Everyday activism - 'L is for Lifestyle'

This is the other book that I really recommend for beginning to think about how our everyday choices impact others (the first one being 'Everyday Justice'):

L is for Lifestyle: Christian living that doesn't cost the earth
by Ruth Valerio

This book goes through the alphabet, looking at 26 different areas where our daily choices have consequences for others. I remember it being quite slow-going, since each issue takes a lot of energy to get your head around and implement changes, especially if you've never thought about these things before. The first section, 'A is for Activists', concentrates on why Christians should care about activism.

This book is by a UK author, too, so some of the issues are slightly different here. (For example, B is for bananas - which are a huge Fair Trade issue in the UK, since bananas at their most popular fruit and they import them all from tropical areas - many of which are hugely dependent on bananas but have little power to negotiate trade deals. Since we grow our own bananas in Australia, it's not an 'everyday' issue for us.) The resource lists at the end of each chapter are helpful, but again - mostly related to UK organisations.

It's still an excellent introduction to a wide range of issues, though. I like to highlight these issues because the changes don't take a lot of effort to implement (changing energy suppliers, choosing FT, buying organic) but can make a difference when enough people do them.

There is also a website - L is for Lifestyle - that contains a brief snippet about each issue, plus lists of organisations, websites and books on the topic.