The Five-Ton Life: Carbon, America, and the Culture That May Save Us

by Susan Subak

At nearly twenty tons per person, American carbon dioxide emissions are among the highest in the world. Not every American fits this statistic, however. Across the country, there are urban neighborhoods, suburbs, rural areas, and commercial institutions that have drastically lower carbon footprints. These exceptional places, as it turns out, are neither “poor” nor technologically advanced. Their low emissions are due to culture. 

In The Five-Ton Life, Susan Subak uses previously untapped sources to discover and explore various low-carbon locations. In Washington DC, Chicago suburbs, lower Manhattan, and Amish settlements in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, she examines the built and social environment to discern the characteristics that contribute to lower greenhouse gas emissions. The most decisive factors that decrease energy use are a commitment to small interiors and social cohesion, although each example exhibits its own dynamics and offers its own lessons for the rest of the country.

Bringing a fresh approach to the quandary of American household consumption, Subak’s groundbreaking research provides many pathways toward a future that is inspiring and rooted in America’s own traditions.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science

280 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2018

Reviews

[bibliotekker Holman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author cuts through some of the feel good greenwashing done by organizations, environmentalists and even us as individuals illustrating how some things purported as green may not be as green as choices like simple living and conservation. She urges that before we start green initiatives like solar panels and new buildings, we should look to conserving resources in our own lives and living a little more like the lower carbon footprints of our ancestors.

[Susanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read with some important lessons about how to change our lifestyles in order to reduce our ecological impact (measured by personal carbon footprint). But, I felt like each chapter was not the most cohesive or comprehensive. The author fixates (sometimes judgmentally) on specific lifestyle aspects. I was hoping for a more fieldwork-based approach to examining ALL of the parts of the lifestyles of people living in these communities, not just house size or use of cars or travel or whatever other separate choices. What are their mindsets as they make these choices, which dovetail with other aspects of their lives and lifestyle orientations? Subak did the best with this in the chapter of the Amish, but I wanted to hear more about individuals and their full lifestyles in the other chapters.

[Dan Carey · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a lot of good information in this book, and it raises some interesting points and challenges for individuals to work toward reducing their carbon footprint. But it is also padded with a lot of barely relevant information in order to make the book appear more substantial. (It's a tactic that worked. I wouldn't have bought a book that was half the length of this one.)

[Nalini · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is very interesting and detailed, but there is not enough raw data or primary source information to explain the statistics. There are many assumptions that we are supposed to accept so it is difficult to identify variables that the author may not have taken into account, nor does she provide her methodology.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book off Goodreads. Highly recommend. A must read.

[Fatu Kaba · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has amazing stories of how individuals can take action to help climate change. It is just a little boring to read.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads giveway. It was a good book, well written, and a topic that I am very concerned about.

[KarnagesMistress]

I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways on Thursday, July 12, 2018.