For those of you not tuned into the main-stream media, this book is
getting quite a bit of media coverage and may be worth investigating.
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The Consumers Guide to Effective Environmental Choices:
Practical Advice from The Union of Concerned Scientists
by Michael Brower and Warren Leon, Three Rivers Press, 1999.
ISBN: 0-609-80281-X, $15.00.
You've probably heard of this book. Within days after its publication,
reviews and interviews with the authors poured forth, in a slightly shocked
stream, from both local and national media. Even the Philadelphia Inquirer
broke precedent and published its review on the front page of a weekday
edition instead of waiting for the usual Sunday "Books" Section.
Live in a place that reduces your need to drive. Eat less meat. Install
efficient
lighting and appliances. Bother "50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the
Earth" the Union of Concerned Scientists has reduced the list of
"essential"
environmental activities that save the environment to 11!
Well, yes. And, of course, no. Life, like a Shaker chair, is always
startling us
with a surface simplicity which upon reflection, becomes dizzying in its
complexity, yet remains a unified and complete whole. Sure, the book
contains
lists such as The Four Most Significant Consumer-Related Environmental
Problems and The Seven Rules for Responsible Consumption that are short,
pithy and to the point. You can type them up for the sound-bite outlet of
your
choice and be fairly certain that if your audience follows them, the day
after
tomorrow, the planet really will be in a better state than when you started.
This is comforting for media folks, but the attending hype and seemingly
oversimplification of yet another environmental issue tends to induce nausea
in those of us who have followed planetary health over the years. So we
decide to pass on the book.
Ignore the hype. Read the book, regardless of snide comments from the
national media (we all know how much THEY want us to drive less and eat
less meat!). Brower and Leon know how to package a sound-bite, but they've
done their homework and its all right there in the book: charts, graphs,
methodology, endnotes and an excellent list of resources for further action.
Not only is the book about effective choices, but its laid out so
effectively
that you can either jump right into the chapters on "Priorities for Personal
Action" or "Avoiding High-Impact Activities" (where all nice lists ready for
media transcription reside, along with excellent explanations of how the
authors came to these conclusions and why taking these actions really will
help the planet) or take a leisurely stroll through histories of American
consumerism and garbage. (As a resident of Southeastern Pennsylvania, I
wish the authors had profiled the Khian Sea, Philadelphia's infamous garbage
ship, rather than New York City's Mobro, but that really is quibbling. The
section on the pros and cons of recycling should banish any lingering doubts
that it really is a beneficial activity.)
Yes, this book takes a few swipes at some cherished activities of the
environmental movement (the paper vs plastic bag debate and the utility of
cloth diapers over disposal ones), but they are well-thought-out swipes based
on data, rather than hope or conjecture. Brower and Leon really want you to
spend your time, money and effort where it COUNTS for the planet, not on
what be trendy or "popular" and it shows throughout the book. The most
effective use of your time, and the most effective choice for the planet, is
for you to read this book and put as much of its advice into practice in your
own life, as soon as possible.
Reviewed by Dorene Pasekoff, Coordinator
St. John's Organic Community Garden
Phoenixville, PA
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