Green book review: The Zero Footprint Baby by Keya Chatterjee

Babies and sustainability should go hand in hand - after all, sustainability is all about "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

But how do you do it when your new baby has just been born and taking care of the new baby seems nothing but sustainable (take the waste diapers generate for example)? The book we review today has some answers for current and future parents who want to know how to do it right.

The book we review today is:

The Zero Footprint Baby: How to Save the Planet While Raising a Healthy Baby by Keya Chatterjee (publisher: Ig Publishing)

What this book is about?
In our culture, pregnancy, birth, and childrearing are deeply connected to consumption and resource use. From the baby shower to the minivan and the larger apartment or first house, the baby-raising years are the most hyper-consumptive of our lives, and can set a family on an unsustainable track for years to come. 

The Zero Footprint Baby: How to Save the Planet While Raising a Healthy Baby shows how to raise a child with little to no carbon footprint. This timely book covers every issue new parents face, including pregnancy (what kind of birth has the lowest impact?); what to feed your baby (breastfeed, formula, or both?); childcare (who should take care of the baby, and how?); and of course, diapering. Using a mix of personal anecdotes, summarized research, and clear guidance on how to pursue the most sustainable baby-rearing options, environmental expert and new mom Keya Chatterjee has authored the ultimate resource for all new parents with green inclinations.

About the author:
Keya Chatterjee is a Senior Director for Renewable Energy and Footprint Outreach at the World Wildlife Fund. Her commentary on climate change policy and sustainability issues has been quoted in dozens of media outlets, including USA Today, the New York Times, Fox News, the Associated Press, The Washington Post, and NBC Nightly News. She has also served as a Climate Change Specialist at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and worked at the NASA Earth Science Enterprise. She lives in Washington DC with her husband and son. For more info, visit: http://keyachatterjee.com

Our review:

I found this book interesting and even fun at times. Some of the ideas I thought were very useful and would be easy to put into practice, and then others bordered on absurd. Then there were the ideas that were fascinating to my mind, but not all that reasonable in the long run. One of my favorites though was the toilet sink. The water used in the sink, filters into the tank of the toilet, and then is used as the flushing water. This is ingenious, why had I not heard of it before?  Why do we need clean water to flush with? I can get behind this all the way. 

There are also some ideas that I found ridiculous. Maybe I don’t have the right mind-set. Maybe I am not doing enough to lower my carbon use. There are definitely some things that I can change and am willing to try and change. However, I am not one to put my children at risk in the process. Some of the things in this book I feel have the potential to do that.

As to the writing itself, I found the authors tone to be a bit condescending. Had a bit of the ‘this is why I am awesome’ kind of thing going on. It seemed even a bit insulting at times to me. For instance, one of the ways to cut down carbon use is to recycle (obviously), which includes clothing. The author spoke of all the people that graciously gave her their used maternity clothes, but then complained that these same people had the nerve, the very gall, to share their pregnancy and birthing stories with her. How dare they want to share with her? At first I took this as her shot at humor, but then it didn’t seem all that funny to me.  

All in all, the book is sound. I liked its contents and the information provided. I did. It’s a wonderful book to get parents, or expecting parenting, or planning to be expecting parents to think about their carbon footprint now, not after it’s too late. I suggest reading it, and then taking from it what you can.

The book is available on Amazon in both electronic and paperback formats.

Yours,

Eco-Libris: Plant a tree for every book you read!

Green book review - The Greenest Home: Superinsulated and Passive House Design by Julie Torres Moskovitz

Making buildings more sustainable is one of the more interesting developments that we're witnessing in the last couple of years. Our book today focuses on one of the latest developments in this area - passive houses.

The book we review today is:

The Greenest Home: Superinsulated and Passive House Design By Julie Torres Moskovitz (publisher: Princeton Architectural Press)

What this book is about?
Passive is the new green. Passive Houses, well–insulated, virtually airtight buildings, can decrease home heating consumption by an astounding ninety percent, making them not only an attractive choice for current and prospective homeowners, but also the right choice for a sustainable future. The Greenest Home showcases eighteen of the world's most attractive Passive Houses by forward-thinking architects such as Bernheimer Architecture, Olson Kundig Architects, and Onion Flats, among many others. Each case study consists of a detailed project description, plans, and photographs. Including a mix of new construction and retrofit projects built in a variety of site conditions, The Greenest Home is an inspiring sourcebook for architects and prospective homeowners, as well as a useful tool for students, and builders alike.

Our review:

This is one of those books that you sit down and read the first time. Then you see it sitting on the counter and you flip through it. Then you walk by it another day and page around in it again. The ideas are contempory and fun. The materials green and environmentally sound. The pictures and the plans are well organized. Paging through this book there are so many ideas that catch your eye and make you want to pop onto the wagon of green homes. The storage ideas and the organization, the lighting aspects, the vaulted ceilings and baboon materials, made me drool with desire. Then….you look into prices and that idea goes out the window.

First, there are no pricing lists in this book. If you are interested you have to hunt down the materials and put together a price list of your own. I found that a bit tedious. I think most people wouldn’t get that far. The only reason I did, was I was curious if it was affordable to go green in this fashion. Most all the homes in this book were huge. Maybe if they cut them down in size a bit, it would be more cost effective for the regular every day person.

Regardless of the pricing, the homes are beautiful both inside and out. The indexing is complete and easy to use as it is broken down by home. I have not yet regaled this book to the shelf. It still sits out in the living area for me to continually flip through and dream.

