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SOS: What You Can Do to Reduce Climate Change
Your actions make a difference—even the smallest ones everyday. Discover the simple ways to reduce your personal carbon emissions, proven to work by the latest scientific research. Make impactful changes at home, at work, to how you and your family shop, eat, live. Understand how to use your voice and voting power most effectively too, based on what statistics show really contributes to change. You'll be surprised how much power you have to make a change within your community and your country. How many actions can you tick of the list in this book to help save our planet?
160 pages, Paperback
Published October 1, 2019
9 people are currently reading
201 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
July 11, 2019
This very compact book (it took significantly less than an hour to read) offers a beguiling reward: ‘What you can do to reduce climate change�. This promise presents a real challenge, because it’s easy to think that as individuals we can make little difference. But would I feel any different after reading it?
Seth Wynes (who, we are told, is studying for a PhD in climate change) is sure, with all the enthusiasm of youth, that we can make our actions count. He divides up the book into getting around, what we eat, collective action and everyday living (basically energy use and purchases). Most of this is, frankly, very familiar ground. So we’re told to walk and use bikes more, drive less, fly less, eat less meat, use green energy and don’t buy new stuff unless we have to. The only part I’ve not seen very (very) many times before was is the collective action section. This is based primarily on a survey of MPs and the public in Belgium, with MP comparisons with seven other EU countries, including the UK and Germany.
The recommendations range from most effective being voting, getting active in a party or organisation and writing to your MP, through to the least effective, which were internet discussions, boycotting and divesting, and illegal action. (Wynes doesn’t mention that the authors of the paper he cites point out that the population as a whole have less belief in the effectiveness of politicians than the MPs do.) This is quite interesting, but again is pretty much stating the obvious.
Overall, it’s a likeable book, in a light, fuzzy style with large print and lots of white space. I did have some issues, though. Wynes chickens out of pointing out that nuclear is an important energy source to minimise climate change. Nuclear is only mentioned in the voting section, where he points out that ‘in Europe there is the occasional vote on the use of nuclear energy.� What he doesn’t say is that to help prevent climate change we should be voting for nuclear, contrary to the stance of many green organisations. The reader could take his ambiguous comment as meaning ‘vote against nuclear� - absolutely the opposite of what’s required.
Wynes also makes the classic mistake of seeing the world only from his own position. So, despite a couple of longhaul flights producing the equivalent of two thirds of the entire carbon footprint of a UK citizen, he advocates ‘Take one fewer flight a year�, but ‘live car free.� This is easy advice if you are a city-dwelling academic like Wynes - I’d suggest he should try ‘Live flight free� and ‘half your car use� - but academics do love to fly to conferences, and rarely seem inclined to give up this perk to save the environment.
Finally, there’s a degree of naivety in the way he only provides per capita emissions figures. They are important, but they don't give the full picture. We don't discover, for example, that the fact is the entire UK could go carbon neutral and it would only counter one year's increase in emissions from China. The only way to achieve the desired results is to get international agreement. I’m not saying we shouldn’t do our bit (so stop flying now, Seth!) - but it won’t hold back climate change unless we tackle the far more significant international issues.
Seth Wynes (who, we are told, is studying for a PhD in climate change) is sure, with all the enthusiasm of youth, that we can make our actions count. He divides up the book into getting around, what we eat, collective action and everyday living (basically energy use and purchases). Most of this is, frankly, very familiar ground. So we’re told to walk and use bikes more, drive less, fly less, eat less meat, use green energy and don’t buy new stuff unless we have to. The only part I’ve not seen very (very) many times before was is the collective action section. This is based primarily on a survey of MPs and the public in Belgium, with MP comparisons with seven other EU countries, including the UK and Germany.
The recommendations range from most effective being voting, getting active in a party or organisation and writing to your MP, through to the least effective, which were internet discussions, boycotting and divesting, and illegal action. (Wynes doesn’t mention that the authors of the paper he cites point out that the population as a whole have less belief in the effectiveness of politicians than the MPs do.) This is quite interesting, but again is pretty much stating the obvious.
