Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1259419 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Review
'An excellent primer on how to cut your contribution to climate change.' -- BBC Focus Magazine, Autumn 2005

'Brilliant work - I am a fan' -- Penney Poyzer of BBC2's 'No Waste Like Home'

'How can Reay be this wise, and still so funny? He has written a brilliant book. Read it and see.' -- Nicola Baird, Friends of the Earth

'If you're not convinced about climate change, this book will change your mind. It may even change your life.' -- Mark Lynas author of High Tide

'This is one of the most easily readable popular science books I've seen in several years. Wonderfully effective.' -- Popular Science Review, September 2005

Review

From the Publisher
This book quantifies how and why every one of us can and must halt climate change by taking action at home, in the garden, on the way to work, in the office, on holiday, at the supermarket, the bank and even the funeral parlour. Climate Change Begins at Home is an entertaining exploration of how and why we can and must halt climate change - one of greatest threats humankind faces in 21st century.

Customer Reviews

Keeping up with the Carbones
If anybody has packed more common sense into such a small space as David Reay has accomplished with this book, i've missed it. "Common sense" is the concept which supposedly governs our daily lives. However, somewhere along the way, there's been a slippage. Our lives, and that of our children, are under threat. Our common sense couldn't perceive the rapid rate of change occuring in the environment around us. Now, we must take back charge of the future. Reay isn't asking you to make drastic changes in your lifestyle to accomplish this. Instead, he demonstrates how small steps can improve our condition and make it sustainable for our children.

The author's method is well suited to the task. He invents a "typical" family of four, the Carbones, who could be your neighbours. There are John and Kate, with their two boys. Later, Kate will be discovered pregnant with Lucy. Lucy will become a guiding example for choices leading to alternative futures. Reay outlines the daily lives of the Carbones. There's getting the boys to school, John and Kate to work, and the various side trips for groceries and the like. Grandma Carbone visits from her house across town. What contribution to greenhouses gases does this lifestyle make every day? Every year? What changes can and should be made? Or can this daily round continue without modification?

Reay's answer to the last question is a resounding "No!". He provides numerous examples of visible and hidden costs that perhaps only a few of us recognise. Is your house one of the "uninsurable" residences? Insurance companies view climate change and sea level rise as inevitable and know the risks are too high for coverage. There are more direct considerations than insurance, however. What will your next automobile be? Reay suggests you review just what type of vehicle you really need. He favours the "dual-fuel" solution, since the overwhelming use of cars is local and urban. Can you resist the "upgrade" of your fridge to one that talks to you? If you need more space, is renovation more cost effective than shifting to a newer, larger residence? Finally, give thought to your workplace. How many lights, computers and other office appliances sitting there humming away drawing hydroelectric power for 24 hours per day, 365 days a year? What can you do about that?

Reay asks a good many questions of us all. He provides the reasons for the questions. One major factor behind many of them is the hidden "embodied" resource cost. That new fridge or upgraded personal computer arrived manufactured. The components, case and other parts required mining or other processing. While we're on the subject of hidden costs, what are you paying in "food-miles" - the shipping of foodstuffs from distant places that might just as readily be grown locally? Reay's approach isn't preachy nor does he want you to don a hair shirt of guilt over your climate impact. He does, however, urge immediate consideration of what you can do to reduce that effect. The choices are all yours, not his. However, for you, your children and for the rest of us, it's important that you confront the issue and make the decisions. The Carbones considered them carefully and implemented them without significant lifestyle adjustment. Can you keep up with the Carbones? [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

What can I do about global warming? Here's the answer
Climate change can seem like a huge and abstract subject, a topic for politicians and scientists. This book attempts to bring things down to the level of the individual and the family.

There are the familiar predictions of life in the mid-21st century, if nothing is done about global warming. Sea levels will rise because of melting ice caps, flooding thousands of square miles of coastlines, displacing millions of people. Americans who live anywhere near the coast will find it increasingly hard, or impossible, to get flood insurance. Temperate climates will move north. Tropical climates will become hotter and more uninhabitable.

This book also visits the Carbone's, a typical family living in the American southeast. They own an SUV, and the two young sons live for video games and computers. The air conditioner is continually running all summer, the electronics are usually left on all day, and the SUV frequently has one occupant. The author looks at Mrs. Carbone starting an herb and vegetable garden in the back yard, Mr. Carbone becoming more environmentally aware at work, and the SUV being traded in for a smaller car.

The energy saving suggestions in this book may seem like common sense, but they bear repeating. Trade in your gas-guzzler for a more fuel-efficient car. If practical, consider mass transit. Start a vegetable garden, then start a compost pile. If your home or office computer needs to be on all day, use the monitor's Sleep mode. Use your town's recycling system. Keep in mind the distance traveled by produce to reach your supermarket, and buy local. Also, try vacationing closer to home. When a person has died, consider a biodegradable casket (isn't the intention that the body be returned to the soil?). Last but not least, buy items with less packaging or items made from recycled materials.

This book does an excellent job of bringing an abstract subject like global warming down to earth. It says a lot, in a very easy to read format. It is also pretty funny, too. What can I, or my family, do about global warming? Here is the answer.

Great book
It really makes one think about how every single person is responsible for global warming and the changes on our planet. Definetely worth reading!