GreenGreenerGreenest: A Practical Guide to Making Eco-Smart Choices a Part of Your Life, By Lori Bongiorno. 286pp. Perigee.While it is time for big changes-- governments and corporations must radically shift their mindset of doing business to include engineered revolutions to care for an ailing planet-- individuals still ask, what can I do? Small-scale changes not only add up to big-scale results, they also empower the individual.
Those who are concerned about the state of the planet are the likely market for this book, but even those who care for the earth may not be able or willing to change everything about the way they live in one fell swoop. GreenGreenerGreenest examines many aspects of living and consuming including, food and beverages, personal care, babies and children, home building, energy and water conservation, furniture and apparel, cleaning, backyard and garden, transportation, recycling and garbage.
Lori Bongiorno examines these aspects of living and then considers changes from a practical viewpoint. For most areas she offers a range of ideas that consider graduated measures of change. Even those who overwhelmed with other demands of life can easily adapt to some of the changes. Not everyone is ready for a thirty-thousand dollar photovoltaic roof. Take out and restaurant leftovers, goodness I never thought of bringing my own containers. Local breweries, oh yes, I can buy local beer and save the fossil fuels of shipping. That I can do right away. Other fun ideas include hosting a Healthy Cosmetics Spa Party or Household Cleaners Party with money-saving make-at-home recipes.
Most of the options presented in GreenGreenerGreenest include credible web sources, which expand the presented information and are likely to keep the book a current source of information. Also included in many chapters are ways to “get active.” Once the reader is personally empowered by small-scale sustainable changes, they may be ready to push for big changes and some unselfish long-term thinking.
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