You can purchase the book here.

Yours,

Eco-Libris: Plant a tree for every book you read!

Green book review - The Last Train to Zona Verde: My Ultimate African Safari by Paul Theroux

Africa is dear to our heart, which is why we're so proud to have one of our planting partners  RIPPLE Africa, operating in Malawi, Africa. This is also why we're so happy to review a special book on a special journey in this troubled and beautiful continent.

Our book for this week is:

The Last Train to Zona Verde: My Ultimate African Safari by Paul Theroux (publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

What this book is about?
Following the success of the acclaimed Ghost Train to the Eastern Star and The Great Railway Bazaar, The Last Train to Zona Verde is an ode to the last African journey of the world's most celebrated travel writer.

“Happy again, back in the kingdom of light,” writes Paul Theroux as he sets out on a new journey through the continent he knows and loves best. Theroux first came to Africa as a twenty-two-year-old Peace Corps volunteer, and the pull of the vast land never left him. Now he returns, after fifty years on the road, to explore the little-traveled territory of western Africa and to take stock both of the place and of himself.

His odyssey takes him northward from Cape Town, through South Africa and Namibia, then on into Angola, wishing to head farther still until he reaches the end of the line. Journeying alone through the greenest continent, Theroux encounters a world increasingly removed from both the itineraries of tourists and the hopes of postcolonial independence movements. Leaving the Cape Town townships, traversing the Namibian bush, passing the browsing cattle of the great sunbaked heartland of the savanna, Theroux crosses “the Red Line” into a different Africa: “the improvised, slapped-together Africa of tumbled fences and cooking fires, of mud and thatch,” of heat and poverty, and of roadblocks, mobs, and anarchy. After 2,500 arduous miles, he comes to the end of his journey in more ways than one, a decision he chronicles with typically unsparing honesty in a chapter called “What Am I Doing Here?”

Vivid, witty, and beautifully evocative, The Last Train to Zona Verde is a fitting final African adventure from the writer whose gimlet eye and effortless prose have brought the world to generations of readers. 

About the author: 

Paul Theroux is the author of many highly acclaimed books. His novels include The Lower River and The Mosquito Coast, and his renowned travel books include Ghost Train to the Eastern Star and Dark Star Safari. He lives in Hawaii and on Cape Cod. 

Our review:

The Last Train to Zona Verde by Paul Theroux was read with mixed feelings. I had a bit of awe, a bit of jealousy, and a bit of fear for this writer. He is one of the true and real travel writers. He goes to the places he writes about and tells you of his visit in fine and colorful detail. He has a fantastic voice and tells the story with such life that at times you forget that it’s not fiction. I wish I could see some of the things he has seen and wish I could forget some of the things I have learned from him.

On this journey, Paul spent his time roaming through parts of Africa that frankly I had to hunt down on a map to find: the bush country or Zona Verde, Cape Town, Botswana, and Namibia are just a few. This is not simply a story about the landscape, but actual events that he saw or lived, such as: the people; or the wildlife and landscape destruction that we all know about, but don’t actually see face to face in our own everyday lives; or the government’s blasé indifference to the state of the things. Then it all ends, so fast and so unexpectedly. I felt his strong emotions about having to quit his adventure before he had planned, thanks only to violent militant actions.

I wish I could come up with a better word, but this book was simply very well done. You can purchase the book on Amazon.com (in both electronic and hardcover formats).

Yours,

Raz @ Eco-Libris
Plant a tree for every book you read!

Green book review - Vegan Secret Supper: Bold & Elegant Menus from a Rogue Kitchen by Merida Anderson

A vegan dining club? Yes, it does really exists and it is run by chef Merida Anderson in Vancouver  Montreal and New York, where she proves that sophisticated dinner parties can be fun, tasty and vegan too! Don't believe it? Have a look at her book "Vegan Secret Supper", which is the green book we review this week!

Vegan Secret Supper: Bold & Elegant Menus from a Rogue Kitchen by Merida Anderson (publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press)

What this book is about?
The art of the convivial, joyful meal shared with friends and family has evolved in recent years. The growing popularity of dinner clubs and themed potlucks attest to our desire for get-togethers at home that are out of the ordinary; also, temporary pop-ups and secret supper locales (where the address is often kept under wraps) are redefining the notion of the traditional restaurant meal. But where do vegans fit into all this fun for foodies?

Vegan Secret Supper is a collection of imaginative, delectable, animal-free recipes by chef Mérida Anderson of VSS (Vegan Secret Supper), a dining club that she has run in Vancouver, Montreal, and New York. At VSS, Mérida creates amazing vegan dishes that prove that sophisticated, spectacular dinner parties do not require the use of animal products. With her focus on menu-planning and simple, seasonal ingredients, she offers readers all the tools they need to create healthy, sumptuous meals, whether it's a dish for a potluck, a romantic dinner for two, or a celebration for twenty.

Full-color throughout, the book's recipes include split pea bisque with minted cream; smoked cauliflower on red quinoa tabouli; walnut and roasted yam croquettes with spicy balsamic beet reduction; and chocolate blackberry cashew cheesecake. As well, Mérida offers fantastic tips and insight on how to create your own vegan secret supper club at home. 

About the author: 

Mérida Anderson is a self-taught chef who became vegan at the age of sixteen. She is also a photographer, visual artist, clothing designer, and musician.

