Prendiamoci cura della Terra

Read me! March – April

“Ecology”, “sustainability”, “compatibility”, “biodiversity”, “biological” are words that have entered our everyday life and that sound like reassuring. This is the reason why advertisers use them even in cases where the products they promote have even antithetical characteristics with the word used. The volumes suggested this two months are deepened for those who want to finally understand the true meaning of the words and the profound concepts that lie behind them. These are perhaps a bit difficult readings, but certainly stimulating and enlightening, above all clear because they are written in extremely understandable languages. Certainly advisable for teachers and professionals who want to update themselves, are volumes highly recommended for those who, while working in different fields, clearly want to understand how we can think and act to question consciously about the “weight” of their existence, composed of ideas and actions , on planet Earth.

Verso un’ecologia della mente ( Towards an ecology of the mind)

regory Bateson

Translator: G. Longo
Publisher: Adelphi
Collection: Scientific Library
Edition: 23
Edition year: 1977
Pages: 604
EAN: 9788845915352 The first volume we recommend is a cornerstone of the construction of a new way of thinking and of treating ideas because “the natural world around us has this general system structure, and is therefore a source of metaphors suitable for placing man in able to understand himself within the social organization “.
The book, published in 1977, was the number one of the Adelphi “Scientific Library” series and, despite being in its 23rd edition, continues to be 1st in the Bestseller ranking of IBS Libri – Philosophy – Philosophy of the mind. A text to read and reread with ever new critical spirit to deepen the thousand aspects of our own thinking.
Biologist and training anthropologist, psychiatrist, epistemologist, Bateson has been interested in the very first developments of cybernetics and of the processes of evolution of cultures, pursuing throughout his life a “science of mind and order” to which this volume opens the way. Made up of a collection of essays and lectures written over more than 35 years, Bateson’s book proposes “a new way of understanding the ideas and aggregates of ideas that I call” minds “.
At the beginning of the book Bateson states that “The ecology of the mind is a science that does not yet exist as an organic corpus of theory or knowledge”. But, we add, it alone allows us to understand, using the same categories, issues such as “bilateral symmetry of an animal, the structured arrangement of leaves in a plant, the subsequent amplification of the arms race, the courtship practices, the nature of the game, the grammar of a sentence, the mystery of biological evolution and the crisis in which the relationships between man and the environment are today “.
A reading that opens new connections between the different worlds of human knowledge and helps in the acquisition of a genuine eco-logical thought. Welcome to Bateson’s “followers”!

 Introduzione all’ecologia applicata. Dalla teoria alla pratica della sostenibilità (Introduction to applied ecology. From theory to the practice of sustainability)

Silvana Galassi, Ireneo Ferrari, Pierluigi Viaroli

Publisher: CittàStudi
Edition year: 2014
Pages: 288
EAN: 9788825173925   At a time when the Earth shows with mathematical exactitude its response to the practices of misguided management of planetary resources by our species, this volume becomes particularly valuable, because it deals with accessible language and scientific rigor the study of the processes and functions of ecosystems as basic references for the management of environmental resources.
The volume starts from the foundations of ecosystem ecology in an approach that connects biology, geology, biochemistry, chemistry and continues with an analysis of the most widespread types of anthropogenic impact on the ecological state of the atmosphere, soil and aquatic environments. concludes by addressing a critical evaluation of the best known environmental prevention and reconstruction strategies.
An instructionally perfect text, in which each chapter starts with the enunciation of the objectives it intends to achieve and continues to clearly illustrate the contents of each topic addressed. In-depth sheets and online materials allow specialized refinement on the topics in question.
The authors, despite being university professors, and therefore accustomed to approaching students already involved in the topics of ecology and applied ecology, have managed to get out of too technical languages ​​and make absolutely everyone and everyone an indispensable text for those who want bring these issues seriously.

Manuale di sopravvivenza energetica. Come consumare meglio ed essere felici (Energy survival manual. How to consume better and be happy)

Andrea Mameli

Illustrations: Fabrizio Piredda Publisher: Scienza Express Year edition: 2011 Pages: 120 p., Ill. , Paperback
EAN: 9788896973011

“Energy Survival Manual” is a nice little book that keeps the promise of the cover: “With this book you save over 1000 euros per year”!
Andrea Mameli is not new to these adventures who see him as the author of very “particular” manuals because they are linked to subjects, such as energy, which underlie complex concepts. Simplifying and making accessible concepts through an engaging and at the same time respectful writing of the scientific principles on which it rests, is a skill that makes the text together “serious” and light.
The volume begins with a group of introductory tips for those who want to “change course” and make its presence on the planet more eco-sustainable, continue with an “alphabetical” examination of the various energy issues and end with a series of insights on words of order that are not always clear even to those who use them.
The illustrations of Fabrizio Piredda, with their delicate and expressive trait, give the whole volume a very pleasant rhythm.
A short essay by Gianfranco Zavalloni further embellishes this useful little gem of environmental sustainability manuals.