We do love our green gadgets. But though we do profess more than a passing degree of eco-acumen, the reality is (shhh!) it sometimes takes an inordinate amount of time for us to truly understand what we’re talking about. (I’m talking about me, really, but I’m passing the buck here to the entire EcoSalon team. Again, shh.) So I’ve found a book for “us”! Green Gadgets For Dummies.
Part of the now classic “Dummies” series, the book covers “everything from iPods to energy-efficient home entertainment devices to solar laptop chargers and crank-powered gizmos.” It’s written by New York Times Green Inc. blogger Joe Hutsko, who’s also contributed some seriously non-dummy stuff to Fortune, MSNBC.com, Wired, the Washington Post, Newsweek, Time, Macworld, PC World and others. His personal blog, JOEyGADGET, is also pretty cool.
The book’s basically a primer on researching and purchasing green gadgets, and also provides pointers on using what you already have in smarter, more environmentally friendly ways. It includes info on financial savings, reducing your carbon footprint and even ways to avoid “greenwashing” – being deceived by BS green PR and marketing practices. There are also chapters on green lifestyle, computer energy savings specific to both Mac and Windows, mobile phones and recycling.
The book is now a part of the EcoSalon reference library, for all of us (well, for me) to use when needed.