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Crap at the Environment: A Year in the Life of One Man Trying to Save the Planet
Book by Mark Watson
Paperback
First published June 12, 2008
3 people are currently reading
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About the author
Mark Watson
56 books361 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Mark Watson is an English comedian, novelist, and producer whose career spans stand-up, radio, television, and literature. Born in Bristol to a Welsh mother and English father, he grew up with younger twin sisters and a brother. Educated at Bristol Grammar School, he went on to study English at Queens' College, Cambridge, graduating with first-class honours. At university, he became a member of the prestigious Footlights, performing alongside Stefan Golaszewski, Tim Key, and Dan Stevens, and contributing to a revue nominated for Best Newcomer at the 2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Watson first gained wider recognition through stand-up comedy, performing regularly at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where he won the inaugural Panel Prize at the if.comeddies in 2006 and received a Perrier Comedy Award nomination in 2005. Known for inventive and often marathon performances, his shows have included 24-hour performances, collaborative audience-driven novels, and themed events like the “Earth Summit” and “Edit,” compiling his festival highlights. His comedy frequently incorporates unusual settings, from ferries and streams to vaccination queues, demonstrating his flair for unconventional experiences.
On television, Watson co-hosted the BBC Four panel show We Need Answers, appeared on series including Taskmaster, Richard Osman's House of Games, and Celebrity Mastermind, and starred in his own programs such as Mark Watson Kicks Off and the Channel 4 panel show The Mad Bad Ad Show. His appearances also extend to stand-up specials on Live at the Apollo, Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow, and international comedy festivals in Australia and New Zealand.
In radio, he has hosted multiple series including Mark Watson Makes the World Substantially Better and Mark Watson Talks A Bit About Life, often collaborating with Tim Key, Tom Basden, and Flo & Joan. He has also contributed to BBC Radio 5 Live’s Fighting Talk and produced series exploring both comedy and broader cultural themes.
Watson is also a prolific author, publishing novels, non-fiction works, and graphic novels. His books include Bullet Points, Crap at the Environment, Eleven, The Knot, Dan and Sam, Hotel Alpha, The Place That Didn't Exist, Contacts, Mortification, and One Minute Away.
Beyond performing and writing, he co-runs Impatient Productions, producing radio shows, podcasts, and digital content, and hosts the World Snooker Tour podcast Snooker Club. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he innovated with livestreamed 24-hour charity events called “Watsonathon!” and co-created the YouTube series No More Jockeys.
Mark Watson is a lifelong supporter of Bristol City Football Club and continues to live in East London, balancing a career that blends comedy, literature, and experimental performance with a commitment to inventive, audience-focused storytelling and engaging entertainment.
Mark Watson is an English comedian, novelist, and producer whose career spans stand-up, radio, television, and literature. Born in Bristol to a Welsh mother and English father, he grew up with younger twin sisters and a brother. Educated at Bristol Grammar School, he went on to study English at Queens' College, Cambridge, graduating with first-class honours. At university, he became a member of the prestigious Footlights, performing alongside Stefan Golaszewski, Tim Key, and Dan Stevens, and contributing to a revue nominated for Best Newcomer at the 2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Watson first gained wider recognition through stand-up comedy, performing regularly at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where he won the inaugural Panel Prize at the if.comeddies in 2006 and received a Perrier Comedy Award nomination in 2005. Known for inventive and often marathon performances, his shows have included 24-hour performances, collaborative audience-driven novels, and themed events like the “Earth Summit” and “Edit,” compiling his festival highlights. His comedy frequently incorporates unusual settings, from ferries and streams to vaccination queues, demonstrating his flair for unconventional experiences.
On television, Watson co-hosted the BBC Four panel show We Need Answers, appeared on series including Taskmaster, Richard Osman's House of Games, and Celebrity Mastermind, and starred in his own programs such as Mark Watson Kicks Off and the Channel 4 panel show The Mad Bad Ad Show. His appearances also extend to stand-up specials on Live at the Apollo, Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow, and international comedy festivals in Australia and New Zealand.
In radio, he has hosted multiple series including Mark Watson Makes the World Substantially Better and Mark Watson Talks A Bit About Life, often collaborating with Tim Key, Tom Basden, and Flo & Joan. He has also contributed to BBC Radio 5 Live’s Fighting Talk and produced series exploring both comedy and broader cultural themes.
Watson is also a prolific author, publishing novels, non-fiction works, and graphic novels. His books include Bullet Points, Crap at the Environment, Eleven, The Knot, Dan and Sam, Hotel Alpha, The Place That Didn't Exist, Contacts, Mortification, and One Minute Away.
Beyond performing and writing, he co-runs Impatient Productions, producing radio shows, podcasts, and digital content, and hosts the World Snooker Tour podcast Snooker Club. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he innovated with livestreamed 24-hour charity events called “Watsonathon!” and co-created the YouTube series No More Jockeys.
Mark Watson is a lifelong supporter of Bristol City Football Club and continues to live in East London, balancing a career that blends comedy, literature, and experimental performance with a commitment to inventive, audience-focused storytelling and engaging entertainment.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 14, 2009
Not too impressed with this book. It wasn't all that informative, common sense mostly, and a bit surprising how late Watson came to some of the realisations. Segregating trash, not leaving devices on if it can be helped and eating a lot of fresh locally grown vegetables, I grew up learning that stuff, so excuse my indifference to his struggles in adjusting to these lifestyle changes. And struggle he does. And then he goes overboard with all things green to finally come to realisation that being green has it's price and sometimes that price gets too high. Agreed. Green things in order to be truly green need to be scalable, practical and appeal widely. But isn't this common sense?
