A review by wictory
Living Like Ed: One Man's Guide to Living an Environmentally Friendly Life by Ed Begley Jr.

5.0

I found Ed Begley Jr.'s guide to green living very accessible to people getting more into this lifestyle. The overall tone of the book was very positive - Ed's enthusiasm for all things eco-friendly is pervasive. He shares his approach to energy saving or recycling, and gives good explanations for the why this each is a useful conservation habit.

I found that I liked the additional voices included in the book, Ed's wife Rachelle chimes in occasionally and "Ed's Green Friends" have sections where they explain the benefits of specific products and practices. I appreciated Rachelle's point of view as someone who is adapting from a life of "regular" consumption to a more environmentally-aware lifestyle. I also liked that Ed left some of the more technical explanations to experts in his "Green Friends" sections. He clearly knows his stuff and has crunched the numbers and has a big-picture mentality when it comes to consumption, but he doesn't sound like a know-it-all, he sounds more like someone passing along helpful hints from their experience.

I jotted down notes about the types of recyclable plastics and found his recylcing sorting guide very useful. I do think that this book is most helpful in Ed's own southern California area, because I took his advice and Googled my area and "hazardous waste" only to find that getting rid of it responsibly is not as easy as Ed makes it sound. Also, ridding my life of e-waste is not going to be convenient or free. Still, he answers a lot of valuable questions and lays out solid reasoning for cutting consumption. Thanks, Ed!