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Living the 1.5 Degree Lifestyle: Why Individual Climate Action Matters More than Ever
Stop thinking about efficiency and start thinking about sufficiency Living the 1.5 Degree Lifestyle reveals the carbon cost of everything we do, identifying where we can make big reductions, while not sweating the small stuff. The international scientific consensus is that we have less than a decade to drastically slash our collective carbon emissions to keep global heating to 1.5 degrees and avert catastrophe. This means that many of us have to cut our individual carbon footprints by over 80% to 2.5 tonnes per person per year by 2030. But where to start? Drawing on Lloyd Alter's journey to track his daily carbon emissions and live the 1.5 degree lifestyle, coverage Grounded in meticulous research and yet accessible to all, Living the 1.5 Degree Lifestyle is a journey toward a life of quality over quantity, and sufficiency over efficiency, as we race to save our only home from catastrophic heating.
176 pages, Paperback
Published September 14, 2021
15 people are currently reading
239 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
April 9, 2022
This book had some great information but was more academic than I had expected based on the title and great cover of the book. I learned about the impacts of consumption but think that this book may not be accessible to those who want to quickly learn about some individual climate action tips that they could take.
I am inspired by the author's lifestyle but really did not find any new ideas or suggestions to live more thoughtfully. In saying this, reading this book has inspired me to renew my efforts to have a better garden, invigorate my composters and consume less meat.
Incidentally, I happen to be taking my bicycle for a tune up today and am looking forward to hitting the trails in my leisure time. I wish my city was more accessible for riding safely and know that changes are coming so perhaps, one day, I will be able to safely ride to the office (although bike parking will then become an issue).
This was a great book to borrow from the library and is a book that I would read in conjunction with other books such as written by David Attenborough or Bill Gates.
I am inspired by the author's lifestyle but really did not find any new ideas or suggestions to live more thoughtfully. In saying this, reading this book has inspired me to renew my efforts to have a better garden, invigorate my composters and consume less meat.
Incidentally, I happen to be taking my bicycle for a tune up today and am looking forward to hitting the trails in my leisure time. I wish my city was more accessible for riding safely and know that changes are coming so perhaps, one day, I will be able to safely ride to the office (although bike parking will then become an issue).
This was a great book to borrow from the library and is a book that I would read in conjunction with other books such as written by David Attenborough or Bill Gates.
August 22, 2024
Alter focuses on consumption, including embodied carbon. He thus shows how much we need individuals to change their ways of life. We’re doomed.
April 23, 2022
I've only recently started following Alter's writing on Treehugger, and find most of it very insightful. With this book, I was skeptical going in that I'd agree with his central thesis, but hoped I'd still get something valuable along the way - and I think that ended up being the case.
Alter's position and mine probably aren't worlds apart. I would say individual action matters, and we as people committed to climate action should do what we can on an individual level - but collective action and systemic change is going to have much more impact. Alter would agree that collective action is important (and he cites examples of how he does this) but makes the case for why he thinks individual action is more important than many people think. Both important, just a question of emphasis - so not a million miles apart.
But the problem with Alter's emphasis on individual action is that he never really addresses the core problem, which is how to scale it. Yeah, if everyone on the planet used the power of their consumer choices to reduce their carbon footprint, that would help a lot - the problem is most people aren't doing that at the moment, and probably won't do it unless we make those choices easier for them. The crux of the "individual vs collective action" debate isn't whether the small number of people fighting for climate action should try to reduce their personal footprints (the answer, obviously, is yes) it's whether they should spend their time and energy trying to convince others to take individual action, or to spend that time and energy pushing for systemic change. Alter does not attempt to address this question, or even really acknowledge it exists.
With the result, his case for why individual action should be a higher priority is flimsy at best, and it makes some of his recommendations pretty weak too. He quite rightly talks at length about how transport and land use and energy are all so intertwined as to be basically the same thing described in different language - how our transport emissions depend on the urban planning of our home, and how that same urban planning can affect the size of the fridge we need, and so on - and his grasp of this and eloquence at explaining it is really fantastic. But then the end-of-chapter recommendations come, and he says "Choose where you live carefully; it is the single biggest influence on how much you drive." But of course, with a focus on individual action that's a zero-sum game; there's only a small amount of housing stock in North America that has good mixed uses and walkability, so that choice is only available to a small and finite number of people (and because of limited availability, probably relatively rich ones). We could have a lot more housing like this, if we fixed the planning regulations that prevent new suburbs like this from being built - but individual action will not make that happen, it requires collective action for systemic change.
