IMPROVING YOUR AWARENESS AND UNDERSTANDING
Improving your awareness and understanding of the issue we face has been the first step for us all on our journey as Green Runners.
For many of us, reading books was the thing that opened our eyes to the problem. And was the thing that made us change our own lifestyles.
There are loads of resources out there. And we’ve listed some of our favourite books, websites and articles here
Books for Adults
We Can’t Run Away From This – Damian Hall
What if running was actually not as great as we’d like to think? What if, actually, running was really quite bad for the planet and our natural environments?
Our co-founder, Damian Hall, dives deep into the murky waters of running, carbon, chemicals and whether there is a way through it all. In this ground-breaking book, he takes a cold hard look at the sport we love and unpicks all its elements, from shoes and t-shirts, to races. It is the must-have book on any runner’s bookshelf, and is a valuable guide in telling us how bad things are – but also how we might find solutions.
How Bad Are Bananas – Mike Berners-Lee
Easy, do-able, down to earth ideas and suggestions for everyone to help save the planet.
If you want to save the planet, but your to-do list is already pretty long, and remembering your reusable coffee cup feels like a Herculean task, then this is the book for you.
Covering every aspect of our lives from the stuff we buy and the food we eat, to how we travel, work, and celebrate. This book provides stacks of practical ideas to slot into your daily life, alongside a gentle kick up the butt to put your newfound knowledge into action.
Consumed – The Need for Collective Change - Aja Barber
The book is a blueprint for anyone who wants to do better.
Aja Barber wants change. In the ‘learning’ first half of the book, she exposes you to the injustices in our consumer industries. In the second ‘unlearning’ half, she will help you to understand the uncomfortable truth behind why you consume the way you do.
Aja wants to show you that the less you buy into the consumer culture the more power you have
The Future We Choose - Surviving the Climate Crisis - Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac
“The future we choose presents what we must do to protect our shared future – your own and that of everyone on the planet” – Leonardo di Caprio
Discover why there’s hope for the planet and how we can each make a difference in the climate crisis, starting today.
Humanity is not doomed, and we can and will survive. The future is ours to create: it will be shaped by who we choose to be in the coming years. The coming decade is a turning point – it is time to turn from indifference or despair and towards a stubborn, determined optimism.
The Future We Choose is a passionate call to arms from former UN Executive Secretary for Climate Change, Christiana Figueres, and Tom Rivett-Carnac, senior political strategist for the Paris Agreement
There is No Planet B - Mike Berners-Lee
Feeding the world, climate change, biodiversity, antibiotics, plastics, pandemics – the list of concerns seems endless.
But what is most pressing, and what should we do first? Do we all need to become vegetarian? How can we fly in a low-carbon world? And, given the global nature of the challenges we now face, what on Earth can any of us do, as individuals?
Mike Berners-Lee has crunched the numbers and plotted a course of action that is full of hope, practical, and enjoyable.
The Sustainable (ish) Living Guide - Jen Gale
Easy, do-able, down to earth ideas and suggestions for everyone to help save the planet.
If you want to save the planet, but your to-do list is already pretty long, and remembering your reusable coffee cup feels like a Herculean task, then this is the book for you.
Covering every aspect of our lives from the stuff we buy and the food we eat, to how we travel, work, and celebrate. This book provides stacks of practical ideas to slot into your daily life, alongside a gentle kick up the butt to put your newfound knowledge into action.
Books for Children
Kids Fight Plastic. How to be a #2MinuteSuperHero - Martin Dorey
Have you got 2 minutes? That’s all the time it takes to become a #2minutesuperhero.
Plastic is everywhere. It is in the rivers and it is in the sea. We need superheroes to fight plastic and help save our oceans.
Read this essential book and find out how you can become a #2minutesuperhero by completing 50 missions to fight plastic at home, school and on your days out. Informative, practical and positive,
This guide for children is written by Martin Dorey, anti-plastic campaigner and author of the bestselling No. More. Plastic. Martin is the founder of the Beach Clean Network and the #2minutebeachclean movement and believes that small actions add up to make a big difference.
What a Waste: Rubbish, Recycling and protecting Our Planet - Jess French
In this informative book on recycling for children, you will find everything you need to know about our environment.
The good, the bad, and the incredibly innovative. From pollution and litter to renewable energy and plastic recycling. This educational book will teach young budding ecologists about how our actions affect planet Earth and the big impact we can make by the little things we do.
Did you know that every single plastic toothbrush ever made still exists? Or that there is a floating mass of rubbish larger than the USA drifting around the Pacific Ocean?
101 Small Ways to Change the World - Lonely Planet Kids
It’s hard to believe that you could change the world, but it’s true!
We’ll show you loads of awesome ways to help out family, friends, yourself and the planet – and show how you’re never too young to make a big difference.
Includes random acts of kindness, craft projects, energy-saving ideas and much more. 101 Small Ways to Change the World is a practical, fun and creative book to inspire you at home, school and in your local community and beyond! Remember, all big ideas start with just one person who decides to do things differently. You could be that person.
This Book is Not Rubbish: Top Tips for Kids
Discover how YOU can ditch plastic, reduce rubbish and become an eco-warrior, not an eco-worrier, with 50 practical tips to really make a difference!
Our planet is in peril and it needs your help!
But the good news is that there are loads of easy ways that you can make a difference. From throwing a planet party and ditching straws, to banning glitter and becoming an art-activist, helping to save the planet is not as difficult as you think.
Plastic Sucks - Dougie Poynter
How can YOU help save our planet?
This awesome and inspiring guide, written by McFly bassist and environmental activist Dougie Poynter, will show you how to get involved in the mission to cut out single-use plastic.
Plastic is everywhere and it sucks. It fills up our oceans, endangers our wildlife and never goes away. So it’s time to take action, find ways to cut down our plastic use and help protect our environment. Together we can make a difference
Websites, Blogs, and Podcasts
Websites
- Ethical Consumer – www.ethicalconsumer.org
- Good On you – https://goodonyou.eco/
- Our World in Data – https://ourworldindata.org/
- Running On Carbon Blog – https://runningoncarbon.wordpress.com/
- BBC – https://www.bbc.com/future/future-planet
- The Guardian – https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-crisis
- Reading University – https://www.reading.ac.uk/planet/what-the-science-says
- A Sustainable Life – https://www.asustainablelife.co.uk/
- Travel Specific Topic – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-49349566
- Clothes – https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200710-why-clothes-are-so-hard-to-recycle
Podcasts
Understanding and Calculating Your Carbon Impact
- https://ourcarbon.com/
- https://howbadarebananas.com/
Thought Leaders
World leaders on the environment. and some world-class runners who care about the climate impact
Running Related Actions
A sustainable approach to travel, kit, equipment, nutrition and more
Lifestyle Related Actions
Recommended energy suppliers, carbon-offsetting, charities, investments and more