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Feature

Saving the Planet, One Book at a Time

Indie publishers New Society and Chelsea Green use conviction and skill to produce earth-friendly books

by Jim Barnes

Most of the publishing business headline stories these days concern its rampant commercialism - the latest multi-million dollar advance or multi-billion dollar merger or acquisition. But there is a parallel universe of publishing out there, one that thrives on an independent spirit born in the counterculture 60s, that is dedicated to bringing about social, economic, and environmental change.

Each year the annual Independent Publisher Book Awards, conducted to bring attention to the excellence of independently published books, includes special awards in categories such as Most Life-Changing, Most Inspirational to Youth, and Most Likely to Save the Planet. This year's planet-saving winner is Visionaries: People and Ideas to Change Your Life, by Jay Walljasper, Jon Spayde, and the Editors of Utne Reader.

Published by New Society Publishers, whose stated mission is "to publish books that contribute in fundamental ways to building an ecologically sustainable and just society, and to do so with the least possible impact upon the environment," the book combines the creative forces of two of the most "visionary" forces in publishing. Utne Reader has long been known for uncovering the important and inspiring news that the major media overlooks. This book profiles more than sixty of the world's most original thinkers who are often right at the center of that news, focusing on their ideas, their inspiration, and their visions of the future.

The visionaries in the book share one crucial asset: hope for the future. Hope for finding broader meaning and greater joy in our lives. Hope for the restoration of the planet. Hope for a social and economic order that uses the welfare of the weakest, not the strongest, as its gauge of success. This is the kind of thinking we at Independent Publisher Online feel is important to find its way into print, and hence our pride in presenting the Most Likely to Save the Planet award to New Society Publishers.

Now more than twenty years old, NSP is based on Gabriola Island, one of the Gulf Islands in the province of British Columbia, Canada. They also have a U.S. marketing office in Massachusetts, which is understandable due to the fact that 80% of sales come from the U.S. NSP has roots firmly planted in the activist soil of both countries. First emerging in Philadelphia from the movement for a nonviolent society during the anti-Vietnam war New Society Publishers was created in the early 1970s. It had its Canadian origins in the food co-op movement of the early '70s and as The New Catalyst magazine from the bioregional movement of the '80s. The U.S. and Canadian organizations came together in 1990. Later, in 1996, the Canadian office formed a limited company and, through a friendly buy-out, took over continent-wide operations and the complete list of books.

Since then, NSP has grown quickly, with a re-oriented focus on tools for sustainable living that includes subject areas ranging from activism, through conflict education, to conscientious commerce. Several NSP titles have reached the far corners of the planet, most notably Our Ecological Footprint, by William Rees and Mathis Wackernagel, which has been translated into seven different languages. Another NSP book, Stormy Weather: 101 Solutions to Global Climate Change, by Guy Dauncey, won the 2002 Nautilus award for Ecology & Environment, presented by NAPRA, "honoring the year's outstanding titles promoting conscious living and positive social change."

"Our work speaks to individuals and organizations interested in changing their lives so that they may change the world for the better," says Judith Plant, NSP partner and co-founder. "We are striving to 'walk our talk' and to this end we made a public commitment in July 2001 to print all of our forthcoming books on 100 percent recycled, post-consumer paper. We believe that we are the first book publisher in North America to make such a sweeping commitment. I am pleased to report, however, that since we committed to the original two truckloads that put the paper on the printer's shop floor, many other Canadian book publishers have come on board with at least some of their new books. Every book printed on the 100 post-consumer recycled paper comes with an 'Eco-Audit' that tells the reader how many trees were saved, how much water wasn't used, how much electricity saved, landfill spared, etc. I believe that our publishing company alone has saved close to 1000 trees."

Plant is quick to express that the burden of trying to "save the planet" is shared with many others. "Not the least of whom are our authors, most of whom work every day for some facet of social/political/economic change. Together we are quite a force and I never feel alone because of that fact. I see marketing as a logical extension of my previous life as an activist. After all, if our books sell well then our collective work is reaching folks who are interested in making a difference in some way, and our publishing house can continue to do the work we set out to do."

Some forthcoming NSP titles are American Newspeak: The Mangling of Meaning for Power and Profit, by Wayne Grytting (October 2002), a political satire that updates Orwell's 1984 for the 21st century; A Time for Choices: Deep Dialogues for Deep Democracy, by Michael Toms (September 2002), a call to renew American values in this time of crisis -- a modern sequel to Thomas Paine's Common Sense; Cruise Ship Blues: The Underside of the Cruise Industry, by Ross A. Klein (November 2002), all you NEVER wanted to know about cruise ship vacations; and The Eco-Foods Guide: What's Good for the Earth is Good for You!, by Cynthia Barstow (October 2002).

"We are a 'solutions-oriented' publisher. This does not mean that we aren't interested in analysis. Many of our books offer analysis but we don't leave the reader with just the gloomy picture. Instead, we encourage authors to weave into their books proven solutions that will inspire readers by giving them tools they can actually use in their lives."

