What's on Betty's (Sustainably Harvested Wood) Coffee Table??

Enjoy this month's Abode Column from Better World Betty here or online or on newsstands

Coffee table reads

This month Betty shares with you some of her favorite green reads to place on your sustainably harvested wood coffee table!

The first choice for local tree-huggers like myself is The Remarkable Trees of Virginia: a beautiful culmination of a four-year effort to “locate and describe the state’s most interesting and significant trees.” It includes photography by local Robert Llewellyn.

More practical would be The Better World Handbook, a comprehensive guide to green living subtitled “Good Intentions to Everyday Actions.” Its simple cover and pragmatism makes it a classic and part of Betty’s inspiration.

I also like The Consumer’s Guide to Effective Environmental Choices.

Cradle-to-Cradle is a must, written by local eco-visionaries William McDonough and Michael Braungart, who also launched an international product certification program.

For a wide audience including kids, How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint: 365 Simple Ways to Save Energy, Resources and Money by Joanna Yarrow is colorful and engaging, raising awareness with a call to action.

The former English teacher in me loves Recycle This Book, a creative compilation of 100 top children’s authors’ tales of going green.

Feeling funny? Put out a tongue-in-cheek title like Wake up and Smell the Planet or How I Save 1/16th of a Billionth of the Planet by James Glave. As a former “cul-de-sactivist,” I can’t wait to crack this one open for some laughs.

Finally, what coffee table would be complete without a copy of Dr. Suess’ The Lorax?

I suggest buying these books from our local independent booksellers (Over the Moon, for example) for that Betty or Baldwin in your life!

PS
After writing this column I found the amazing book: The Treehouse Book by Peter and Judy Nelson with David Larkin.

BWB