Book Review and Interview with Author Tracey Smith

As I took an over-ripe pepper and nearly full bag of mushrooms out of the fridge and set them aside for the compost bin I thought about the first few pages from Tracey Smith’s Book of Rubbish Ideas. I don’t feel good about wasting this food but at least I know it will decompose in a matter of weeks and will, in the form of home made compost, go towards growing my own next year.

But what about the other things I’ve thrown out today? A plastic bag from the celery, the coffee packet, a chocolate bar wrapper and how many other people in this country, in fact in the world, have thrown away similar waste today? I need to think more creatively around the products that come into my home and how I deal with the waste from them and this is exactly what this book is about.

How we got where we are today
Tracey starts by educating us about how waste was dealt with historically and why some methods of getting rid of our rubbish might, at first, seem sensible but is in fact wasteful in itself. She describes the steps which have led to to the dire situation we’re in today and addresses the serious issues around waste (energy consumption, landfill, pollution and climate change) whilst giving solutions at the same time.

Room-by-room waste
The bulk of the book takes you room by room (and outside) through the home and shows us how to deal with our waste in a very practical way. Its not all about recycling but thinking about how we can reduce waste in the first place. Tracey highlights that its not all down to the individual but that other parties such as manufacturers, sellers and local authorities have a great responsibility too. Throughout the book she provides excellent example letters to help us give supermarkets, local councils and other bodies a nudge in the right direction.

This environmental book is very different from others I’ve read recently which have focused on telling us which green alternative products to buy. This book questions why we have to consume in the first place and guides us in looking after the things we already have. And, in the current economic climate, that’s not only relevant for the environment but for our piggy banks too.

Full of practical ideas
With the ‘Project Box’ sections interspersed throughout Tracey provides creative tips which make you go “Oh that’s a good idea” and get exercising your crafting skills, which gets a big thumbs up from me! For further motivation the case studies give real life waste dilemmas which we all face and shows us how others have dealt with them. We also get insight into the habits and views of a few celebrities in the ‘Star Struck Celebrity Questions and Answers’ section.

GGG readers can buy the book at a discounted price from www.bookofrubbishideas.co.uk. Check out the website too for even more ideas, tips and reasons to cut the rubbish out of your life!

Interview with Tracey

Now I’m an extremely lucky GGG editor because I not only got a sneaky preview of the book but I also have an interview with the lady herself, Tracey Smith…

Q – Tracey, thank you for taking the time to talk to us. The first thing I wanted to ask you is about your inspiration. The book is absolutely jam-packed full of really useful, do-able ideas; Where do you get your inspiration and where did you learn all of these wonderful tips?
Hi Vicky – you’re welcome mate – thanks for asking me and I’m really pleased you’ve enjoyed the book! Moving onto your question, it’s 8.30pm here so I can safely say, my inspirations are all tucked up in their beds asleep! I dedicated the book to my kids and at the front of the book I say, ‘It’s for your children and your grandchildren; they are the leaders of the future’ and I meant every word. They are going to face so many sociological changes and perhaps even further climatic chaos in their lifetime. It’s our duty to help get them into the right, green groove long before they step into adulthood, so they are best prepared to lead themselves into ‘their’ future. The tips have been picked up from friends who know their onions and derived from some good old-fashioned common sense; it’s my mission to make it sexy and funky again and to get everyone leaning towards the green!

Q – Its surprising actually how much you can do to reduce, reuse and recycle in the home and really make a big difference. For those starting out, which 3 areas would you say they could focus on reducing waste first in order to have the most impact?
Well the most obvious room to pick on and have an immediate and positive effect on, would be the kitchen. Food waste still remains an enormous problem, despite the best efforts of organisations like the Love Food Hate Waste campaign. We are far too anal about sell by dates too – it’s ridiculous. The food isn’t going to explode if you go a day or two (or MORE) over that bloomin’ date! Cooking will kill anything dodgy, which is very unlikely to be residing on your newly expired food, so stop worrying about it and shove it in the oven! The BOGOFs are part of the problem though. We cannot resist a bargain and go all ‘hunter, gatherer’ and hog the other pack even if we have no intention of eating it. The best way to get over this is go shopping with a friend or neighbour, share the petrol, enjoy the experience a bit more and share those BOGOFs. You can also buy larger quantites of things and split them too, another great money saver. Of course, an extension of the Kitchen is the Garden and if you are able to make use of a composter/wormery or Bokashi, then do so! You’ll cut your bin down dramatically by doing so and you can also sling in loo roll holders, cereal boxes, hair from your brushes, cut up cotton tee shirts that are too knackered for the charity shop and much more besides. Then if you think about your cleaning materials that lurk under the sink you find another area where you can really make a difference. Ditch the chemical options and go for soda crystals, borax, bicarbonate of soda, lemons, salt, eco balls, soapnuts and essential oils, to name but a few. They are all multi purpose cleaners that will eradicate the need for the cornucopia of squirty guns that all bear the ‘X Caution Irritant’ sign on the back of the bottle…

