Enter Amazon.

The pandemic strengthened the behemoth’s grip on the e-commerce retail market, with the problematic company seeing a 220 percent increase in profit in 2021. 

Taking into account buyers’ growing interest in both local and ethical consumption, you can see why many shoppers are choosing to ditch Amazon in favor of more sustainable (and often, more affordable) options. Yet for conscious shoppers navigating the upcoming holiday season, the retail giant’s reach and influence can be seemingly inescapable. That’s why we’ve compiled a helpful guide to get you started.

Check out our 2023 holiday shopping guide, featuring the best Amazon alternatives in every industry:

Books

A good read will always be a great gift. 

Currently, Amazon’s sales account for 65 percent of all new book purchases made online. The trend paints a devastating picture for smaller online booksellers looking to provide quality titles to shoppers at affordable prices. Luckily, there are options. 

Bookshop is an online bookstore whose sales support local and independent shops. Book Outlet and Thriftbooks are also great alternatives where you can find new and used book titles at heavily discounted rates. 

Technology

Chances are, new gadgets and gizmos make up a good chunk of your holiday shopping list. If you’ve been eyeing a new laptop, tablet or high-res camera, you may be able to find them on other electronic sites. 

Newegg and Microcenter are two popular online retailers that offer computers and electronics with product selections similar to that of Amazon. 

Hardware & Sports

From the avid DIYers to the active sportsmen, most of us have at least one hardware lover to think about this holiday season. 

Ace Hardware is a national retail cooperative where shoppers can find tools, equipment and machinery. REI is a consumer cooperative offering sporting goods, camping gear, travel equipment, and clothing options.

Beauty  

For the self-care lover in your life. Nothing says “I love you” like a relaxing at-home facial or the perfect shade of lip tint. If you’re in search of ethical alternatives to a variety of beauty needs, we’ve got you covered.

Lush is a popular bath, body, skin and hair care company providing shoppers with ethically-sourced, cruelty-free, and low-waste products. Credo Beauty also provides a large array of sustainable beauty brands and products. Love Goodly is a subscription box that includes cruelty-free, vegan, eco-friendly, non-toxic beauty offerings that are perfect for gifting.

Art

Gifters interested in more eclectic and artistic offerings can head over to Society6 and Artisans Cooperative.

Society6 is an online marketplace featuring artwork from a community of 300,000+ independent artists. Shoppers can find wall art, home decor, and more. Artisans Cooperative, (a multi-stakeholder cooperative alternative to Etsy) is a place where artists and makers can list and sell their goods, and collectively run a business. And where customers can browse and find unique items that they can trust are made with care and skill.

Fashion

As the fast fashion industry attracts more heat for its exploitative nature, alternatives are popping up in the form of second-hand clothing shops and ethical fashion marketplaces. For the fair-minded fashionista in your life, these options are the perfect place to source a gift.

Depop and Poshmark offer unique, high-quality, and gently used garments, while ThredUp is an online consignment/thrift shop that stocks heavily discounted name-brand pieces. 

A dive into Dressember’s Ethical Fashion Directory will connect consumers with ethical brands where they can find new, seasonal trends (They even have a holiday guide!).

Miscellaneous 

If you’re not quite sure where to start on your shopping list, these online marketplaces are a good place to gain some footing. Offering everything from home goods to pet care and seasonal gifts, you’re sure to find something for everyone on your list.

Earth Hero is a sustainable e-platform aiming to make conscious consumption the new norm. On Package Free Shop, you can find a large variety of sustainable, green, eco friendly, plastic free products. MadeTrade offers fair trade, artisan-made, eco-friendly, and handmade products.

Check out these related articles & resources:

• Accessible local alternatives to Amazon Prime
• Socially conscious book buying alternatives to Amazon
• How to save money by initiating a no-cost holiday tradition

This article was previously published in 2021 and has received a slight update for 2023.

The post How to shop for the holidays (using Amazon alternatives!) appeared first on Shareable.

From essay collections and evocative memoirs to urbanist handbooks and anti-capitalist manifestos, these women-authored books cover a wide range of topics ranging from Indigenous perspectives on ecological reparation to the global implications of women’s unpaid physical and emotional labor. You’ll find cemented best-sellers and acclaimed new releases, and whatever your interest, this collection is sure to offer up something you’ll love. 

Dig in and let us know if we missed any of your favorite women-authored books. (If you see a title missing, you can leave us a note at info@shareable.net.) Your rec’ might just end up in our next round up. ‘Til then, we’re wishing you a Happy Spring and happy reading!

How We Show Up: Reclaiming Family, Friendship, and Community by Mia Birdsong

In How We Show Up, community visionary Mia Birdsong delivers a compelling, timely understanding of what true, authentic family and community can look like — outside of the 2-parent, 2.5 kids norm we all have in our heads. 

Tackling topics like creating safe spaces, creativity in community, raising children in community, and more, How We Show Up is the antidote to the social fractures we face in our nation today. By sharing stories and actionable advice, and taking cues from marginalized communities — people of color, women, the LGBTQ movement — Mia Birdsong offers us the blueprint we need to build true community wherever we are.

Global Woman: Nannies, Maids, and Sex Workers in the New Economy by Barbara Ehrenreich

As timely now as it was when it was released twenty years ago, Barbara Ehrenreich’s Global Woman is a groundbreaking anthology that reveals a new era in which the main resource extracted from developing nations is no longer gold or silver, but love. 

Women are moving around the globe as never before. But for every female executive racking up frequent flier miles, there are multitudes of women whose journeys go unnoticed. Each year, millions leave third-world countries to work in the homes, nurseries, and brothels of the first world. This broad-scale transfer of labor results in an odd displacement, in which the female energy that flows to wealthy countries is subtracted from poor ones — easing a “care deficit” in rich countries while creating one back home. 

Confronting a range of topics from the fate of Vietnamese mail-order brides to the importation of Mexican nannies in Los Angeles, Global Woman offers an original look at a world increasingly shaped by mass migration and economic exchange. 

Girl, Woman, Other: A Novel by Bernadine Evaristo

Girl, Woman, Other is a magnificent portrayal of the intersections of identity and a moving and hopeful story of an interconnected group of Black British women that paints a vivid portrait of the state of contemporary Britain and looks back to the legacy of Britain’s colonial history in Africa and the Caribbean.

Sparklingly witty and filled with emotion, centering voices we often see othered, and written in an innovative fast-moving form that borrows technique from poetry, Girl, Woman, Other is a polyphonic and richly textured social novel that shows a side of Britain we rarely see, one that reminds us of all that connects us to our neighbors, even in times when we are encouraged to be split apart.

Becoming Kin: An Indigenous Call to Unforgetting the Past and Reimagining Our Future by Patty Krawec

Weaving her own story with the story of her ancestors and with the broader themes of creation, replacement, and disappearance, Krawec helps readers see settler colonialism through the eyes of an Indigenous writer. 

