Pam’s Comments (group member since Dec 29, 2016)

Pam’s comments from the Our Shared Shelf group.

Feel free! Thanks for spreading the word on this new platform. Please just make sure to point out that Emma Watson is no longer involved with Our Shared Shelf.

Thanks!

Julie wrote: "Hi everyone! I'm completely new to the OSS group so this is the first book inspiration I've taken from here."

Excellent! Glad you could join us Julie!

Which quote or scene from Girl Woman Other left an impression (good or bad)? Share your favorite quote or scene here as well as what it means to you.

Share your thoughts about Girl, Woman, Other. Reviews and ratings welcome!

I really liked how Nakate lays out across the board that eco-activism isn't a one size fits all model. We don't need to be Gretas, white, or to be in school, or to live in the Global North.

Eco-Activism is about global, regional, AND local needs. It's something you can do as a school kid, retired, or fresh out of school and everything in between. The importance is that you work within your community to help the community change their habits and behaviors.

One way of thinking isn't what is going to change our current world. We need all of our talents, and skills, and experiences, and networks to make lasting and functional change.

It's a great read

Amaya wrote: "Dear moderator/s of O.S.S,
My name is Amaya Brielle Veiga,

What if we started targeting university students by implementing "Our Shared Shelf" as a university club/organization? I just wanted to ask for your permission and advice on how to prepare for this."

Hello Amaya,

Thank you for reaching out. The mods would be thrilled if you started an OSS group at your university and that you would be the leader of the discussions.

You are welcome to start with the current books we are reading or begin with the ones Emma herself curated. Check out this link here for the full run down of what we have read together. https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Hope you have a lot of fun reading and discussing these items with your peers.

-Pam

In chapter 5; after giving a speech to a local Rotary Club in 2019 Nakate mentions "Most expressed surprise at what I was saying. Everyone recognized that there was something called climate change, but they never heard anyone take the time to present evidence of it's existence, articulate it's scope, or demonstrate how serious the crises was....

At one point a man said how puzzled he was that the ongoing degradation of the Amazon rainforest was widely condemned even in Africa, but that no one was talking about the destruction of the Congo Rainforest."

Nakate uses this example to explore how the Global North (Europe / US / Canada) tend to dictate what climate stories gain media attention. So much that even people in the Global South don't notice climate issues in their own backyard or neighboring states.

Discussion Questions:
- What local areas or topics need your attention and advocacy?
- What local groups or organizations can you join or lead that are working towards helping those areas?

Let's start a thread about what you have done in support of eco-activism.

- How did your eco-activism start?
- What has been the best advice you received from an eco-activist?
- Which Eco-Activists do you follow on social media?

Thanks for starting this Florian!

- what type of transportation are you annually using?
I use a traditional car or bike/feet.
I do purchase online so there is also a cost for goods coming into my house, too.

- how often and how many miles/kilometers? In the car, definitely too much. Probably around 12,000 miles a year. Though work from home has definitely reduced how far I drive.

I should add that I also have a partner who drives as well. My car is newer and he is looking to get rid of his soon so any vacations (which we typically drive to) is done in his car so my original number may be off some.

- what is the most impactful transport during utilization step?
most impactful would probably be city driving as it's a stop and go situation. The car idles and wear on breaks. where as long range highway driving is more fuel efficient or so I am lead to believe.

- what is the most impactful transport according to you during the production step?
Not sure I understand what you mean here. Is this the production of the transportation device?

Carolina Ibanez wrote: "That’s amazing. How can I see them? I don’t see a link or anything 😶"

You should be able to click on the cover of the book or the title. Either should take you to the Goodreads summary page.

If you are looking for the Book Fairies; I recommend visiting them on Instagram or checking out this link: https://ibelieveinbookfairies.com/

Here we go! Use this thread to coordinate book borrowing between members! Hopefully everyone who wants to is able to read How Women Can Save the Planet by Anne Karpf.

Please use this thread ONLY for offers of and requests for Paying It Forward. All other comments about the book and where you got it from can be posted in other relevant topics, such as the book announcement at the top of the discussion board.

Our Pay It Forward initiative is strictly with regards to LEGAL methods of book sharing (for example, sharing hard copies or Kindle sharing). Any posts regarding illegal scans/PDFs/file sharing will be deleted without warning

Thank you all for your patience.

Our new topic comes from Emma Watson from her work in Glasgow at the United Nation's Climate Change Conference; COP 26. The UN filled the event with topics on Adaptation and Resiliency, Capacity Building, Education and Youth, as well as Gender. Gender has long been intertwined with these issues – from women gathering firewood to the Chipko Andolan Tree Huggers protest – so women must be part of any climate change solutions. Input from women, however, has either been excluded or greatly minimized in the decision making process.

