Inconspicuous Consumption

May 27, 2019
In this straightforward, accessible look at the environmental impact of consumer habits, journalist Schlossberg examines how seemingly innocuous “everyday, run-of-the-mill” decisions substantially affect the wellbeing of the planet. She divides her discussion into four manageable parts devoted to, respectively, technology, food production, fashion, and fuel. Regarding the first, she observes that the extraction of the metals used to manufacture lithium ion batteries—“the invention that, more than almost any other... powers our phones, laptops, and electric cars”—often comes “at great environmental and human cost” in such countries as Argentina, Chile, and Congo. Meanwhile, the “biggest environmental problem created by agriculture,” according to Schlossberg, is due to corn. So much of this crop is grown, mostly for products such as alcohol, oil, animal feed, and sweeteners, that it wreaks havoc on biodiversity and native ecosystems. Style-conscious readers should be particularly fascinated by Schlossberg’s critical look at fashion industry practices, notably the water-intensive process through which cotton gets made into denim. With insight and urgency, Schlossberg prods readers to think more deeply about how they participate in these and other activities, and how they might mitigate their impact. In the process, she delivers an intriguing and educational narrative. Zoe Sandler, Esther Newberg, ICM Partners

July 1, 2019

This first book by environmental journalist Schlossberg details hidden environmental impacts in the fields of electronic technology, food, fashion, and fuel. The author explains that while the Internet operates as tiny packets of electronic pulses, running it and storing its data requires a global infrastructure. There are many buildings, servers, routers and exchange points, all powered by electricity. While online commerce might reduce physical shopping, it requires air freight and truck delivery trips. Turning to our food systems, Schlossberg's focus is on unsustainable farming methods, depleted soil, wasted produce, overfishing, and acidifying oceans. With fashion, cheap clothes made of cotton, and oil-based and wood pulp-based fabrics create environmental issues. The fuels section touches on toxic coal ash, wood particulates, and petroleum burned by various modes of transportation. The author concludes, "Our indifference to the value of our resources and to their limits threatens everything, including our own success and survival." VERDICT Although Schlossberg's asides sometimes derail the journalistic narrative, with this call for mass action she presents valuable information that could help readers make more sustainable choices in their lives.--David R. Conn, formerly with Surrey Libs., BC

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 15, 2019
An environmental journalist pens an informative, practical guide to understanding and acting on climate change. To many, the climate change crisis often seems so overwhelming and intimidating that they try to avoid thinking about it altogether. As former New York Times reporter Schlossberg relates, before becoming informed, "I didn't like reading about climate change and its effects--it filled me with dread and made me feel powerless. The problems seemed too big and too inevitable for me to do anything about, so it felt like it was probably best to look away." But as she demonstrates in her debut book, climate change is not just a remote problem about California wildfires and superhurricanes that is only relevant to scientists and legislators. "There are trade-offs and consequences for almost everything we buy and use and eat," she writes; our personal choices and daily activities have a direct impact on the planet's overall health and future. Breaking the narrative into four categories--Technology and the Internet, Food, Fashion, and Fuel--Schlossberg follows and connects the dots between our habits and the far-reaching consequences they may have. Although the thrust of the book is climate change, this is more a volume about cause and effect that tackles a broad scope of topics. Whether visiting a Connecticut apple orchard to flesh out the current definition of "organic food," exploring microplastic pollution caused by sweat-wicking microfiber athletic wear, or weighing the environmental advantages of e-commerce versus traditional retail shopping, Schlossberg brings a variety of current conversations on environment together in down-to-earth, easily understood terms. Avoiding dense technical language and writing in a highly personalized style laced with humor and asides, the author provides much-needed clarifications about climate change and pollution that not only empower average consumers with the ability to act and make informed decisions, but also encourage and inspire that action. If fighting climate change can be engaging, fun, and fulfilling, this is the road map.

COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from July 1, 2019
Climate journalist Schlossberg connects the dots between consumption and climate change in this clever, informative, and unexpectedly charming examination of humans' effect on the environment. Rather than offering solutions, Schlossberg focuses on demystifying the everyday products and services, from two-day shipping to expired milk, that contribute to the current dire state of affairs. Book sections explore the environmental impact of four major industries?internet and technology, food production, fast fashion, and transportation?and Schlossberg is careful to remind readers that we're all in this (planet) together: a Western appetite for cheap denim dried up the Aral Sea, while laws to eliminate coal use in Britain have led to the deforestation, and subsequent decline in biodiversity, of the U.S. south. Though the subject matter is bleak, Schlossberg takes care to emphasize that while individual choices matter, governmental and corporate transparency matters much, much more. To halt the climate crisis, we must first understand the many factors that create and sustain it, and this book offers the tools for that understanding. The author breaks complex issues down to be understandable to the lay reader, while her humor and wit ensure that readers will close the book feeling energized rather than hopeless.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)