Shades of Green: A (Mostly) Practical A Z for the Reluctant Environmentalist

by Paul Waddington

Few of us have what it takes to go all the way on the green scale. How many of us only ever want to eat what’s in season and grown locally? Or can realistically give up the car for good? Or summon the ready cash and the motivation to become self-sufficient in electricity? And yet as fears about the food chain, climate change, plummeting biodiversity, and the sustainability of our current lifestyles take hold, wouldn’t it be good to be clear about our range of options? And wouldn’t it be great to discover that sometimes what is best for the planet is not what we might think? In fact the easiest, most readily available, cheapest, or most-maligned option may even be the greenest. Whether you are pondering bicycles or baths, holidays or heating, pets or pasta, washing dishes or wine, this book sets out your choices on a scale from completely green to not even a little bit green. No preaching. No finger-wagging. Whether you’re an eco-warrior or a planet-trasher or, like most of us, something in between, Shades of Green will give you all you need to know so you can choose what suits you best.

Genres: Popular Science, Environment

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Daisy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't as helpful as I would have hoped, but still a worthwhile read for fans of eco-friendliness. It was often pretty repetitive, though I get that this isn't the author's fault because he doesn't decide what's the greenest way and what isn't. Also, I thought that sometimes the author was too subjective on his opinion, and he often used metaphors or turns-of-phrase that could be confusing. The subject matter could have been improved in my opinion - I don't really see why there had to be sections on nearly every type of meat when there was already a meat section, and why the hell was there a section on illegal drugs? The author even admitted that anyone taking them probably wouldn't be worrying about whether it was eco-friendly or not, and honestly I can think of a million things that would have been more useful to me that weren't included in this book. Again, this is the author's own opinion showing through - he picks the things most important to him - which I know is unavoidable, but I still think affected the book too much. Still a pretty good read if you're interested in it though.

[Jessorella · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up not because I'm a "reluctant environmentalist", as the subtitle reads, but because we already try to be green where we can in our household and I was interested to learn more about upgrading some of the green things we already do. Covering a variety of different subjects in an A-Z format, Paul Waddington's SHADES OF GREEN evaluates the different options a consumer has for a particular product or service, and then grades them according to their effect on the environment. For example, what's the most environmentally-friendly way to have a barbecue (it's not with briquettes), and what's the greenest way to procure eggs for your family?

Some of the information here is unsurprising (obviously a jacuzzi whirlpool bath with integral light and sound is the least green option at bathtime - though whether many of us can spring for the greenest "jump in a lake" option is up for debate), while some of it is - often unpleasantly - surprising to know. For example, mass-farmed henhouse chickens have a lower impact on the environment than free-range chickens, although the ethical implications are obviously far different which leads to a consumer decision about which you would rather prioritize.

This book is an interesting read because it breaks down some of the reasons why a certain option may be better for the environment than another in terms of carbon output, energy and water use, etc - fairtrade vs. non-fairtrade, for example - even when the ethical implications for producers and suppliers may mean the options fall in a different order. This, for me, built a lot on some things I learned from the documentary "Cowspiracy", which laid down some really shocking facts about the global impact simply from growing feed and supplying water to animals who are bred for meat - but that's (sort of...) another subject.

As a result of reading this book, you may find you can "upgrade" some of your choices as a consumer or householder to a more environmentally-friendly option - although obviously some of those listed here are going to be largely impractical for a lot of people (harvesting rainwater for showers, rearing your own pigs, etc.). Still, it's food for thought at a time when many of us are becoming much more aware of the changes we need to make, knowing that even the smallest switches can help to have big impacts.

I would add that this book (or, at least, the version I read) was originally written in 2008 and reprinted in 2010. As a result, there are some categories which seem woefully out of date already. The car section, for example, has very little talk of hybrid cars and a lot about diesel ones, whereas the coffee section makes no mention of coffee-pod machines. To read around the subject I would look for more updated information online or with certain associations, which are often listed at the end of each category.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good bitesize overview of what goes into producing a lot of things you use every day. You’d have to be pretty hardcore to make good on most of the things it illuminates you about, although it’s all worth knowing.

[Pat Morris-jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good all round book. Interesting things that I didn't think about. Dilemmas now, dilemmas. However generally very readable and enjoyable.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an introduction to making the greener choices in our day to day life, this is a very handy guide. Waddington has taken the view that the biggest influence on green decision making is the amount of CO2 and other greenhouse gases that are released and considering the Climate Change is one of the biggest environmental issues of modern times, I can see why he has done so. Waddington covers all the biggest and most common decisions modern consumer have to make and what the implications of these decisions are in terms of the environmental impacts, particularly with regard to Climate Change. This does result in a number of very surprising results, including battery farming potentially being 'greener' than organic, which is not entirely the case when all environmental concerns are considered. Despite this though, this guide is useful for those starting out on their greener lifestyles and Waddignton does point out in his introduction and explanations that his method is very focused and their are other issues that can (and in my opinion) should be considered. Overall a good starting point and one that makes making environmentally friendly decisions that little bit easier and accessible for the wider public.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as helpful as expected given other books by this author.