Braiding together historical, scientific, and cultural analysis, Indigenous ways of knowing, and the vivid threads of communal memory, Krawec crafts a stunning, forceful call to “unforget” our history. This remarkable sojourn through Native and settler history, myth, identity, and spirituality helps us retrace our steps and pick up what was lost along the way: chances to honor rather than violate treaties, to see the land as a relative rather than a resource, and to unravel the history we have been taught.

Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by Adrienne Maree Brown

Inspired by Octavia Butler’s explorations of our human relationship to change, Emergent Strategy is radical self-help, society-help, and planet-help designed to shape the futures we want to live. 

Change is constant. The world is in a continual state of flux. It is a stream of ever-mutating, emergent patterns. Rather than steel ourselves against such change, this book invites us to feel, map, assess, and learn from the swirling patterns around us in order to better understand and influence them as they happen. This is a resolutely materialist “spirituality” based equally on science and science fiction, a visionary incantation to transform that which ultimately transforms us.

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall

In her searing collection of essays, Mikki Kendall takes aim at the legitimacy of the modern feminist movement, arguing that it has chronically failed to address the needs of all but a few women. 

Drawing on her own experiences with hunger, violence, and hypersexualization, along with incisive commentary on reproductive rights, politics, pop culture, the stigma of mental health, and more, Hood Feminism delivers an irrefutable indictment of a movement in flux. An unforgettable debut, Kendall has written a ferocious clarion call to all would-be feminists to live out the true mandate of the movement in thought and in deed.

Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life by Alice Wong

Drawing on a collection of original essays, previously published work, conversations, graphics, photos, commissioned art by disabled and Asian American artists, and more, Alice uses her unique talent to share an impressionistic scrapbook of her life as an Asian American disabled activist, community organizer, media maker, and dreamer. 

From her love of food and pop culture to her unwavering commitment to dismantling systemic ableism, Alice shares her thoughts on creativity, access, power, care, the pandemic, mortality, and the future. As a self-described disabled oracle, Alice traces her origins, tells her story, and creates a space for disabled people to be in conversation with one another and the world. Filled with incisive wit, joy, and rage, Wong’s Year of the Tiger will galvanize readers with big cat energy.

Agroecology and Regenerative Agriculture: Sustainable Solutions for Hunger, Poverty, and Climate Change by Vandana Shiva

Penned by environmental activist and ecofeminist Vandana Shiva, Agroecology is an interdisciplinary synthesis of research and practice carried out over decades by leaders of the agroecology and regenerative organic agriculture movement. It provides a detailed analysis of the multiple crises we face due to chemical and industrial agriculture, including land degradation, water depletion, biodiversity erosion, climate change, agrarian crises, and health crises. 

The book lays out biodiversity-based organic farming and agroecology as the road map for the future of agriculture and sustainable food systems, both locally and globally. With detailed scientific evidence, Agroecology & Regenerative Agriculture shows how ecological agriculture based on working with nature rather than abasing ecological laws can regenerate the planet, the rural economy, and our health.

Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey

In Rest Is Resistance, Tricia Hersey, aka the Nap Bishop, casts an illuminating light on our troubled relationship with rest and how to imagine and dream our way to a future where rest is exalted. Our worth does not reside in how much we produce, especially not for a system that exploits and dehumanizes us. Rest, in its simplest form, becomes an act of resistance and a reclaiming of power because it asserts our most basic humanity. We are enough. The systems cannot have us. 

Rest Is Resistance is rooted in spiritual energy and centered in Black liberation, womanism, somatics, and Afrofuturism. With captivating storytelling and practical advice, all delivered in Hersey’s lyrical voice and informed by her deep experience in theology, activism, and performance art, Rest Is Resistance is a call to action, a battle cry, a field guide, and a manifesto for all of us who are sleep deprived, searching for justice, and longing to be liberated from the oppressive grip of Grind Culture.

Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution by Janette Sadik-Khan

As New York City’s transportation commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan managed the seemingly impossible and transformed the streets of one of the world’s greatest, toughest cities into dynamic spaces safe for pedestrians and cyclists. 

In the fashion of a modern-day Jane Jacobs, Streetfight sees Sadik-Khan describing the battles she fought to enact change as she imparts wisdom and practical advice for other cities to follow in efforts to make their own streets safer and more vibrant. 

Check out these related articles & resources:

• Upstream Podcast: Feminism for the 99 Percent
• 20 social change books to read in the New Year
• Women-led mutual aid initiatives are strengthening the COVID-19 response

The post Add these 10 women-authored books to your spring reading list appeared first on Shareable.

Taken in an individual context, the project — which was a resounding success — proves remarkable, but it also tells a larger story about a growing phenomenon: guerilla urbanism.

What is guerilla or ‘tactical’ urbanism?

Tactical Urbanist’s Guide defines guerilla urbanism as “a city, organizational, and/or citizen-led approach to neighborhood building using short-term, low-cost, and scalable interventions to catalyze long-term change.”

What guerilla urbanism looks like in practice varies by community and need. Here are a few examples:

• Guerilla gardening is the act of raising plant beds on under-utilized land and abandoned urban sites.
• Pop-up bike lanes, like the ones created by Bike East Bay, help to boost bicycle traffic while keeping cyclists safe.
• Open Streets are city-wide programs that temporarily open streets to people by closing them to cars. 

While it’s still being shaped and defined, the growing movement around guerilla urbanism highlights key lessons in how we can safely build, shape, and sustain more fulfilled autonomous communities. What lessons can we learn from these community innovations?

Cities should be better designed to meet the needs of their communities

Jane Jacobs, an active citizen-turned-urban theorist, described in her acclaimed book The Death and Life of Great American Cities how the orthodox planning processes that have dominated much of the last century have led to the decline of urban life for average citizens.

In opposition to the established approach to urban development, Jacobs pushed a bottom-up approach that centered on the needs and perspectives of working-class people. She championed smaller blocks; the innovative use of existing urban infrastructure; pedestrian-centered transit systems as opposed to car-dependent planning; and the importance of diversity in urban demographics and mixed-use buildings within the city. 

Unfortunately, for many North American cities, the current urban reality reflects the ills Jacobs rallied so hard against. Social isolation, urban decline, and curtailed mobility are all still evident. On a systemic, structural level, fixing these issues often is not a priority because the people they affect most are not a priority. 

This is especially clear in lower-class racialized urban communities. Decades-long divestment from community infrastructure (like public transit, gardens and green space, libraries, mixed-use public space, affordable housing, etc.) have left gaps in the physical and social lives of urban residents. 

A lot is being done to address these issues, with many up-and-coming urban planners and developers focusing their work on promoting equity, inclusion, sustainability, and circularity. But as we continue to reimagine our cities and the ways we can improve them, challenges persist. How can community-led innovations fit into this work? And what role can activated citizens play in addressing these ongoing challenges?