Our review:

I take vegan books with a bit of hesitation. They are either really good or really awful. This book, Vegan Secret Supper, I am very pleased to say is one of the really fantastic ones. It is sophisticated and refined. It has plates and recipes for any taste and every taste. It takes into account nutrition as well as the vegan ideology and thankfully is not just tofu and soy.

I really liked that it gives full meals, not just pieces and parts that you then have to put together on your own. Then the author goes on to give helpful plating instructions. This book offers all courses of a meal from the starter to the dessert and everything in between. The handmade ice cream recipes with instructions of ‘how-to’ without using an ice cream maker, not only work, but work well to produce a wonderful variety of ice creams. I was very pleased with the outcome.

I am happily making my way recipe by recipe and page by page through this book. The author has a way of instruction that is easy to understand and then implement. I will add that if you are looking for a quick meal, this book may not be for you. Although most can be made up rather quickly, it does take a bit more time and planning than pre-processed food.

I highly, and definitely recommend this book. Even the carnivores in my house have found enjoyment from the dishes within.

You can purchase the book on Amazon.com.

Yours,

Raz @ Eco-Libris
Plant a tree for every book you read!

Green book review - Climate Myths: The Campaign Against Climate Science by Dr. John J. Berger

Climate change is always a fascinating story, not just the way it changes our lives, but also the way it became a public debate and the role political and economic forces played to increase the uncertainty about it. 

The latter is also the subject of the book we're reviewing this:  

Climate Myths: The Campaign Against Climate Science by Dr. John J. Berger (publisher: Northbrae Books)

What this book is about?
Climate Myths describes the fossil fuel industries’ successful two-decade-long campaign to control the public debate over global climate change―with disastrous consequences. The book reveals how fossil fuel companies manufactured controversies about climate change, obscuring its true causes and effects.  Dangerous climate change has now become a reality for which the nation is unprepared: Federal climate policy has been stalemated, legislation has been stillborn, and international climate negotiations have been stymied.

Climate Myths exposes how the fossil fuel industry’s campaign was modeled on the cigarette companies’ campaign to convince Americans that tobacco was not a health hazard, and how it operated to sow doubt about climate change through a network of prominent proxy organizations.  The book provides insights into the campaign’s origins, motives, techniques, and main actors as it tracks the industry’s ever-changing and contradictory climate myths.  

Beyond merely describing the way we got to this tragic, perilous impasse, the book carefully dissects the fossil fuel industry’s main allegations about climate change―one-by-one―in language ordinary readers can understand. 

The book includes a preface and foreword by two eminent climate scientists, Dr. Kevin Trenberth and Dr. John Harte, and an introduction by John H. Adams, winner of the 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom.

About the author: 

Dr. John J. Berger is the author and editor of 11 books on climate, energy, and natural resources. He is a graduate of Stanford University and has a master’s in energy and natural resources from UC Berkeley and a Ph.D. in ecology from UC Davis.

Our review:

I read this book in its entirety. The actual reading and material was only 64 pages, which I really liked. I didn’t feel overwhelmed with information, which sometimes you get with the longer books. I do have very mixed thoughts about its content though. The book gives you loads of information, which you then need to try to take in and think about. It’s written in a way that most people will be able to understand and is then backed up with documentation. There are plenty of references and organizations in the index, which were very helpful. I was able to go and check out some of the issues and do research on my own which I actually enjoy. Plus with this type of issue, I believe people need to go out and do some of their own research in order to fully understand the problem. The index was a huge help and road map in being able to do just that. 

However, I found a lot of hypocrisy within its pages. I believe that we have a very real climate issue on our hands. This book, in my opinion, is part of the problem in getting people on board. For instance, in one section it states that 2,500 of the world’s leading scientist were in agreement with the climate issues. Yet, when you do a basic search of climate scientists there are well over 18,000-42,000 (give or take). So there is only a fraction of the climate scientists that actually agree on what is the cause of global warming. This is a huge problem. If the scientists can’t even agree, how do we expect the world too? I’m not even going to touch the tax section. 

There is also a section that goes on about how easy it is to make unfounded charges and raise misleading questions. It continues with how the skeptical try to make their case by going to the media and the students, on TV and on the radio and even to the online communities. Both of these examples can be said for both sides of the case. Both are able to make unfounded charges and raise misleading questions. Both sides are all over the media and on the tv and everywhere you look. My problem is that this book seems to be all about finger pointing and not the real issues, not the facts. It causes more questions instead of answering them. 

I understand this was a book on the campaign against climate science, but the blame game is not going to help. For the people already on board with the climate issues, I believe that this is a very good book and I believe will be well read. However, in my opinion, I don’t believe it will appeal to the conflicted, which is the very group climate science needs in order to make a difference. We have to appeal to them with facts and science, not with blame and finger pointing.

You can purchase the book on Amazon.com (both e-book and hardcover formats are available).

Yours,

Raz @ Eco-Libris
Plant a tree for every book you read!

Green book review: Friends of the Earth by Pat McCarthy

Today we'd like to introduce you with a great book that takes on itself an important mission: Introducing American kids to the history of American environmentalism. And what a great job it does!

Our book for today is Friends of the Earth: A History of American Environmentalism with 21 Activities by Pat McCarthy. 

What this book is about?
Friends of the Earth explores the history of American environmentalism with engaging profiles of men and women who contributed to preserving, conserving and educating others about our natural world. Introducing kids to the importance of a healthy environment, Friends of the Earth features inspiring stories of influential naturalists, artists and authors.