To further explore this topic of ecofeminism and eco-activism Emma suggests a few books through the COPBookFairies. (1)

OSS will be reading the following two books in November – December 2021:


How Women Can Save The Planet, which explores how women are suffering the most from the climate crisis and yet who have done the least to cause it. Karpf argues we need gender equality. The highest-profile climate activists today are women and girls (see our second book) but it’s a very different story at the top table where the future of the planet is being decided primarily by men. (2)


A Bigger Picture: My Fight to Bring a New African Voice to the Climate Crisis. This is Nakate’s manifesto and memoir about climate justice and how we can—and must—build a livable, inclusive future for all. Nakate has been a vocal advocate about the inequalities within the climate justice movement for a long time. Most notably when in January 2020 her image was cropped out of a photo by the Associated Press leaving only white activists. We cannot move forward by excluding people from the discussion. (3)

We hope these books help motivate and inspire you and your eco-activism efforts.

Happy reading!

- OSS Mods




(1) Emma Watson: InstaGram: “I’ve scattered some of my favourite books related to climate activism around Glasgow in honour of launching #COPBookFairies. This launches this weekend nationwide with over 300 books! Follow #COPBookFairies to see where they are popping up.” (11.5.2021) Full List
(2) Paraphrased from How Women can Save the Planet: Goodreads summary
(3) Paraphrased from A Bigger Picture’s summary from Mainer Books and Clarion Books Publishing House. https://www.hmhbooks.com/shop/books/a...

Here is the full list of books distributed by the Book Fairies at the COP26 event. This list is chock full of unique perspectives and different forms of environmental activism.

Have you read any?
What would you add to the list?


101 Ways to Go Zero Waste


A Honeybee Heart Has Five Openings


The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis


Dr. Wangari Maathai Plants a Forest


Unbowed
an OSS Eco-Feminism recommendation


No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference


Weather


The Fifth Season
an OSS Sci-Fi recommendation


Why We Swim


The End of the Ocean


Digging Our Own Graves: Coal Miners and the Struggle Over Black Lung Disease


Recovering the Sacred: The Power of Naming and Claiming


No Planet B: A Teen Vogue Guide to the Climate Crisis


The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History


Salvage the Bones


Climate Justice: Hope, Resilience, and the Fight for a Sustainable Future
an OSS Eco-Feminism recommendation


Ecofeminism: Feminist Intersections with Other Animals and the Earth


How to Change Everything: The Young Human's Guide to Protecting the Planet and Each Other


This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate


Hot Money


On Fire: The Burning Case for a Green New Deal


The Ministry of Utmost Happiness


The World We Once Lived In


A Terrible Thing to Waste: Environmental Racism and Its Assault on the American Mind


The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins


Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm's Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land


Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret


Silent Spring


Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
an OSS Eco-Feminism recommendation


Parable of the Sower
an OSS Sci-Fi recommendation


I Belong Here: A Journey Along the Backbone of Britain


Who Cares Wins: Reasons For Optimism in Our Changing World


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


Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds


Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry


Erosion: Essays of Undoing


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

Use this thread to share your thoughts about "A Bigger Picture" Reviews and ratings welcome!

Let's use this thread to coordinate book borrowing between members! Hopefully everyone who wants to is able to read A Bigger Picture: My Fight to Bring a New African Voice to the Climate Crisis by Vanessa Nakate.

Please use this thread ONLY for offers of and requests for Paying It Forward. All other comments about the book and where you got it from can be posted in other relevant topics, such as the book announcement at the top of the discussion board.

Our Pay It Forward initiative is strictly with regards to LEGAL methods of book sharing (for example, sharing hard copies or Kindle sharing). Any posts regarding illegal scans/PDFs/file sharing will be deleted without warning

Share your thoughts about "How Women Can Save the Planet." Reviews and ratings welcome!

Hello everyone.

I want to apologize for my absence these past 6 months. My life turned upside down for a bit and I'm trying to pull myself up and return back to my responsibilities as well as the things I cherish.

Thank you all for your patience and encouraging words.

-Pam

Christine wrote: "Very excited to read both of these! I would love to start having multiple recommendations for the bimonthly topics. I always read our books too quickly."

Thanks Christine. As a fast reader, I hear that.

I find that the books from the poll help provide a deeper dive into the subject. Between the Mods' research and the write in options, there is normally more than 10 options to choose from each month.

I want to extend a big thank you to Erika and Tristen for helping guide our involvement these past two months as we read Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-first Century.

As the first Team to act as our Community Engagement Leaders they have helped us understand more about how we can engage with the OSS Community; connecting what we read with personal anecdotes and real world programs for further participation.

But don't worry; even though we are reading a new book Erika and Tristen will still be around. Drop them a note here if you have any questions about the Disability Accessibility and Justice. Or even to say hello or share your story.

On behalf of all of us; thank you again ladies!

Which quote or scene from The Yield or from Split Tooth left an impression (good or bad)? Share your favorite quote or scene here as well as what it means to you.