Books & Music...

Watching the news has never been likened to taking Prozac. In fact, listening to a talking head recite a laundry list of the world's problems drives me toward not only getting a prescription to Prozac, but getting one that prescribes it in bulk. Can we hear any more dire outlook of the world in 30 minutes than the news?

I'm ready for some good news, some green news, some news that brings me hope that our society will somehow figure out a way from this mess and navigate it successfully for a sustainable and healthy future. So, I turned to  Van Jones' book The Green Collar Economy: How one solution can fix our two biggest problems.

Jones sees the world like I see it--a long list of problems that can be solved with ingenuity, determination and the right shade of sustainable green. Here's a snippet from his new book:

"Turning the world’s governments green will not be an easy task. And it will be especially challenging in the United States, given the entrenched political power of old polluters and the overwhelming “business as usual” inertia inside the D.C. Beltway. To create a pathway to a livable future, a mobilized U.S. citizenry will have to march into the halls of power and rewrite the rules—at every level of government.

"We cannot be naïve about the obstacles. A people’s movement strong enough to achieve that aim would have to quickly become as big, sophisticated, and morally appealing as the greatest democratic movements of the last century. And yet building just such a movement is the central challenge—and the highest calling—of our time.

"Success in this world-historic endeavor will require genius, courage, a Herculean effort—and a great deal of luck, too. But we must begin. Fortunately, we have good examples and role models to guide us along the way."