I had a hard time trying to decide what to rate this book. While it had
a lot of good tips and ideas, it also had a lot of outdated ideas,
ideas that just plain disturbed me, and so many links to websites and
really it seemed you could learn much more just by using your computer
and never touching this book.
This book claims that it is a
handbook for Earth-Friendly Living and it breaks itself into different
parts to complete that mission. First it exposes those Green Living
Myths and says what the actual truth about living green is. Like saying
that green products are expensive and instead explaining why they are
not expensive. Next it talks about how the average person can make a
difference, regardless of how busy they are. Part Three covers Eco-Tips
for living greener and includes check-boxes so you can keep track of
how you are doing. These tips range from travel to cleaning to food.
Buying Green is next and it tells you what to look for and some common
terms when looking at labels. Green Shopping Online is a huge listing
of websites dedicated to green products. And getting involved has more
online listings so you can get involved with campaign writing and other
initiatives. Lastly there are Resources to help the Earth, which again,
is a listing of online sites.
My main problem with this book is
that it is mostly online listings of websites. You could easily look up
all this information without this book just by typing in what you're
searching for. So in buying this book, you actually wasted a resource
in that regard. Next, because websites close down, change, etc., this
book is ineffective even only six years later as not all of those sites
are around anymore (although some still are). The next problem I had
was with some of the tips. There was actually a tip saying that you
should use your microwave for cooking and reheating more than your stove
because it saves energy. Ok, in theory this is true, but microwave
cooking also breaks down the nutrients in your food, which could cause
you to be less healthy, and use up more resources later to improve your
health as a result of not eating properly. Then there was the tip on
how to reuse film canisters. Let's be honest, who in the heck has seen a
film canister lately?!? And while there were quite a few tips, most of
them were more appropriate for a beginner, or just common sense.
Although I should say that I learned a few things from this book, so it
wasn't a total waste.
My main thought is that if you are going to
call a book a handbook, the information should be there for you to look
at, not listed in an online website for you to go look up later. It
should more appropriately be called a guide. And I do like that it
encourages Green Living, I just don't think that it's a lasting book or
one that should be referenced now that it seems to have gotten outdated.
It did have an easy to read format and was broken down into logical
parts. The typing is small though and may be harder for older people or
people with weak eyesight to read.
There are better Green Living
books out there to read (or even websites really) and while I can
appreciate what this book was trying to do, I can't recommend it for
reading.
It's Easy Being Green
Copyright 2006
161 pages
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