Overall, it’s a likeable book, in a light, fuzzy style with large print and lots of white space. I did have some issues, though. Wynes chickens out of pointing out that nuclear is an important energy source to minimise climate change. Nuclear is only mentioned in the voting section, where he points out that ‘in Europe there is the occasional vote on the use of nuclear energy.� What he doesn’t say is that to help prevent climate change we should be voting for nuclear, contrary to the stance of many green organisations. The reader could take his ambiguous comment as meaning ‘vote against nuclear� - absolutely the opposite of what’s required.
Wynes also makes the classic mistake of seeing the world only from his own position. So, despite a couple of longhaul flights producing the equivalent of two thirds of the entire carbon footprint of a UK citizen, he advocates ‘Take one fewer flight a year�, but ‘live car free.� This is easy advice if you are a city-dwelling academic like Wynes - I’d suggest he should try ‘Live flight free� and ‘half your car use� - but academics do love to fly to conferences, and rarely seem inclined to give up this perk to save the environment.
Finally, there’s a degree of naivety in the way he only provides per capita emissions figures. They are important, but they don't give the full picture. We don't discover, for example, that the fact is the entire UK could go carbon neutral and it would only counter one year's increase in emissions from China. The only way to achieve the desired results is to get international agreement. I’m not saying we shouldn’t do our bit (so stop flying now, Seth!) - but it won’t hold back climate change unless we tackle the far more significant international issues.
November 28, 2020
Read, read, read! The best and most accessible book about what you can do to help reduce climate change I have read so far (and I've read quite a few).
Available in Swedish with the title "SOS Vad du kan göra för att minska ditt klimatavtryck".
Available in Swedish with the title "SOS Vad du kan göra för att minska ditt klimatavtryck".
June 15, 2020
Very clear and succinct book. It clearly outlines the changes we can make to reduce climate change. While some of the suggestions may have been heard before, this book also explains WHY these changes will have an impact. All suggestion are backed up by evidence, and very clear to understand. Its a short book which can be read in a day. I'd highly recommend it for anyone who wants to know where to start, or understand (very simply) why some changes are commonly suggested.
January 3, 2021
Accessible and informative. Gives a lot of options, as individuals and as a group, on how to help reduce climate change.
July 24, 2021
This book describes the environmental actions you can take as an individual. It’s not only well-written and clear, it’s also inspiring. It ends with a checklist to summarize the book so you can check off the actions you want to take. Definitely recommend if you feel like you want to know and do more.
May 1, 2023
Nice quick read to remind us all to do our bit. Well researched and full of easy tips for your daily life.
October 30, 2020
Vai além daquelas ações que já vemos escritas em qualquer lista do pinterest. Super prático e muito bem fundamentado.
May 19, 2021
Very good entry level, introductory resource on what you can do to combat climate change. Only gave 2 stars not because of how well it's written, more from an enjoyment POV as learning about green chemistry and sustainability through my degree meant I already knew most of the subject matter.
September 6, 2024
Really good book at giving a generalised overview of what small things you can do individually and collectively to reduce your carbon footprint and help the planet
February 28, 2023
I found that this book had a very narrow minded view on climate change, and didn't consider the conditions of those who might be reading it. An example being "simply swap out your petrol or diesel car for an electric". Without any consideration for the extraction of materials needed for lithium batteries, their endurance, and their cost (which is above the budget of most families). It felt like the book wasn't aimed at the average man, but rather the richest 20%
I think it's important that literature such as this is made, and that it's done informally, presenting a bigger picture than what most consider common knowledge, unfortunately this book was nothing but common knowledge. The most insightful information I learnt were the global figures, one showing that the average Australian produces more CO2 per year than the average person from any other country, which could have been discovered from a single Google search.
I think it's important that literature such as this is made, and that it's done informally, presenting a bigger picture than what most consider common knowledge, unfortunately this book was nothing but common knowledge. The most insightful information I learnt were the global figures, one showing that the average Australian produces more CO2 per year than the average person from any other country, which could have been discovered from a single Google search.
December 30, 2020
This is really accessible book for someone (like me) who has never picked up a book about climate change before. It isn't very long and is split into the 'key topics' making it a much less intimidating read and really offered food for thought about how I could get involved and the different aspects of my live I could improve at the same time.