I am a little irritated with Watson for pointing out the obvious, but it's not a bad book, after all the message is noble and practical, as a comedian he delivers a punchline here and there, and the book does give ideas for all those small things you can do to contribute, if that's what you're after. But I personally did not learn much new, and I sure do not intend to become a vegetarian, sorry Watson.
I am a little irritated with Watson for pointing out the obvious, but it's not a bad book, after all the message is noble and practical, as a comedian he delivers a punchline here and there, and the book does give ideas for all those small things you can do to contribute, if that's what you're after. But I personally did not learn much new, and I sure do not intend to become a vegetarian, sorry Watson.
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August 20, 2021Watson is a comedian who also writes novels. I love his fiction novels, they're well-written with a dose of humour, sympathetic characters and really create their own little world. I'm less fussed on what little I've seen of Mark's stand-up comedy. This book is more in the vein of his comedy as it's Mark's real-life attempt to improve his carbon footprint after watching "An inconvenient truth" and realising that he's... the title of the book.
Mark works a bit hard to inject humour into every corner of the book, and more of it hits than I would have expected, but I still prefer his fiction. It's not helped by the fact that so much of what he does even trying to turn things around feels quite half-arsed e.g. he starts having a 'meat-free day' each week, but buys a chicken pizza which he thinks tastes rubbish so doesn't eat it. Um you've still purchased it, whether or not you've eaten it, it has still contributed.
I guess though, Mark's point is that he is making lots of small changes to his lifestyle to gradually improve things. He was also running a blog and a Myspace page (it was 2007) to spread the word and encourage others to participate, so I guess he could be... crapper.
Mark works a bit hard to inject humour into every corner of the book, and more of it hits than I would have expected, but I still prefer his fiction. It's not helped by the fact that so much of what he does even trying to turn things around feels quite half-arsed e.g. he starts having a 'meat-free day' each week, but buys a chicken pizza which he thinks tastes rubbish so doesn't eat it. Um you've still purchased it, whether or not you've eaten it, it has still contributed.
I guess though, Mark's point is that he is making lots of small changes to his lifestyle to gradually improve things. He was also running a blog and a Myspace page (it was 2007) to spread the word and encourage others to participate, so I guess he could be... crapper.
November 30, 2020
It’s a long time since I’ve read a book that’s made me laugh out loud. It helps that I know Mark a little bit and have seen him perform a couple of times, I couldn’t help but read the book with his voice in my head and his method of delivery. The book is somewhat dated now and we have now all been forced to confront climate change on a much more personal level but that doesn’t detract from the early beginnings of this awareness by ordinary people. Mark’s journey into unfamiliar and uncomfortable territory is one we all have to make.
January 15, 2019
A fun and lightweight read, especially if you've heard some of Mark Watson's standup etc, as it's very much written in his voice. The environmental message is a gentle, timely nudge towards getting a bit "better at the environment" without preaching or guilt-tripping.
February 13, 2014
This is a rather amusing look into how one man not concerned about the environment finds himself on the path to green-dom and all of the battles and dilemmas (large and small) he faces along the way. Granted this isn't the most informative book but I don't think that is the point of it. For me it is more about showing how the little things can add up and make a difference and how everyone should be taking a little bit of responsibility, even if you don't care or believe in climate change as Mark shows there is more behind the green and ethical movements than just that one issue. There are even many opportunities to save yourself a bit of cash too which lets face it can always come in handy. A good read but don't expect to finish the book fully informed, just a little motivated to give something a go, be it giving up/reducing your red meat intake, using trains instead of planes or making a newspaper pot!
January 30, 2016
This book by Mark Watson (the comedian) is about his attempts to be more environmentally responsible, and it also aims to persuade the reader to do the same sort of thing.
It was pretty good - obviously it's a difficult balance to be educational but not preachy, amusing but not flippant, and all that - but it felt slightly 'moderate' as a consequence of striking these balances. It was however very readable and amusing, and though it's not going to change my (also fairly middle of the road) views on such stuff, it's approachable and may encourage readers to make small differences. Commendable, though modest.
It was pretty good - obviously it's a difficult balance to be educational but not preachy, amusing but not flippant, and all that - but it felt slightly 'moderate' as a consequence of striking these balances. It was however very readable and amusing, and though it's not going to change my (also fairly middle of the road) views on such stuff, it's approachable and may encourage readers to make small differences. Commendable, though modest.
January 13, 2011
A very entertaining book that is full of useful advice. It covers a broad range of subjects; travel, recycling, freecycling, vegetarianism, self sufficiency etc. All delivered with a friendly humerus style. The blog entries included make for fantastic reading too
August 10, 2015
I did have issues with this book treating such a serious topic with giggly fickleness. But by the same token, I understand that's one way to get people to connect with a complex, frightening phenomenon.
June 13, 2011
Hilariuos and inspiring..exactly the sort of thing society needs to change our habits. Well done Watson!
July 31, 2019
Made me become vegetarian for a good five years, shared among a lot of my friends too.
March 6, 2014
apparently you cannot consider yourself a greenie if you consume anything meaty.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews