the imperfect environmentalist

My latest read is The Imperfect Environmentalist by Sara Gilbert. Sara would approve, I borrowed it from my local library. ;-) 

There is a lot to love about this book. Each topic is contained to only one page, making this a good, quick reference for anyone looking for the basics and not a long read full of dry statistics. Each topic starts with a super quick overview entitled Cut to the Chase, Hippie: What's the Least I Need to Know that is usually just a couple of sentences. This is followed by more information should the reader want to know more. Many topics also include suggestions of changes to make for those on varying budgets.

Topics are organized into sections on clean eating and drinking, clean house, clean home, clean garden, clean health and beauty, clean community, clean work and money, clean transportation and travel, clean parenting and clean rights of passage. 

A lot of the information was already familiar to me, but I definitely learned a few things and picked up some new tips from this book. She notes on the book/newspaper/magazine page that when considering an e-reader, one would need to read 23+ books a year on the device to offset the carbon footprint. The production (then recharging and hopefully eventual recycling) of e-readers requires significant amounts of energy, water and other often nonrenewable resources. Considering I already utilize the library's collection fairly regularly, I think a kindle will likely be coming off my list of things to look for secondhand unless I work out a swap with a friend who has upgraded theirs. For personally owned books, I do prefer digital copies for the space-saving factor, but do I read enough to make a dedicated e-reader a positive addition? I don't buy many books these days and those I already have can be accessed using the tablet I already own. I think I just need to keep using the library and putting in requests for additions to their collection for those titles not in their current collection. :-)

In some instances, I wish there was a bit more information included - statistics are tossed out with no backup - but if you're looking for a great entry into making more environmentally sound choices, I can definitely recommend this book to get started. Though it's a serious topic, Sara includes humor throughout to lighten things up. No one is perfect and we all have to decide for ourselves what changes are sustainable in our lives, but there are lots of ways we can all make a difference!