books for academia

 
  
  Connect with other students and instructors using the Reader on Facebook and LinkedIn.

"One of the best readers that I have seen in my 48 years as a university professor."
  — Al Williams, University of Nebraska

The Post Carbon Reader is an excellent multi-disciplinary resource for college courses in environmental science, urban planning, sociology, and other fields. Now in its fourth printing, the Reader has been a hit in classrooms across the country.

Produced with students in mind, the Reader features a variety of author voices and styles, digestible chapter lengths, and a price fit for student budgets. Instructors will appreciate that each Reader chapter is accessible to lay readers while still conveying up-to-date college-level information from its respective academic field.

> Academic Praise
> Download Chapters
> ORDER THE BOOK

See our other books for the academic market.

Syllabi

We are aware of The Post Carbon Reader being used in the courses listed below, often as the principal text. If you're using the Reader and your class is not listed here, please contact Publications Director Daniel Lerch and we'll add it.

• ENV 100: Issues in Environmental Studies
  Richard Wallace, Environmental Studies, Ursinus College
• SUST 1004-01: First Year Seminar on Sustainability
  Nicholas Smith-Sebasto, Sustainability Studies, Kean University
• EST 101: Introduction to Environmental Studies
  Tatiana Abatemarco, Environmental Studies, Paul Smith's College
• 26-104: Ecosphere in Crisis
  Donna Charley-Johnson, Biology, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
• ES 135B: Advanced Environmental Planning
  Paul Wack, University of California, Santa Barbara
• SUS 20010: Sustainability: Principles and Practices
  Minor in Sustainability gateway course, University of Notre Dame
• ENS 201: Environmental Studies and Sustainability
  Stephanie Mills, Environmental Studies, Grand Valley State University
• INT 201: The Idea and Practice of Sustainability
  Brian Hagenbuch, Environmental Science & Policy, Hartwick College
• SOC 212: Sociology of Social Problems
  Nancy Lee Wood, Sociology, Bristol Community College
• ES 2550: Environmental Economics and Management
  Robert Seaman, Environmental Science, New England College
• ENV 305: Building American Style: Land-Use Policies and Rules
  Frank Popper and Deborah Popper, Environmental Studies, Princeton University
• ENVA/SOC 320: Global Environments and Societies
  Steve Zavestoski, Environmental Studies, University of San Francisco
• Political Science 333A: Political Ecology of the World Food System
  Karen Litfin, Political Science, University of Washington - Seattle
• X400.6: Principles of Sustainable Design
  Jane Jaramillo, University of California, Berkeley
• ARCH 4561: Architecture and Ecology
  Daniel Handeen, Architecture, University of Minnesota
• Sociology 4/846: Environmental Sociology
  J. Allen Williams, Jr., Sociology, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
• IPM 505: Climate Change and Infrastructure
  Jill Brown Sterrett, Infrastructure Planning and Management, University of Washington
• USP 569: Sustainable Cities and Regions
  Barry Messer, Urban Studies and Planning, Portland State University
• Various courses
  Ashwani Vasishth, Sustainability Studies, Ramapo College

(Email addresses have been removed from these documents to reduce spam.)

Networking

Students and instructors are invited to join our new LinkedIn site for in-depth discussion and networking around the issues covered in The Post Carbon Reader. Be sure to follow us also on Facebook as well!

Webcasts

We're also exploring ways to make Reader authors availble to speak in classrooms via webcast (e.g., Skype video) at low cost. If you're interested, please contact Publications Director Daniel Lerch.

Praise for The Post carbon reader

"This is one of the best readers that I have seen in my 48 years as a university professor. The articles were well-written, up to date, and contained some extremely valuable information. I suggested to the students that they keep the book for future reference, instead of selling it back to the bookstore at the end of the semester. I plan to use it again next year when I teach Environmental Sociology."

— Al Williams, Professor Emeritus, Department of Sociology, University of Nebraska
 

"We used The Post Carbon Reader every which way in several classes, sometimes just individual chapters as needed. The students cited chapters very frequently in their term papers which indicates that it is pitched at the right level for them. I would rank it among the three most effective sources that we have ever used."

— Bruce Milne, Director, Sustainability Studies Program, University of New Mexico
 

"I was looking for a text to serve as the basis for my first year seminar on sustainability. The Post Carbon Reader proved to be an outstanding option. The 27 students in the course found the articles extremely informative and very useful in catalyzing high levels of intellectual discourse about sustainability issues and topics. They have unanimously praised it as excellent. The fact that almost all of the chapters are available for download was critical because not only did it save the students some money since they did not have to purchase a text (although several of them opted to buy the book because it is so reasonably priced and they wanted a hard copy to begin their personal library of books related to sustainability), but it also supports the idea of sustainability because it illustrates how resources may be conserved while still achieving a desired objective. Kudos to the Post Carbon Institute."

— Nicholas J. Smith-Sebasto, Executive Director, Kean University Center for Sustainability Studies
 

"We were searching for a text that took a step beyond Al Gore's Our Choice when we came across The Post Carbon Reader. We try to take a holistic, systems-based approach in this class, so we explore many topics over the course of the semester—and the Reader addresses all of these and more."

— Dan Handeen, Center for Sustainable Building Research, University of Minnesota
 

"I use various portions of The Post Carbon Reader in all my classes, and I reference it in my public presentations. I also note to all my undergrads doing senior projects, and graduate and doctoral students, that they need to read The Post Carbon Reader."

— Bob Scarfo, Associate Professor, Washington State University, Spokane
 

"I used quite a few chapters from The Post Carbon Reader. I very much appreciate its forward-thinking orientation as students in Environmental Studies classes too often get overwhelmed with all the facts about how we've messed up the environment. The Reader allows students to see that there are visionary thinkers trying not only to construct blueprints of what a post-carbon society might look like, but also the roadmaps for how to get there. I'll definitely use it again."

— Stephen Zavestoski, Associate Professor, Sociology and Environmental Studies, University of San Francisco
 

"A terrific collection of essays. Definitely on my 'highly recommended' book list."

— Karen Litfin, Department of Political Science, University of Washington, Seattle
 

"I've used the book with students, as it's simply the best single-volume reader that offers both background and cutting-edge thinking about issues that are crucial to the future of civilization."

— Eric Zencey, Visiting Associate Professor of Historical and Political Studies at SUNY Empire State College
 

"I really like this text and I will use it again. It provides a great overview of environmental issues, and is very accessible for the students."

— Tatiana Abatemarco, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, Paul Smith's College
 

"The entire book is fantastic and extremely useful!"

— Stephanie Kennedy, graduate student in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
 

"I have been using a few chapters and finding they are succinct and terrific!"

— Jeffrey Broadbent, Associate Professor, Sociology, University of Minnesota