I was browsing for Christmas gifts and I ironically came across a wonderous little book called Stuff: The Secret Lives of Everyday Things by John C. Ryan and Alan Thein Durning.
The very simple message ties in well with our recent Buy Nothing Day: most of the everyday 'stuff' in our lives has a very environmentally un-friendly past. The book takes a look at what an average North American uses in a single day and tracks the inputs required for their coffee, T-shirt, computer, hamburger, etc. Treehugger.com reports that
"The findings are startling: did you know that it takes 700 gallons of water just so you can have your Quarter-Pounder?"
I certainly did not. My irony comes in where I was actually shopping for presents, which really are just more 'stuff'. Would this book make a good purchase (in place of other stuff) and where would it rank in terms of a scary, earth-destroying past?
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