This kind of dynamic appeared a number of times throughout the book - Alter genuinely has a fantastic grasp of the problems, and to be fair a lot of the time he really understands the solutions too, and makes some good suggestions. But his attachment to individualistic action is a huge blind spot, and it gets in the way of the real solutions over and over again.
Anyway. Like I said, he does have a fantastic knowledge of the problems, and I took away some great bits and pieces that will help me do my bit in the fight against climate change. Knowing where the big fish are and what's too small to bother with is valuable, regardless of whether you're thinking individually or systemically - and I'm completely onboard with his argument that we should stop using the term "embodied emissions" and instead say "upfront emissions". So overall it was definitely worth the purchase price for me.
Alter's position and mine probably aren't worlds apart. I would say individual action matters, and we as people committed to climate action should do what we can on an individual level - but collective action and systemic change is going to have much more impact. Alter would agree that collective action is important (and he cites examples of how he does this) but makes the case for why he thinks individual action is more important than many people think. Both important, just a question of emphasis - so not a million miles apart.
But the problem with Alter's emphasis on individual action is that he never really addresses the core problem, which is how to scale it. Yeah, if everyone on the planet used the power of their consumer choices to reduce their carbon footprint, that would help a lot - the problem is most people aren't doing that at the moment, and probably won't do it unless we make those choices easier for them. The crux of the "individual vs collective action" debate isn't whether the small number of people fighting for climate action should try to reduce their personal footprints (the answer, obviously, is yes) it's whether they should spend their time and energy trying to convince others to take individual action, or to spend that time and energy pushing for systemic change. Alter does not attempt to address this question, or even really acknowledge it exists.
With the result, his case for why individual action should be a higher priority is flimsy at best, and it makes some of his recommendations pretty weak too. He quite rightly talks at length about how transport and land use and energy are all so intertwined as to be basically the same thing described in different language - how our transport emissions depend on the urban planning of our home, and how that same urban planning can affect the size of the fridge we need, and so on - and his grasp of this and eloquence at explaining it is really fantastic. But then the end-of-chapter recommendations come, and he says "Choose where you live carefully; it is the single biggest influence on how much you drive." But of course, with a focus on individual action that's a zero-sum game; there's only a small amount of housing stock in North America that has good mixed uses and walkability, so that choice is only available to a small and finite number of people (and because of limited availability, probably relatively rich ones). We could have a lot more housing like this, if we fixed the planning regulations that prevent new suburbs like this from being built - but individual action will not make that happen, it requires collective action for systemic change.
This kind of dynamic appeared a number of times throughout the book - Alter genuinely has a fantastic grasp of the problems, and to be fair a lot of the time he really understands the solutions too, and makes some good suggestions. But his attachment to individualistic action is a huge blind spot, and it gets in the way of the real solutions over and over again.
Anyway. Like I said, he does have a fantastic knowledge of the problems, and I took away some great bits and pieces that will help me do my bit in the fight against climate change. Knowing where the big fish are and what's too small to bother with is valuable, regardless of whether you're thinking individually or systemically - and I'm completely onboard with his argument that we should stop using the term "embodied emissions" and instead say "upfront emissions". So overall it was definitely worth the purchase price for me.
April 27, 2022
I’ve read the author’s writing in Mother Nature Newsletter and now Treehugger for years, so most of the ideas here weren’t new to me. And yet, it was helpful to see them put together into a coherent whole.
I especially appreciated the framework of efficiency vs. modal shift vs. sufficiency, and working through the very complicated world of carbon footprint calculations in a relatively clear way.
And it’s made me think harder about whether I can bike to work, whether an e-Cargo bike would let me pick up my kids from school without a car, and which big, resource-intensive purchase I can postpone a while longer.
Well narrated on audio.
I especially appreciated the framework of efficiency vs. modal shift vs. sufficiency, and working through the very complicated world of carbon footprint calculations in a relatively clear way.
And it’s made me think harder about whether I can bike to work, whether an e-Cargo bike would let me pick up my kids from school without a car, and which big, resource-intensive purchase I can postpone a while longer.
Well narrated on audio.
