It is very important for one’s professional development as well as self-education to keep a running list of the books one has read and books one plans on reading. My list is rather disorderly and not necessarily as much of a tangible list than more of a loose collection I have tucked away in the recesses of my mind. My primary subjects of interest are largely environmental or politically based. I like informing myself about different issues surrounding climate change, pollution, over-population, and carbon use.

A primary resource of my self-education happens to be mainly electronical, as I find myself devoting a lot of time researching concepts and events online. I find this to be very efficient because the information is always up to date, and the diversity of the subjects I am able to look into is seemingly endless. The downside to this type of self-education is that it is difficult to become very familiar with concepts or events because online texts generalize more than they specialize.

I am not one to normally plan such things as reading for the purpose of informing myself, it just happens. I find myself to be naturally curious and from time to time, probably more often than other people, I can be seen behind the cover of a non-fiction book detailing our most prevalent environmental issues of today. This assignment inspired me to finally compile a list of books that I feel I should read for the purpose of gaining perspective and educating myself. The list is as follows:

I would like to read Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water by Marc Reisner. This book is expressed by some to be one of the most prominent environmental books of this age because it hits close to home for many Americans. The issue of resource economics in relation to water scarcity in the United States is a very touchy subject as much of the urban south-west is constantly in drought. The fact that this has been a known issue in our country for some time and nothing has really been done to combat it is frightening to me.

Another book that I would like to read soon is The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. This book is also highly regarded as a good read as the author Pollan dissects the issues surrounding the human diet, and its impact upon the environment. Pollan explores alternate routes that in theory could help alleviate some of the issues that arise from our current actions. This information intrigues me because hunger continues to be a significant issue within the United States.

The third book on my list is Walden by Henry David Thoreau. This book is not necessarily directed towards environmental issues per say, but rather towards the way in which humans live and interact within their environment. I have heard great reviews about this book from many intellectuals, and would like to add this to my repertoire of insight. I have read other works my Thoreau and find that I enjoy his language and concepts very much.

My fourth book on this list is Silent Spring by Rachael Carson. In this book Carson is supposed to discuss the issues surrounding the use of pesticides on food for human and animal consumption. This is an important issue to me, as I have and probably will continue to ingest these pesticides on a day to day basis. I can’t wait to become more informed about this subject matter and the alternatives, (if any), that exist for the use of these compounds.

The fifth and final book on my list is Journey to Chernobyl: Encounters in a Radioactive Zone by Glenn Alan Cheney. This book illustrates the events that led up to, as well as the catalyst and after affects of the horrible event that took place in the late eighties in Ukraine, formerly part of the U.S.S.R. This subject matter intrigues me because I have a deep interest in the policy side of environmental science, I like to examine events like this and ask myself “How could this have been avoided?” This seems to be a pretty in-depth analysis of the errors that caused this catastrophe and thusly looks to be a pretty good read.

That concludes my list of books that I have committed to reading over the coming weeks, hopefully I will gain a lot from this approach to self-directed and independent learning.