"Finally, my partner and I insist on having a personal context for our publishing work. We grow much of our own food, participate in community life as much as we can, strive for a simple life, and are pro-active grandparents."

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BUILDING AN "INVISIBLE UNIVERSE": Chelsea Green books are the right tools for the job

Imagine a garden filled with edible flowers, bursting with fruit and berries, carpeted with scented herbs and tangy salad greens, all blended in an eye-catching palette of color and texture. The flowers also nurture endangered pollinators. Bright-feathered birds share the abundant berries and gather twigs for their nearby nests. Each plant plays a role in building soil, deterring pests, storing nutrients, and luring beneficial insects. THIS IS NOT A DREAM. THIS IS YOUR OWN BACKYARD.

All this according to Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture, one of the many and varied books on sustainable living in the catalog of Chelsea Green Publishing Company. They also publish books about eating right, living in a well-designed home, and managing your health. Chelsea Green was founded by Ian and Margo Baldwin in 1984, after they fled the city for an old farmhouse in tiny Chelsea, Vermont. One of the company's first books was a new edition of Jean Giono's The Man Who Planted Trees, the classic ecology book that set the tone for the company that continues today.

"Our publishing program at Chelsea Green is like a fieldstone wall," explains Stephen Morris, company president and publisher. "Each separate rock is unique in shape and appearance. Sometimes it takes a while to find the right place for the right stone. When you do your work successfully, however, you accomplish two goals--you clear a field and you build a wall."

And it's quite a wall they've built in nearly twenty years of publishing. Scanning the hundreds of titles on their list, there isn't a book on it that doesn't contribute to a more healthy, sustainable planet. Many of them do seem obscure, but that's in part because Chelsea Green is willing to take a chance on new ideas - that they help bring into the mainstream. In 1994, when Chelsea Green published The Straw Bale House, the response from many people was skeptical at best. Today, with over 100,000 copies sold, and straw bale projects underway in most regions of North America, building-code officials and insurance companies now look favorably upon straw bale buildings, with their extraordinary energy efficiency and wise use of agricultural waste for construction materials. Bergeron and Lacinski's new book, Serious Straw Bale: A Home Construction Guide for All Climates is the first to look carefully at the specific design considerations critical to success with a straw bale building in more extreme climates -- and for skeptics and true believers, this book will prove to be the latest word.

"Most large publishers today are on a revenue treadmill, needing to sell book 'stuff' in large, repeatable quantities," says Morris. "They can't be fooling around with odd-shaped rocks! They let the media build a market and then jump on for the ride. As a result, celebrity reigns supreme. If Bill Clinton or Kelsey Grammar wants to write a diet book, a golf book, or a guide to love publishers of all ilk will be in line with open wallets. How long before we see a 'tell all' from Gary Condit?"

"Meanwhile, we are content to toil in the stony field. We know that if one of our ideas or authors edges onto the radar screen of the mass media, it will take only a nanosecond for the big publishers to usurp us. That's ok. Our concern is not the single stone, but the whole wall. (And besides, we like working with rocks.)"

One of CG's newest odd-shaped rocks is A Cafecito Story (El Cuento de Cafecito) by Julia Alvarez, with woodcuts by Belkis RamÌrez. Alvarez, one of the most respected writers in America, acclaimed for her poetry and best-selling fiction, also is the co-owner of a small, organic coffee farm. Her firsthand experience with the difficulties of bringing delicious, nontoxic, shade-grown coffee to market have inspired this lyrical account of how a North American's eyes (and taste buds) are opened to the global impacts of our love affair with "joe." With it's lovely woodcuts, heart-warming story and global ecology message, the book is in league with The Man Who Planted Trees, and a great example of how CG mixes politics, art, and literature together to come up with a sensible and earth-friendly worldview - one that is appealing to an ever-growing audience.

Another example is This Organic Life: Confessions of a Suburban Homesteader, by Joan Gussow, an "extraordinarily ordinary" woman who lives in a home not unlike the average home in a neighborhood that is, more or less, typically suburban. What sets her apart from the rest of us is that she thinks more deeply -- and in more eloquent detail -- about food. In sharing her ponderings, she sets a delightful example for those who seek the healthiest, most pleasurable lifestyle within an environment determined to propel us in the opposite direct. Joan is a suburbanite with a green thumb, but also a feisty, defiant spirit with a relentlessly positive outlook.

"At Chelsea Green we frequently refer to an 'Invisible Universe' of people who understand the need for the ideas and practices of sustainable living. This universe is growing. Someday it will reach critical mass and become the 'dominant paradigm.' Instantly, sustainability will become a household word -- then just as quickly -- yesterday's news," says Morris. It would no more occur to a big publisher to do a book on permaculture or straw bale houses than it would occur to us to do a book on Hulk Hogan."

Well, maybe if the Hulkster became a vegetarian...

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JOIN THE INVISIBLE UNIVERSE - SUBSCRIBE TO "THE HUB," CHELSEA GREEN'S MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

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