Chicago Tribune: Tips and titles for eco living
Filed under: Earth 911 - July 22, 2007
By Tiffany Meyers | Special to the Tribune
July 22, 2007
Inspired by this column and fellow readers’ tips, Teri Wiley of Elkhart, Ind., recently started recycling — and asked us for resources to learn about living ever more environmentally conscious. Some of our favorites:
Books
- Joanna Yarrow’s chubby little book, “1,001 Ways to Save the Earth” (Chronicle Books, 384 pages, $9.95), teems with bite-size tips for effecting change on a global scale.
- Environmentalism’s a cinch with Crissy Trask’s “It’s Easy Being Green: A Handbook for Earth-Friendly Living” (Gibbs Smith, 168 pages, $12.95).
- Josh Dorfman’s “The Lazy Environmentalist: Your Guide to Easy, Stylish, Green Living” (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 271 pages, $14.95) helps chic sophisticates live in style and in harmony with the Earth.
- Alex Steffen’s 600-page “Worldchanging: A User’s Guide for the 21st Century” (Harry N. Abrams, 608 pages, $37.50), with a foreword by Al Gore and introduction by Bruce Sterling, is a compendium of emerging innovations and environmental initiatives under way across the globe (www.world changing.com).
- In the seminal “Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things” (North Point Press, 208 pages, $27.50), architect/designer William McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart team up to present their vision for a world without waste.
Web sites
- At www.computertakeback.com, read up on the “e-waste” problem, and find companies that recycle obsolete electronics.
- Earth911.org is full of community-specific information on recycling, green living, conservation and more.
- Ecomall.com, an eco-shopper’s paradise, has links to all manner of green products — from pest control to organic bed linens.
- At the Global Footprint Network’s site, footprint network.org, measure your ecological footprint — and compare it to the nation’s.
- Visit FreeCycle.org. Don’t throw out perfectly good stuff just because you no longer use it. Arrange to give it away here. And while you’re at it, snag some SWAG for yourself.
- Recycle.net. Buy, sell and trade recyclable materials (lumber or vinyl) and used items (old cell phone or sneakers) here.
- From the government, check out: U.S. Department of Energy (www.doe.gov), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (epa.gov), and ENERGY STAR (energystar.gov).