The Green Guide has grown tremendously from a short, biweekly newsletter as part of Mothers & Others, an environmental newsletter and then website co-founded by actress Merly Streep, to a terrific resource for the 21st century. With almost 500 pages of information, this is not a beach book or a cocktail table book, but rather a reference manual you can keep on a handy shelf to refer to again and again. Interestingly, the first chapter is EAT GREEN: Healthy, Sustainable Meals, exactly what I have been studying and writing about for years. This is followed by chapters such as BETTER HOUSEKEEPING: Clean & Green, HEALTHY BEAUTY: Natural Personal Care, GREEN SLEEVES: Clothing & Accessories, and GROW NATURAL: Plant & Garden Care.

Every possible topic is covered, from the food on your table to pets, travel, school supplies, holidays and healthy babies. Each of the chapters has sidebars with a “Green Dictionary,” Eco-Tips, and facts/statistics that will open you eyes to what we are doing or can do to live green. There is also a section called Take Action, which gives the reader concrete suggestions for living green. For example, on page 65 there are 17 actions, such as: choose snacks low in trans fat and without high-fructose corn syrup; choose plastic containers that are recyclable and safest: #2, #4, and #5; and buy local produce or join a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program.

The Illustrated Green Guide has a user-friendly format with wonderful photos and illustrations. As Meryl Streep notes in the Foreword, when National Geographic purchased the Green Guide from Mothers & Others, the goal was “to make it the ‘mother of all resources’ for consumers wanting to live a greener life……It helps us to see how even the most mundane decisions, from our choice of coffee to how long we shower, matter a lot.”

I agree! This book is a very important resource for all of us who are concerned about the planet and the legacy we leave our children and grandchildren. The information can be found scattered throughout other magazines, but all the information is here, in one book. The book costs $34.95, but this a book you will refer to again and again, so the cost is justified, I think. It is available by mail from National Geographic Books at www.preserveourplanet.com/books by calling 1-888-647-6733.

Note: Several years ago, in the early to mid-1990s I participated in a Mothers & Others program. It was at the forefront of the environmental movement to provide healthy foods for children and a healthy environment in which to grow up. I worked with my friend Hope providing some organic snacks as part of a Mothers & Others Mail Order program to provide healthy snacks for kids, long before stores carried organic snacks, so I know about this organization from personal experience.

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