In addition to Audubon, Thoreau, Muir and Carson, young readers also learn about Gifford Pinchot, the first professionally trained forester in the United States; Aldo Leopold, whose nature writing and “land ethic” paved the way for the modern conservation movement; and Mardy Murie, “Grandmother of the Conservation Movement,” who helped establish Grand Teton National Park. Activities—making a compost pile, learning how the greenhouse effect works, making a bird feeder, planting a tree—help young environmentalists act on their concerns and demonstrate the impact humans have on the environment.

Our review:
Friends of the Earth, by Pat McCarthy, is quite the history of the environmental movement. The book covers not just the political side of the movement, although there does appear to be a bit of an agenda, but it also brings forward the real people themselves that were part of it. There are men, women, politicians, artists, writers, poets, and so many more, that bring the book to life. This book takes you into the full lives of so many people that you may have known were part of the drive, but not how much of their lives they spent as part of the struggle. A few names you will find in this book: John James Audubon, Marjory Stoneman Douglas; Rachel Carson, Henry David Thoreau, and even President Roosevelt. The book gives you a nice timeline from the beginning of the movement up to today.

I enjoyed this book. It’s not a long read. There were times that I found it to be a bit dry and fact oriented, but it has loads of great photographs, which really helps to bring the people to life. It also has 21 different activities that you can do if you are so inclined. These activities include how to make a pinecone bird feed, and creating your own compost heap. Out of all the activities most are ones you can do in an afternoon for fun. Some are more in-depth and time consuming but they are all useful and family friendly. This is a good book to get the kids involved as well as a way to get a bit of history.

You can purchase the book on Amazon.com (both e-book and paperback formats are available).

Yours,

Raz @ Eco-Libris
Plant a tree for every book you read!

Green book review (and a giveaway!): Paddling North by Audrey Sutherland

This week we're also happy to share with you one of Patagonia Books' brand new eBook offerings, and we're even more excited to have a giveaway of one digital copy of the book we're reviewing today! See details below.

So today we have the pleasure to review a great book from Patagonia Books: Paddling North by Audrey Sutherland.

What this book is about?
In a tale remarkable for its quiet confidence and acute natural observation, the author of Paddling Hawaii begins with her decision, at age 60, to undertake a solo, summer-long voyage along the southeast coast of Alaska in an inflatable kayak. Paddling North is a compilation of Sutherland’s first two (of over 20) such annual trips and her day-by-day travels through the Inside Passage from Ketchikan to Skagway. With illustrations and the author’s recipes.

Our review:
As someone who has spent many, many hours paddling down a river, I could certainly relate to this book. Paddling North, by Audrey Sutherland is the story of her journey at 60 years old, padding all alone, over 800 miles through the Alaskan waters, from Ketchikan to Skagway, in a blow up canoe/kayak. The trip takes two months of her life, but it was the adventure she had been waiting for and planning for, and dreaming of. Every day brought new adventure or trials. Launching at high tides, the rain, the wind, the cold water waves, the utter exhaustion, this is a book not just about the mechanics of a trip, it is about surviving on your own muscle, with a small bit of flair tossed in. Her motto being: Go Simple, go solo, and go now. 

I don’t know about the solo, but I agree with all the rest. She is a refreshingly honest woman, that sees herself and her life with a critical eye, and one I wish I possessed for myself. Then there is the food. When you think of camping trip fare, I think of flame charred hotdogs and warmed in the can within the hot coals of the fire, baked beans. I certainly never thought about fine dining with fresh steak, mushrooms, garlic and curry, and then a class of chilled wine. 

A wonderful perk of this book is that she not only shares what she is cooking, she actually then provides you with the recipe. That is awesome. Easy, anyone can accomplish recipes, too. One of the most inspiring things of this book is the author’s courage and her spirit on her journey. I am truly impressed. If I had to find one thing about the book that I didn’t particularly like, I would have to say that at a whopping 457 pages, it was a bit on the long side. Admittedly, my brain began to wander during the last ¼ of the book, as I grew more and more restless. Regardless of the length, I found it a very good book. Well worth my time. 

You can purchase here (both in paper and electronic formats).

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!

We're giving away one digital copy of this book, courtesy of the publisher, Patagonia Books!

How you can win? Very simple. All you have to do is to add a comment to this post with a reply to the following question: What is your favorite river? (and why..). We will have a raffle on Saturday, Dec 29, 5:00PM EST between all the readers that will reply by then. The winner will be announced the following day.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Green book review: Visit Sunny Chernobyl by Andrew Blackwell

We didn't make it last Friday but we didn't forget it's time to review another green book, so here we go - this time we're reviewing Visit Sunny Chernobyl and Other Adventures in the World's Most Polluted Places by Andrew Blackwell (published by Rodale Books).

What this book is about?
For most of us, traveling means visiting the most beautiful places on Earth—Paris, the Taj Mahal, the Grand Canyon. It’s rare to book a plane ticket to visit the lifeless moonscape of Canada’s oil sand strip mines, or to seek out the Chinese city of Linfen, legendary as the most polluted in the world. But in Visit Sunny Chernobyl, Andrew Blackwell embraces a different kind of travel, taking a jaunt through the most gruesomely polluted places on Earth.

From the hidden bars and convenience stores of a radioactive wilderness to the sacred but reeking waters of India, Visit Sunny Chernobyl fuses immersive first-person reporting with satire and analysis, making the case that it’s time to start appreciating our planet as it is—not as we wish it would be. Irreverent and reflective, the book is a love letter to our biosphere’s most tainted, most degraded ecosystems, and a measured consideration of what they mean for us.

