I’m getting increasingly curious about my stuff and its impact on planet earth. So I’ve decided to do a little research every now and again to find out. And I’m going to document my findings here. Which hopefully will help inspire me and others to make more informed choices and the stuff we buy, use and eat. I’m sure many of the things I’m curious about, other people are curious about.
And in a way it’s a bit like my carbon offset scheme. If I can inspire a few folk to change their habits for the better then I’ve sort of offset some of my own footprint.
Just so as you know, I’m not a professional in this area and have no special insights. I have read a few books on the subject. But basically it’s just a hobby. I’m just a ordinary guy doing and using fairly ordinary stuff. But I think that’s the point. You probably are too.
Are you curious? Oh good.
Inspiration
Here are some of the books and other things that have inspired me. Some of the facts and figures I mention may well have come from these.
Confessions of an Eco Sinner – Fred Pearce
A fantastic book by a guy who writes for New Scientist and The Telegraph. He’s traveled around the world to find out where his stuff came from. It’s inspiring, thought provoking, interesting and moving in equal measure. A bit like a travel book, not preachy, debunks many a myth and is extremely well written. A must read.
The Hot Topic – Gabrielle Walker and Sir David King
How to stop climate change and still keep the lights on. An excellent book by the guy who was Tony Blair’s chief scientific adviser and persuaded him that climate change was happening. The first third explains the science in straight forwardly stark terms It firmly puts to bed any doubts you may have and gets quite scarey. But the rest is relentlessly positive and inspiring. It explains how we have the technology to fix the problem. And goes on to explain the political solutions that exists to help make it happen. There’s a quote on the cover that says this book is exactly what the world needs right now and it’s spot on.
Shades of Green – Paul Waddington
A great little A-Z book giving you the low down on many of the things we consume in our everyday life. Called shades of green as it gives advice from “Deep green” for those wanting to go to extremes all the way through different shades to “Pale green” and then “Not even a bit green”. A great reference book you can dip in that gives you the facts in a digestible way.
The Rough Guide to Ethical Living
A great addition to the Rough Guide series giving you an, ahem, Rough Guide to many of the issues related to ethical consumerism. Not only does it give easy to digest advice on the full gamet of everyday issues, it gives good suggestions of good businesses and websites to try.
Howies is a clothes shop (online and real). They have a great ethos and try to run their business a sustainable way as possible. They’re catalogue is well worth a read – informative and interesting, with extra bits of info. It’s inspiring. I think the way to change the world is to create real businesses that do stuff in the right way. Change stuff by doing.