August 25, 2022
This is a book of solutions that the author does, which is a bold step given the solutions that are merely discussed. They are not all available to everyone, and the author freely admits that. He is showing by doing, and that goes a long way. I applaud Lloyd Alter. This is huge.
August 21, 2024
Well written. Embedded carbon is a useful concept.
December 31, 2024
I found this a useful read. Individual climate action can be a mouthful - while everybody agrees on reducing emissions, it is hard to know where to start. What areas make an impact? What aspects of our lifestyle need radical change, and which ones aren't worth compromising? These are the main things I took away:
- The big areas to focus on are food, transport and housing. While other lifestyle factors also have an impact, the biggest energy use is here and therefore will have the highest carbon contributions.
- Transport and housing are part of the same process - use of energy. A holistic view on living is needed to impact emissions. For example, living in a well-connected city allows public transport, cycling, smaller shops and smaller fridges, targeting everything at the same time.
- Reduction is great, but a true win is "modal shift" - transitioning to different behaviours without negative impact on standard of living. Active lifestyle is a classic example.
- Efficiency under capitalism enables more consumption, so does not result in carbon savings. What we should aim for is sufficiency - at least in our personal consumer habits, since global markets won't change overnight.
- The measures individuals would have to do to meet a 1.5 degree lifestyle seem extreme and unrealistic. Things are pretty bad, even the 2 degree warming target by the end of the century will be tricky to do without major government intervention. That does not mean positive climate action isn't worthwhile, and personal attitudes will change culture and policy eventually.
The book is methodical and not too long, so made a good introduction to personal climate action. 7/10.
- The big areas to focus on are food, transport and housing. While other lifestyle factors also have an impact, the biggest energy use is here and therefore will have the highest carbon contributions.
- Transport and housing are part of the same process - use of energy. A holistic view on living is needed to impact emissions. For example, living in a well-connected city allows public transport, cycling, smaller shops and smaller fridges, targeting everything at the same time.
- Reduction is great, but a true win is "modal shift" - transitioning to different behaviours without negative impact on standard of living. Active lifestyle is a classic example.
- Efficiency under capitalism enables more consumption, so does not result in carbon savings. What we should aim for is sufficiency - at least in our personal consumer habits, since global markets won't change overnight.
- The measures individuals would have to do to meet a 1.5 degree lifestyle seem extreme and unrealistic. Things are pretty bad, even the 2 degree warming target by the end of the century will be tricky to do without major government intervention. That does not mean positive climate action isn't worthwhile, and personal attitudes will change culture and policy eventually.
The book is methodical and not too long, so made a good introduction to personal climate action. 7/10.
December 30, 2021
A few quotes from the beginning of the book:
“The 1.5-degree target comes from the 2015 Paris Agreement where nations committed to ‘holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above preindustrial levels’” (p.9).
“Even at 1.5 degrees, we face extreme changes, with more extremely hot days, droughts in some areas, and heavy rains in others…
“Even at 1.5 degrees, human health is affected by heat-related mortality, by increased air pollution, by geographic spread of disease” (p.10).
We “have to seriously, dramatically, radically, and painfully reduce the amount of greenhouse gases we emit to keep under that carbon budget. That’s a global drop of 7.9% per year. That doesn’t sound so dire, until you realize that the COVID-19 pandemic — when factories closed, flights were grounded, and nobody was driving, an almost total shutdown of the global economy — is estimated to have caused a global drop of CO2 emissions of about 7%” (p. 11-12).
This book outlines what you personally can do.
“The 1.5-degree target comes from the 2015 Paris Agreement where nations committed to ‘holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above preindustrial levels’” (p.9).
“Even at 1.5 degrees, we face extreme changes, with more extremely hot days, droughts in some areas, and heavy rains in others…
“Even at 1.5 degrees, human health is affected by heat-related mortality, by increased air pollution, by geographic spread of disease” (p.10).
We “have to seriously, dramatically, radically, and painfully reduce the amount of greenhouse gases we emit to keep under that carbon budget. That’s a global drop of 7.9% per year. That doesn’t sound so dire, until you realize that the COVID-19 pandemic — when factories closed, flights were grounded, and nobody was driving, an almost total shutdown of the global economy — is estimated to have caused a global drop of CO2 emissions of about 7%” (p. 11-12).
This book outlines what you personally can do.
January 7, 2024
I liked the bicycle on the front page.