Equal parts travelogue, expose, environmental memoir, and faux guidebook, Blackwell careens through a rogue’s gallery of environmental disaster areas in search of the worst the world has to offer—and approaches a deeper understanding of what’s really happening to our planet in the process. 

Our review:
This book had me at the title. What a great start to a fun and lively non-fiction book (which I can’t say all that often). The author, Andrew Blackwell, has quite the way with story telling in this book. 

Andrew Blackwell travels to the earth's worst polluted places but it is so much more than just that. He takes us with him on his adventures. This includes Chernobyl's highly regulated and radioactive exclusion zone, Delhi, India, for a quick trip into the Yamuna river filed with sewage, a trip up north to the sand oil mines of Fort McMurray, then onward to the Amazon, and more. This author takes part in his own adventure as he sails the ocean, wanders through garbage and sewage, and radioactive Kiev. Then he tells of his adventure with a wonderfully entertaining sarcastic humor that has you giggling along with him. 

This book was not just a joy to read, it was also very informative. He brings to light the ways that people all over are polluting and destroying the world and don’t even see what they are doing. It was quite eye opening and somewhat scary and sad at the same time. This is a wonderful book. I hope Mr. Blackwell continues to write more on this subject, as I will definitely be in line for more. 


You can purchase the book on Amazon.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Book review of Green Your Home: The Complete Guide to Making Your New or Existing Home Environmentally Healthy

Today we have a guest book review of “Green Your Home: The Complete Guide to Making Your New or Existing Home Environmentally Healthy” written by Taylor Dardan.

Jeanne Roberts does an excellent job of explaining different ways to make your home environmentally friendly in this suggested bookstore purchase. In the 2008 release from Atlantic Publishing Company, Roberts does a great job of setting the tone for the rest of the book by explaining the evaporating resources of the earth at this moment. She then goes on to explain the main reason the energy and fuel are diminishing is because of inflated use of our resources.

Essentially this set up allows Roberts to name a great number of things that will help to reverse escalating temperature and the cut in our natural resources. Roberts’ structure of using large references at first is very effective, because it puts the reader in perspective. She is able to draw the reader’s attention to the world’s large scale problems, then goes on to talk about the detailed ways to make your own impact on the major issues. Among the things Roberts suggested were filling the home with eco-friendly appliances and using incandescent light bulbs to help cut down on the overall utility costs at home.

Roberts’ transition from global effect to work at home is excellent. She touches on how the most important aspect of going green is evaluating your own things and moving forward from there. Her description points towards the fact that making little changes at first is the best way to adapt to an eco-friendly lifestyle. She says that it would be more valuable to see what you can replace and reuse around your home, rather than take a large undertaking. Among her tips, she claimed that switching out appliances or household cleaners and other things that could be replaced for little to no cost in the long run were great things to start with around the house.

In the most detail possible, Jeanne Roberts also explains some of the more detailed levels in which you can take to make your home more sustainable and green. Among the things she describes is the process for replacing your roof or using eco friendly insulation and how they can have multiple benefits to your own home. Not only will they help with sustainability, but they could end up preventing possible things like radon, asbestos exposure, and volatile organic compounds.

Within the book, Roberts does an outstanding job of covering all the bases of making your home more eco-friendly. She not only describes small, simple steps but also delves into a number of larger projects that people could be interested in as well. Her ability to touch on nearly all the aspects of going green at home make this a great option for anyone looking into an environmental book, especially for someone wanting to get some good tips. Along with an excellent structure for providing the reader both knowledge and tips, Roberts ability to go into great detail with multiple methods of going green makes this a great purchase option in the bookstore.

Vapor Trails is an EcoThriller for Mystery Lovers and Environmentalists Alike

Guest book review by Jen Boynton

I was eager to read RP Siegel’s eco thriller Vapor Trails (co-written with the accomplished Roger Saillant) because RP is one of our star writers at Triple Pundit. He consistently delivers well written, insightful blog posts that demonstrate a solid understanding of sustainable business and everything that is right and wrong with the way our economy runs. He makes me think. Plus, I’m a sucker for a mystery novel.

A successful commentator on sustainable business news does not necessarily make skilled novelist, especially one who can deliver a juicy beach read like an eco thriller, so I wasn’t sure what I’d get. I’m pleased to announce that all in all Vapor Trails is a very satisfying read from a mystery standpoint, while providing a crash course in sustainability principals that’s accessible for the uninitiated but not boring for sustainability experts.

Vapor Trails begins with the stories of members of the sustainability community from many walks of life descending on a sustainability conference in New Orleans. The cast includes Jacob Walker the anarchist bike mechanic who cycles to the conference all the way from Portland, OR, and Mason Burnside the executive from Splendid Oil who has just been banished to the sustainability department for a PR gaffe involving an oil spill in Ecuador. With such caricatures in place the story starts off with a moralistic tone. Mason gains new understanding about why his company’s work is harmful, which might cause a few readers eyes to roll ever so slightly. The fable reaches new heights as we learn that the conference is actually taking place on the eve of Hurricane Katrina and the characters witness the devastation first hand and must rely on one-another to survive.

Luckily, the relationships between the characters deepen after they leave New Orleans, and they change from caricatures to uniquely motivated characters in their own rights.

