The Environment Equation: 100 Factors That Can Add to or Subract From Your Total Carbon Footprint [Paperback]

Alex Shimo (Author), Christopher J Maron (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Americans currently make up 5% of the world's population, yet create 50% of the world's waste. But what if there were a way that we could eliminate some of that waste, and the other harmful effects we have on the environment? There is. This full color guide uses pluses and minuses to calculate the damage we do when we make poor choices - and the good we do when we make green choices. You will add and subtract from the size of your carbon footprint, measured in pounds of carbon dioxide.

• Take shorter showers-subtract 340 lbs
• Unplug appliances-subtract 800 lbs
• Don't weatherize properly-add 800 lbs

This is a green manifesto that anyone can live by. Delivered in a fun, readable way, it's perfect for those who care about issues such as global warming, pollution, and sustainability. After adding and subtracting your way through the book, you will be inspired to live green every day in every way.

About the Author

Julian Rollins is an award-winning writer, editor, and reporter specializing in the environment and natural sciences. He contributes regularly to The Daily Telegraph and is an editorial consultant for the Environment Agency, the leading public organization for protecting and improving the environment in England and Wales.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Adams Media (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598698141
• ISBN-13: 978-1598698145
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #846,046 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting way to learn how much things hurt/help, June 25, 2010

By	Nicholas Sterling "AmigoNico" (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Environment Equation: 100 Factors That Can Add to or Subract From Your Total Carbon Footprint (Paperback)

This is a small book; it won't take you long to get through it. The meat of it is 100 independent sections, each 1 or 2 pages long, discussing a thing you might be doing now that is generating more CO2 than necessary or a thing you *could* do which would cause less CO2 to be generated. The English is easy to read and the concepts are presented in a simple manner. Each section gives an estimate of how much of a difference you might make by making a change in the way you do something. Of course an accurate figure would typically depend on many variables, but they just swag everything; in truth the CO2 savings for a particular individual might be far more or less in many cases, but personally I still liked getting a very rough idea of just how much each of these things matter.

The book is primarily concerned with global warming, but there is also some mention of other types of pollution, water conservation, etc. The potential savings varies wildly across the sections -- you'll read that you can prevent the generation of around 5000 pounds of CO2 per year by replacing regular appliances with Energy Star appliances, and then you'll read that you can prevent the generation of 7 pounds of CO2 per year by using LED Christmas lights.

Overall it was an interesting, easy read; I enjoyed it.

One disappointment was the "Carbon Calculator" discussion at the front of the book. First, if you drive a car 3000 miles a year, even without adding in any other factors you automatically get their lowest rating, POOR. They set the standard so high that I suspect for most people it will be a bit demotivating.

Also, their calculator has the somewhat bizarre effect of giving people a higher rating for having more kids. For example, a family of 3 could go from a POOR rating up to a GOOD rating simply by having 3 more children. Of course, those children over the courses of their lives will be responsible for the generation of huge quantities of CO2, and they will likely produce grandkids, great-grandkids, etc. who will generate more CO2 (and pollute) ad infinitum. The truth of the matter is that if you took every step in that book, the combined effect would pale in comparison to adopting one of your children, or simply having one less. Yet this book never talks about population directly, and its carbon calculator effectively says that if you have more kids you will be a better ecological citizen. I'm sure they didn't do it on purpose, and I understand that in the U.S. we take it as a personal right to have as many kids as we please, but it was a bit of a shock to see this in their tool for self-assessment.

Still, for somebody who has heard about many things they *could* do but is wondering which ones matter the most, I'd recommend this book.