December 3, 2021
The science is clear: we have to change what we're doing if we want to avoid catastrophic changes to the climate. In this book, Lloyd Alter sets out to see what his own life will be like if he lives in a way consistent with a 1.5 degree planet. In a very readable way, he examines his own carbon footprint and explains what matters most in his own personal choices.
For me, the book addresses a lot of good points for people who are genuinely interested in helping avert disaster. Well worth the quick read.
For me, the book addresses a lot of good points for people who are genuinely interested in helping avert disaster. Well worth the quick read.
February 8, 2023
I have followed climate change related issues pretty closely via a variety of sources for a number of years now. But I decided to read 1.5 anyway after it was described by the NYT recently as one of the best books to read on this topic.
Alter does a credible job of organizing the book around various aspects of the issues that he tries to address. He discusses these in relatively nontechnical language and with many examples which help to make the book relatively easy to understand. Concepts like ‘embedded carbon’ (the amount of carbon based processes needed to produce something) or ‘sufficiency’ (how much stuff do people really need to live comfortably?) are explained and utilized effectively.
He includes footnotes in the narrative and 13 pages of end notes on the sources of information he relied on. There is no bibliography but his endnotes are substantial enough that readers can follow up should they wish to.
I also learned a lot of facts I had not known before. For example, the clothing industry produces 8% of the greenhouse gases which enter the atmosphere every year. This is more than the production of concrete or steel, by the way. Or, plastic production, which requires a lot of fossil fuels, grew from 2 million tons in 1950 to 381 million tons in 2015.
Additionally, the author offers some sound, albeit admittedly challenging advice about how one can go about reducing one’s carbon footprint. For example, eat practically no red meat, lamb, or dairy products. Travel very little by airplane. Think carefully about whether you really need the latest iteration of the iPhone, etc because it requires a significant amount of fossil fuels to make one. Ie, a lot of embedded carbon goes into its production.
Towards the beginning of the book Alter noted that he is a ‘numbers guy.’ There were times that I found his reliance on data to be excessive for my tastes. And his use of spreadsheets at the end of some chapters were not necessary for me to grasp the points he was trying to make.
Overall, I would recommend 1.5 for those who are concerned about climate change and want to know what they can do about it. Those who are more inclined towards the use of actual, hard data will probably find it more worthwhile than I did. This aspect of the book was as much a hindrance as an enhancement.
Alter does a credible job of organizing the book around various aspects of the issues that he tries to address. He discusses these in relatively nontechnical language and with many examples which help to make the book relatively easy to understand. Concepts like ‘embedded carbon’ (the amount of carbon based processes needed to produce something) or ‘sufficiency’ (how much stuff do people really need to live comfortably?) are explained and utilized effectively.
He includes footnotes in the narrative and 13 pages of end notes on the sources of information he relied on. There is no bibliography but his endnotes are substantial enough that readers can follow up should they wish to.
I also learned a lot of facts I had not known before. For example, the clothing industry produces 8% of the greenhouse gases which enter the atmosphere every year. This is more than the production of concrete or steel, by the way. Or, plastic production, which requires a lot of fossil fuels, grew from 2 million tons in 1950 to 381 million tons in 2015.
Additionally, the author offers some sound, albeit admittedly challenging advice about how one can go about reducing one’s carbon footprint. For example, eat practically no red meat, lamb, or dairy products. Travel very little by airplane. Think carefully about whether you really need the latest iteration of the iPhone, etc because it requires a significant amount of fossil fuels to make one. Ie, a lot of embedded carbon goes into its production.
Towards the beginning of the book Alter noted that he is a ‘numbers guy.’ There were times that I found his reliance on data to be excessive for my tastes. And his use of spreadsheets at the end of some chapters were not necessary for me to grasp the points he was trying to make.
Overall, I would recommend 1.5 for those who are concerned about climate change and want to know what they can do about it. Those who are more inclined towards the use of actual, hard data will probably find it more worthwhile than I did. This aspect of the book was as much a hindrance as an enhancement.
July 14, 2022
It is nice to see the perspective of another Canadian, and why things are laid out the way they are. The book gives ideas on how to have the conversation with CO2e, upfront carbon costs, and systemic problems to our consumption-based lifestyle. I am curious to see how much may change with inflation as the book appears to have been written in the sweet spot between the COVID-19 lockdown effects being noticed, and housing crisis and food security being a major day-to-day problem for Canadians.
