Review: The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices: Practical Advice from the Union of Concerned Scientists

This book is a guide for people who are concerned with the environment, recycling, pollution, and the general state of the Earth and what they can do to help. Through its entirety the reader is treated to inconclusive statements on everything environmental, from simple things to do to save the earth to the effect of media coverage on public concern with the environment. It includes lists of things to do and not to do, products that harm more than others, and many percentages and comparisons that may or may not deter the reader's interest.

Not to say that the book is completely inconsequential. There is emphasis on many things people seem to be overly concerned with that have insignificant impact, such as shrinking landfill size (not the case; the number of landfills has fallen but the size of each one has gone up). This is compared to the fact that people neglect to carpool much of the time, although personal vehicles are one of the biggest threats to the environment, which most people know but ignore. The authors each hold a Ph.D. and are both members of the Union of Concerned Scientists, which was founded in 1969.

Consumerism is covered on several levels, from the national level (Americans are by far the heaviest consumers in the world) right down to the personal and household levels. In the Environmental Action Project we will be doing later this semester, consumer practices will be addressed, and probably the impact that consumers have on the environment. A good example of this is the impact that consumers can have on product usage, if sufficiently motivated. Ten states now have deposits on their beverage containers, and this has reduced roadside litter significantly. In the mid 70's many Americans stopped purchasing aerosol hairsprays and deodorants because of the impact of aerosol on the environment. In the 80's, there was a movement against Styrofoam cups, but the success of that is questionable. Energy is another subject that spans between the book and our upcoming project. The book merely states that choosing a renewable power company would be much more safe for the environment.

The scientific contributions in the book are just that: the book. It was written by two members of the Union of Concerned Scientists. They compiled studies from other scientists, the USDA, environmental journals, the EPA, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and others. I don't feel my understanding of science has changed much, since a lot of the information presented was common sense about the environment all bundled together.

As stated, the book was more of a compilation and analyzation of information than an experiment in which the scientific method would be employed. The observations that the authors had came from many other sources. Their hypothesis is something gleaned from this analyzation and from the charts formed from the research that they collected. There were no actual experiments done by the author, only by those whose writings and studies were compiled for the book. There are conclusions that the authors come to, though they add a disclaimer in their preface that their answers and conclusions are not the only ones. Their conclusions are presented as choices that individual consumers might make to do their part in protecting the world they live in.

The biggest obstacle that the authors seem to have dealt with in writing this book is mass media. That sounds odd, since the media is there to inform consumers, but unfortunately, the media plays what it wants the people to see, not necessarily the entire truth. Another obstacle is politics, where in the past many third world countries have been the target of environmentalists when the real problem is right at home. Also, without government support, how will recycling programs gain popularity. Luckily, there are many public municipalities that now have curbside recycling programs, and the EPA has been successful in getting laws passed to protect the environment on the corporate level.

Personally, I found the book to be inconclusive and vague, and not particularly helpful as a guide for consumers. It gave examples of things to eliminate from one's life without giving alternatives. It claims that many things aren't a problem, but doesn't conclusively state what the problems are. I don't think the book was appropriate in the context of a Sciences II class because it isn't as scientific as it maybe should have been in its approach to the environment and consumerism.