The plot also quickly deepens when the thriller component of this “eco-thriller” gets introduced in the second half of the book. Readers are led on a hunt for a member of the sustainability team at Splendid Oil who has mysteriously disappeared without a trace, quite possibly at the hands of executives who’d prefer to sweep his earnest brand of sustainability under the rug. Eco-dangers associated with another Splendid Oil project come to light as the team tries to trace their missing friend. The reasons for his sudden departure will keep even experienced environmentalists guessing, all the while the story and the plot are deep, specific and believable.

The pace of the book quickens throughout, ending in a chase that will keep readers quickly turning pages until the very end.

Overall, this was a very satisfying read for environmentalists and mystery lovers alike and I highly recommend it.

Jen Boynton is Editor in Chief at Triple Pundit.

We have a winner on our giveaway of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Composting"

We have a winner on our giveaway of the "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Composting"!

Following our review of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Composting" by Chris McLaughlin, we asked you to share with us what you like most about composting and if you don't compost yet, what you think you'll like about it once you start.

We got interesting replies and we have a winner! Our winner is Julie Kieras who wrote:

What I like most about composting is that my husband does all the work! haha kidding - I like that when we compost we reduce our garbage, return energy to the earth, and improve our gardens! My hubby would love to read this book!

Congrats Julie! You won a copy of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Composting" and we'll also plant a tree for this book! Thank you also for all the rest of the participants!

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading

We have a winner on our giveaway of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beekeeping"

We have a winner on our giveaway of the " The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beekeeping"!

Following our review of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beekeeping" by Dean Stiglitz and Laurie Herboldsheimer, we asked you to share with us if you would consider beekeeping.

We got interesting replies and we have a winner! Our winner is nfmgirl who wrote:

Absolutely I'd consider it! I actually know a beekeeper who has a small honey business. I live in South Florida surrounded by orange groves and bee hives!

Congrats nfmgirl! You won a copy of " The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beekeeping" and we'll also plant a tree for this book! Thank you also for all the rest of the participants!

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading

The green book of the week: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beekeeping (including a giveaway!)

Today we have a book about one of the most hottest trends that is buzzing around!

Our book is:

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beekeeping

Author: Dean Stiglitz and Laurie Herboldsheimer

Publisher: Alpha

Published on: May 2010

What this book is about?
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beekeeping has all the information a beginA-ning beekeeper needs to know to start a hive and keep it buzzing. Expert beekeepers Dean Stiglitz and Laurie Herboldsheimer, owners of Golden Rule Honey, take readers step by step through the entire process-from information on the inhabitants of a hive and how it works to collecting bees, keeping them healthy, raising a queen, harvesting honey and wax, and storA-ing hives for the off- season.

What we think about it?

The popularity of beekeeping keeps growing. The Telegraph reported last month, for example, that "A new trend among the middle classes for keeping bees has doubled the number of hives over the last two years". According to the British British Beekeepers Association (BBKA), the increase had partly been driven by concern for the environment and the recent fashion for grow-your-own food.

And it's on the other side of the ocean as well. Epoch Times reported on May about "Landmarks across North America becoming hives of activity", mentioning that "beekeeping became legal in New York City in March, much to the delight of the hundreds of residents who had been keeping bees in violation of the city’s health code. San Francisco has an abundance of apiaries, mostly on condo and apartment rooftops. The South Lawn of the White House boasts an apiary, as do Chicago’s City Hall, the Paris Opera House, and London’s upscale food emporium Fortnum & Mason."

And the benefits of making your urban surroundings buzzing? Adam Aston who documents his experiences and observations as a novice beekeeper in the urban jungle at Bees NYC explains: "The benefits of urban beekeeping are substantial. Despite the conventional view of the city as a slough of pollution, urban honey is likely to have significantly less chemical residue than commercial honey made beyond the boroughs...Local honey will benefit the health of the planet as well: minor transportation costs, no-fuss manufacturing (courtesy of the bees), minimal processing, simple recyclable packaging and centralized retailing provide a model of effective, low-carbon production and distribution."

So as you can see 'The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beekeeping' was released in a perfect timing. The buzz is already here and many people wants to learn more about beekeeping, or at least better understand if they can or should get into it. Well, this book is definitely a good place to get some replies.

As always with this series, this book covers all the basics - information on bees, essential gear, where to get your bees, what they eat, how to inspect your hive and even what they call 'Bee Sex 101' (Did you know that when a drone mates with a queen his sexual organ explodes and he dies??). And as with many other books in the series, this book provides you enough information you need to establish knowledge about the subject, so if you're becoming serious about it, you can go to stage two - going to experts and asking questions.

But let's go back for a second to stage 1 - the basics. Keep in mind that beekeeping is more complicated than learning how to grow tomatoes in your back yard, but at the same time, it's not rocket science. Still, there's a lot to learn - as the authors write in the introduction to the book: "No matter the accumulated knowledge, no matter the sophistication of the tools, every answers we get yields countless questions. The closer we look, the deeper we go, and it never seems to end. This is the nature of the honeybee."

The book definitely makes an attempt to address all the challenges involved with beekeeping, and full with useful information, easy to navigate and full with interesting facts that makes it more than just a practical guide. It's not National Geographic on bees, but still I found myself learning a lot. Here's for example one practical advice I hope I won't have to use: "For normal pain an itching from bee stings, try applying a poultice of plantain leaf... A common "home remedy" is a paste of baking soda and water."

Bottom Line: If you're considering to join the buzz, but don't really know too much about bees, this is the book for you.

Disclosure: We received a copy of this book from the publisher.

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!

We're giving away our review copy of this book, courtesy of the publisher.