The author does acknowledge his privilege, and lists that it is in the collective action of individuals that have influence over demand in some aspects.
If you are impacted by societal inequity, potentially reading this book may not be for you.
While helpful in breaking down what some barriers are and lifestyle changes that can be made, I wouldn't recommend this for anyone with executive function barriers who uses less 'carbon friendly' options throughout the day. There is enough shame to battle. I also wouldn't recommend the book for other people with disabilities that are helped by using high carbon-emission products. There's a time and a place for many of the objects that are made with plastic and fossil fuels, and I feel there could have been a better service acknowledging that they do struggle with the consumption and climate anxiety.
Even acknowledging that the bottle water industry exists while we have indigenous communities without access to clean drinking water could put the question of CO2e into a different light.
Potentially highlighting that the budget is for all to allow those who need the products in their current form to feel more supported could go better; and if the budget doesn't account for their real needs then the budget itself needs to be adjusted.
The author does acknowledge his privilege, and lists that it is in the collective action of individuals that have influence over demand in some aspects.
If you are impacted by societal inequity, potentially reading this book may not be for you.
While helpful in breaking down what some barriers are and lifestyle changes that can be made, I wouldn't recommend this for anyone with executive function barriers who uses less 'carbon friendly' options throughout the day. There is enough shame to battle. I also wouldn't recommend the book for other people with disabilities that are helped by using high carbon-emission products. There's a time and a place for many of the objects that are made with plastic and fossil fuels, and I feel there could have been a better service acknowledging that they do struggle with the consumption and climate anxiety.
Even acknowledging that the bottle water industry exists while we have indigenous communities without access to clean drinking water could put the question of CO2e into a different light.
Potentially highlighting that the budget is for all to allow those who need the products in their current form to feel more supported could go better; and if the budget doesn't account for their real needs then the budget itself needs to be adjusted.
December 13, 2021
Really interesting read. What can we as individuals really do have real impact on the Climate Crisis. The author who in Toronto talks about Canada. His information is suggests how Canadians can live a low carbon lifestyle so we hit avoid exceeding our climate. He discusses the really life carbon footprint of how we live.
Yes if you buy a electric car your carbon footprint going forward will be low provided it green electricity. How what is the carbon footprint of building your electric Ford Mustang? Over the next two decades will I have bigger carbon footprint if I go buy a electric car. Should I just instead keep driving my little old gutless gasoline car? Which add more GHG gas to the atmosphere? What about the GHG emitted by the ten (or hundreds) thousands of tons of steel and concrete in that wind farm? What will be the carbon footprint of upgrading the electric grid so it can handle all of us plugging electric cars?
Being vegetarian is that really the best for climate change? Which has a higher carbon footprint a pound of fresh tomato or a pound of pork? If it a hothouse tomato produced in Canada in the winter in greenhouses heated by natural gas and the pork was raised and butcher locally, it maybe that the tomato has the higher carbon footprint.
This book to help us think what is our real carbon footprint.
Yes if you buy a electric car your carbon footprint going forward will be low provided it green electricity. How what is the carbon footprint of building your electric Ford Mustang? Over the next two decades will I have bigger carbon footprint if I go buy a electric car. Should I just instead keep driving my little old gutless gasoline car? Which add more GHG gas to the atmosphere? What about the GHG emitted by the ten (or hundreds) thousands of tons of steel and concrete in that wind farm? What will be the carbon footprint of upgrading the electric grid so it can handle all of us plugging electric cars?
Being vegetarian is that really the best for climate change? Which has a higher carbon footprint a pound of fresh tomato or a pound of pork? If it a hothouse tomato produced in Canada in the winter in greenhouses heated by natural gas and the pork was raised and butcher locally, it maybe that the tomato has the higher carbon footprint.
This book to help us think what is our real carbon footprint.
May 11, 2022
As Llyod Alter goes to say,
Conspicuous consumption but a conspicuous working class of leisure, working class never had enough time for leisure but rich wanted to demonstrate how much leisure they had.
On how distorted buying energy is, like buying wood from Norway cause it's economicly easier.
Or how everyone is serving the needs of the rich people. They are working to provide for there energy bill.
Rural towns / suburbs drive big trucks 40km for groceries. There's house are not well insulated and gas/electricity is subsidized by the provincial government. These are conservative voters and burn alot of wood, some would say that's fine.