Engaged citizens create safer communities

While legislative wins can lay the necessary groundwork for incorporating safety measures on the structural level, they aren’t the end-all-be-all for communities. Active citizens contribute much to the conversation around citizen safety and community needs. As transit expert Tamika Butler explains in her lecture “Transportation Inequities: What’s data got to with it?,” “you can do planning without a planning degree.” 

People are the experts in their communities, which means they know past successes and failures and can identify priorities for improvement. “The homies hanging out on the corner every day, just chopping it up, can tell you everything you need to know about the speed of traffic on that street and whether or not the stop sign or the speed bumps are effective,” Butler explains. 

Community members’ observations can help to inform and shape urbanist thought leaders’ approach to planning and development. But, these observations can also lead to the activation of these community members to address their needs themselves.

Guerilla urbanism champions the idea that the shaping of urban life doesn’t end on the structural level. To some extent, we all have the agency to act as informed and engaged citizens, crafting innovative solutions to the problems that plague us specifically. 

Reclamation as resistance

In his article “Guerrilla urbanism: urban design and the practices of resistance,” Jeffrey Hou points out the growing momentum around guerilla urbanism, examining the linkage “between everyday struggles and organized resistance.” In practice, the community action and innovation that define the guerilla urbanist movement have often arisen in response to either intended or unintended structural failures. 

Specifically in communities facing urbanized disenfranchisement, the rise of urbanist intervention signifies the solidified effort of local citizens to reclaim their communities to better serve and protect their neighbors and themselves.  

In LA, activists with Open Acres have begun mapping vacant lots that lie dormant across the city. Combining their efforts with other local organizations, their work has led to the creation of parks and walking paths on what would have been unused urban infrastructure. Green Guerillas is a collective of urban gardeners and activists based in New York City. They provide education, organizing capacity, and advocacy to residents attempting to establish community gardens and grow food either on their stoops or in other unused municipal-owned spaces. 

Both of these examples highlight communities that have circumvented the need for governmental action, activating autonomously and collectively to meet a specific need in their communities: safe recreational areas for children in LA and food sovereignty for working-class people in NYC. 

Applying guerilla urbanist thought

Diving deeper into “do-it-ourselves” urban innovations, a few questions arise: 

• What happens when municipal action fails to meet community needs?
• Whose responsibility is it to create and implement urban design improvements?
• As residents, how can we create safer, more resilient, more equitable, and generally more enjoyable urban communities — outside of institutional influence? 

On the tail end of her aforementioned lecture, Tamika Butler states: “as folks who care about any type of planning, any type of issue facing the city, we have to realize that progress comes through struggle.” In essence, the struggle that she speaks of is all of ours because our cities — our streets, our paths, our shared community spaces — belong to us. As such, it’s our responsibility to sustain them, protect them, and make them better, whether or not our local elected officials consider them a priority.

Look around your neighborhood. Are there safe transit pathways for cyclists, pedestrians, and small children? Does the average resident have access to any form of shared green space? Can you identify any existing infrastructure that could be co-opted to fulfill a community need? 

Asking these questions can help us identify pitfalls in our individual urban realities, but the most important question remains: What is to be done about it? 

If you’re up for the challenge, here are some resources to help you and others to get mobilized in your network to answer that question:

• Tactical Urbanist’s Guides to Getting It Done
• Article: “When it Comes to Safety: Screw the Process”
• Book: Tactical Urbanism: Short-Term Action for Long-Term Change
• Open Streets Project Toolkit
• Guerilla Gardening Tips & Resources

Check out these related Shareable articles and resources:

• Urban reclamation survives and thrives post-Sandy
• Transforming neighborhoods through guerrilla gardening
• City Repair: From illegal street painting to city-sanctioned placemaking
• How to free the soil by depaving
• Zoned apart: How the US failed to share land but should start today

The post What guerilla urbanism can teach us about saving our own cities appeared first on Shareable.

A growing number of Latin American communities are proving (through the innovative application of solidarity principles) that it’s possible to reimagine our relationship to resources, capital, and collective well-being, all while creating sustainable, people-centered systems along the way. 

Haiti’s cooperative cocoa industry

Haiti has a long history of economic and political instability due to centuries of imperialistic exploitation. In recent history, Feccano, a federation of cocoa cooperatives based in northern Haiti, became a beacon of hope for local farmers, who have established an active network of exchanges that prioritize ecological sustainability and farmer profits. 

To date, the group has grown to include over 4,000 farmers, becoming the first Haitian enterprise and farmers’ co-op to export fermented cacao.

Puerto Ricans push for sustainable energy democracy

Following the devastation caused by Hurricanes Maria and Fiona, the vulnerabilities of Puerto Rico’s failing energy infrastructure came center stage. Years of divestment and mismanagement of the island’s privatized energy provider, LUMA Energy, left many under-protected in the event of a disaster.

In the aftermath, collective civilian responses to restore power ignited a movement that heralds community-based energy resilience, with many groups like Casa Pueblo and ACESA, championing solar as an alternative to fossil-fueled electricity.

Zapatista calls for food sovereignty in Mexico 

Zapatista is an indigenous revolutionary group based in Mexico’s southeast region. With over 25 years in operation, the group has established political and social influence on a nationwide scale. Their main objectives are to ensure the preservation of indigenous rights, autonomy, and survival.

Chief among their initiatives is their fight to establish food sovereignty within their community. This means organizing a demonstrated divestment from large-scale industrial food production in favor of community-based agricultural development.

Uruguay’s cooperatives provide a replicable model for housing justice

FUCVAM (Federación Uruguaya de Cooperativas de Vivienda por Ayuda Mutua, Uruguayan Federation of Mutual Aid Housing Co-operatives) is a federation of mutual aid housing cooperatives based in Montevideo. FUCVAM’s approach to addressing housing insecurity centers on the collective development of housing and urban infrastructure — and it’s proved to be a successful and sustainable model.

As the country’s largest and oldest housing collective, FUCVAM’s success has led to the regional adaptation of its model in more than 15 countries around Latin America.

Argentina’s cooperatives address health & economic crises

In the aftermath of Argentina’s 2001 financial crisis, workers across the country rallied to gain control of empresas recuperadas (companies recovered from bankruptcy by falling into worker control), establishing a network of cooperatively owned businesses that spanned industries. When the Occupy Buenos Aires movement ignited around 2014, the push toward a more just economy gained even more traction.

At the onset of the Covid-19 crisis, as the failures in traditional capitalistic approaches to economic and collective healthcare were laid bare, the resilience and adaptability of cooperatives provided vital pathways to economic and health recovery. Farmacoop, Argentina’s first laboratory empresas recuperada was integral in the production of local, affordable medical treatments and also developed the first Argentine Covid-19 antibodies test.

Explore more Latin American solidarity economies 

This list is just a snapshot of movements and organizations. Across Latin America, there are many examples of communities utilizing solidaristic principles to craft community-specific solutions that address systemic issues and inequities.