Q – As well as giving individuals and families the tools and inspiration to reduce their rubbish you recognise the responsibilities of those in charge to make big changes too. If you could pass one law in relation to waste what would it be and why?
Oh, that’s a chunky monkey missus! I don’t know about a law, but I would like to change the constitution somewhat. I’d like to see sustainable living lessons be part (a fully integrated part) of the National Curriculum, from nursery age upwards! Kids should be learning how to cultivate and cook some delicious organic fruit and veg. They should understand and respect the importance of composting and recycling and on a scientific point, they should embrace sustainable forms of energy and be tackling the many other layers and levels to living in harmony with our volatile and beautiful planet. That would be a fantastic achievement.

Q – I really liked the celebrity ‘Q and A’ section because it gave us a little insight into how they deal with the less glamorous part of life, their rubbish. If you could ask any celebrity in the world any question about the environment who would it be and what would you ask them?
I don’t think they come under the remit of celebrities (in fact I’m quite sure they don’t) but I would like to see all our emminent politicians and leaders telling us what ‘they do’ to make a difference and they should also show us how they do it! More to the point, there should be a national telly, radio and written media campaign showing us what they and all the ‘stars’ are doing. There’s no doubt about it, the world of the A lister has enormous influence on our more humble existence and it could effect a very positive and almost overnight change on our immediate, local and global environments too.

Q – The book itself is absolutely full of so much useful advice and there is the website too. What is the future for ‘The Book of Rubbish Ideas’ and all that goes with it?
Good question. Well I’ve just started making a few short films for the website and am enjoying doing them very much. I doubt there’s a BBC series on the horizon, but hey, never say never… There will certainly be a daily entry on the website to look forward to and I’m really enjoying doing a few talks and demonstrations extolling the virtues of a bit of simple, green living and rubbish reduction. It’s great when you meet people and you see that penny dropping for them – a whole new world of green opens up which is very exciting and I love being a part of ‘their’ transition.

Tracey, thank you for your detailed and energetic answers. I look forward to seeing your short films and more in the future!

When I first agreed to review Green Chic by Christie Matheson, I admit I was not prepared to be inspired.  Aside from the fact that the book arrived with another  unrequested book from the same publisher called  “Porn Stars Secrets of Sex”,  (note- bad practice for publicists)  the idea of combining the drive for style with earth friendly tips seemed dubious.    After all, it seems almost the purpose of fashion magazines to make us perpetual consumers.

Although I have never  been much on following the latest style trends , having a family and  raising children who need the newest flair  or ever lowering  waistline to their jeans  has made me a consistent if reluctant consumer over and over again.  Green Chic offers  well researched facts and suggestions  on everything  from home care, to transportation,  and  of course the fashionista staples of clothing, hair and makeup solutions.

What made me want to go back to Green Chic, was that Matheson, admits early on to being  a new environmentalist ,  and  she shares an  authentic journey of  transforming  her own life decisions based on her research.  I appreciated the places where she choose to  give up favorite fashion practices like nail polish as well as some that she couldn’t – deodorant.   Her honest  tone made the book  feel like a conversation I would have with a friend and not a preachy  list of “should do’s”.

Where her book made a real impact in my own life choices was when I read the chapter about giving up  shopping bags.   From Christie,  I learned that  worldwide,  we use and throw away over a trillion shopping bags- Here in the US  that translates to  an average household disposing of  1000 plastic bags in a year.  Most of these bags end up in landfills where they take hundreds of years to degrade  and  because of their petroleum base they release toxic chemicals into the air, ground and water.  Even worse many bags end up in streams and rivers where they poison hundreds of thousands of animals per year.  The ten billion paper bags we use in this country, requires fourteen million trees to be cut down.  This is a problem where individual choices can go a long way.   And it felt  like a transformation of sorts, the day I decided I wasn’t  going to use another  disposable bag-paper or plastic.  So even when I have to run out to retrieve the bags from the car,  the satisfaction of  making this small but powerful change is liberating.