I often wonder what Bertrand Russell would say if he knew 4 books are read in a year average per person and most millennials spend 5 hours on there phone a day, there are now 40 year old millenials.
Or before the light bulbs people would sleep 11 hours a night.
How whole city's are planned for war to keep productive in an energy output. That if bombings occur they'd be spread across a city to leave less productivity disruption. But are made for city vehicles not an urban sprawl. Most are disconnected from agriculture to retail to energy infrastructure. I guess China has the biggest steel production and only 1% in all of China's population is in steel manufacturering.
Many are below poverty.
NGL
Llyod Alter are giving a shrewd or spirited initiative and resourcefulness I'm craving in a lit.
Conspicuous consumption but a conspicuous working class of leisure, working class never had enough time for leisure but rich wanted to demonstrate how much leisure they had.
On how distorted buying energy is, like buying wood from Norway cause it's economicly easier.
Or how everyone is serving the needs of the rich people. They are working to provide for there energy bill.
Rural towns / suburbs drive big trucks 40km for groceries. There's house are not well insulated and gas/electricity is subsidized by the provincial government. These are conservative voters and burn alot of wood, some would say that's fine.
I often wonder what Bertrand Russell would say if he knew 4 books are read in a year average per person and most millennials spend 5 hours on there phone a day, there are now 40 year old millenials.
Or before the light bulbs people would sleep 11 hours a night.
How whole city's are planned for war to keep productive in an energy output. That if bombings occur they'd be spread across a city to leave less productivity disruption. But are made for city vehicles not an urban sprawl. Most are disconnected from agriculture to retail to energy infrastructure. I guess China has the biggest steel production and only 1% in all of China's population is in steel manufacturering.
Many are below poverty.
NGL
Llyod Alter are giving a shrewd or spirited initiative and resourcefulness I'm craving in a lit.
August 10, 2022
Something that this book makes clear is that preventing climate change does not require small, painless changes to our behaviour. It requires serious changes to most people’s lifestyles. I had thought decarbonisation was a matter of not leaving the TV on standby, maybe turning the thermostat down a bit. Nope, it requires slashing red meat intake, significantly reducing energy consumption, minimal driving? almost never flying, buying a lot less “stuff”. Very different from the typical western lifestyle. Alter does acknowledge that some of this is all but impossible for many: if you live miles from your nearest shops and there are no good public transport options, what are you supposed to do?! Addressing that requires major capital investment by governments; individual action can’t fix it. But as he says, that doesn’t mean we should drive about in pickup trucks scoffing cheeseburgers while we wait for systemic change. This is a well- written and informative book for anyone interested in climate change and the role of individual action.
January 1, 2026
A close look at how the ways we live, move, eat and consume contribute to carbon emissions. Argues that moving to more efficient options alone is not enough (e.g. the efficiency benefit of electric cars is offset by the embodied [upfront] emissions of producing them as massive SUVs), and we must shift our mindset to sufficiency (e.g. buying fewer Apple gadgets and using them for as long as possible).
While it's true that meeting the global carbon budget requires lifestyle changes from all of us in wealthy countries at the individual level, the book doesn't really address how to actually effect this (through systemic changes). Choosing to live somewhere walkable is all well and good - but many cities just aren't set up for everyone to be able to do that. Combined with the fact that few people will voluntarily and autonomously take the kind of action he recommends, and the book left me feeling like we're doomed.
While it's true that meeting the global carbon budget requires lifestyle changes from all of us in wealthy countries at the individual level, the book doesn't really address how to actually effect this (through systemic changes). Choosing to live somewhere walkable is all well and good - but many cities just aren't set up for everyone to be able to do that. Combined with the fact that few people will voluntarily and autonomously take the kind of action he recommends, and the book left me feeling like we're doomed.
June 3, 2023
Alter makes a coherent and valid case why individual actions are important. He addresses head on the common view that unless we change the system and/or get effective leadership at the national and international levels, actions down at the individual level are essentially meaningless. Besides the references and research he provides, he lives and documents the choices he supports to lower ones carbon footprint. With his willingness to revisit assumptions, consult multiple sources (often conflicting) and confess his 'carbon luxuries' (he likes his Apple products but learns he doesn't need the newest version every year), we get a fairly objective account of what is important.
