This is a really quick and easy read with lots of good ideas for ways to green your household and your life. My main complaint is the way it was organized--the meat of the book is one long section composed of lots and lots of tips. So it's easy to digest, but not easy to pinpoint something specific. But there's a good section with resources and websites in the back. All in all, I'd recommend it.

Written for the American market this is very different from the other 'green' books I've read. I liked the style of the book with the recycled pages but I wasn't a fan of the changing between dual columns during each chapter and the standard single column at the beginning of each. It made it a bit more 'difficult' to read. I liked the checklist section where you can pick which actions you going to take and then mark each one as you work through and rate yourself once you have incorporated each point into your daily life. I found this section very user friendly and well thought out and well targeted at those who feel overwhelmed about where to start. However the rest of the text was a bit preachy and at times a bit condescending, although overall a good and handy book.

It was ok, but I honestly cannot remember most of the tips.

The tips are good, but the book's organization is pretty sloppy. The formatting (multiple columns in a normal-sized book, numerous "sidebar" conversations) made it hard for me to find the main thread. When I was done with it, I felt as though I'd read a dozen different magazines about green living; lots of information, not a lot of coherency or prioritization.

But that said, I was able to use several of the tips and it's a good resource.

if 4 stars didn't mean really liked it, i'd go with that, but it partially, really turned me off, so i just can't. however, it is a super user-friendly guide to being greener. also, there's a good companion website: www.greenmatters.com.

i'd like to give this book two separate ratings - 5 stars for the comprehensive, yet concise and well organized content. and, the book's physical form is nice. it has a place in my go-to drawer in the kitchen.

but, i'd give it 1 star for being preachy, presumptuous, condescending, patronizing, annoying, etc.

and, the title is totally a lie. (but, if we're going to save the planet, we've got to spread this lie (and the one about it not being expensive, too) far and wide.)

ms. trask has done a good thing, and i appreciate it, so i feel bad for being harsh, but moralistic ("Our obligation to at least try to pay our own way in life, raise our children into healthy, productive and ethical members of society, and lighten our impact on the earth, among other things, is real.") attitudes and the government is always the only/best solutionism really perturb me.

Lovely to have as a goal...difficult to maintain.

Meh.

Includes an extensive checklist of to-do items to help you live more earth-friendly. There are also a few chapters that just list helpful web sites with information or products.

It's really more of a workbook than a book you read from cover to cover, but she shares some great ideas in a practical way. I like that she helps you start small and make little changes at a time. She doesn't make you feel guilty for not jumping right in and changing everything at once. Most of the ideas are relatively easy changes to make.

More than anything, this is a good reference book with a wide variety of ideas about how to live in a more earth-friendly way. The book is well organized, with tons of websites to help the reader find out more about everything from activism to buying more sustainable products. A bit preachy at times, especially as most readers are already wanting to do more, the book is nevertheless useful.

I thought this book was a great starter book for anyone who has an interest in learning to be green. It may not have ways to start building a home off grid or things like that, but it does give the basics for anyone who recently decided that they would like to green up.

The tips in this book are pretty much the same as elswhere, but it includes a list of sources to help you get started. So, while the suggestions are the same, this book takes it a step further and points you in the direction you need to get started. While other books may list a website or phone number, this book goes above and beyond listing multiple sources in each topic (including clothing, furniture, energy, and transportation). Easy to follow and a good read! A great place to start.

This book is really helpful. Unlike a lot of the 'get green' books I looked into, this one was not a list of products to buy or things that will cost you money. One of my main beefs with the enviromentalist movement is that it has turned into another excuse to buy new stuff, when in reality thats the heart of the problem. Being greener is about consuming less and although this book does give some suggestion of better alternatives to products or simple inexpensive things to reduce your energy or water use, it mostly gives some really helpful ideas on how to make easy changes beyond the obvious. It has an easy format to remember exactly the ideas you want to put to use and rate the progress you've made on putting them into practice. There are also some longer explanatory chapters that are motivating and informative and a resources chapter for changing what and where you buy everyday items like sheets and beauty items.