The Green Book Product Review

The green book has been featured on TV shows and is a New York Times bestseller. Written by Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas M. Kostigen, I wondered whether it has anything to do with the celebrity quotes and endorsements from people such as Cameron Diaz, Robert Redford, Jennifer Aniston and Justin Timberlake?

Firstly the book is green, not just in colour but also it’s printed on 100% recycled paper. Subtitled as ‘the everyday guide to saving the planet one simple step at a time’ the book is more about being “more good” than “less bad” with a series of nicely structured tips.

Each chapter begins with The Big Picture on the topic, whether it be travel, school or shopping for example. Followed by Simple Steps which provides three practical steps to take in that particular area. Then finally The Little Things provides more details and small steps that can be taken.

Chapters are broken up by the aforementioned celebrity quotes, which frankly don’t add much to the besides to show how big and clever these people are. Some of the tips can be a little confusing or contradictory, such as suggesting you take your own toiletries on vacation, but then not to check any luggage on the plane. Then also to use the library for books and then saying not to use libraries but go online. OK so these are minor points, but some tips are a little picky, I enjoyd the book more when it concentrated on practical measures rather than small, inconvenient suggestions that don’t make much of an impact when done.

What is kind of nice is the comparison it makes for each tip. For example when suggesting if everyone used one less paper napkin a day, the amount saved could be used to provide one to every person who eats a hotdog on July 4th (150m). Or the amount of trash saved is equivalent to the weight of the Great Pyramid. I’ve never seen a plastic frisbee 2.5 miles in diameter but thanks for the image.

The Simple Steps sections are useful, but not full of that much you can’t get for free online anyway, including our very own 100 Ways To Save The Planet. There were some useful facts that you can bring up at parties, like Blu-Ray discs can be recycled as they’re 50% paper, natural make-up only needs to contain 1% natural ingredients to be labeled as natural, and the world’s largest consumer of aluminum is the anti-perspirant industry.

The green book can be bought through our Life Goggles Reviews and Shop page or direct from Amazon.

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