For an exhaustive list of Latin American solidarity economies, browse this resource guide compiled by our partners at New Economy Coalition.

And, if you’re interested in exploring this topic further, check out “Solidarity Economy in Latin America”, a 10-part podcast/video series created by students at the University of Virginia. 

Check out these related articles and resources:

• The Response: How Puerto Ricans are Restoring Power to the People
• Association of Olopenses Women provides economic empowerment to rural Guatemalan workers
• Survival before sustainability: How vegan reforestation in Haiti got stuck

The post Latin American solidarity economies demonstrate the power of the people appeared first on Shareable.

Here’s a look back at our year through stories, featuring our top 22 articles of 2022.

1. This Tiny House Trailblazer is helping to build a more inclusive movement

Tucked away on a farm outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, Jewel Pearson is living her dream — one that has been in the making for more than two decades. In 2015, she downsized her life into a less than 500-square-foot tiny house on wheels. Pearson launched Tiny House Trailblazers in 2016 to advocate and create a safe space for other Black tiny home owners – and inspire Black and Brown people to pursue and achieve their own tiny living dreams.

2. Vancouver’s Indigenous communities are reimagining housing & urban development

In Vancouver a new type of Indigenous community is emerging — one that builds resilience, health, creativity, and culture through shared housing and local, Indigenous leadership.

Innovative, Indigenous-led housing can build resilience, wellness, and provide opportunities for cultural revitalization and effective stewardship of land resources. It can also be delivered in a way that creates a validating experience, allowing a person to feel seen, reach their full potential and contribute to society with their basic needs met.

3. How communities are reimagining LA’s vacant lots

Across Los Angeles, tens of thousands of empty lots sit vacant. They’ve been there since the Watts Riots of 1965, and have become dumping grounds for trash, makeshift tent sites for the homeless, and are often vandalized.

Now, a growing array of citizens, contractors and community activists are reimagining the ways the lots can be utilized—with solutions ranging from temporary housing sites to plots for shared gardens.

4. These queer-led groups are securing housing for LGBTQ+ youth and elders

In 29 of our 50 states, LGBTQ+ people still lack comprehensive legal protections against discrimination in housing, healthcare, and employment. Lack of safe, affordable housing is particularly evident in our country’s queer youth population, who face a risk of homelessness that is 120 times that of their straight counterparts.

Across the country, there are many organizations working tirelessly to transform this stark reality by offering safe spaces, long-term housing, and other resources to LGBTQ+ youth and otherwise marginalized communities.

5. The Human Library connects people by tackling stigma and isolation

Established in 2000 by Abergel, his brother Dany, and colleagues Asma Mouna and Christoffer Erichsen, the Human Library is a global initiative that merges curiosity, understanding, and acceptance among people with a traditional library framework. In any Human Library depot (or, currently, during organized virtual events) average people (“readers”) can request to have a conversation with (“read”) someone who identifies in a particular way. Readers “check out” these “human books” for a “loan period of 30 minutes.

6. Market Box delivers food—and solidarity—to the people

The COVID-19 pandemic saw an influx in the number of mutual aid groups popping up across the country. Now, as the world trepidatiously welcomes a “new normal”, communities are reassessing their needs and capacities. Many newly-laid networks of mutual aid have been forced to adapt, reassess, and reimagine their role in protecting and providing for the communities.

Such is the case in Chicago. During the pandemic, approximately 40 mutual aid groups sprang forward to address the growing numbers of citizens who were or were becoming food insecure. Market Box (a volunteer-led direct-to-consumer food delivery provider) was one of them.

7. Boxville and beyond: Shipping container marketplaces are revitalizing city centers and BIPOC businesses

Over the last 20 years, builders have been utilizing shipping containers as affordable, environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional constructions. These days, it is not uncommon to see homes, schools, hospitals, and even swimming pools constructed from shipping containers.

Armed with this knowledge, urban planners and community developers have joined the movement, using shipping containers to construct temporary and permanent shopping malls that empower Black and Brown entrepreneurs, help fledgling businesses, and revive downtown areas in disenfranchised neighborhoods.

8. Co-ops for freelancers? Guilded challenges the idea of “starving artists”

Art is labor and the fruits of that labor are what make society worth living in, so artists and cultural workers should get paid fairly, should have access to benefits like healthcare, and should have ownership over their work and process.

This is the foundational belief of the new worker co-op, Guilded. Launched as a pilot project about eighteen months ago, Guilded aims to provide benefits, administrative support, employee ownership, and equity to freelancer artists and other contract workers.

9. NC’s Industrial Commons creates thriving new communities from the ashes of old industries

In the foothills of western North Carolina, the small town of Morganton is home to a growing co-op movement that’s reinvigorating the region’s once-struggling textile and furniture manufacturing industries, and refashioning them around egalitarianism and localism.

This expanding collective of frontline workers and artists is changing the way people there view industry and the nature of work.

10. Sri Lanka’s untold story of resilience: Sarvodaya’s pathway can work anywhere

Beyond the headlines, though, there is an untold story of how the people of Sri Lanka have managed during this crisis, a story that offers a pathway to resilience and “thrival” that can be adopted (and adapted) by any country, bioregion, or neighborhood. Quietly and behind the scenes, a unique non-government organization called Sarvodaya has mobilized a national network of thousands of self-sufficient villages to do what “official” organizations could not.

11. The slums of Mumbai are a wellspring of innovation — and injustice

Roughly 60% of Mumbai’s residents live in slums, and for most of them, leaving means losing their livelihood and facing insurmountable living expenses. Yet despite the cramped quarters, poor sanitation, and hazardous working conditions, Dharavi represents the only chance for its residents, many from disadvantaged rural backgrounds, to make a better life for themselves and their children.

With about 10,000 skilled craftsmen from many diverse backgrounds and upwards of 15,000 factories, Dharavi has become something of a self-organized special economic zone, with its own parallel economy.

12. A brief history of Black cooperatives in the U.S.

For as long as there have been Africans in America, there have been examples of Black social, cultural and economic solidarity. Often formed in response to systemic exclusion and economic stagnation, examples range from mutual aid networks, to freedom farms and grocery cooperatives.

Dr. Jessica Gordon Nembhard is a political economist specializing in economic development policy, Black political economy, and popular economic literacy. In an interview with writer Mira Luna, Dr. Gordon Nembhard talked about her research on African American cooperative economics, which she further detailed in her 2014 book.

13. When decolonization meets post-capitalism: the third annual post-capitalism conference

During this 3-day virtual summit (anchored by the Wiyot Tribe, Cooperation Humboldt, Cal Poly Humboldt faculty, and a number of different sponsors — including Shareable) community members and practitioners gathered to share information and experiences, strengthen alliances and networks, explore decolonial strategies, and uplift practical solutions to healing the land and people.

