GreenGreenerGreenest – Earth Day Every Day Part Five
Title: Green Greener Greenest
Author: Lori Bongiorno
Publisher: Perigee (Penguin)
Genre: Nature/Organic Living
Length: 310 pages
Written by a journalist and freelance writer, GreenGreenerGreenest is a concise but thorough way to get up to date information and advice on how to handle the green movement in your life.
This is a handy reference book that should be on the shelf of every self-proclaimed hippie, home owner, or human being. Yes, it’s that useful and that important.
There’s so much information out there about how to live an eco-friendly life, and so many opinions on which way is correct. GreenGreenerGreenest takes all the advice, all the information, and categorizes it for you so you can select which option works for your life and budget. It helps people see clear cut options for how to go as green as you can in every area of your existence without shaming you for not being able to do it perfectly in all of them. Sometimes going green is what you can afford, sometimes being greenest is easiest, either way Bongiorno helps clear the red tape of confusion and spells out what is what.
There are a lot of things discussed that I already knew about, things I thought everyone probably knows. But there are twice as many things that I read that I had never given a second thought to. For instance, I had no idea you could get reusable menstrual pads, not sure why it didn’t occur to me, but it didn’t. It’s the greener option. (Green being using chlorine free and chemical free ones made by companies like Seventh Generation.) My response to that was similar to my response to Merriweather of Foraging Texas cooking June bugs for breakfast – I’m not that hippie yet. Bongiorno makes me feel like that’s ok. I can choose a greenest option in another category to make up for it.
Which I do in my house, little did I know. We have ripped out all our carpets and have concrete flooring. Mostly because we’re poor and concrete floors are cheap – your foundation is already there whether you like it or not. I already knew carpets weren’t the best for your health (dust, dust mites, allergens, dirt, overall ick), but I hadn’t thought of it as “green” living. We live with area rugs we can remove from the house to clean. Area rugs last longer and keep you healthier… and apparently is better for the environment as most carpeting is made with petroleum products.
Food and Beverages, Personal Care, Babies and Children, Transportation, and more, Bongiorno covers it all, and provides links and websites when helpful. Love it.
Photograph by Joel Robison
Earth Day Every Day 2014 – Part One
Spring time… the sun is out, the animals are about, it’s time for spring cleaning and for our family to start hitting the trails every day again. It also means April is here, and so my environmental awareness is in high gear. Earth Day and Arbor Day means Earth Day events at the bookstores and local libraries. It also means I start seeing my favorite color (green) plastered all over displays, and books with pretty leafy covers come out of the woodwork. Thus begins the Earth Day reading highlight reel.
Title: The Green Book
Authors: Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas M. Kostigen
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Genre: Nature – Environmental Conservation & Protection
Length: 201 pages
This is a handy little book that is easy to read and full of celebrity pep talks for going green. The writers have pointed out a lot of easy to remember ways to readjust your existing lifestyle to recycle more and waste less. I liked it.
It was published in 2007, so some of the information feels a little outdated. It also gets a little repetitive for those who have the ability to apply one concept to multiple aspects of their life, but it’s a good little book nonetheless.
My favorite tidbit from this book – being a cyclist – is this:
“Try to recycle your old bicycle tires and inner tubes instead of throwing them away. You’ll prevent about two pounds of rubber from being landfilled and may help provide materials for a new handbag, a pair of hiking boots, or even a bike path itself. If one in fourteen American cyclists were to recycle his or her bicycle tires each year, the rubber saved could pave the current route of the Tour de France.”
Worth checking out from the library or downloading to an e-reader. The only time I could see wanting a physical copy would be for your child’s library – and even the authors think you should buy these books used.
This photograph is a Joel Robison piece. I love all his work, it has been awhile since I’ve shared it, though. However, some of his earthy pieces seem extremely appropriate this time of year as we’re reminded to enjoy our world and treat it kindly. Click the image to visit his blog.
What’s Happening in March?
Read Across America Day
Each year, young and old alike celebrate Read Across America Day on March 2 in conjunction with Dr. Seuss’ birthday. Join your fellow bookworms at Half Price Books for a special Dr. Seuss Story Time on Saturday, March 2, at 3 pm. The Humble location will be reading Horton Hears a Who and crafting clover pinwheels. Regular story time is every Wednesday at 10:30 am.
HPB Humble Book Club
Looking to expand your reading pleasure? Join the discussion at our HPB Humble Book Club. We meet the first Monday of each month from 7:30 to 9 pm.
March – Lords of Finance
April – On Chesil Beach
Who just agreed to donate a print for an HPB raffle!? This guy! Updates to be posted as they come.
Wow. These past twelve months have not only flown by but they’ve also been filled to the brim with so many amazing opportunities and people and it’s honestly a little difficult to even try to summarize everything! 2012 was a big year for me, do you ever have those stand-out years in your life where you feel your own part of the world move just a bit? This year was that for me.
If this time last year you had told me that I would have travelled to the places I’ve been to, met the amazing people I’ve had the opportunity to meet or have even half of the experiences I’ve had, I wouldn’t have believed you but through hard word and good luck I’m so happy to say that this year was filled with all of those things.
At the beginning of the year I was offered an amazing opportunity…
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Book Love Art
I have always been a lover of books, and of art. If you’ve followed my blog for very long at all, you’ve seen lots of Bryan Collins pieces floating around. I’ve even encouraged the purchase of his bookmarks in a previous post. Its why I am completely obsessed with Ophelia’s Quote Mugs. With that in mind, I’m sure you can only imagine my complete and utter joy when I saw this:
This is the photography handiwork of “Boy Wonder” Joel Robison. Joel lives in British Columbia Canada and apparently is self taught, playing with his camera and computer to master the self portrait. I love his stuff. He has work available on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/people/boywonder, and I hope everyone who reads this post takes a look at what he has for sale and finds themselves a treat.
Anakalian Whims 