Two Minutes a Day for a Greener Planet

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Lamb is one of the more successful workers in the cause of raising
public awareness of the individual’s role in fighting environmental
damage. Her radio and TV appearances and magazine columns have made her
a household name in Ontario, and her message has been welcomed as the
positive side of the pollution problem. You, too, can make a difference,
she says. Single-handedly you can’t save the rain forests or the ozone
layer, but if everyone did just a bit, collectively the impact for good
would be substantial. Her success in spreading this message is
illustrated by the impression made by this book: although copyrighted as
recently as 1990, already most of the information it contains is part of
the popular body of knowledge on the environment. In 1990, Lamb’s
tips, ideas, and suggestions were fresh and innovative. Today the
reaction to the work is much more likely to be that it contains nothing
new, that the tips and ideas are “just common sense.”

The book is written with a marvelously friendly, light touch. This,
plus a layout designed for easy access to the information, makes the
work a pleasure to cover once quickly and to pick out specific topics
for a more detailed consideration.

Lamb’s focus is on the world of the individual—home, car, stores,
school, workplace— and the opportunities for making “green”
choices in every aspect of daily life. She doesn’t demand absolutes or
fanaticism. She doesn’t ask readers to give up their cars, merely to
be more thoughtful about their use. She touches on some things we can
use less of (beef, water, building supplies) and some we can live
happily without (paper towels, gift wrap, most cleaners). She explains
and illustrates the “Three Rs”—reduce, reuse, and recycle—and
gives detailed instructions for composting.

This book is a landmark in the popular environmental movement. It
became a classic as it came off the press.