Book Review: David Suzuki’s Green Guide - A Resource Chock Full of Ideas

When it comes to the environment, I’m all about doing. I try not to worry about the things I’m not doing yet or judge others for the things they’re not doing. My theory, since I started making changes has been A Little Greener Every Day. Start where you’re at, and grow greener daily.

David Suzuki’s Green Guide written by ecologist David Suzuki and environmental lawyer David R. Boyd is a book all about what individuals can do, starting right where they’re at, to be greener.

The blurb on the front cover of the book reads, “How to find fresher, tastier, healthier food, create an eco-friendly home, make sustainable transportation choices, reduce consumption, and be a green citizen.”

I would describe the book as “Greening Your Life 101 for Regular Folk.” Chapter 1 begins with the question “What Can I Do?” and the book goes on to discuss what people can do, what others already are doing, and lists lots of resources.

It starts out, as any book on changing environmental habits should, with explaining the environmental problems that are prevalent today. Focusing on America’s contributions to the problem, it calls for a reduction of North Americans’ ecological footprint by at least 75% if a sustainable future is to be obtained. That’s a tall order.

The guide is hopeful though, and says that “after a destructive period of human arrogance” we are now in a “time of transition between the industrial era and the sustainability era.” I like the sound of that. The authors believe that “people’s values are evolving rapidly” and provide a blueprint so that people’s actions can reflect their rapidly evolving values.

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With chapters on how to green the home, food, travel, and consumerism the basics are covered for beginners, but there is also some more in-depth information for those who have already changed out their light bulbs and started haunting farmer’s markets. There is also a chapter titled “Citizen Green” that discusses volunteering and political activism to benefit the environment.

David Suzuki’s Green Guide is very information intense. There is a lot packed into its 175 pages. I didn’t find it a book that I could sit down and read all at once. I had to take it in little bits at a time because there was so much to take in.

I would recommend that someone new to going green who chooses this book take it a chapter at a time. Read one chapter, implement a few of its changes, then try another chapter. Trying to read it all at once might be overwhelming.

For those who aren’t so new to going green, it’s a great resource guide to flip through when you need inspiration or ideas.

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