Book reviews

Even in the so-called digital age books are ever important for information distribution and entertainment, philosophical discussion and bedtime stories. Here we present book reviews (and may sometimes slip in films, websites, or other media) that relate in some way to those so very broad terms environment and sustainability.

Reviews are by the Canberra Environment Centre unless otherwise credited. Reviews are under author surname in the review list, or scroll through the body of reviews by title.


Review list

High Tech Trash: Digital Devices, Hidden Toxics, Human Health
Elizabeth Grossman
Island Press, 2006 (reviewed July 2008)

Environmental Law Toolkit - NSW: a community guide to environmental law (fifth edition) 
Environmental Defender's Office (NSW) (ed. Pepe Clarke) 
The Federation Press, 2005 (reviewed August 2005)
   
Your call is important to us: the truth about bullshit 
Laura Penny
Scribe, Melbourne, 2005 (reviewed September 2005)

Reviews

High Tech Trash: Digital Devices, Hidden Toxics, Human Health
Elizabeth Grossman
Island Press, 2006

Reviewed July 2008
This book has come at the right time. Although it was published in 2006, I only recently finished reading this contribution to the escalating E-waste debate by New York born environmental journalist, Elizabeth Grossman. Grossman poses  many pertinent questions in her new book, asking the reader to consider the last time they upgraded their mobile, TV or computer. She also questions how much technological equipment we have each discarded over the last decade and where has it all 'gone'. Through such questioning Grossman paints a very clear and concise picture of the life cycle of electronics and it turns out to be a pretty disturbing image. While not an easy book to read at times,  I think Grossman's  trenchant realism is what is needed right now to snap this issue into global focus. Grossman has a sharp ability to put the growing problem of E-waste into terms that we can all understand. She begins her study by exploring the costs of high-tech production in terms of the economy, environment and human health. She also takes a close look at the exportation of E-waste to the developing world.  Whilst the electronics that are shipped from rich to poor nations contain valuable material and prevent products from ending up in landfill, Grossman maintains that recycling only provides a sound alternative if recovery takes place under safe circumstances. Otherwise this process is damaging in many forms be they in regard to health, the environment or even social consciousness.

Grossman reminds us that while we might like to think of the electronic information age as 'lean and clean' the reality is far different. The immediacy and intangibility of global connections and 'cyberspace' let us imagine the E-industry as removed from pollution or wastage. Unfortunately, the E-industry produces a massive environmental impact through the manufacturing and disposal of electronics. Electronic equipment is made up of a diverse range of  plastics, complex chemical compounds and  metals, including highly toxic material such as lead and mercury which cause severe damage to the environment and human health if not disposed of properly. 

However, its not all bad news. Grossman highlights that certain developed nations are taking responsibility for this growing problem by introducing legislation to control the management of E-waste. The EU has implemented the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directives which have mandated manufacturer recycling. However, the US and also Australia is still lagging on this front. For me Grossman's book really pointed out that without government leadership, manufacturers will not self-regulate and that for this issue to be managed sustainably there must be collaboration. The author may be writing from a North American perspective but her cutting observations about the perverse obsession we as humans have for machines and disposable goods is pretty universal. At times 'High-Tech Trash' can be quite dense reading given all the technical terminology that complex chemicals are loaded with but I still found this a really interesting book.

Recommended

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Environmental Law Toolkit – NSW: A community guide to environmental law (fifth edition)
Environmental Defender’s Office (NSW) edited by Pepe Clarke 

The Federation Press, 2005

Reviewed August 2005

Community-based environmental management is an increasingly influential sector in environmental policy and management decision-making.  Increasingly, also, communities are required to be well informed and fully aware of all facets of the complexities surrounding environmental issues.  Now in its fifth edition, the Environmental Law Toolkit is a user-friendly guide through the legal minefield of the environment.  Although aimed at community groups, it is equally applicable for individuals or businesses that need to be across the vast range of issues, Acts and policy requirements that define environmental management.

 

This latest edition of the NSW Environmental Defender’s Office publication updates and improves upon the 2001 (fourth) edition.  The expanded table of contents gives a snapshot view of the book, and allows the sort of easy navigation we have become accustomed to with websites.  Each chapter covers of broad category of environmental law, divided into specific issues within the categories.  Chapter 4, for example, is “Natural resources”, which is then divided into sections on Mining, Forestry, Catchment management, Vegetation management, Water management, and Coastal management.  Chapter 7 covers Environmental advocacy, an area that is becoming more relevant to community groups as they use the law to achieve positive environmental ends.  The final chapter provides a thorough list of contacts and resources for anyone involved in community-based environmental management.

 

A useful inclusion in each section are legal case studies, outlining particular cases and their outcomes as signposts and indicators for community groups or individuals who may be involved in similar cases or action.  The EDO also offers a critique of specific cases and case studies.

  

This book would be a useful addition the shelf for any community environmental group, local government or environmental practitioner.  It is well set-out, logical, easy to read the information is fully accessible.

Highly recommended

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Your call is important to us: The truth about bullshit

I have always wanted to write a book that begins with the sentence, "We live in an era of unprecendented bullshit production".  Unfortunately for me (fortunately for everyone else), Laura Penny has beaten me to it.  Penny's is an insightful and cynical look at how media hype, spin-doctoring, PR, general public apathy and the very language that pervades our every waking moment is anaesthetising us into a stupor of rampant consumerism.  This book is at once a satire on 21st century life and a how-to survival manual.

For those of us involved in the environment, this book comes as a sound and timely reminder to beware of the greenwash and, in particular, its influence on the consuming public.  In Chapter 2 ("Painting the Lawn Green") she writes on the subject of the auto industry's marketing of SUV (4WD) vehicles:

"The notorious gas-guzzlers are invariably shown speeding through the glorious natural world that their emissions threaten."  The message of the advertisers is that the ownership of such a vehicle puts one in closer proximity to nature.  "[4WD ads] depict SUVs ploughing through the forest, the desert, the mountains, the tundra, and the ocean surf."

Penny writes with a cutting humourous edge.  She follows in the footsteps of John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton (Trust us, we're experts!, Toxic Sludge is good for you! and Mad Cow, USA) but she focuses on the economy and the PR mechanisms that ensure that we all maintain our roles as homo economicus.

Although Penny delivers her message with a sugar coating of humour, like all sweets, once the sugary sensation fades, the tooth decay sets in.  Read once to enjoy the wit - the second time for the message.

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