Feeling free from any life habit inspires you to try out others and so the slow process of change which sustains itself  also inspires itself.    Christie’s also offers some great research for Bedroom accessories, which although it didn’t include my favorite love products, made a seriously good argument for organic cotton sheets.  Another shift I plan to investigate soon.  So even if you have never thought of yourself as fashion conscious ,  Green Chic is a great resource for  making informed and thoughtful choices on a  path to making your life greener and the world a little healthier.

See the following link to purchase. www.amazon.com/Green-Chic-Saving-Earth-Style/dp/1402210825

From the age of 12 when I decided to become a vegetarian I understood and felt very strongly about the power of the consumer. Back then it was more about boycotting things (well asking my mum not to put meat in my dinner) rather than using my pocket money to protest because, really, how much weight can you throw around with a few pounds a week?

Nevertheless, now that I’m grown up with a proper bank account rather than a piggy bank those values are still important and this is why the Big Green Purse instantly appealed to me.

The aim of this book is to highlight to women the power of their spending and how they can use it in a way that is positive for the environment and for their health.

Although most of the facts and figures relate to American laws and culture the points in this book will still ring true in other countries as it tackles the issues of every day life.

The beginning of the book starts with some inspiring stories of how consumers have already effected change in the manufacture of products such as cars, nail polish and tea. Diane then asks her readers to pledge to shift $1,000 of their annual spending to green products. That’s roughly £500 right now for us in the UK and I think entirely ‘do-able’ especially when you think of all of the areas of spending covered in your life and this book:

• Cosmetics and personal care products
• Cars
• Food and drink
• Cleaning products
• Gardening
• Kid’s stuff
• Electricals
• Home decoration and furnishings

There is a strong theme on personal health as well as environmental health and as this book is aimed at women this includes issues around pregnancy and babies too. Although shocking I think it was necessary to include some of the findings on how the chemicals we’re exposed to can pass on to our unborn children. Even more shocking is the fact that we’re allowed to be exposed to these chemicals but this is very motivating too. It encourages you to read on and find out what we can do about it.

The Big Green Purse shows us how we can shop smarter, how to look out for greenwash, how to understand jargon and acronyms and what the multitude of badges and labels really mean. Throughout the book Diane provides suggestions on good brands to look out for but doesn’t shy away from telling us which companies might need a nudge in the green direction too.

I personally like the checklists which give you the opportunity to think about your own day to day activies and spending such as “How much do you drive?” and “How much [cleaner] do you use?”. This is a great way to get that particular chapter’s subject matter into context for you right at the start.

Diane realistically recognises that greener options such as organic can be more expensive which means sometimes this isn’t a option but her first principle is always to buy less and consume less and I think we would all agree with that. She provides money saving tips and ideas too.

This is a lengthy and detailed book and its clear that Diane has researched it thoroughly but she breaks it down in a digestible way using prompts and symbols which means it could read just as well from cover to cover or as a reference.

What I’d like to see next is a similar book for men. Although Diane’s target audience is women because they “spend $.85 of every dollar in the marketplace” men are still the big earners and its important for everyone to understand the valuable lessons here.

Check out the website at www.biggreenpurse.com

Have you ever considered whether good lives have to cost the earth? Well a diverse group of people have considered the question and their answers were documented in a book (with the question as the title) edited by Andrew Simms and Jo Smith.

Before I started reading the book I already had an answer to the question myself and that is No. It has always been my belief and my experience (even as a child) that a good / happy life does not have to cost the earth. To me the simple / free pleasure are always the best for example:

* Just peacefully being with my loved ones

* Volunteering my time to help people and also the planet

*Breathing the fresh air of the countryside

*The taste of freshly picked organic food from my garden

*The beautiful sound of bird song

*Walking along the beach with my fiancé

As you may have gathered from some of my posts I always aim to consume as little as possible in life as it is my belief and the book also supports this that….

