How Bad Are Bananas?: The Carbon Footprint of Everything [Paperback]

If you accept the scientific consensus that climate change is happening, is caused largely by humans, and is something that requires immediate action, then this book is a must-read. (If you don't accept the above premises, why are you reading this review at all?)

The author sets out to establish estimates of the carbon footprints of a wide variety of products and services--cherry tomatoes, e-mail, swimming pools, nylon pants, a lamb chop.... As he frequently reminds us, approximations are unavoidable and in many places the process is more art than science, particularly when examining something as complex as a computer, or an automobile, or a war (!). But he presents reasoning and arguments that seemed to this reader to be credible, if the results were sometimes surprising.

If we are to take carbon emissions seriously henceforth (and I'm sorry to say that it's not clear that we will, yet, especially here in the U.S.), we will need to "pick our battles", as the author puts it--understand that whether we dry our hands with paper towels or an air blower is utterly trivial next to the question of how many intercontinental flights we take each year. In a sense, we have only a very poor understanding of the carbon costs of all manner of things; this book is a helpful first step to remedy the situation, and contains quite a few surprises. (especially about cheeseburger-powered bicycles!)

I would have organized it a bit differently myself...presenting different alternatives for eg. vegetables (locally grown vs. air-freighted in etc) is quite useful, but I'm not sure how totting up the carbon footprint of "the world's data centers" helps anyone choose anything. Worse still is the tacked-on "black carbon" near the end, which is not a product or service, indeed not even in the same category--it's a consequence, not a cause.

But these are relative nits. Sooner or later (...and for our childrens sake, it had better be sooner) we will all have to learn about the environmental costs of our lifestyles, to parallel the financial costs. This is a valiant effort to that end.

I have a few problems with this book but the bottom line is everyone should have or have access to a copy.

Admittedly, I am no expert familiar with whatever may be in the field of analysis that this book inhabits. That said, this is the only book I know of that analyses in detail the "carbon cost" of almost everything we make, eat, do. It is absolutely an essential type of book, one that can help us judge what in our lifestyles is important and what is not. It helps us make innumerable value judgements on a daily basis beyond the obvious ones (carpooling vs. not, for example).

One line (p85, r.e. CO2 cost of asparagus out of season, as an example) perhaps is worth the price of the book: "... it is difficult to see how there can be any place at all for air-freighted food in a sustainable world." Berners-Lee gives us the numbers for air freight vs. ship freight, etc., to prove the point and to give us the tools we critically need to make unbiased, sane judgements pertaining to our lifestyle choices.

One qualm I have about the book is it's graphical style. I think it should have more "punch" and be a little more "ready-to-hand". But the data are there as is an index to look up our favorite activity or lifestyle choice.

Another small but disconcerting qualm I have is with a table of numbers in the back of the book (pp.194-195). There is a serious editing error in that population numbers are labeled "millions" but all the number are actually thousands. The resultant GHG (greenhouse gas) number thus becomes not "tons per person per year" but MILLIONS of tons per person per year, which is absurd. Apparently the author was tired when doing the table and obviously had no editorial help. What is perhaps disconcerting is the fact that the ENTIRE book is all about numbers and if he screwed up such a simple tabulation ....?

But actually, I don't think that is a concern because all the calculations in the text of the book are detailed section by section and transparently explained.

Ultimately, this is a readable, valuable handbook that will, I hope be analyzed and refined and enhanced in the coming very few years and become part of everyone's daily consciousness.

...............
PS - bananas are NOT very bad at all, being shipped by sea (1% CO2 cost of air freight) in their own packaging, requiring little other CO2-generative support.

This is part general overview of carbon footprinting and part reference manual for life planning. Because it goes through items in a detailed manner, you get a good sense of comparison. It also provides statistically reliable information on major items that are often subject to opinion or confusion. You can skip around the book or read it in order and still get good information. Most important, Berners-Lee isn't bomabastic or judgemental, and allows readers to make their own decisions about how to lead an informed life.