The Library

Especially if you have a good one within walking distance, you can’t do much better than going to the library for your books. Many can order titles from other branches, so you can often find the books you really want to read.

Then back they go for someone else to read.

This is especially good if you tend to read a particular book only once. If you read it and are done with it, try your local library. You might get a delightful surprise, and you’re supporting a wonderful institution. It doesn’t matter that the books are free to check out. Communities value libraries more if they get used more.

Used Books

My own addiction. Do not let me get too close to a used book store. It will draw me in and my budget may regret the results.

Used book stores are amazing. They often have titles that you can’t find easily at a regular bookstore. And every book is something that someone else finished with first. You’re not causing more books to be printed when you buy a used book.

You can trade in books that you’re done with at most used book stores too. You may get cash or store credit, depending on the location. It’s a hobby that can almost fund itself. On the minus side, the author doesn’t get anything for your purchases.

EBooks

Many people feel that electronic books are an environmentally friendly selection. My own feelings on the matter is mixed.

On the plus side, no paper is involved. Once the book is written, it takes very little to make however many copies are purchased. Ebooks are simply stored on a server and downloaded when purchased.

On the minus side, they’re electronic. That means when your ebook reader dies, you have electronic waste to dispose of. Too many people dispose of electronics improperly or just go buy new whenever the hot new version comes out.

Another plus is that one reader can store a lot of books. How many depends on the reader in question. But you won’t be taking up an entire wall of your home storing your electronic books.

Another minus is that they require electricity and batteries. Once a traditional book is printed, it is complete. An ebook uses more electricity every time you read it.

There are a number of ebook readers out there. Amazon’s Kindle
is very popular. You can choose a smaller or somewhat larger model, depending on how you will feel most comfortable carrying around and reading on its screen.

The Sony Digital Reader is a similar product. There are a few versions you can buy, once again depending on just what you feel most comfortable with.

Apple’s iPad is a new entry that does a lot more than just display ebooks. It offers internet surfing and movie watching capabilities as well. There’s been a lot of hype around this one, and it will be interesting to see how things go with it.

If you buy hardcover books, electronic versions are often cheaper. Many people tout this as a savings financially as well as for the environment. My habit has always been paperback, so even new the books likely cost less in print… especially from the used book store.

No matter how you like to get your reading materials, there will be positives and negatives. Give a little thought to the impact of your reading habits and choose the best combination for your lifestyle and the environment.

So of course, recommending books comes naturally to me. And with Christmas being a great time to give books as gifts, here are some ideas:

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder

I got a review copy of this many months ago. While it’s not about going green, it is about something that should be important to all parents… getting their kids to appreciate nature. After all, if they don’t appreciate nature why would they want to protect and preserve it?

Getting out into nature is also vital to children’s development. Video games just don’t cut it. They need to get outside and deal with the dirt, climb some trees, get wet and just have fun. That means more than just sending them out into the back yard.

Get this one for your favorite parents of school aged children, green or no. It’s great food for thought.

Feeding Baby Green: The Earth Friendly Program for Healthy, Safe Nutrition During Pregnancy, Childhood, and Beyond

For the green mom to be. Making homemade baby food is something I’ve really gotten into. So much more flexible than using jarred foods, and my baby already has a clear preference for what I make. Those rare times I resort to jars she is not too happy with me and seems (in my opinion) to eat less.

Sewing Green: 25 Projects Made with Repurposed & Organic Materials

For the green crafter in your life. Sewing is a habit I meant to pick up last summer, until we moved on rather short notice. There’s so much you can do with fabrics you already own.

Grow Your Own Tree Hugger: 101 activities to teach your child how to live green

Kids love to do crafts and do projects. Encouraging them to do ones that get them thinking about the environment is a great idea.

This may come more naturally to some kids than others. Mine have been raiding the recycle bin for reusable items, and bringing in all kinds of natural things from outside to work with. It’s wonderful to see, if a bit messy. I like the idea of encouraging them to do more.

Easy Green Living: The Ultimate Guide to Simple, Eco-Friendly Choices for You and Your Home

Your home is one of the easiest places to have a green impact on your environment. This book offers green cleaning solutions, personal care items and other things you use around the home.

Wake Up and Smell the Planet: The Non-Pompous, Non-Preachy Grist Guide to Greening Your Day

For the person who needs a lighter approach to going green. This book doesn’t present everything in a serious manner, which can be helpful in getting some people to pay more attention to what it’s saying.

Free Range Kids
I was lucky enough to be sent a review copy of this one for one of my other sites. Great book, and while it’s not about environmentalism, there’s a lot to it that can be combined with teaching kids to care about the environment.

