Book Review: Getting Green Done

Frequent readers know that this blog started when we found extensive termite damage to the cabin after we bought it (click on the "big projects" label for the complete history of posts on this topic). We had to take the roof off to repair everything. Once we realized what we were in for, we'd hoped to do it as sustainably as possible, but, at the time, the materials weren't readily available to us.

We eventually did a few feeble things, like installing compact flourescent bulbs, improving some of the windows, and adding insulation, but we were frustrated we couldn't do more.

I wondered why it just seemed like we couldn't do a better job of greening that repair and this book - Getting Green Done, by Auden Schendler, helps answer why. I caught a review of it in Outside magazine - and I haven't been able to put it down.

There's a great deal of easy-to-read details about why the leap from good ideas and products to actually having the biggest and best kind of impact on the environment is hard. As Schendler says, "Green is tough, even for the motivated." Everyone wants to make a contribution to getting more sustainable - there are simply still a lot of societal and industry hurdles to clear. Schendler's closing quote shows the way ahead - "You are not expected to complete the task, neither are you allowed to put it down" - it's a call to action.

Getting Green Done: Hard Truths from the Front Lines of the Sustainability Revolution