logo
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 22,934
Likes: 4
BellaOnline Editor
Highest Posting Power Known to Humanity
OP Offline
BellaOnline Editor
Highest Posting Power Known to Humanity
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 22,934
Likes: 4
Change the World for Ten Bucks - a book review

We all want to help the world become a better place - but most of us are struggling to pay our food and electricity bills. We can't donate thousands of dollars to drill wells for the 1.1 billion people with no access to clean water. What can we do to help?

That's where this book comes in. This is not a scholarly tome. It is simply 50 short ideas - each with a photo or two - to get you started. None of these ideas are rocket science, but even if just one new idea gets you thinking, the book has done its job.

Item 1. Use reusable shopping bags. Surely everyone has heard this by now! I have numerous shopping bags that I carry with me. If someone is still getting disposable plastic bags, hopefully this reminder will get them to finally stop doing that.

Item 3. Use energy-efficient light bulbs. Again, isn't everyone doing this? Why would they not do it? It saves you money, it saves the world ecology!

Other tips might be more fresh. Learn first aid. Statistics show the person you're most likely to save is a family member or friend! Talk about an incredibly valuable way to help your immediate community. The Red Cross holds training sessions all the time.

I do have an issue with item #8. This is "take a bath with someone you love" and has a series of line drawing pictures of a naked woman having sex with a guy. Her breasts are often visible and they are in obvious sexual positions. This two page spread instantly makes this book NOT appropriate for kids and that makes it lose a star for me. It greatly reduces the audience I'd feel comfortable recommending the book to.

I also have to complain that tip 39 is to unplug your cell phone charger when not in use. Tip 12 was to unplug appliances when not in use. Tip 21 was to turn off lights when not in use. Surely these could be a single tip and we'd have two more spots for much more "unusual" ideas?

Action 40 is simply a list of URLs to go to. harley-davidson.com? lasvegasfanclub.com? I can understand the links to PBS and the peace corp, but the go-green value of many of the rest are less clear.

I always feel a twinge of annoyance when a book like this lists as one of its tips to "give copies of this book to every single person you meet!!!" (quote mine, not theirs). That's not valid to me.

And, even though they say to eat local, they also say "hang up your hunting rifle". If someone is going to eat meat, isn't it far more ecologically sound for them to shoot their own deer in their back yard and use every inch of the meet? I'm not a hunter myself, but I see some disconnect in their messages.

So the summary? I love the idea. I love that while most of us know most of these things, there will always be a random new idea that speaks to you. They want to cover all the bases so a person new to living greenly can get a good grounding. However, some of the tips concern me. They could have done a much better job making 50 completely distinct tips that really got people thinking. They also could have done it in a 100% family friendly manner.


Lisa Shea, Low Carb and Video Games Editor
Low Carb Forum
Sponsored Post Advertisement
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 3,708
BellaOnline Editor
Zebra
Offline
BellaOnline Editor
Zebra
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 3,708
#8 could have been bathe your young children together instead. When my brother & I were really little - like ages 3 & 4. My mom would stick us both in the bathtub. Probably not very politically correct nowadays, but you could put two siblings of the same gender in the same bathtub...

Unplug certain appliances including chargers does save energy, but I agree it could be put under one tip like:

#39 Unplug appliances when not in use. For example, coffee makers, toasters, cell phone chargers, battery chargers, etc

Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 22,934
Likes: 4
BellaOnline Editor
Highest Posting Power Known to Humanity
OP Offline
BellaOnline Editor
Highest Posting Power Known to Humanity
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 22,934
Likes: 4
Yes right we should all have all plug-in devices on power strips if they are constant on off types of things, so we can completely disconnect them when not in use! It's amazing how much power a TV sucks for example even when it's off.

I bathed with my sister all the time! Until we were 12 or 13 I think.


Lisa Shea, Low Carb and Video Games Editor
Low Carb Forum
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 14,392
BellaOnline Editor
Highest Posting Power Known to Humanity
Offline
BellaOnline Editor
Highest Posting Power Known to Humanity
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 14,392
I like the first aid idea - we can really help our own families and communities. smile

Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 17,644
Highest Posting Power Known to Humanity
Offline
Highest Posting Power Known to Humanity
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 17,644
Bathing young ones together is a good idea to save water the heating costs. Also, those little lights on the microwave and other appliances do use up watts and should be turned off when not in use. It is a good idea anyway to unplug appliances when not in use. Have you ever been in an electrical storm when lightning hits your house and bounces around to all the appliances that are plugged in? I have and it is a very scary thing to experience watching those bolts fly around and hope they don't hit you!


Walk in Peace and Harmony.
Phyllis Doyle Burns
Avatar: Fair Helena by Rackham, Public Domain

Moderated by  Farjana_Environment_Ed 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Brand New Posts
Make It Sew Easier
by Cheryl - Sewing Editor - 03/27/24 04:34 PM
2024 - on this day in the past ...
by Mona - Astronomy - 03/27/24 01:31 PM
Planner Template Kit - Weekly Layout Template
by Digital Art and Animation - 03/26/24 07:39 PM
Planner Template Kit - Yearly Layout Template
by Digital Art and Animation - 03/26/24 07:37 PM
How to Use Digital Planner Template Kit
by Digital Art and Animation - 03/26/24 07:36 PM
Review - 20 Illustrator Color tips Helen Bradley
by Digital Art and Animation - 03/26/24 07:32 PM
March Equinox to June Solstice
by Mona - Astronomy - 03/26/24 12:27 PM
Hobotrader unleashes never seen opportunity with i
by Jamal molla - 03/26/24 11:55 AM
Psalm for the day
by Angie - 03/25/24 09:05 AM
Genealogy, Sort of
by Angie - 03/24/24 05:39 PM
Sponsor
Safety
We take forum safety very seriously here at BellaOnline. Please be sure to read through our Forum Guidelines. Let us know if you have any questions or comments!
Privacy
This forum uses cookies to ensure smooth navigation from page to page of a thread. If you choose to register and provide your email, that email is solely used to get your password to you and updates on any topics you choose to watch. Nothing else. Ask with any questions!


| About BellaOnline | Privacy Policy | Advertising | Become an Editor |
Website copyright © 2022 Minerva WebWorks LLC. All rights reserved.


Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5