A good, quick read about sustainable living. ( )

I loved Ed Begley Jr.'s television show about his lifestyle and have always liked him as an actor. If he had been the only contributor to this book, I might have rated it higher. Unfortunately, someone felt the need to include his wife's reflection on their lifestyle, perhaps to appeal to the ladies? She contributes such insight as "With what we save on the electric bill, I get to buy more shoes!" (p. 24) and a random rant on people who paint their homes canary yellow. The editors helpfully marked her passages in green, to make them easier to skip, but since I'm one of those people who can't help but read words in front of me, her words got in my brain anyway. I stopped reading in the middle of the chapter about alternative transportation, when she rambles on about the one time she rode the bus (it was horrible! She was wearing a skirt! And heels! Clearly Ed has taken his lifestyle too far.) I would have enjoyed this book much more without her input. ( )

I went through a little green phase and watched his show, so I decided to pick up the book. There are lots of tips, reasons and examples to incorporate simple eco-friendly changes into your life which could also save you money down the road. ( )

Ed Begley, Jr. has been living eco-consciously since the 1970s. In this book, he brings lots of ideas and suggestions at various levels (marked by images for cost) to help other people try some of the green things he already does. Chapters include Home, Transportation, Recycling, Energy, In the Gardens and Kitchen, and Clothing and Hair and Skin Care.

I thought this was really good. Even with all the things I have read and already do, I still learned other things. I have just purchased my first home, so there are some ideas that I might be able to use there. This is one book that is probably worth buying so that you can look back on it later (I got this one from the library). There was a running line at the bottom of each page that took the ideas from that page and made it into one sentence. There were also little anecdotes by Ed's wife, who was leery of many of Ed's ideas at first, and had to be convinced of some things; she is quite conscious of style and aesthetics, so it was sometimes harder to get her on board. I think her comments are helpful for some people who are reluctant to try some of these things. ( )

Interesting ideas. some I already do.. some I have been planning to do for awhile. I loved the idea of a household wind turbine. ( )