14. Survival before sustainability: How vegan reforestation in Haiti got stuck

Haiti has been subjected to centuries of environmental shocks, exploitation, and extraction — often at the hands of foreign powers. Though the lasting impacts of colonialism and exploitation are evident in Haiti, a sanguine spirit of mutual aid exists there. Could transporting an environmental solution that worked in southern India to eastern Haiti be benefits for local residents?

In this moving personal account of a reforestation effort gone “awry”, Aaron Fernando gets to the heart of the idea that solutions need to be community-driven and tailored to local needs and conditions.

15. The Response: Wartime Mutual Aid in Ukraine

In February, after a months-long prelude that many never believed would come to fruition, Russian troops landed in Mariupol and Odessa along the Azov and Black sea coasts, and Russian tanks rolled in through the Belarussian border crossing of Senkivka in the north. The Russian invasion of Ukraine had officially begun.

In this episode of The Response, we highlight stories of Ukrainian resistance and solidarity. A small but significant glimpse into how the Ukrainian people have come together to survive the war, to strengthen their communities, and to fight for each other and their autonomy.

16. The Response: Abortion Access and Reproductive Justice in a Post-Roe Landscape

In the face of trigger laws banning and criminalizing abortion in many states — as well as state-sanctioned harassment and targeted campaigns against people seeking abortions — the centuries-old movement for reproductive rights and justice has only grown and strengthened.

This episode of The Response takes a deep dive into how communities are responding to the growing abortion access crisis in the United States, sharing the stories of those impacted and highlighting a number of radical grassroots, mutual aid, and solidaristic efforts aimed at helping people access abortion in the places where it’s currently outlawed or restricted.

17. More than crisis care: Mutual aid for the pandemic and beyond

Emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic, The UK — like many global communities — remains an economically-precarious and socially-traumatised place. Adding insult to injury, we are now facing a cost-of-living crisis. A growing number of people are requiring help to secure adequate housing, food and shelter. Now more than ever, the mutual aid groups that acted so vitally during the pandemic continue to be needed.

From Below is a feature length documentary film that showcases the human, emotional stories of the mutual aid phenomena. The film also highlights the ways mutual aid can continue to be used as a force for change in a post-pandemic future.

18. Places of Togetherness: The social everyday life of Nikea’s shared courtyards

Nikea is a municipality in the greater area of Athens with an extensive network of such transitional spaces. The historic center of Nikea includes 134 building blocks with internal shared courtyards or alleys at their heart.

In part one of our editorial series with the School of Architecture of the National Technical University of Athens, we introduce readers to Places of Togetherness, a research project investigating the relationship between urban space and social cohesion. Moreover, the project aims to work with local people to re-imagine and co-design what the courtyards could look like in the near future and what impact a transformation like this could have in their neighborhood and community.

19. Can ‘Cathonomics’ produce a just and sustainable world?

The common good is an old idea and one that Pope Francis insisted on bringing up repeatedly after his arrival in the Vatican in 2013, in the lingering aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Echoing Francis, former International Monetary Fund economist Tony Annett’s new book, Cathonomics, argues that our economy has become deadly to many people, precisely because it so often defeats our efforts to work for a common good. He also offers an alternative framework, grounded in the spiritual principles of Catholic social teaching.

During an interview for Shareable, Annett sat down with Ownership Matters’ Elias Crim to discuss the book’s key focus.

20. Meet the Seattle artist creating community connections at The Library

Artist C. Davida Ingram is the public engagement programs manager for The Seattle Public Library. Since she landed the role, she’s made it her mission to create space for artists of color to pursue and hone their gifts through the lens of social justice.

During the pandemic, she collaborating with an extensive group of community partners and local artists to produce a series of artistic and educational events—all part of a focus on public health amid the pandemic. She’s also worked with community partners to launch BLOOM Food Justice Initiative, a BIPOC-led community garden initiative and youth fellowship addressing pandemic-era food insecurity.

21. How equitable strategies in harm reduction are keeping communities safe

Coss Marte founded his company CONBODY to help formerly incarcerated people integrate back into society. His one is just one example of one of the multifaceted aims of harm reduction—a practice aimed at minimizing the negative health, social, and legal impacts associated with drug use. Examples include creating safe spaces for drug users, clean needle and syringe programs to reduce the spread of illness, sealing criminal records to make employment easier, and housing initiatives that aren’t contingent on sobriety.

Experts in harm reduction envision a future where cutting-edge strategies transform a system that also disproportionately targets Black Americans.

22. The making of La BOM: Montreuil’s new Library of Things and Sharing Hub

Last but certainly not least, we’re ending the year by celebrating the opening of LaBOM. Inspired by Shareable’s coverage of the sharing economy, Bibliothèque D’Objets De Montreuil, also known as La BOM, opened its doors as a Library of Things in April 2022 in the Parisian suburb of Montreuil. La BOM was conceived in 2019 and has enjoyed support from the community as well as foundations, regional government, and Montreuil Mayor Patrice Bessac.

La BOM’s community is centered on its 600-square-meter building, which offers photography, music, sewing, textile studios, a wood shop, a repair shop, and an alkaline (disposable) battery exchange to the greater Montreuil area.

Help us keep this work going!

None of these stories could exist without our extraordinary team of writers and editors and readers like you. In 2023, we’re deepening our work, bringing Shareable solutions, staff and support directly to communities like yours.

As we shift our focus from inspiration to action, we’ll remain committed to providing high quality content that connects with, emboldens and inspires our readers. You can plant the seeds that help us grow the sharing revolution — and keep this publication ad-free and independent — by becoming a monthly contributor or giving a one-time donation today.

The post Best of Shareable 2022 | Reader’s Digest appeared first on Shareable.

Along with this acknowledgment, we share an understanding that — for many people — the scope of the holiday season stretches beyond this traditional observance, serving as a time of communal gathering, shared gratitude, and rest. Below are some ideas for having a community-driven, gratitude-inducing holiday, the Shareable way.

Share food

For many, the impetus of the holiday season is the promise of family and food. But you can remix these staples and get creative with your gathering ideas as well. Away from family? Host a Friendsgiving. New to the neighborhood? Opt for a Stranger Dinner. Put your meal to music and have a house concert instead.

Some areas even have community meals, open to anyone who wants to gather with their community-at-large. These gatherings are a great way to meet your neighbors, connect with your community, and share in the abundance of the holiday. Contact your city officials or search the web to see if there’s a Thanksgiving community meal in your town.

If you want to get out and get involved, local turkey drives, soup kitchens (and even Buy Nothing groups) are great ways to share and distribute extra food and other essentials to community members who could use it.

Share skills & stuff

Have a skill you’d like to offer to others or maybe just some free time? Now is a great time to share.

The holidays can be a hard time for many. Struggles like food insecurity, houselessness, and social isolation mean not everyone has the same reasons to celebrate. If you have the time, capacity, and resources to share, you could make a big difference by offering them to those in your network and community.

