 Worldchanging A User’s Guide to the 21st Century |
“Happiness demands giving up all hope of a better past.”
– Buddha
I dilly-dallied about checking out this book when it came out last year. Then one day, I happened to pick up an opened copy at the bookstore and immediately fell into profound ionian enchantment with it. This is the kind of book I would normally bounce around, taking it down off the bookshelf every now and then and opening to a random subject to enjoy whatever topic I stumbled upon. I still do that to my now dog-eared copy with its worn binding, but I first read it cover to cover, bibliography and all.
With more than 60 authors, many mainstream and noteworthy, contributing to this tome of a book, fantastic design layout, inspiring photographs, and though-provoking material, it would be a wonder if I didn’t fall in love with it. For 2007, this was my catch-all gift, everyone who got a present from me got this book, and everyone receiving it loved it too.
Worldchanging is the greatest collection of sustainable living innovations ever compiled. Worldchanging introduced me to the Mega Cities Project, which seeks innovative solutions to urban living, NGO-in-a-Box open-source software for managing Non-Governmental Organizations, Solar Energy Products at Real Goods, H2ouse home water-saving ideas, the United Nation’s World Food Programme free video game where players deliver aid to countries in crisis Food Force, the free International Futures modeling software, Gapminder free software to visualize world development, and numerous other resources online, offline, and within myself. Not to mention, the Worldchanging Website, called the “leading sustainability-focused website on the planet” and has “an archive of 7,600 stories on ecological innovation, breakthrough design and social change.”
Most of all, Worldchanging makes us hopeful about the future. It recognizes the myriad problems the global village faces and places its focus on finding the solutions to them. This is the best DIY book ever. After reading over 500 pages of projects, inventions, lifestyle modifications, and products, you will see the world around you in a whole new light. And a fresh outlook on life is one of the best gifts you can give.