How you can win? Very simple. All you have to do is to add a comment with an answer to the following question: Would you consider beekeeping? We will have a raffle on Saturday, July 24, 5:00PM EST between all the readers that will add their reply. The winner will be announced the following day.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

We have a winner on our giveaway of "The Real Man's Guide to Fixin' Stuff"

We have a winner on our giveaway of the "The Real Man's Guide to Fixin' Stuff"!

Following our review of "The Real Man's Guide to Fixin' Stuff: How to Repair Anything You Need (or Just Want) to Know How to Fix" by Nick Harper. We asked you to share with us what was the last thing that you have fixed.

We got many interesting replies and we have a winner! Our winner is Danielle a.k.a Yellie who wrote:

I fixed my vacuum. My son ran over a guitar string that had broke on his guitar and he had just thrown on the floor and ended up running over with the vacuum. He knew it was bad when he heard the crazy noise it made. Fortunately it sounded worse than it really was and after I unwound it from the brush, it was all good. He's lucky because it was our Dyson that we seriously splurged to have.

Congrats Danielle! You won a copy of "The Real Man's Guide to Fixin' Stuff" and we'll also plant a tree for this book. Thank you also for all the rest of the participants!

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading

Green book of the week: The Real Man's Guide to Fixin' Stuff (and a giveaway!)

Today we have a book that wants to help us keeping our stuff working. Real men according to this book don't throw broken stuff to the trash or even recycle them. They fix them.

Our book is:

The Real Man's Guide to Fixin' Stuff: How to Repair Anything You Need (or Just Want) to Know How to Fix

Author: Nick Harper

Nick Harper is the author of Man Skills, and is the features editor for FourFourTwo, Britain's biggest-selling soccer magazine, and writes for Men's Health, The Guardian, Q, and FHM. He lives in England.

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Published on: May 2010

What this book is about?
Real men know how to fix stuff…or at least, when something around the house breaks, it gets handed to the nearest guy to fix it. So if you don’t know a light socket from a socket wrench, this book will have you looking like Mr. Fix It in no time. No longer will you think that something isn’t worth fixing or that it would be cheaper to replace. You’ll be able to fix: Dead remote controls, leaking showers, car scratches, weak vacuum cleaners, your lady’s busted heel or purse, and much more

What we think about it?
Nick Harper writes in the introduction to this book:

"Back in the good old days, things were made properly, pieced together with pride. Now, however, everything's put together on conveyor belts by robots (probably) and you're lucky if it lasts six months before breaking down on you.

You don't complain tough, do you? No, you just throw it away and buy a new one. And when that breaks in six months' time, you throw that away and buy a new one. And when that breaks, the sorry cycle continues: The manufacturer gets richer, you get poorer, and the giant landfill gets ever higher; It's a terrible business."

Sounds very much like the Story of Stuff, right? But unlike Annie Leonard, Nick Harper is not here to explain us the big picture, he is here to help us fix every little detail in it.

I'm not handy, I admit it. But I always wanted to know more, not to mention the envy I have in people who can fix almost everything. I want to be like them! So I was very excited to see Harper's book with the promise of learning how to become a real mean who knows how to fix stuff (by the way - what about real women? I know many women who can do this stuff much better than men - do they have a different book?).

And the book definitely keeps its promise. Although today you can google any problem you have or look for the right YouTube that will guide you how to fix it, this book is definitely a valuable resource, with tons of how-to tips that are described in a simple language. You can find there electrical stuff (fix a broken key on a computer), Kitchen Conundrums (Sharpen a can opener), Furniture (fix squeaky stairs), Garden guidance (rescue rusting tools) and more.

I haven't had the chance to try any of these tips yet, but I looked into some issues I had recently like how to fix a toilet that won't flush and I find Harper's explanations very reliable. I like his systematic approach which I find a necessity especially for less-skilled people such as myself.

In all, we need to remember that keeping our stuff working is really a win-win offer, as it's better both for the environment and the wallet, not to mention the satisfaction you'll get from knowing that you don't need to depend on anyone but yourself to keep your stuff working.

Bottom Line: If you like your stuff and you want to keep them alive more than just six months or so, this book is for you (no matter if you want to be a real man or a real woman).

Disclosure: We received a copy of this book from the publisher.

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!

We're giving away our review copy of this book, courtesy of the publisher.

How you can win? Very simple. All you have to do is to add a comment with an answer to the following question: What was the last thing you fixed? We will have a raffle on Monday, July 5, 5:00PM EST between all the readers that will add their reply. The winner will be announced the following day.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

The green book of the week: Farm to Fork (or: How to eat well when you watch the World Cup)

Just in time for the 2010 World Cup, we have a great book on local food that will make sure your mouth will be filled with delicous local food the next time you shout goalllllllllll to your TV screen.

Our book is:

Farm to Fork: Cooking Local, Cooking Fresh

Author: Emeril Lagasse

Chef Emeril Lagasse is the chef/proprietor of 10 restaurants, including three in New Orleans, Louisiana (Emeril’s, NOLA, and Emeril’s Delmonico); three in Las Vegas, Nevada (Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House, Delmonico Steakhouse, and Table 10); two in Orlando, Florida (Emeril’s Orlando and Tchoup Chop); one in Miami, Florida (Emeril’s Miami Beach), and one in Gulfport, Mississippi (Emeril’s Gulf Coast Fish House).

