Shades of Green: A (Mostly) Practical A-Z for the Reluctant Environmentalist

For the full range of our purchases — from bicycles to baths, holidays to heating, pets to pasta, wine to wind turbines — Shades of Green sets out the sliding environmental scale from hardcore deep green to planet-trashing pale. Only a few hardcore hemp-wearing hippies want to go "all the way" on the green scale. And yet there is a strong groundswell of interest in all things green as fears about the food chain, climate change, plummeting bio-diversity and the sustainability of our current lifestyles take hold. So if you want to change the world without completely changing your life what do you do? Buy Shades of Green — an easy-to-use, A-Z reference with a difference. Each entry has a short introduction coded with as many "shades of green" as are appropriate. Punchy, wry and humourous, this informative and sometimes surprising and subversive book pokes gentle fun at both the people in suits and the people in sandals. It informs and amuses, laying out the facts and practicalities of everything from carrots to cars while avoiding the po-faced apocalyptic preachiness of many "green" books. This is essential and often surprising reading — because being green has never been black and white.

“"Paul's books will inspire even the most reluctant among us." - Darina Allen”

"Paul's books will inspire even the most reluctant among us." -- Darina Allen "Paul Waddington fills in the grey areas, without any po-faced preaching, on the benefits, making us rethink our lifestyle choices in a fun way." The Lady

Paul Waddington is the author of Seasonal Food and 21st Century Smallholder. He writes regularly for the Guardian and other broadsheet papers on food and environmental issues. He grows vegetables, keeps bees and lives as sustainably as possible in Yorkshire.

Few of us have what it takes to go 'all the way' on the green scale. How many of us only ever want to eat what's in season and grown locally? Or can realistically give up the car for good? Or summon the ready cash and the motivation to become self-sufficient in electricity? And yet as fears about the food chain, climate change, plummeting biodiversity and the sustainability of our current lifestyles take hold, wouldn't it be good to be clear about our range of options? And wouldn't it be great to discover that sometimes what is best for the planet is not what we might think? In fact the easiest, most readily available, cheapest or most-maligned option may even be the greenest. Whether you are pondering bicycles or baths , holidays or heating , pets or pasta , washing dishes or wine , this book sets out your choices on a scale from 'completely green' to 'not even a little bit green'. No preaching. No finger-wagging. Whether you're an eco-warrior or a planet-trasher or, like most of us, something in between, Shades of Green will give you all you need to know so you can choose what suits you best. BECAUSE BEING GREEN IS NEVER BLACK AND WHITE.

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