Taking on the World
Written: Mar 31 '08
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Lots and lots of information.
Cons: Seems to be oddly organized at times.
The Bottom Line: Good overview of huge global problems, with suggested solutions.
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| pambo's Full Review: Alex Steffen - Worldchanging: A User's Guide for t... |
There's no mistaking the goal of "World Changing: A User's Guide to the 21st Century." The title lets you know right away.
Edited by Alex Steffen, and with a foreword by Al Gore, this collection of essays aims to get us to think differently and then act.
Poverty, hunger, climate change, disease, energy shortages and rampant consumerism are all addressed by the dozens of contributors. Some are famous in their fields: Kevin Kelly, Jeremy Faludi, Cory Doctorow and Leif Utne. Others, lesser known, are here, too.
But this is not a collection of whine. To the contrary, solutions form the backbone of the book.
Bill McKibben, who knows what he's talking about, describes this book as "The Whole Earth Catalog for the iPod generation."
Here, for example, is how energy efficiency is addressed. First, there's a short essay on why we need to be smarter in how we use energy. Then we get five quick tips--get a home energy audit; use dimmers, automatic timers, motion-detectors; lower air-conditioning costs; install proper insulation; modernize your windows. Specific technologies, such as a device called Kill a Watt, which measures energy use, are discussed.
Western use of energy is compared to, say, that of India or Nepal. And then there's a look at cooking techniques in the Third World that reduce the need for natural resources.
All kinds of issues are explored in this same manner.
Consumerism itself comes in for discussion, with an explanation of the footprint issue that gets so much attention, all focused on the question of whether we really need all that stuff that draws us in.
The footprint question is addressed this way: by answering questions about our lifestyle and needs, we can figure out how many of acres of land are needed to sustain us. Not surprisingly, Americans need the most: 24 acres, while the average Chinese person needs just 4. The world average is 5.4 acres. Now this isn't a perfect calculation by any means. But it's one way to look at the disparity of resources.
This book doesn't hector; the language tends to pretty non-judgmental. It does attempt to stir readers to action.
And some people may dispute some of the facts or assumptions underlying the book. But I always wonder why a book like this stirs opposition--even if you dispute the numbers, why NOT cut down on waste? Why NOT opt for cleaner air?
But the book addresses much more, including ways of eliminating diseases, safeguarding water supplies, ways of improving the food supply as Western countries buy up food for biofuels and the poorer countries scramble to feed their people and more.
This is not a lightweight book but it is meant to first identify problems and then motivate people to solve them.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
pambo
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Member: Pam
Location: Long Island
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