The National Coalition for the Homeless has extensive resources and a database to find a shelter near you, but many volunteer opportunities are based on local needs. Check with organizations in your area to find out what you can do to help your community with its immediate needs. You can also use the holiday season as a springboard into year-round volunteer work. VolunteerMatch connects volunteers with a number of nonprofits and community programs.

Honor Native & Indigenous perspectives

November is Native American Heritage Month. One way we honor Native communities and their experiences is by unlearning false accounts of history and standing in solidarity with Indigenous progress.

Since 1970, Native activists and other allies have gathered at Plymouth Rock to hold National Day of Mourning demonstrations that challenge the genocidal “pilgrim mythology” at the heart of traditional Thanksgiving celebrations. The 53rd Day of Mourning will take place Thursday, November 24. This year, the celebration will be live-streamed on Facebook and also covered live by The Red Nation.

You can practice solidarity (and help others in your network do the same) by amplifying Native actions like these and learning from Native thought leaders like Nick Estes, Rebecca Nagle, Dallas Goldtooth, and others.

Practice gratitude year-round

You don’t have to wait until Thanksgiving rolls around to give thanks. You can practice mindfulness and gratitude year-round. The holidays are a great time to introduce these concepts to the whole family as well. The Imagination Tree and We Are Teachers offer a host of free arts and crafts ideas and activities for children to get the gratitude ball rolling.

Explore other ways to share and connect 

Did you know that we have an archive of over 300 how-to guides? How To Share has a cornucopia of resources that can help you share everything from food to transportation to time and housing — a number of which can be modified for any holiday celebration. Take a look and get sharing!

This article has been updated and amended from an earlier Shareable article.

The post Giving thanks: Share food, time and gratitude this holiday season appeared first on Shareable.

In the spirit of commemorating this solidarity staple, here’s how we’re celebrating all things co-op this month — and how you can too:

Shopping with (local) co-ops

ACE and REI are two nationally recognized cooperatives, but they’re not the only options if you want to patronize a cooperative business. About half of the 100 largest cooperatives in the US are agricultural, which means that a great way to support your local co-op could be doing your regular grocery shopping with them. National Co-op Directory is a great resource for finding natural co-op food stores and supermarkets near you. 

Attending/co-hosting co-op events

There’s no better way to celebrate than with friends! Whether you’re a co-op member or a community supporter, there are tons of ways you can get involved. Neighboring Food Co-op Association (a federation of food co-ops across the northeastern US) hosts an annual Co-op Month Photo Competition for its members and also co-sponsors local events, like the Southern Vermont Co-op Month Celebration. Chances are a quick Facebook or Eventbrite search will turn up a handful of Co-op Month celebrations near you. 

Sharing resources and guides 

Putting ethics into action is an essential part of Co-op Month. By sharing skills, knowledge, and resources, we help to grow the cooperative community, empowering others to participate and learn. Over the years, we’ve compiled helpful guides aimed at doing just that, laying out the basics for starting community and housing co-ops, and even worker-owned businesses. 

Start.coop has additional resources for co-ops that are looking to accelerate growth. The United Federation of Worker Cooperatives list of resources includes a service provider directory and co-op clinic (a network of peer advisors). Sustainable Economies Law Center’s worker co-op resources page features legal guides, teach-in videos and more.  

Check out these related articles:

• ‘Solidarity investing’ club helps plant a new crop of co-ops in Vermont
• A brief history of Black cooperatives in the U.S.
• 6 Latinx-led cooperatives you should learn about this Hispanic Heritage Month
• The pandemic is helping create a new era of employee-owned companies

The post October is Co-op Month — here’s how we’re celebrating. appeared first on Shareable.

Her contributions led to her becoming the first woman Nobel Prize recipient in Economic Sciences back in 2009. Though she passed away in 2012, Ostrom’s work and that of her peers continues to live on, laying the foundation for many of the branches of cooperative economics that dominate popular thought today. 

But what makes the commons “work”? And how can Ostrom’s analysis be used to inform the systems we design and utilize today? 

Below are a few resources we’ve compiled to give you a grasp on these concepts.

First up, what exactly are the commons? 

Simply put, commons are any scarce resource that provide users with tangible benefits, but aren’t owned by anyone. So, the ocean, an open pasture or even a community garden could all be considered part of the Commons.

What’s so “tragic” about that?

Well, as this explanatory video puts it, when utilizing shared resources, the practice of “optimizing for the self in the short term isn’t optimal for anyone in the long term”. It’s best, instead, if everyone adopts the mindset that “What’s good for all of us is good for each of us”. The tragic assumption here is that, given the chance and unregulated access, most people would adopt a mindset closer to the former.

Is it possible to plan for — or avoid — this behavior?

Elinor Ostrom — and loads of others — say yes. The key, they say, is self-governance and the ability for communities to create informed, responsive systems that cater to their specific needs and capacities.  

What principles and practices need to be in place in order for this to work?

Ostrom notes that there’s no cure-all for solving Commons issues. The complex problems that arise from utilizing shared resources will naturally require complex solutions. That said, she did develop eight foundational principles for managing a commons that could be used as a great starting place. Here they are:

Alright, all this is great in theory… But how can we actually put this into practice?

Glad you asked! As it turns out — long before modern debate — communities have been modeling sustainable, self-governed Commons for centuries.

In the present day, these modes of operating are being studied, replicated and leveraged to create equitable systems whose role is to address modern issues like food scarcity, energy access, and inequities in the ownership of digital media platforms and even currency. 

To learn more about the Commons, check out these related articles and resources:

• A Shareable Explainer: What are the Commons?
• Reimagining the commons: Q&A with David Bollier
• Shared lessons and challenges from urban commons around the world

The post How to design the commons (or, Elinor Ostrom explained) appeared first on Shareable.

Well, for starters, it’s getting a lot more colorful. From cycling to gardening to composting and co-living, the Western face of sustainability has long been that of well-to-do white faces. But as the inequitable effects of our climate crisis manifest — and communities rise up against issues like green gentrification — the picture is beginning to change. 

With many modern environmental practices being rooted in BIPOC thought and culture, here are just a few of the artists, activists and community practitioners who are reclaiming their right to be “green” — and bringing the digital masses along in the process.

1. Isaias Hernandez (@queerbrownvegan)

One of the most well-known eco-influencers, Isaias is an environmental educator with a focus on “(un/re)learning” environmental justice and sustainability. His insightful content deftly navigates prevailing discourse around the climate crisis, including climate doom and eco anxiety.

2. Courtney Cobbs (@FullLaneFemme)

In her own words, Courtney is a “Chicago bike dyke visionary who loves cats and universal basic income”. An avid cyclist, Courtney uses her platform to advocate for safer streets for folks of all ages, abilities and walks of life.

