are 100% sure that we haven’t even begun to cover all the great publishers that are out there fighting the good fight, so feel free to use the comments box to keep us informed. In the meantime, happy reading…
