Third Straight Year of High Temps

As we head into the second month of 2017, we now have an idea of all that we left behind last year. One of the biggest discoveries was that 2016 marked the third year in a row of Earth’s highest temperature in recorded history.

To help our planet, educate those on climate change, and introduce newcomers to global warming, we at Cosimo would like to highlight some of our Earth related books:

Earth Fever: Living Consciously with Climate Change by Judy McAllister, Erik Van Praag, and Jan Paul van Soest

The human species is in a rather precarious situation. Poverty, the energy and financial crises, and above all the challenge of climate change mean that our civilization has come to a dangerous edge. Our safety nets-on both collective and individual levels-have been removed. Can we create a future that allows for a dignified society and a peaceful world? With a change of consciousness and a new spirituality, we may.

WATER: The Blood of the Earth - Exploring Sustainable Water Management for the New Millennium by Allerd Stikker

"In this book Allerd describes his convincing views on desalination solutions for local and urban clean water shortages as well as his deeply felt findings on the spiritual meanings of water, all assembled on a 20 years' journey on which I was lucky to travel along."                                                                                                               -- Leonor Lindner

The Tierra Solution: Resolving Climate Change Through Monetary Transformation by Frans C. Verhagen

As climate change continues to threaten the earth and as the global financial crisis lingers, governments and communities need to take charge of their own and global monetary systems. Sustainability sociologist Frans Verhagen proposes a solution-the Tierra Solution-to repair the present global monetary, financial, and economic systems that enrich the few, impoverish the many, and imperil the planet. Verhagen calls for transformational changes in order to advance climate-resilient economic development.

Fanack Water Files: Water Challenges and Solutions in Jordan with a Special Report on the Red Sea-Dead Sea Project

As Earth Day brings awareness to the environmental issues facing us all, so does the Fanack organization bring us awareness about one of the biggest environmental issues being faced in the Middle East: the scarcity of water. "Fanack Water Files: Water Challenges and Solutions in Jordan, with a Special Report on the Red Sea-Dead Sea Project" is the first publication of the Fanack Water Files. It deals in depth with the water situation in Jordan, a critical country in the region bordering Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Israel. For more information about Fanack and water, see also here. 

For more books by these authors, or to expand your knowledge of all things Earth related, visit our website. 

Amid Rio+20 UN Conference and Impending Climate Crisis, The Tierra Solution Delivers Answers

With the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development happening this week in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the upcoming presidential election--where there is sure to be at least some focus on climate issues and a lot of focus on financial issues--this month's Book of the Month is both timely and relevant. The Tierra Solution, by sustainability sociologist Dr. Frans Verhagen, offers a solution to climate change through monetary transformation, essentially killing two birds with one stone.

Dr. Verhagen proposes to resolve to the current financial, economic, and monetary problems around the world with a credit-based financial system, governed by a Global Central Bank, that uses a carbon standard for a newly developed international monetary system with the Tierra as the unit of account--hence, the Tierra Solution.

Basically, Verhagen suggests that by simply holding businesses and governments accountable for the carbon-based energy they use, and basing money exchange on that energy, we can create a cleaner environment and solve the global financial crisis. Separated into two distinct parts, The Tierra Solution first describes the current climate crisis and methods of carbon reduction that already exist (and why they are not ideal). He also lays out the history and present structure of the international monetary system. Then, Verhagen describes the Tierra Fee & Dividend System, why it is the best solution for our ravaged economies, how it will improve the climate and monetary systems, and how it should be implemented.

Hazel Henderson, evolutionary economist and president of Ethical Markets Media, commented that The Tierra Solution is, "a visionary and immensely practical approach to reforming today's bubble finance and taming its global casino. Verhagen... illuminates the win-win solutions possible when we combine monetary transformation with low-carbon, renewable resource strategies and equitable approaches to sustainable development."

In his Foreword, Felix Dodds, executive director of the Stakeholder Forum, said, "This book is an important contribution because it provides some serious ideas for how we can ensure that there is international monetary justice that takes account of social, environmental, and procedural justice and intergenerational principles in the international monetary system."

This is not a light-hearted read.

But it is essential for those in finance and governements (or who want to influence those areas) to understand how our current systems are failing and why we need something new. Verhagen describes it as needing to "repair the present global monetary, financial, and economic systems that enrich the few, impoverish the many, and imperil the planet."

If you're interested in the official press release, you can read it here. Dr. Frans Verhagen is a sustainability sociologist with a Ph.D. in the sociology of international development from Columbia University. he founded the Queens Green party, the Riverside Church Ecology Task Force, and the Ecolinguistics Commission. He has worked around the world and online teaching environmental policies and sustainability.He is online at www.timun.net.

As a tribute to upcoming Earth Day, Cosimo picks Earth Fever as April's book of the month

With spring officially here, the trees growing greener, the flowers starting to bloom, and the weather starting to warm up it’s time to announce a new book of the month. April is filled with many important days, holidays, and themes. But here at Cosimo we decided to focus on Earth Day, which falls on Sunday April 22 this year. 

The purpose of Earth Day is to bring awareness to the environmental issues that continue to have an impact on the health of our Earth.  Climate change is warming the Earth up and we need to find a way to cool down the effects our actions are having. Earth Fever: Living Consciously with Climate Change discusses not only the small ways everyone could change their habits to reduce their carbon footprint but also how they could better their own lives by helping the Earth. A truly original take on climate change this book focuses on the individual's growth as well as their ability to effect change in the current environmental woes. To learn more about the book visit EarthFeverBook.com.

• "Links a crisp and clear explanation of the climate problem to a spiritual quest for solutions... Earth Fever is something special... Read it and subsequently do something." -Pierre de Winter, in Platform for Managers and Professionals  
• "Ends with a positive, hopeful scenario. Living more consciously is not only good for our planet, but also for ourselves... The fever can be decreased, we can become healthy again." -Lisette Thooft, in Happinez
• "Inspiring... The authors show that there is a third way, a path that weaves between doomsday thinking and unfounded optimism..." -Derk Hueting and Klaas van Egmond, in Milieu

Authors Judy McAllister, Erik van Praag, and Jan Paul van Soest bring to bear their diverse experience in the fields of sustainability, leadership, and entrepreneurialism on the challenge of building a radically different belief system about life such an endeavor will require.