How Bad Are Bananas?: The Carbon Footprint of Everything - Softcover

Berners-Lee, Mike

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1553658310 ISBN 13: 9781553658313

Publisher: Greystone Books, 2011

Synopsis

Is it more environmentally friendly to ride the bus or drive a hybrid car? In a public washroom, should you dry your hands with paper towel or use the air dryer? And how bad is it really to eat bananas shipped from South America?

Climate change is upon us whether we like it or not. Managing our carbon usage has become a part of everyday life and we have no choice but to live in a carbon-careful world. The seriousness of the challenge is getting stronger, demanding that we have a proper understanding of the carbon implications of our everyday lifestyle decisions. However most of us don't have sufficient understanding of carbon emissions to be able to engage in this intelligently.

Part green-lifestyle guide, part popular science, How Bad Are Bananas? is the first book to provide the information we need to make carbon-savvy purchases and informed lifestyle choices, and to build carbon considerations into our everyday thinking. It also helps put our decisions into perspective with entries for the big things (the World Cup, volcanic eruptions, and the Iraq war) as well as the small (email, ironing a shirt, a glass of beer). And it covers the range from birth (the carbon footprint of having a child) to death (the carbon impact of cremation). Packed full of surprises-a plastic bag has the smallest footprint of any item listed, while a block of cheese is bad news-the book continuously informs, delights, and engages the reader.

Highly accessible and entertaining, solidly researched and referenced, packed full of easily digestible figures, catchy statistics, and informative charts and graphs, How Bad Are Bananas? is doesn't tell people what to do, but it will raise awareness, encourage discussion, and help people to make up their own minds based on their own priorities.

About this title

About the Author:

Mike Berners-Lee is a leading carbon consultant and author of How Bad Are Bananas?, one of the bestselling green books of recent years.

Review:

· Winner of the 2012 Green BOok Festival Award

"deftly blends intelligence with entertainment, perhaps creating a unique genre: a page-turner for the climate conscious." Publishers Weekly

This informative book provides a workable way to think about how the elements of modern society and individual decisions contribute toward the insidious increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels--the "footprint"--that is the major contributor to global warming Recommended. All levels/libraries” Choice Reviews

"I can't remember the last time I read a book that was more fascinating and useful and enjoyable." Bill Bryson

"An engaging book that manages to present serious science without preaching." New Scientist

About this edition

• Publisher: Greystone Books
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1553658310
• ISBN 13: 9781553658313
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256