“people who consume above their fair and sustainable source of the Earth’s resources is no more likely to be satisfied with life than someone who is living within our collective environmental means”

(Quote within book and sourced from the European (un)Happy Planet Index, 2007)

The book has some interesting contributors all of whom have focussed on different areas of what makes a good life. Below you will find my favourite quotes from all of the featured contributors:

Tom Hodgkinson (Editor of the Idler): “Good lives are cheap, cheerful and will save the planet to boot”

David Boyle (Author): “Victorian economists calculated that the average English peasant in 1485 needed to work fifteen weeks a year to earn the money the needed to survive. In 1564, it was forty weeks. Now of course it is questionable whether we can manage to afford a reasonable life in
Britain without two salaries all the year round”

David Goldblatt (Author) “Step forward motor sports: Seriously, guys, yes you in the fast cars, peak oil is here or near. What are your great-grandchildren going to think a hundred years from now when they look back and see you spunking up the last precious drops of gasoline”

Phillip Pullman (Author) “Environmentalists need to know something about basic story telling in order to make their words effective”

A.C Grayling (Philosopher) “The environment has suffered in pursuit of wealth”

Oliver James (Author) “We talk of needing these things (i-pods/cars etc), but really we only want them”

John Bird (Creator of the Big Issue) “What we need today is to keep monopolies out of our life. Whenever we have a monopoly, whether public or private, you have the limitation of choice.”

Adair Turner (Vice Chairman at Merrill Launch Europe) “Population stabilization will be crucial to our long term success in dealing with climate change and other global environmental impacts”

Dame Anita Roddick (Founder of the Body Shop) “Providing for these vital human needs requires another kind of economy altogether, which emphasizes beauty, community and creativity”

Ann Pettifor (of Advocacy International Ltd) “We live in a global community that worships the god ‘Money’”

Larry Elliott (Financial Journalist) “The idea of personal thrift has gone out of the window, to be replaced by a culture in which it is not just permissible but commonplace – acceptable even – to live beyond our means”

Colin Tudge (Author) “The people who get to be in charge are the people who like power and the people who like power are not necessarily on the side of humanity”

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (Writer, broadcaster, campaigner) “Buy local food and almost by definition your buying seasonal produce with a low environmental impact”

Rosie Boycott (Writer and Broadcaster) “How you live is just as important as what you say. We argued (the feminist movement) that by changing the way in which we lived, we would in time influence the larger world around us. Now, I believe that sentiment is back”

Kevin McCloud (of Grand Designs) “I think that human beings are of our own environment, we are the problem but we are also the solution: the cause and the cure of our own environment”

Wayne Hemingway (Creator of Red or Dead and the Land of Lost Content) “We cant change the fact that new things stimulate us. But if we are really to achieve sustainability, then durability is incredibly important”

Stephen Bayley (Design Correspondent of the Observer) “Man is homo faber, a divine monkey who makes tools. While saving the planet it is a priority no one should ignore, its important to remember that since we stepped out of the primeval glop on to the dry shore and started the journey that ended with reality TV, the world has been constructed by us”

Nic Marks (Founder of the Centre of Well-Being at nef) “The language of well being doesn’t rely on an economic model that assumes that more consumption is always better”

David Cameron (Conservative party MP) “The greatest responsibility in the fight to save our planet lies with the Government, which must give a lead on the issue and set the right framework”

Hilary Benn (Labour party MP) “Transforming our economy, our cities, our way of life and cherishing our countryside and wildlife is something that we have to do”

Caroline Lucas (Green Party MEP) “Whether good lives are defined as happy lives or lives of well being, the bottom line is that living a good life and sage guarding the climate are not only simply compatible, they are inextricably connected and mutually dependent”

As you can see the book really does have a wide range of contributors, each providing their own insight in to whether good lives have to cost the earth.  I found the book an excellent read as it provided different perspectives on the green movement, I highly recommend it – however to be green and frugal get a copy from the library, a friend or second hand.

If you have already read the book what did you think? If not what are your thoughts about the featured quotations? And a question for everyone ‘do you think that goods lives have to cost the earth’?

Let’s all discuss….

Gaia Girls: Enter the Earth (Book Review)

Recently GGG creator and my very good friend Vicky kindly lent me a book titled ‘Gaia Girls: Enter the Earth’. Although the book is aimed at young people, I believe that is just as appealing and informative for adults too.

The book is written by Lee Welles and is the first of a four part series. Enter the Earth focuses on a young girl called Elizabeth who lives on an organic farm with her parents. However one day her life is changed forever when an Otter who introduces herself as Gaia forms a friendship with Elizabeth and provides her with powers to connect to the earth.

