Customer Reviews

Ready, Set, Green: Eight Weeks to Modern Eco-Living

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Ready, Set, Green: Eight weeks to Modern Eco-Living by two experts at Treehugger.com, Graham Hill and Meaghan O'Neill is an easy to read--and digest--primer on green living.

Citing the industrial revolution at the turn of the 20th century as the beginning of the heavy use of non-renewable resources and pollution, the authors are equally optimistic that when the masses turn green, we will have a new, eco-friendly revolution.

Unlike some green books that have been published lately, Meaghan and O'Neill really care about the environment. They get that we need a "critical mass" to institute real change for the environment.

The authors deliver sensible and easy to implement ways to become eco-friendly. Drive less, switch bulbs from incandescent to CFL's--stuff anyone can do.

I recommend Go Green, Live Rich: 50 Simple Ways to Save the Earth and Get Rich Trying to supplement Red, Set, Green and to psyche you on how going green save money. I also recommend Harmonious Environment: Beautify, Detoxify and Energize Your Life, Your Home and Your Planet for even more easy, eco-friendly and stylish ideas for your home.

Found the book easy to pick up and blast through on a couple plane rides and immediately thought differently about the amount I fly, drive, eat, drink and everything else. Its not a guilt trip, its about insight and doing things smarter (and cheaper). That's really the secret gem of this book, living greener has the side effect of saving you money. Which is nice.

On a whim, I picked up this book at Half Price Books for around $4. Looking back, I wish I had purchased 3-4 more to give to friends.

Of the many books on "green" I've read, this one has been the best for a couple of reasons:

1. I was told /why/ I should be changing something. Many books let us know everything we're doing "wrong" but never let us in on the secret. If we're simply told to not use products with phosphates and never given a scientific explanation, we have no compelling reason to continue that change.

2. After being given the science, implementation opportunities were provided based upon your stage of the green journey. It's okay that I've already switched to CFLs because there's other ways I can participate.

3. I didn't need to have a degree in environmental science. Plenty of science is given but it's also explained in a detailed manner. Thus, those completely new to the "green" journey can learn a lot while those who've been there a while can probably supplement their existing education.

It's a great book that I keep coming back to when I have questions about specific areas of the green life.

Only complaint - the estimate given for a LEED certified home was completely blanketed. Without taking into consideration square footage or region of the house being built, a number over $300K was thrown out there. Granted, I know it's more expensive than a regular home but a breakdown of that price would be appreciated.

Ready, Set, Green is an easy to follow, PRACTICAL guide that directs any new Treehugger on a week to week basis to living a sustainable, modern lifestyle. The book also explains the ecological challenges that we, as humans, face today, and provides detailed solutions that we can induce as individuals. By using facts backed up by reliable sources, graphs, scientific data, and informative interviews, Ready, Set, Green makes a truly wonderful read. I can also happily report that Ready, Set, Green is made of 100% post-consumer recycled stock and printed in the United States of America.

Love this book :) Written well and gives you alot of ideas of how to better your life.

There is some very good information contained within this book. However it is not the entertaining read that I was hoping. I usually can quickly read a book like this but I'm finding it is not capturing my interest. Still glad I picked it up however.

I started reading this book thinking that I probably wouldn't learn anything new. That is probably true about the practical tips that they give at the end of every chapter. There was nothing there that made me say: "This is brilliant, I never thought of this before!".

But this isn't just a practical guide to greening your life. It is also packed with information about global warming and environmental degradation, a lot of which was new to me and found very useful. Overall, I would recommend it to anyone who is serious about making greener choices and most importantly want to know why these are better choices. Another plus of this book is the interviews towards the end of each chapter, with green professionals as well as environmentalists. It was nice to read all these different voices.

The format of the book is really convenient, it makes it easy to quickly find information on a particular topic and can be read in any sequence you find fit.

But the best reason I would recommend this book and why I believe it would make a great present is that it does not argue that greener choices are better to save the earth. Even though it is a good enough reason for me, it does not resonate with most people. Instead they argue that greener choices make more economic sense and they are not just for the hippie croud anymore. An argument that I am sure we will be hearing more in the future.