Kirsten Kilponen loves Soil Not Oil by Vandana Shiva

By Venus Zine Staff
Published: January 30th, 2009 | 12:00am

Environmentalism has never been as cool as those days when watching Captain Planet stood its ground with the likes of an episode of the X-men or Transformers. Now that you’re all grown up, it’s hard to satisfy that tree-hugging itch with a work that’s anti-elitist, engaging, and easy to connect to, but at the same time a little bit more substantial and informative than buying a bag with “Go Green” printed on it.

Soil Not Oil by Vandana Shiva, is not only enlightening to the current oil crisis as it affects us in the West, but to global impact as well. Shiva has a knack for taking complex social and environmental issues that are deeply rooted in multiple-centuries old cultural frameworks and making them accessible and engaging to a wide audience. Her storyteller voice makes you sympathize with the people whose lives are destroyed by the drilling and unsustainable farming of their homelands. Shiva is also a physicist, activist, and author. How badass is that?

After this read, the next time you fill up that gas tank, you’ll know that your pocket book isn’t the only thing being hurt.

Kirsten Kilponen is a Venus Zine editorial intern.