The story book is a magical adventure with a positive outcome, thus definitely appealing to people of all ages. I certainly recommend it.

The Gaia Theory

I must admit that before reading Enter the Earth I was not familiar with the Gaia theory. Thus hating to be ignorant I decided to look into it further and borrowed a book from the Library called ‘Gaia in Action: Science of the Living Earth’. I have yet to finish reading this book (as it is quite scientifically detailed and I have other studying to do) however what I have read so far is fascinating.

What I was amazed to discover is that my own personal beliefs are quite similar to the theory, i.e. considering and treating the Earth as a Living organism.

To enlighten you on my personal beliefs they do consist of a small element of Paganism however I have never categorised myself as ‘Pagan’, this is because I do not believe in all of the principles behind it (I am not ‘religious’ at all, however GGG is not an appropriate place to discuss any aspect of religion or beliefs so I will stop now)

Swiftly going back to Gaia, the thesis is actually classified as controversial and many scientists have strongly criticised it. As whilst it is similar to Darwinism in terms of being a theory of evolution, it differs as “Gaia holds that life forms have co-evolved with their environment in such a way that environmental conditions are held steady in the face of a continual flux of energy and matter” ¹

The theory was scientifically formulated in the 1960s by the independent research scientist Dr James Lovelock.

He defined Gaia as ”a complex entity involving the Earth’s biosphere, atmosphere, oceans, and soil; the totality constituting a feedback or cybernetic system which seeks an optimal physical and chemical environment for life on this planet”. ²

The theory was criticized by many scientists especially arguing against the idea of classifying Earth as a living organism as the planet has not or is it able to reproduce as all other living organisms do.  However since the introduction of the Gaia theory in the 60’s, the theory has been developed by other scientists including Lynn Margulis.

In a book titled ‘The Symbiotic Planet’, Margulis stated that “Gaia is not an organism, but an emergent property of interaction among organisms. She defined Gaia the series of interacting ecosystems that compose a single huge ecosystem at the Earth’s surface” ².  She concluded that it was best to regard the Earths surface as alive.

James Lovelock, the creator of the theory has also taken it further and last year published a book titled ‘The Revenge of Gaia’. Where he argues that “the lack of respect humans have had for Gaia, through the damage done to rainforests and the reduction in planetary biodiversity, is testing Gaia’s capacity to minimize the effects of the addition of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere” ²

I have not actually read James Lovelock’s ‘Revenge of Gaia’, however I plan to do so as it sounds a good read.

As a newcomer to the theory I feel that I really do need to explore it further before I make up my mind as to whether I believe in all its principles.

However in the mean time I would be very interested to hear what your thoughts on the theory are.

Information Sources:

1) Gaia in Action: Science of the Living Earth edited by Peter Bunyard

2) Wikipedia Online Encyclopaedia: Gaia Hypothesis Article

“My hope is that people will see that a little shift of habit can make a difference; And that small changes we make can add up to make a big impact. And most of all that you don’t have to give up a lot to make a difference. Try one less paper napkin a day. We use on average 6 per day, 2200 a year. If we all gave up one a day we’d save 1 billion pounds of paper waste from going to the landfills per year. It’s just that easy!!” Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas Kostigen, authors of The Green Book

This small encyclopedia of over 400 everyday solutions and easy lifestyle changes is a friendly and practical guide to respecting the planet and its resources. I was glad that I had the opportunity to review it as one of the bloggers here at Green Girls Global. As an avid reader of the many green sites on the web, I didn’t think that this book would surprise me. It did!

I loved the can-do attitude that the book takes and the powerful results that it reports on every change it suggests. Rather than feeling guilty about not doing enough, this book actually inspires the reader to want to do more. If you are into the eco-razzi thing, there are some interesting interviews of leading green celebrities who talk about why and how they are making changes in their own lives.

When I asked the writers “How has your outlook on the future changed because of your working on the book?” I was inspired again.
“I have always been hopeful for the future. I do feel like the more we can create movements that bring us together and give us all something to do and a role to play, the better the future can be. Hopefully the green book can add to that .” Truly a worthwhile and necessary addition to any home that is committed to more sustainable living.

Find out more at www.readthegreenbook.com or www.crownpublishing.com