I'm glad I borrowed this book from my local library instead of purchasing it (even though it is printed on 100% recycled paper). While the idea behind The Green Book by Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas M. Kostigen is both noble and well-intentioned, the format leaves the reader feeling bogged down by the dozens of somewhat meaningless statistics that are strewn throughout the book. Each chapter is divided into three chapters. "The Big Picture" gives an overview of the chapter topic, such as the home, work, entertainment, health and beauty, etc. "The Simple Steps" in each chapter are the three actions that will, as the authors point out in every chapter, "give you the biggest impact with the least amount of effort." The remainder of each chapter consists of "The Little Things", which are simply more ideas for reducing your impact on the earth. There are many good tips throughout the book--although more than a few will seem obvious to anyone who is even slightly environmentally-conscious--but the information the authors are trying to impart to the reader is obscured by the often mind-boggling environmental statistics. For example, in chapter four, "Schools", there is a "Little Thing" about pens. According to the authors, refillable pens are preferable to disposable pens, which are often thrown away instead of recycled and can contain environmentally damaging chemicals--a good point. They then attempt to drive the point home by stating that the 1.6 billion pens that Americans discard every year, if placed end to end, would stretch more than 150,000 miles, which would be the same as traveling across the Pacific Ocean from LA to Tokyo more than 25 times (page 45). Unless the reader frequently flies from LA to Tokyo on business, this statistic is not going to mean anything; what's more, he or she will probably spend more time wondering what that many pens placed end to end would actually look like than internalizing the idea that one should buy refillable pens instead of disposable.
But it doesn’t end with the far-out facts. At the end of each chapter there is an environmental quip from celebrities such as Martha Stewart, Tiki Barber, and Justin Timberlake. Now, don’t get me wrong: it’s nice to know that there are ridiculously wealthy actors, musicians, and athletes who also have a conscience and realize that the earth does not exist merely for their own pleasure. That being said, it’s obviously a lot easier to be eco-friendly when you have an unlimited budget for such things as sustainable clothing, organic food, hybrid cars, and gigantic homes heated by solar energy. While, on the one hand, it makes sense to include testimonials from famous people in order to get ordinary citizens to become more eco-conscious—marketing firms use this strategy all the time—some of their examples are a little hard to follow. My favorite “yeah, right” testimonial is by Jennifer Anniston. I have nothing against Jenn—I would even say that I like her. Jenn unplugs electronics when they’re not being used to save energy and drives a Prius. She also takes three minute showers. Yes, I said three minutes. Not only does she take three-minute showers, but during that short time, she brushes her teeth. In the shower. You’re probably wondering “How can she take a three-minute shower and still be so gorgeous?” I’ll tell you how: all she is doing is washing her body (and brushing her teeth). She is not washing or conditioning her hair. She is not shaving her legs. She is taking three-minute showers because she is having her hair washed, conditioned, and styled and her legs (and probably her bikini area too) waxed at a salon (let’s just hope that it’s an eco-friendly salon). The average woman, however, cannot afford and/or does not have the time to go to a salon every day (or even every other day) to have our hair washed and our legs waxed. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t strive to take shorter showers to save water; everyone could probably shave two or three minutes off the length of their daily shower just by hurrying up a bit. I’m just putting that three-minute shower (and teeth-brushing) into perspective.
Overall, the book’s message is a good one: everyone can—and should—try to do more to make the earth a cleaner and safer place to live. If you can ignore the inane statistics and take the celebrity testimonials with a grain of salt, then you may learn a tip or two about living greener. Just one small piece of advice: get it from the library. You probably won’t be reading it twice.
