Earth Day is Coming...Are You Ready?
Written: Apr 09 '08 (Updated Apr 16 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Simple, appealing text, inspiring rather than frightening, not many statistics...
Cons: A little bit of guilt.
The Bottom Line: Save the cheerleader, save the--oops. Save the world.
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| JediKermit's Full Review: Kim Mckay and Jenny Bonnin - True Green: 100 Every... |
This review is part of Pambo's Earth Day Writeoff--to get more ideas about how to get Green, read more reviews gathered here: http://www.epinions.com/user-pambo
Earth Day is just around the corner--April 22nd, in fact. And while it usually passes just as a blip on most people's radar, the growing concerns about our environment get more and more media time, and as a mostly greedy American, I get more concerned about what I'm doing to try and salvage what's left of our planet. I'm not an eco-Nazi by any means, more out of laziness than belief. But as a teacher and as a father, I do feel a growing responsibility to set a good example. How do I care for the planet, and how does that influence the children in my care? Whether I believe in man-accelerated climate change or not, I can either promote or stem my abuse of the environment, and that would be a good thing.
I've been checking out books that have suggestions for "easy ways" to achieve those goals, and they've been spurring me to action. One of the best I've found recently is "True Green: 100 Everyday Ways You Can Contribute to a Healthier Planet." Written by Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin, and published in 2006 by National Geographic, it's a good way to jump-start your family, your school, or your business and their environmental awareness.
The 128-page paperback book is filled with suggestions for our everyday lives, most of which are implementable for little cost or effort. Many of them I've already read in similar books, and some I've even started doing, which is really the more difficult thing. The suggestions are organized into six sections:
In the Home
In the Garden
At Work
Shopping
Travel
In the Community
The 100 suggestions are a good mix of the traditional (turn down the thermostat in the winter, turn it up in the summer, take shorter showers, recycle...) and the innovative. Some of the ones I haven't seen repeated in other, similar books:
One of the newest ways to save energy is to completely unplug appliances and electronics when not in use. If it has a little green or red light winking back at you when it's "off," it's still using about $70 of electricity a year. Getting rid of that use will save energy and ultimately reduce pollution.
Using ground cover instead of traditional lawns will generally save water and can also contribute to the health of your home, increase privacy, and reduce street noise. This is one I'm trying to get my wife onboard with for our front yard...but we're waiting until we can do it right.
Instead of increasing pavement, use gravel, crushed rock, or other ways to add to your driveway. This reduces the amount of water runoff, and lets water permeate the soil, being cleansed on its way back into the water table.
Ditch the suitcoat and tie (and even the pants!) and adopt a more casual attire. That should allow the boss to elevate the temperature in your office a few more degrees, reducing the electricity load in your office.
Borrow books from the library, rent DVDs instead of bying them, and share camping goods and other occasionally used items.
Buying second-hand clothing reduces the amount of environmental impact inherent in purchasing new clothing--including 39,600 gallons of water used in the production and transport of the clothing bought by the average American family in the average year.
...there are a dozen others I could list that I hadn't seen before, or see rarely in these kinds of books. By far the best section is the final chapter, encouraging community activism. This includes more concrete examples of ways to shape the place you live. Some of this includes letters to editors and government representatives, some includes considering living in multi-family housing instead of stand-alone homes, it includes examining your investments and supporting local over multinational companies.
This book is inspiring and exciting, choosing to encourage and simplify their suggestions. The authors cite studies and give you statistics, but focus on making things clear and achievable. The writing is simple, the pictures colorful and appealing.
There's also a list of more than fifty websites and additional online resources to help you with your quest to conserve energy, reduce your carbon emissions, and stop wasting water. It's a good resource, and one that I've already shared with some friends and family members.
If you're looking for ways to cut energy costs, make your life more environmentally friendly, or teach your kids about being more ecologically aware, this book is one of the best I've read. The planet is sick. We can help.
MORE "GREEN" BOOKS:
The Green Book http://www.epinions.com/content_401147858564
The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook http://www.epinions.com/content_400766439044
It’s Easy Being Green http://www.epinions.com/content_290508344964
The Weather Makers http://www.epinions.com/content_230263524996
Last Child in the Woods http://www.epinions.com/content_192732958340
http://www.greenmatters.com
http://www.fightglobalwarming.com
http://www.stopglobalwarming.org
http://www.climatefriendly.com
Recommended:
Yes
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JediKermit
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Member: Quinn
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Reviews written: 1995
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Books, Movies, and Toys. Is there more to life?
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