November 14, 2023
I found this to be a very accessible book on climate change. It highlights many of the things we can do as an individual in order to help the state of our planet. In its very short contents, it discusses the impact of meat, travel, and over use of things such as energy or water etc. I would highly recommend to anyone that has little to no knowledge on climate change and the things that damage our habitat.
However, I will say that the book is somewhat too beginner friendly, with many of the points being blatantly obvious to anyone that has read a news article and I felt slightly patronised int eh writing style. Some of the statistics were simply stated with little to no explanation on their origin (bar citing the articles they were from in the notes section), leading to a slight confusion on some of the points that were being made.
The biggest thing that I think was skimmed over was that the majority of carbon emissions (a variable that was mentioned almost too frequently with values in the book) are due to large corporations, while it is important to focus on our own wrong doings when it comes to the environment, systematic change in governance is possibly the only way for drastically lower emissions to occur.
However, I will say that the book is somewhat too beginner friendly, with many of the points being blatantly obvious to anyone that has read a news article and I felt slightly patronised int eh writing style. Some of the statistics were simply stated with little to no explanation on their origin (bar citing the articles they were from in the notes section), leading to a slight confusion on some of the points that were being made.
The biggest thing that I think was skimmed over was that the majority of carbon emissions (a variable that was mentioned almost too frequently with values in the book) are due to large corporations, while it is important to focus on our own wrong doings when it comes to the environment, systematic change in governance is possibly the only way for drastically lower emissions to occur.
Read
April 7, 2020I signed up for this bookcrossing ring at a time when the big concern was the climate crisis, so there's a somewhat surreal feeling, reading this while holed up because of the corona virus pandemic. "Simple actions" is what the title promises, and although I am by no means an expert, I guess I was better informed than I thought as there was very little new or unexpected information. One exception, perhaps, was to learn that making a drive to a farmer's market to buy locally, depending on the distance, would be counterproductive, and the time better spent buying in a far closer shop. It was nonetheless undoubtedly good to review the suggestions.
I am not entirely sure when I can post this further as we have no local post office and trips to a town with a post office are few and far between in these days of self-isolation.
I am not entirely sure when I can post this further as we have no local post office and trips to a town with a post office are few and far between in these days of self-isolation.
March 30, 2021
As a general introduction to climate change related issues and what you individually can do to help; it’s a great book. But, did it provide any information that was new to me? No. Did it suggest anything better than what I already knew? No.
I feel that this book could be turned into Instagram info graphics and would be much more beneficial to a younger audience than this book. As the illustrations are simple and it is an easy read. Which for people who don’t read a lot is great, but if I didn’t already know a lot of this information, I could have googled it for free.
Generally speaking tho, if you’d like to know more about climate change and how to combat it. It is great to have all the information all in one place. It is easy to understand, small and compact. The book isn’t problematic, but it’s not that groundbreaking either.
I feel that this book could be turned into Instagram info graphics and would be much more beneficial to a younger audience than this book. As the illustrations are simple and it is an easy read. Which for people who don’t read a lot is great, but if I didn’t already know a lot of this information, I could have googled it for free.
Generally speaking tho, if you’d like to know more about climate change and how to combat it. It is great to have all the information all in one place. It is easy to understand, small and compact. The book isn’t problematic, but it’s not that groundbreaking either.
February 23, 2020
A polite and restrained call to action on climate change. Much of what is detailed here is stuff that you might already know or be aware of, especially if you maintain an interest in current affairs. It's usefully re-stated here in a way that is certainly simple enough to encourage deeper thought about what you can do to reduce climate change.
Interesting to see some myths around food and drinks substitutes illuminated here. I've seen negative stories about alternative milks expounded regularly in recent years and it was good to read the oft-missing rejoinder. Difficult not to experience some twinges of alarm reading this book however, given how calmly it relates some of the very stiff challenges we face.
Interesting to see some myths around food and drinks substitutes illuminated here. I've seen negative stories about alternative milks expounded regularly in recent years and it was good to read the oft-missing rejoinder. Difficult not to experience some twinges of alarm reading this book however, given how calmly it relates some of the very stiff challenges we face.