3. Alexis Nikole Nelson (@blackforager)

Alexis is a foraging teacher, enviro-science enthusiast and experimental vegan cook. On her platform, she jovially shares her many foraging adventures, interesting finds, and lesser-known historical information.

4. Nelson Holland (@fatblackandgettinit)

A self-proclaimed “wildlife addict”, Nelson’s content is a journal of his outdoor adventures. His platform sits at the intersection of adventurism, naturalism, and inclusivity. 

5. Autumn Peltier (@autumn.peltier)

Profiled in the documentary The Water Walker, Autumn is Chief Water Commissioner of the Anishinabek Nation. She uses her platform to ceaselessly advocate for Indigenous communities’ right to safe, accessible drinking water.

6. Dominique Drakeford (@dominiquedrakeford)

Dominique is a mom, urban gardener and ethical street style influencer. In addition to sharing educational tips on fashion, sustainability and agriculture, she co-founded Sustainable Brooklyn and helped create The GreenISH book, a Brooklyn-based directory of businesses and resources that prioritize the safety, comfort & agency of Black consumers.

7. Leah Thomas (@greengirlleah)

Leah is an environmental advocate, educator and founder of Intersectional Environmentalist, a climate justice collective dedicated to radically imagining a more equitable and diverse future of environmentalism. She recently authored a book by the same name.

8. Nyombi Morris (@mnyomb1)

Nyombi is a Ugandan climate activist, reforestation practitioner, and leader of the Fridays for Future MAPA (Most Affected People and Areas) collective. Since 2019, he’s planted over 25000 trees and worked with regional leaders on integrated climate and environmental protection initiatives.

9. Shia Su (@_wastelandrebel_)

Shia calls herself a “vegan zero waste nerd” and uses her platform to share stories and practical — budget-friendly — tips for maintaining a cruelty-free, circular lifestyle. Her book, Zero Waste, details her journey to enviro-conscious living and more.

10. Corina Newsome (@hood__naturalist)

Corina is an educator, birder, and wildlife conservation expert. On her platform — in addition to sharing her journeys in nature — she advocates for ecological protections, inclusive outdoor communities and environmental justice.

The post Black, Brown & #Green: Meet the POC youth who are reclaiming the eco revolution appeared first on Shareable.

Environmental disasters, displaced communities and largely inactive global leaders are enough to make even the most optimistic among us weary about the future. Fortunately, amid the bleakness of the present times, a responsive class of scientists, activists and environmental thought leaders are emerging. Emboldened by the will to defend and preserve the hope of a restorative climate future, their collective work helps us to navigate the political, interpersonal and global realities of one of the most important issues of our time. 

From personalized accounts of communities mobilizing to protect their own regional biodiversity to detailed post-capitalist manifestos about how to organize beyond the Anthropocene, we’ve compiled a list of books centered on the very real ways individuals — and nations — can pitch in to help re-direct the course of our global climate, keeping people and the planet safe.  

Descriptions of each book have been amended from their respective websites. 

1. Don’t Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change

Why, despite overwhelming scientific evidence, do some still ignore climate change? George Marshall’s search for the answers brings him face to face with the world’s leading climate scientists and those who denounce them. Drawing on years of his own research, Marshall argues that the answers do not lie in the things that make us different, but rather in what we share: how our human brains are wired — our evolutionary origins, our perceptions of threats, our cognitive blind spots, our love of storytelling, our fear of death, and our deepest instincts to defend our family and tribe. 

Once we understand what excites, threatens, and motivates us, we can rethink climate change, for it is not an impossible problem.  In the end, Don’t Even Think About It is both about climate change and about the qualities that make us human and how we can deal with the greatest challenge we have ever faced.

2. All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis

All We Can Save illuminates the expertise and insights of dozens of diverse women leading on climate in the United States — scientists, journalists, farmers, lawyers, teachers, activists, innovators, wonks, and designers, across generations, geographies, and race — and aims to advance a more representative, nuanced, and solution-oriented public conversation on the climate crisis. These women offer a spectrum of ideas and insights for how we can rapidly, radically reshape society. 

Intermixing essays with poetry and art, this book is both a balm and a guide for knowing and holding what has been done to the world, while bolstering our resolve never to give up on one another or our collective future. We must summon truth, courage, and solutions to turn away from the brink and toward life-giving possibility. Curated by two climate leaders, the book is a collection and celebration of visionaries who are leading us on a path toward all we can save. 

3. Less is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World

The world has finally awoken to the reality of climate breakdown and ecological collapse. Now we must face up to its primary cause. Capitalism demands perpetual expansion, which is devastating the living world. There is only one solution that will lead to meaningful and immediate change: degrowth.

If we want to have a shot at halting the crisis, we need to change how we see nature and our place in it, shifting from a philosophy of domination and extraction to one that’s rooted in reciprocity and regeneration. But what does such a society look like? What about jobs? What about health? What about progress? This book tackles these questions and traces a clear pathway to a post-capitalist economy. An economy that’s more just, more caring, and more fun. An economy that enables human flourishing while reversing ecological breakdown. An economy that will not only lift us out of our current crisis, but restore our sense of connection to a world that’s brimming with life. By taking less, we can become more.

4. Taking the Heat: How Climate Change Is Affecting Your Mind, Body, and Spirit and What You Can Do about It

From meteorologist and Peabody Award-winning journalist Bonnie Schneider, an innovative look at how climate change is already threatening our mental and physical health and practical tips for you to tackle these challenges head on. Schneider provides crucial advice from science experts and medical professionals to help you cope with “eco-anxiety”, identify health hazards caused by extreme heat and air pollution and more.

Anchored in the latest scientific research and filled with relatable first-person stories, this book is the one guide you need to navigate the future of your own health–mind, body, and spirit, in a rapidly changing environment. 

5. Planet on Fire: A Manifesto for the Age of Environmental Breakdown

In the age of environmental breakdown, we urgently need an alternative to the political status quo that brings about the rapid transformation of our social and economic systems. As we rebuild our lives in the wake of Covid-19 and face the challenges of ecological disaster, how can the left win a world fit for life? 

An urgent manifesto for a fundamental reimagining of the global economy, Planet on Fire offers a clear, practical and achievable road map for a future that is democratic and sustainable by design. Laurie Laybourn-Langton and Mathew Lawrence argue that it is not enough merely to spend our way out of the crisis; we must also rapidly reshape the economy to create a new way of life that can foster a healthy and flourishing environment for all. 

6. This Book Will Save the Planet: A Climate-Justice Primer for Activists and Changemakers

A rousing and radical investigation into the climate crisis, its causes, and how to fight for the most vulnerable people affected by it, This Book Will Save the Planet is a vibrantly illustrated study of one of humanity’s most significant threats. 

