Go Green by Nancy H. Taylor
August 10th, 2008Title: Go Green
Author: Nancy H. Taylor
Publisher: Gibbs Smith Publisher (2008)
This was a cute book. I mean literally cute…as in printed on recycled paper and on tiny pages. I enjoyed it. As you can imagine, Go Green:How to Build an Earth-Friendly Community by Nancy H. Taylor is a book teaching you how to live your life in a manner that is better for the environment. I know “living green” is a pretty hot topic today and it can bring out some pretty strong opinions. (For example, I have a friend who refuses to use the word “green” when discussing these things. He prefers “environmentally better” or something crazy like that. I forget exactly what it is.) And any discussion of global warming tends to bring out the worst in people. I think the phrase “carbon footprint” was used about 1000 times in this book, but for the most part I enjoyed it.
The book takes a logical path from things that can be easily implemented in your own life - to green hospitals and schools. If you have been paying attention at all the past couple years, you should know the easy stuff. Change your light bulbs to CFL’s. Turn the faucet off when brushing your teeth. Heavily insulate your attic. Etc… These are all excellent ideas…especially since they are all money saving ideas…but nothing particularly earth shattering. I did find the chapters on green hospitals and schools pretty interesting, because I don’t read about those things everyday. That said, in order to have green hospital you basically do the same things as a green house. Use energy efficient lighting, geothermal water sources and mercury free thermometers (well, I guess that’s different!)
The main thesis of the book, besides following Al Gore in fighting global warming, was that you can make a difference in the “greening” of the world by getting involved in your local community. A lot of times one person making changes is too small…and it’s very hard to make changes on a macro level, but through communities it isn’t too difficult to get things accomplished. Probably my favorite parts of the book were the stories that were told about people making a difference. It makes you feel like you could actually do something to help
I enjoyed this book…it was a VERY quick read and thought provoking. At the very least, I will stop taking my helicopter to work everyday.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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