December 30, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️� - 3.5 stars
“As a society we need to move away from retail therapy and embrace lives that find meaning outside of consumption� - p121
Overall, this isn’t a bad book. Most of the points that Wynes makes are obvious (especially to someone who already cares about the environment) e.g. don’t fly, don’t drive, go vegan/vegetarian etc. but this could be useful for someone who doesn’t know where to start.
My only real issue with the book is that it ignores all other problems and focuses solely on the climate. Now, I understand that this is a book about the climate, but I just think it’s a little misleading to tell people to go buy an electric car because it’s better for the environment without mentioning the slavery involved in mining the Colbalt for the batteries (e.g. in Congo). Making choices that are better for the environment are very important, but there are always other factors to consider and I think this book would have been better if it acknowledged that the climate crisis is connected with other issues.
“As a society we need to move away from retail therapy and embrace lives that find meaning outside of consumption� - p121
Overall, this isn’t a bad book. Most of the points that Wynes makes are obvious (especially to someone who already cares about the environment) e.g. don’t fly, don’t drive, go vegan/vegetarian etc. but this could be useful for someone who doesn’t know where to start.
My only real issue with the book is that it ignores all other problems and focuses solely on the climate. Now, I understand that this is a book about the climate, but I just think it’s a little misleading to tell people to go buy an electric car because it’s better for the environment without mentioning the slavery involved in mining the Colbalt for the batteries (e.g. in Congo). Making choices that are better for the environment are very important, but there are always other factors to consider and I think this book would have been better if it acknowledged that the climate crisis is connected with other issues.
August 12, 2019
well built but too simplistic: it seems climate change explained to a teenager. It's OK for people that don't know anything about how to behave vs. climate change, but for most it is very predictable and it doesn't add anything "new" to basic advice but the usual "eat less meat", "take less flights", "be careful of who you vote for".
however, referencing of data is done very well, with lots of journal articles to look for for more info.
however, referencing of data is done very well, with lots of journal articles to look for for more info.
December 2, 2019
SOS A brief pointer,useful information gathering and brings out a general idea about -mode to counter climate changes and change in perspective keeping future in mind.
Easy read with few terms to dig down deep for easy reading.
Exclusively-when you bend to read the climates..please look around.And think from heart and mind.
Easy read with few terms to dig down deep for easy reading.
Exclusively-when you bend to read the climates..please look around.And think from heart and mind.
November 1, 2021
A likeable well meaning and light intro if you are starting to think about climate change and your options in your own life. It doesn’t dwell on the real troubles of international business and military carbon emissions but I think this is wise. If enough people become motivated and make changes then..... who knows?
August 25, 2019
Es un libro muy sencillo para empezar a tomar conciencia de lo que podemos hacer desde ya para reducir nuestro impacto medioambiental. Te da pie a seguir profundizando en el tema si te interesa, lo cual es algo que deberíamos hacer todos.
July 12, 2020
This book provides very simple changes that everyone can do to help prevent and slow down the climate crisis happening today.
Although, these may been seen as “too simplistic� the change they can make (as shown by the research in this book) is extensive.
This is a book everyone should read!
Although, these may been seen as “too simplistic� the change they can make (as shown by the research in this book) is extensive.
This is a book everyone should read!
May 31, 2022
Simple book, not much information, but that's also it's strength: Straight to the point, easy for anyone to read, highly accessible. Focuses primarily on change at the individual level, but does have good points on collective action too.
January 13, 2024
Very informative, I like how it visualised the environmental impacts of different activities and lifestyle. It is also easy to read and that makes it accessible, hopefully resulting in more people making small changes in their lives to fight the climate change.
October 13, 2019
It's a great book as an introduction on the climate change topic. The book provides tips you can start applying in your life to get started
November 14, 2019
Don't expect anything too in-depth. But for people that want to do SOMETHING then it's a good starting point.
March 1, 2020
Quick, efficient, well-sourced. A good how-to guide for those who want to know what to do.
May 29, 2021
A 45 min read that gives some simples actions to reduce your climate impact - while the facts or suggestions are quite common, I like the perspective.
May 31, 2021
Don’t fly and don’t eat meat, basically.
July 17, 2021
Quite a short easy to read book on some tips for slowing down climate change on both an individual and collective level
December 22, 2021
It wasn't bad; it just wasn't anything new.
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