13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Read it and weep, 16 Jan 2003
This review is from: The Little Earth Book (Paperback)
Just before Christmas I walked past a progressive bookshop in Santa Monica, CA. The window display was a sign of a lot of what is wrong with the liberal / left. Various grotesque caricatures of Donald Rumsfeld and George W almost certainly invigorated the true believers...and left the other 95% cold.
Which is why the little earth book is such a refreshing change. 40 odd mini chapters (1-2 pages each) in this easy to digest book cover what we are doing to the planet, and in places set out some fairly innovative solutions.
Read The Little Earth Book and find out about things as diverse as:
* How enforced privatization of the water system in many developing countries is causing a lot of the world's poor to go without clean water
* How global warming might in fact cause Northern Europe to get colder and not warmer, as the gulf stream stops flowing
* How it is possible for a country to switch to a hydrogen (as opposed to fossil fuel) economy. Iceland will be there by around 2040...when oil supplies start running low
* How countries such as Zambia and Nicaragua spend more on repaying their debts to us than on health and education.
The chapters are presented in an informative and non preachy way. Even John Pilger resists the temptation to have a rant against the US in his chapter on the new American Imperium, conceding that the US could be a force for good and then outlining why he thinks it isn't.
This little book is an excellent if somewhat depressing read. Together the chapters show how we are sleep walking into a world that our children and grandchildren will find very different to the one we know. Read it and weep!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
TMakes you question the things we take most for granted., 27 Nov 2001
This book is a series of vignettes about some of the most pressing issues facing the planet today. Pollution, global warming, species extinction, the rich/poor dynamic, global debt - they're all here. What's clever is that each subject appears in the space of 2-3 pages. Designed to be read in one sitting (I managed it in a couple of hours), everyone should have a copy.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
an absolute must read for anyone anywhere, 8 Jan 2001
By A Customer
This is a fantastic little book, giving a brief, but shockingly to the point overview of a very broad range of 'green' topics including G.M. food, falling biodiversity,climate change, third world debt and the unsustainability of our current economic system. The facts and figures contained in this simple little book are truly shocking and the book leaves you with a deep seated need to do something to help the situation. I very strongly recommend this book to everybody as its subject matter affects each and every one of us.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No