The Handbook of Sustainability Literacy

The Handbook of Sustainability Literacy: Skills for a Changing World edited by Arran Stibbe is an ambitious book meant to introduce the reader (referred to as the learner in the book) to many aspects of sustainability. Its goal is to provide both an introduction and relevant activities to make the topic real for the learner. The book is actually a compilation of thirty-two articles on a plethora of topics. These topics include Ecocriticism, Advertising Awareness, Transition Skills, Permaculture Design, Systems Thinking, Greening Business, and many others. Check out the contents on the book's website for the complete list. More review after the break.

Overview

The book seems to be geared toward a group setting. Perhaps a set of learners could methodically go through the articles completing the exercises that are suggested and get a pretty good introduction to various topics related to sustainability. The focus of most exercises is on discussion and self-reflection. Questioning your basic assumptions about the way things are and the way things should be is a goal that most of the articles advocate. While the few pages dedicated to each topic give exposure to the terms and their use, it naturally can only get the learner started in along the path. For the interested reader, the references at the end of each chapter provide further material to delve deeper into the topic.

Meaningful Sections

Personally, some chapters were more engaging just because of my personal interests. The first chapter on Ecocriticism is a great start to the book and its three exercises would be a great solo start to the learning process. These exercises involve spending time questioning while watching TV, spending time in a natural setting, and reading poetry.

My favorite chapter was on Materials Awareness. It provides a very mind-opening assessment of the pieces that go into the things we own, use, and throw away. While the exercise of meticulously analyzing each component of an everyday consumer product is daunting, just the mental process of thinking through the things we take for granted is meaningful. Many other parts of the book were interesting to me but with such a long list of topics, there would be a little something for everyone with interest in sustainability. Although I don't personally agree with all of the chapters, I appreciate their honest perspective on the subject.

Recommendations

I think the book is best used as a group read for those wanting to get up to speed on a lot of topics in a short time. The format of the book would be very conducive to an e-reader so purchasing the book in that format is a good option. If you can find a group interested in going through it, I think the process would be very enlightening for everyone. The book is pretty good on its own but really needs the discussion aspect of it to complete the learning goal.