Josh Dorfman

I was excited when Jeff brought this home for me, but it turned out to be mostly advertising for different eco-friendly brands and websites. There aren't any creative DIY ideas, which is what I was hoping for. It's not totally useless as a reference for someone who doesn't know where to start, but if you feel like you already know where to shop for natural/previously-owned stuff, then this won't be very enlightening. The one thing I will take away from it is a company that will repair your jeans (Denim Therapy).… (mehr)

I'm not necessarily a lazy environmentalist, but certainly appreciate any advice that saves me time and money! "The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget" delivers all the title promises-- it's chock full of ways to save the planet while saving money, time, and effort.

Topics include information on where to find bargains and rebates on eco-friendly products to choosing services and innovations that will truly produce results.

After reading, our family has been able to implement a number of changes and we'll continue to do so with the aid of "The Lazy Environmentalist." It's now taken up permanent residence on my desk and is already getting dog-eared from constant reference.

Overall impression: Highly recommended- everyone NEEDS a copy of this guide... even the non-lazy among us!… (mehr)

The title of this book is a perfect description of me. I do a few good-for-the-environment type of things, like using eco-friendly cleaning products (excellent for households where every item is a potential chew toy) and walking as many places as I can (tire out those kids for a nap and get some exercise at the same time!) I buy local veggies, because they're so much tastier than the ones at the grocery store. But I definitely don't go WAY out of my way to be green.

Can I just say, it is incredibly refreshing to read a book about green living that doesn't spend several chapters making you feel guilty about everything you aren't doing right? This book is so positive, I love it! It is guarenteed to get you excited about doing something good for the planet, and your wallet. My copy has a dozen pages dog-eared with things I'm going to go back and look into.

There is a chapter in this book for just about every area of your life, from your kids to your car to your home, with suggestions on how you can reduce your negative impact on the environment. What is even better, Dorfman has listed, at the end of each chapter, where you can find just about every product or service mentioned. There's a low-flow shower head mentioned that's so inexpensive, I'm definitely going to get one. As a mom, I was especially excited to read about responsibly-harvested wooden toys, and organic kid's clothes and bedding that I could actually afford. Did you know that Wal-mart is the world's largest purchaser of organic cotton? It's true! They have an entire line of organic baby clothes.

Dorfman has also listed some fantastic services. There's a company that will recycle your old electronics and pay for them. Hurray! No more guilt about the ancient laptop collecting dust in the closet. There's a service that will repair your old jeans so they look like new. Though, at the prices cited, they would have to be expensive jeans to make it worthwhile. But if I ever rip my one pair of really nice jeans, I will know not to start crying.

Obviously, you have to use your critical thinking and calculator skills when evaluating the concepts presented in this book. I worked out the numbers on a few and I found some that made great economic sense, some that were just even or slightly more expensive than their less-eco-friendly counterparts, and one or two that were much more expensive. Also, a lot of the services and products are only available in the states at this time. So, you can't be totally lazy using this book, but it will definitely make being green a little easier. Recommended!… (mehr)