Through the lens of intersectionality, author Dany Sigwalt lays out the framework for how we can come together to fight climate change, and how we can work to put people over profit. At the end of each chapter, there are activities and calls to action to get you thinking and to grow your knowledge. All you need is a pen and a piece of paper. With kaleidoscopic and vibrant illustrations by artist Aurélia Durand, this book is written for everyone who lives on planet Earth. By the end, you’ll have the tools you need to go out and make a difference.

7. Corona, Climate, Chronic Emergency: War Communism in the Twenty-First Century

What does the COVID 19 tell us about the climate breakdown, and what should we do about it?

The economic and social impact of the coronavirus pandemic has been unprecedented. Governments have spoken of “being at war” and find themselves forced to seek new powers in order to maintain social order and prevent the spread of the virus. This is often exercised with the notion that we will return to normal as soon as we can. But, what if that is not possible? And secondly, if the state can mobilize itself in the face of an invisible foe like this pandemic, shouldn’t it also be able to confront visible dangers such as climate destruction with equal force?

In Corona, Climate, Chronic Emergency, leading environmental thinker, Andreas Malm demands that this war-footing state should be applied on a permanent basis to the ongoing climate front line. He offers proposals on how the climate movement should use this present emergency to make that case and asserts that the time to enact these changes is now. 

8. Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future

In Under a White Sky, Elizabeth Kolbert takes a hard look at the new world we are creating. Along the way, she meets biologists who are trying to preserve the world’s rarest fish, which lives in a single tiny pool in the middle of the Mojave; engineers who are turning carbon emissions to stone in Iceland; Australian researchers who are trying to develop a “super coral” that can survive on a hotter globe; and physicists who are contemplating shooting tiny diamonds into the stratosphere to cool the earth. 

One way to look at human civilization, says Kolbert, is as a ten-thousand-year exercise in defying nature. In The Sixth Extinction, she explored the ways in which our capacity for destruction has reshaped the natural world. Now she examines how the very sorts of interventions that have imperiled our planet are increasingly seen as the only hope for its salvation. By turns inspiring, terrifying, and darkly comic, Under a White Sky is an utterly original examination of the challenges we face.

9. How to Blow Up A Pipeline

The science on climate change has been clear for a very long time now. Yet despite decades of appeals, mass street protests, petition campaigns, and peaceful demonstrations, we are still facing a booming fossil fuel industry, rising seas, rising emission levels, and a rising temperature. With the stakes so high, why haven’t we moved beyond peaceful protest? 

In this lyrical manifesto, noted climate scholar (and saboteur of SUV tires and coal mines) Andreas Malm makes an impassioned call for the climate movement to escalate its tactics in the face of ecological collapse. Offering a counter-history of how mass popular change has occurred, Malm argues that the strategic acceptance of property destruction and violence has been the only route for revolutionary change. How to Blow Up A Pipeline is an incisive discussion of the politics and ethics of pacifism and violence, democracy and social change, strategy and tactics, and a movement compelled by both the heart and the mind.  

10. The Conservation Revolution: Radical Ideas for Saving Nature Beyond the Anthropocene

Heated debates about the rise of the afore-mentioned Anthropocene and the current ‘sixth extinction’ crisis demonstrate an urgent need and desire to move beyond mainstream approaches. Yet the conservation community is deeply divided over where to go from here.

Building a razor-sharp critique of current conservation proposals and their contradictions, Büscher and Fletcher argue that the Anthropocene challenge demands something bigger, better and bolder. Something truly revolutionary, proposing a convivial conservation as the way forward. Theoretically astute and practically relevant, The Conservation Revolution offers a post-capitalist manifesto for conservation in the twenty-first century–a clarion call that cannot be ignored.

11. Advocating for the Environment: How to Gather Your Power and Take Action

What can any one of us ordinary citizens really do about climate change? A lot!

Advocating for the Environment is based on a vision where all life is respected, revered, and nurtured. The shifts we need to achieve our vision of climate justice are profound — from how we do business to how we educate, govern, and care — for all people and life on the planet. Written by environmental policy expert Susan B. Inches, Advocating for the Environment is an easy-to-understand, empowering guide to help you take action and enact environmental change.

Part I begins with how we must learn to think differently in order to achieve this vision and heal the planet. Part II of the book is all about action. How to use power for good, work with decision-makers, organize events, manage a coalition, communicate with the public, and work with the media are all laid out in an easy-to-read and easy-to-reference format.

12. As Long as Grass Grows: The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice, from Colonization to Standing Rock

Through the unique lens of “Indigenized environmental justice,” Indigenous researcher and activist Dina Gilio-Whitaker explores the fraught history of treaty violations, struggles for food and water security, and protection of sacred sites, while highlighting the important leadership of Indigenous women in this centuries-long struggle. As Long As Grass Grows gives readers an accessible history of Indigenous resistance to government and corporate incursions on their lands and offers new approaches to environmental justice activism and policy. 

Throughout 2016, the Standing Rock protest put a national spotlight on Indigenous activists, but it also underscored how little Americans know about the longtime historical tensions between Native peoples and the mainstream environmental movement. Ultimately, Gilio-Whitaker argues, modern environmentalists must look to the history of Indigenous resistance for wisdom and inspiration in our common fight for a just and sustainable future.

13. Revolutionary Power: An Activist’s Guide to the Energy Transition

In Revolutionary Power, Shalanda Baker arms those made most vulnerable by our current energy system with the tools they need to remake the system in the service of their humanity. She argues that people of color, poor people, and indigenous people must engage in the creation of the new energy system in order to upend the unequal power dynamics of the current system.

A playbook for the energy transformation complete with a step-by-step analysis of the key energy policy areas that are ripe for intervention, the book asserts climate change will force us to rethink the way we generate and distribute energy and regulate the system. But how much are we willing to change the system? Baker argues that this unique moment in history provides an unprecedented opening for a deeper transformation of the energy system, and thus, an opportunity to transform society.

14. Climate Stewardship: Taking Collective Action to Protect California

California is uniquely positioned to develop and implement novel solutions to widespread climate challenges, owing to the state’s remarkable biogeographic diversity and robust public science programs. Produced in collaboration with the UC California Naturalist Program, Climate Stewardship focuses on replicable, regenerative approaches to energy, agriculture, and land and water use across forested, agricultural, and urban landscapes.

Showcasing the stories of everyday people whose sustained actions enhance the resilience of communities and ecosystems across ten distinct bioregions, the book invites readers on a journey to discover that all life is interconnected and deeply shaped by the state of our climate, demonstrating how they too can empower their communities to act.

See any must-reads that we missed? Let us know at info@shareable.net!

Check out previous book round ups and other related articles:

• The Response: Reimagining Paradise in an age of climate disruption
• Climate adaptation: resilience, self-sufficiency and systems change
• Commoning our way through the climate crisis
• 11 books to read before you read Bill Gates’ new book
• 20 social change books to read in the New Year
• 21 inspiring, must-read books for 2021

The post Anxious about climate change? Add these books to your reading list appeared first on Shareable.