Sometimes Global Warming IS a Laughing Matter...
Written: Aug 15 '07 (Updated Apr 16 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Funny, irreverent, information-packed book with a mission.
Cons: Some readers will be turned off by its humorous tone.
The Bottom Line: Gloom, doom, and laughter.
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| JediKermit's Full Review: David De Rothschild and Kevin (AFT) Wall - The Liv... |
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
Yes, I believe in Global Warming. I also think there are a lot of things that we can do without going too far out of our way to minimize our impact on our environment. But based on conversations with my dad, I also know that if you get too preachy, you'll lose any chance you had of effecting any real change. Maybe if you can get someone to smile with you, you can start to make a difference.
That seems to be the idea behind the most recent Global Warming book I picked up: The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook. Subtitled "77 Essential Skills to Stop Climate Change--or Live Through It," it's a frequently tongue in cheek look at the Climate Crisis and how we can tweak our lives before it's too late.
Like most of these books, this is a list of tips to help everyday people make adjustments to their lives to minimize their environmental impact. Each of the 77 suggestions is categorized, scaled, and color coded according to cost, time, effort, impact, and other indicators. Each also has a window that says "if 1 million people would do this..." and then what effect that would have on the environment if a million people did that particular thing.
Before even launching into the real meat (or tofu) of the book, author David De Rothschild gives you his top ten "Easy Steps" to fight global warming. Five of those ten:
Adjust Your Climate by Two Degrees (raise your air conditioning two degrees in summer, lower your heat two degrees in winter)
Change a Lightbulb (make the switch to compact fluorescents)
Say No to Plastic Bags (use reuseable cloth bags)
Bring Your Own Mug (stop using styrofoam cups for coffee)
Say Yes to Short Showers (cut your shower time by one minute)
The impact of all of these little things adds up quickly, and each of these are steps any of us can take. It doesn't involve mounting solar panels, building a windmill, or going down to one square of toilet paper per bowel movement, like Sheryl Crow so infamously suggested a few months back.
The suggestions here range from easy to difficult; inexpensive to pricey; but all are good suggestions, and each page explains the environmental impact of the current state of things and how the environment would improve if we would make the changes. I don't know that there were many suggestions that were new to me--what was unique and refreshing about this book was the tone. It's a very funny book. Even treating the deathly serious topic of Global Warming, and even talking about the potential extinction of life as we know it--it's still a funny book. Each page has line drawing illustrations like other handbooks, and whether they're coaching us on how to put on a sweater "If you accidentally enter a sleeve, you could be seriously injured," or showing us how to build a straw home, they're clever and fun and liven up a topic that while important, can be rather dull.
My favorite section of the book is in the back, and is prefaced with a big, bright pink warning and skull and crossbones: the "IF ALL ELSE FAILS" section is only to be referred to in case of TOTAL CLIMATE MELTDOWN. These suggestions are tongue in cheek, but still provide valuable tips. Buying a Camel as a form of transportation, food, and clothing; Starting a menagerie to protect vanishing species; Learning to barter as our current economy collapses; Building a floating house when the ice caps melt; And the best tip of all: Evolve.
This book had me chuckling throughout. It combines a tone of urgency with witty asides that spur thought and hopefully action about global warming. If you're serious about making changes, there's a list of 50+ websites, six books, and more resources to further your research and help you change the world. Really, we're already changing the world--so let's change it for the better.
MORE GREEN STUFF:
It's Easy Being Green
The Weather Makers
Last Child in the Woods
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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