The Consumer's Guide To Effective Environmental Choices - Softcover

Brower, Michael; Leon, Warren

Softcover

ISBN 10: 060980281X ISBN 13: 9780609802816

Publisher: Three Rivers Press, 1999

Synopsis

From one of the most prestigious nonprofit organizations devoted to environmental issues comes a clear, practical, and rational overview of the relationship between consumers and the environment.

Paper or plastic? Bus or car? Old house or new? Cloth diapers or disposables? Some choices have a huge impact on the environment; others are of negligible importance. To those of us who care about our quality of life and what is happening to the earth, this is a vastly important issue. In these pages, the Union of Concerned Scientists help inform consumers about everyday decisions that significantly affect the environment. For example, a few major decisions--such as the choice of a house or vehicle--have such a disproportionately large affect on the environment that minor environmental infractions shrink by comparison.

This book identifies the 4 Most Significant Consumer-Related Environmental Problems, the 7 Most Damaging Spending Categories, 11 Priority Actions, and 7 Rules for Responsible Consumption. Learn what you can do to have a truly significant impact on our world from the people who are at the forefront of scientific research.

About this title

Review:

Paper or plastic? Cloth or disposable? Regular or organic? Every day, environmentally conscious consumers are faced with the overwhelming "Catch-22" of a capitalist society--reconciling the harm we do by consuming, while still providing ourselves and our families with the goods and services we need. It's enough to make a city-dweller crazy. Fret no more! The US-based Union of Concerned Scientists has put together a well-researched and eminently practical guide to the decisions that matter. The authors hope that the book will help you set priorities, stop worrying about insignificant things and understand the real environmental impacts of household decisions. For instance, you may be surprised to learn that buying and eating meat and poultry is much more harmful to the environment than the packaging the meat is wrapped in, even if it's styrofoam. This guide takes on both sides of the consumer impacts argument, goring sacred cows of the environmentalist movement (like the strident emphasis on recycling) and the industrialist perspective (like the relentless message to buy more, more, more). If you're confused and overwhelmed by all the environmental decision-making in the modern world, you'll find new inspiration in this book. --Therese Littleton, Amazon.com

Review:

"Too many people drive their Land Rovers to the grocery store and think that 'paper or plastic' is a meaningful choice. The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices will help you distinguish the crucial from the trivial and make choices that are congruent with your values."
--Denis Hayes, Chair, Earth Day 2000

"This engaging book gives consumers the information they need to vote with their wallets for a better environmental future."
--Gary Hirshberg, President, Stonyfield Farm Yogurt

About this edition

• Publisher: Three Rivers Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 060980281X
• ISBN 13: 9780609802816
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 1