These core books and films are among the many incredible resources that represent critical and inspired thinking towards a kinder future.

Generosity Farm Giles Blunden
Callings Gregg Levoy 
Cradle to Cradle William McDonough BioMimicry Janine Benyus
EarthDance Elisabet Sahtouris
The Way of Conflict Deidre Combs
The Last Child in the Woods Richard Louv Replenishing the Earth Wangaari Matthai 
An Inconvenient Truth Al Gore
Crossing the Unknown Sea David Whyte
Nature and the Human Soul Bill Plotkin
Blessed Unrest Paul Hawken
The Hidden Forest Jon Luoma
What the Robin Knows  Jon Young
Like a Tree  Jean Shinoda Bolen
Twelve by Twelve  William Powers
Playing by Heart  O. Fred Donaldson
Falling Upward   Richard Rohr
Bringing Nature Home  Doug Tallamy
Countdown  Alan Weisman
Love 2.0  Barbara Fredrickson
The Tipping Point  Malcolm Gladwell
Coming Back to Life  Joanna Macy

Films

"Roots" (story of Wangari Maathai and Kenya)

"Pray the Devil Back to Hell" (women standing for peace rather than civil war in Liberia)

"The Power of Community" (Cuba after Soviet oil left.  Permaculture, sustainability and community.)

The Way of Council Jack Zimmerman, Virginia Coyle 

Conscious Living, Conscious Aging Ron Pevny

The Limits to Growth and Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System Donella Meadows 

The World Cafe  Juanita Brown & David Isaacs

Natural Capitalism Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins, Hunter Lovins 

The Open Space of Democracy Terry Tempest Williams 

The Peoples' History of the United States  Howard Zinn