Broadly, food, diet, transportation, and housing are the categories often used to
Broadly, food, diet, transportation, and housing are the categories often used to
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 7, 2022
lots of numbers. a practical summary of how one needs to live for the world to meet its climate targets.
subject to the “science” being correct i suppose.
main learning is we simply use too much ….. as in more fuel efficient vehicles, bigger engines. better insulted houses, bigger spaces. really more of everything.
except opinions
a great book for anyone to learn from and especially instructive if you want to “walk the talk”…..which is very very hard as in no flying, very little driving, smaller everything….. ouch
subject to the “science” being correct i suppose.
main learning is we simply use too much ….. as in more fuel efficient vehicles, bigger engines. better insulted houses, bigger spaces. really more of everything.
except opinions
a great book for anyone to learn from and especially instructive if you want to “walk the talk”…..which is very very hard as in no flying, very little driving, smaller everything….. ouch
August 3, 2023
A sensible no-nonsense look at how it is possible for ordinary humans to make the changes in their lives that would make real and measurable differences (the numbers are in the book) in the fight against climate change. The author is generally hopeful, and does not come across as preachy.
Sadly I don't draw quite the same hopeful conclusions that the author does from the same numbers - although they have been able to make the changes in their life I do not believe that the rest of the world is yet willing to do so.
Sadly I don't draw quite the same hopeful conclusions that the author does from the same numbers - although they have been able to make the changes in their life I do not believe that the rest of the world is yet willing to do so.
June 1, 2022
Perhaps not the most groundbreaking collection of climate action advice, but certainly one of the most accessible. The author does a good job of showing the radical extent to which our lives are built on fossil fuels while also presenting many viable options (and for those so inclined, an admirably radical shift in thinking) for anyone, anywhere, to start living like the future depends on it - which it does.
February 17, 2022
Good backstory to each issue, telling the reader how we arrived in our current situation for each topic. Each chapter then concludes with a bullet point list of what action we can take.
No as accessible as some climate action books. It certainly felt pitched a little higher than I'd expected. Not a bad read, not the best I've read on the subject either.
No as accessible as some climate action books. It certainly felt pitched a little higher than I'd expected. Not a bad read, not the best I've read on the subject either.
May 29, 2022
Well researched book which helped me learn a bit more the concepts of sufficiency and particularly the often ignored concept of embodied carbon in consumer choices.
Like one or two other reviewers though, I felt the book really needed to address non-consumption focused behaviours e.g. pushing for political change and social influence, rather than just focus on individual impact.
Like one or two other reviewers though, I felt the book really needed to address non-consumption focused behaviours e.g. pushing for political change and social influence, rather than just focus on individual impact.
January 21, 2022
The enormity of world changes can be too much for us to grasp. Those who witnessed and lived through some of the chaos of interrelated disasters wrought by rising temperatures might be left wondering what could have been done sooner. We might look at governments and we notice they're as paralyzed as we are and not sure what to do. In this book, Lloyd Alter offers a wide look. He has made the calculations as best he can about what carbon is pumped into the atmosphere by what activities. The calculations did make me stop and consider how an order of Swiss Chalet chicken lunch, could have generated so much carbon! Looking at aspects of living in a city, in his case Toronto, Alter looks at the choices we have for adopting a lower carbon lifestyle and reflects on his own. As an architect, developer turned environmental activist and sustainable design instructor, we have the benefit of seeing many aspects that might lower our carbon footprint. Although after reading I feel a little more informed, have a few changes to make, it will take billions of us participating to dramatically make a shift. Technology alone isn't going to make the shift. Changing our minds will.
January 13, 2022
I've followed Lloyd Alter on line and always enjoyed his common sense dialogue on energy efficiency, design and life style. This is a highly readable book with lots of facts, figures and recommendations. I read it in one day.
July 4, 2022
Excellent. Short. I was surprised I wasn't surprised more by the contents, I guess reading so much of Alter's work left me pretty well informed about what he culled together in this work. Still worth a read even if you have read much of his work on Treehugger as I have.
December 31, 2021
This is a solid, concise, science-based look at the climate crisis. Strikes the right balance between being accountable for actions and obsessing over the carbon in every last thing.
January 22, 2022
Really interesting book. Especially all the emission calculations the author did and the part related to architecture which I didn't know about.
July 23, 2022
Use less for longer.
November 11, 2022
Made me think a lot more deeply about the impacts of economic growth. When is it enough? I like the focus on sufficiency.
January 27, 2023
Readable, relatable, hopeful.
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