Lagasse is a national TV personality, has hosted over 1,500 shows on the Food Network, and is the food correspondent for ABC’s Good Morning America. He is the host of Emeril Green, a new series exploring fresh and seasonal ingredients on Discovery Communications’ Planet Green, an eco-lifestyle network. His show, Essence of Emeril, can be seen on Food Network, and Emeril Live appears on both the Fine Living network and Food Network.

Publisher: HarperStudio

Published on: June 2010

What this book is about?
In this extraordinary new book, Emeril Lagasse continues his lifelong commitment to using fresh, local ingredients in his restaurants and home kitchen. He has spent the past thirty years building close relationships with farmers, fishermen, and ranchers. Farm to Fork is his guide to help you explore the great local bounty through fifteen flavorful chapters—sweet summer in "The Three Sisters: Corn, Beans, and Squash," juicy "Berries, Figs, and Melons," sublime naturally raised meats in "Out on the Range," fresh catch in "Fresh Off the Dock," and home canning tips from "Home Economics: Preserving the Harvest."

Fill your basket with the ripest ingredients from every season at the markets (or your backyard garden) and dig into delicious recipes such as Sweet Potato Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter, Cheesy Creole Tomato Pie, Honey-Brined Pork Chops with Nectarine Chutney, Watermelon Rind Crisp Sweet Pickles, and Rhubarb Strawberry Crisp. Even learn how to make your own cheese and pasta at home. Emeril shares his love for fresh from-the-fields foods—and the heritage of the artisans who bring them to the table.

What we think about it?
I don't know about you, but for me these days are all about soccer. Yes, the world cup has started and it's one big colorful festival that puts everything aside. Except food of course, because a) we still need to eat something and b) somehow watching 22 players running on the field makes me hungry..

If you add to that the fact that I joined this year a CSA program and just started receiving weekly shipments of fresh vegetables and fruits from Calvert Farm, you can understand that Emeril's book came just in time for me.

So for example, last week we got beets. I opened the index and went straight to page 183, where I had a great recipe of beet "Caviar", which looked not only creative, but quite easy to deal with. And easy it was. Just in time for a light lunch during the game between the U.S. and England last Saturday. It was really delicious and I have to admit I enjoyed it more than the game..

Next came the roasted tomato tapenade with tomatoes from Newark's farmers market and some herbs from the back yard that went pretty well with Germany - Australia on Sunday. It was a great game (or at least a game with many goals) with some great food!

But even if you're not enjoying the world cup, I'm sure you will enjoy Emeril's new book. It is a local food celebration with creative yet not too complicated recipes that even those of us who aren't natural candidates for top chef can handle.

Last but not least, I want to mention Steven Freeman's beautiful photos that make you hungry as well as get you to the kitchen to start cooking right away.

Bottom Line: If you see the world cup and enjoys food, don't think twice!

Disclosure: We received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Green Book of the week: The Complete Hawaiian Reef Fish Coloring Book by Monika Mira

We're getting ready for the World Oceans Day that will be celebrated tomorrow with a great book that helps making the identification of fish a fun experience for kids.

Our book is:

The Complete Hawaiian Reef Fish Coloring Book

Author: Monika Mira

Monika Mira's passion for marine life conservation began nearly 15 years ago when she volunteered to identify fishes at the UH Sea Grant information desk at Hanauma Bay. At that time, she found that it was easier to learn to identify the fishes if she painted or illustrated them. These initial illustrations became the inspiration for The Complete Hawaiian Reef Fish Coloring Book.

Since then, Monika has worked on numerous projects to help conserve Hawaii’s natural resources. Besides teaching marine science to grades 6-12, she has been part of a team that regularly assesses the health of Hawaiian Streams based on their biological integrity. She has been painting and drawing since she can remember. Her paintings and illustrations have appeared in newsletters, on T-shirts and on greeting cards both here in Hawaii and on the mainland. The Complete Hawaiian Reef Fish Coloring Book offered her the perfect opportunity to combine her talents.

Publisher: Lucid Publishing

Published on: November 2009

What this book is about?
The Complete Hawaiian Reef Fish Coloring Book includes over 200 colorable illustrations to help the reader learn to identify over 80 species of fish. Each illustration is accompanied by a complete description of the fish, including the scientific, common and Hawaiian names. Their anatomical features, coloration, body designs, feeding habits and reproductive strategies are also explained in a fully illustrated section devoted to these topics. In addition, an overview of coral reef ecology is provided to help the reader understand the relationship between the fishes and the coral reef and the importance of conservation.

What we think about it?
I went on Saturday to the beach (Rehoboth Beach in Delaware) and had the amazing experience of watching two beautiful whales swimming very close to the beach. It was not too difficult to recognize that these are whales (they're huge!), but when it comes to smaller fish, there's definitely a challenge to identify them. Then you need a guide such as the Complete Hawaiian Reef Fish Coloring Book.

And this is not a regular guide. The author does a great effort to keep it not only educational, but also fun. I like the whole idea of a coloring book and I think it makes the identification process much more interesting for kids (and their parents as well..) and get them to not only better understand the scientific information about the fish, but also appreciate the richness of the marine world.

This book is of course dedicated to the Hawaiian reef fish, but I think it would be a great book for kids who are curious to learn more about fish, even if they don't go for a vacation in Hawaii. The information in the book is very interesting and enlightening and there's also a useful glossary at the end of the book.

I also want to mention that this book is printed in the US on recycled paper (30% PCW) to better reflect the author and publisher's environmental philosophy.

Bottom Line: A great book to give your kids the next time you go to the beach!

Disclosure: We received a copy of this book from the author.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!