Healthy Child Healthy World: Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home
I reviewed this one a while ago. Lots of tips on living cleaner and greener, and broken into separate sections so it’s easy to pick the areas you want to get started with.

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder
Another book I got to review a while back. Lots of fun and a great reminder of how very important it is to get your family outside.

Books I haven’t read that sound promising:

The Green Teen: The Eco-Friendly Teen’s Guide to Saving the Planet

The Green Parent: A Kid-Friendly Guide to Environmentally-Friendly Living

Raising Baby Green: The Earth-Friendly Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Baby Care

They very kindly sent me out a copy to read, and I recently finished it. I very much so enjoyed the read.

The book is separated into sections of related things you can do, such as preparing for baby, natural body care, pet care and so forth. Each section has a range of tips on how you can do these things in a way that is better for your family and the environment.

Of course, some of the things suggested I do already, but there were some good ideas I hadn’t thought of either.

One of the things I really appreciated was the suggestion in the book that you do not need to try to do everything right away. You can work your way through the things you are ready for and make progress at your own pace. I think that’s a very important thing to remember. Going green doesn’t have to be an instant or frustrating solution.

It also got me thinking about things I hadn’t before, such as how lead gets into soil around older homes. We’re renting a home that I believe is of an age to have such a problem, so I know it is potentially relevant. As a renter I don’t know that I can do much about it aside from being aware of the potential for a problem. It’s a topic my husband and I have discussed before, because he didn’t see why kids would chew on paint chips, and now I can explain to him how it really works. See page 164 if you need to know.

The section on food (chapter 3) is one I think I need to bring up with a friend of mine who I had been discussing organic produce with the other day. She wasn’t sure what she needed to buy organic versus conventional to avoid pesticides (page 36). I’ve seen the same list online, but it’s nice to have a physical copy of the list.

There’s a great section at the back of the book on Healthy Resources. You can find out where to learn more on your favorite topics or learn about some of the products they recommend.

Of course, every parent reading this will have their own favorite sections, depending on what they need to learn. I do strongly recommend you get this book. Check your library if it’s not in the budget, but with all the resources it provides, you’re probably going to want to buy your own copy to keep referring back to.

Obviously, I can’t review the book; it’s not out yet. But it looks promising. The description says it will give tips on making eco-friendly decisions on a tight budget and schedule and how to get concerns recognized by decision makers.

Given that kids these days are very aware of the need to help the environment, I’m glad to see a book like this coming out.

Parents, what other titles do you recommend for teens? What about younger children?

That depends on how you define environmentalism. There are so many levels to being green, and some really don’t go well with being lazy about it.

Especially if you really want to make a difference.

But if you don’t have the time to really focus on making a difference, but want to change your own consumption levels, there are things you can do. You can buy a book or get it at the library. Books such as The Lazy Environmentalist and It’s Easy Being Green cover some of the ways any of us can go green.

If nothing else, they’re probably great gifts for friends and family who don’t know how to get started.

Of course, the best thing you can do for the environment is to consume less. That may be one of the most challenging things too. It’s hard to break habits when you grew up in  a time where most people thought nothing of buying anything they needed or wanted, ignoring both the environment and financial common sense in a lot of cases.

Next best is to buy used when possible. That’s really not so hard, and some thrift and resale shops have amazing finds in them.

Using handmedowns counts the same as buying used, of course, except you don’t get to shop around.

We do this a lot in my family, and are working on being more deliberate about it. We’re talking toy and movie swaps between families, because, let’s face it, between Christmas and birthdays, friends and relatives, kids these days get way too much stuff. We can decrease the amount of stuff we as parents buy with appropriate trading and handing down.

Steps keep getting bigger as you go, but for many that’s the way to start. You do the lazy things first and then realize that some of what you thought was too hard is starting to make sense.

This is a topic I’ve been thinking about a lot, mostly due to the sheer consumerism of this time of year. This year is probably better than most, since so many people are cutting back and even looking at used gift items and thrift stores. It’s a nice change, but so much more can be done.

Going through the books at Amazon, I found The Better World Handbook: Small Changes That Make A Big Difference. By the reviews, it looks like a good book.

The book gets into choosing the right bank, buying the right groceries, alternative transportation and more. Sounds to me like the kind of guide a lot of us need to cut back on the guesswork.

I have no doubt that bits of information in it are already out of date, of course. More and more stores have been adding organic selections, for example. The current economy has put many companies out of business, and others are looking for ways to cut costs, which often comes at the sacrifice of environmental efforts. But even with that I think the information is going to be good.

One reviewer didn’t like all the small changes, but as others have noted, small changes are often what lead to big changes. This looks like a nice way to get moving on more small changes.

It’s going on my wish list. Not quite in the budget yet.