Ready, Set, Green: Eight Weeks to Modern Eco-Living

Chapter 1

1

The Future Is Green

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Look out your window. What do you see? A paved street and electrical wires? Meadows and birds? A farm full of cows? Whatever surrounds you, that's the environment. And whether it was created by Mother Nature or the municipal works department, humans aren't separate from it. Just as hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes have an effect on our well-being, we have an effect on nature, polluting water via our factories and homes, reducing mountains to piles of coal that we burn for energy, packing landfills with our used-up cars and electronics packaging. Luckily, it turns out we also have the power to clean up after ourselves.

At TreeHugger.com, the website dedicated to modern green living, we believe that cutting-edge ideas, technology, and design-and, more important, people with the right attitude-can help save the environment. This book was conceived to help readers develop an understanding of existing eco dilemmas, and to empower them to help reverse the problems. We don't have all the answers; no one does. But we believe that individuals do have the power to "green" the planet. Your dollars count. Your vote counts. Your actions count. And when millions of people do the right thing, it can have a serious impact.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF ENVIRONMENTALISM

In the mid-eighteenth century, the industrial revolution changed life as humans knew it. Local economies that produced and sold goods made primarily from biodegradable parts gave way to economies of mass- produced items that could be shipped all over the world. It was a time of great achievement and hope, but also of great innocence and ignorance-when people could not fathom that natural resources could someday become scarce or even dry up altogether.

By the late 1800s and early 1900s, the need for land conservation became apparent to people such as John Muir and President Theodore Roosevelt, the latter of whom set aside more land for national parks and nature preserves-194 million acres by 1909-than all his predecessors combined. It wasn't until the 1960s, however, that the modern environmental movement was born. Utopian idealists dreamed of living off the land and sticking it to the man. Their goals were lofty, but extremists pushed the movement to the fringe. At the same time, environmentalism became fragmented. Various factions debated the value of the natural environment and its relationship to human progress: Does nature exist to serve humankind, or vice versa? Does man have an ethical obligation to protect nature? If so, should he do so for his own benefit, or should he preserve nature for its own sake?

Today these questions have become scientific and economic queries about biodiversity, human health, and natural capital. Because we now know that we are depleting and polluting our most essential raw materials-such as water, forests, petroleum, and clean air- environmentalism has taken on a new personality in the twenty-first century. We've arrived at a point where philosophical and political issues can be put aside. We know scientifically that we must collectively come together to rethink the way things are done. To our credit, we've tackled other eco challenges: When scientists told us that the ozone layer-the part of the atmosphere that protects the Earth from the sun's harmful UV rays-was being depleted, humans stepped up to the plate and developed s

A practical, do-it-yourself guide to green living explains how to incorporate an eco-friendly approach to every aspect of one's life, with tips on how to make eco-savvy choices at the grocery store, at the car dealership, or when cleaning the house, while promoting a healthier lifestyle--and bank account. Original. 40,000 first printing.

The time to save the planet is now.

Ready? Set? Green! Living green means reversing climate change, but it also means protecting your kids and pets, improving your own health, and saving money. And it doesn’t necessarily demand a radical overhaul of your life–just some simple adjustments, such as switching to healthier cleaning products and driving fewer miles each week.

Written by the visionaries at Treehugger.com, the most heavily trafficked site of its kind, Ready, Set, Green is the definitive (and recyclable) guide to modern green living. It offers solutions to make your home, office, car, and vacation more eco-friendly. For example:

• Using a dishwasher instead of hand washing will save you 5,000 gallons of water annually.

• Eating less beef will save you 250 pounds of CO2 per year.

• Washing your clothes in cold water instead of hot will save 200 pounds of CO2 annually.

• Replacing three of your home’s most frequently used lightbulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs will save 300 pounds of CO2 every year.

Including advice on how to properly insulate your house, cancel junk mail, and choose fruits and veggies wisely, Ready, Set, Green will help you change the future of the planet and restore balance to your daily life.