Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don't Know You Have

by Tatiana Schlossberg

Overview

*First Place Winner of the Society of Environmental Journalists' Rachel Carson Environment Book Award*

From a former New York Times science writer, this urgent call to action—updated for paperback with a new preface and afterword—will empower you to stand up to climate change and environmental pollution by making simple but impactful everyday choices.

With urgency and wit, Tatiana Schlossberg explains that far from being only a distant problem of the natural world created by the fossil fuel industry, climate change is all around us, all the time, lurking everywhere in our convenience-driven society, all without our realizing it.

By examining the unseen and unconscious environmental impacts in four areas-the Internet and technology, food, fashion, and fuel - Schlossberg helps readers better understand why climate change is such a complicated issue, and how it connects all of us: How streaming a movie on Netflix in New York burns coal in Virginia; how eating a hamburger in California might contribute to pollution in the Gulf of Mexico; how buying an inexpensive cashmere sweater in Chicago expands the Mongolian desert; how destroying forests from North Carolina is necessary to generate electricity in England.

Cataloging the complexities and frustrations of our carbon-intensive society with a dry sense of humor, Schlossberg makes the climate crisis and its solutions interesting and relevant to everyone who cares, even a little, about the planet. She empowers readers to think about their stuff and the environment in a new way, helping them make more informed choices when it comes to the future of our world.

Most importantly, this is a book about the power we have as voters and consumers to make sure that the fight against climate change includes all of us and all of our stuff, not just industry groups and politicians. If we have any hope of solving the problem, we all have to do it together.

"A compelling-and illuminating-look at how our daily habits impact the environment."—Vanity Fair

"If you're looking for something to cling to in what often feels like a hopeless conversation, Schlossberg's darkly humorous, knowledge-is-power, eyes-wide-open approach may be just the thing."—Vogue

"Shows how even the smallest decisions can have profound environmental consequences."—The New York Times

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538747070
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	03/29/2022
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	435,697
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Tatiana Schlossberg is a journalist writing about climate change and the environment. She previously reported on those subjects for the Science and Climate sections of the New York Times, where she also worked on the Metro desk. Her work has also appeared in the Atlantic, Bloomberg View, the Record (Bergen County), and the Vineyard Gazette. She lives in New York.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Introduction 1

Technology and the Internet 9

The Physical Internet 13

Bringing the Cloud to Earth 23

Taking It Offline: E-Commerce 37

Silicon Valley: A Toxic Waste Dump? You Decide 46

Mining for Tech 52

Vampire Power 56

The Tech We Throw Away 63

Food 71

The Greediest Crop 76

Wasting Away 86

Organic Food: How Good Is It? 95

How Far Our Food Goes 105

A Sea of Troubles 113

Fashion 123

Thirsty for Denim 130

Athleisure Forever! 140

Fast Fashion, but Going Nowhere 149

It's Not Wood, It's Rayon 157

The Yarn That Makes a Desert 163

Fuel 171

The Other Problem with Coal 177

The Wood for the Trees 187

Staying Cool, Getting Hotter 195

The Great Big Cargo Route in the Sky 202

Shipping: The World in a Box 210

Cars, Trucks, and Justice 218

Hitching a Ride(share) 224

Conclusion 231

Afterword 237

Acknowledgments 243

Notes 247

About the Author 285

Editorial Reviews

…[Schlossberg] has scoured the internet for pretty much every scary and fascinating statistic on her subject that you can imagine, and her time has been well spent. You come away from her book with a stronger sense of the sheer largeness of the human enterprise—the number of us now consuming, and the overwheleming effect of all that volume.

The New York Times Book Review - Bill McKibben

05/27/2019

In this straightforward, accessible look at the environmental impact of consumer habits, journalist Schlossberg examines how seemingly innocuous “everyday, run-of-the-mill” decisions substantially affect the wellbeing of the planet. She divides her discussion into four manageable parts devoted to, respectively, technology, food production, fashion, and fuel. Regarding the first, she observes that the extraction of the metals used to manufacture lithium ion batteries—“the invention that, more than almost any other... powers our phones, laptops, and electric cars”—often comes “at great environmental and human cost” in such countries as Argentina, Chile, and Congo. Meanwhile, the “biggest environmental problem created by agriculture,” according to Schlossberg, is due to corn. So much of this crop is grown, mostly for products such as alcohol, oil, animal feed, and sweeteners, that it wreaks havoc on biodiversity and native ecosystems. Style-conscious readers should be particularly fascinated by Schlossberg’s critical look at fashion industry practices, notably the water-intensive process through which cotton gets made into denim. With insight and urgency, Schlossberg prods readers to think more deeply about how they participate in these and other activities, and how they might mitigate their impact. In the process, she delivers an intriguing and educational narrative. Zoe Sandler, Esther Newberg, ICM Partners (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"Focusing on food, fashion, technology and fuel, she shows how even the smallest decisions can have profound environmental consequences."—New York Times

"A compelling-and illuminating-look at how our daily habits impact the environment...[Schlossberg's] wry, sometimes self-deprecating humor makes the depth of research and information provided throughout the book go down easy."—VanityFair

"Inconspicuous Consumption is scary informative-in both senses-but also oddly enjoyable, filled with salty jokes and fun (or not so fun) facts...If you're looking for something to cling to in what often feels like a hopeless conversation, Schlossberg's darkly humorous, knowledge-is-power, eyes-wide-open approach may be just the thing."—Vogue

"To solve the climate crisis, it is crucial that we address the problems in the way our democracy is functioning. In her illuminating book, Inconspicuous Consumption, Tatiana Schlossberg does just that by exploring how individuals, corporations, and governments are all contributing to this crisis, and how we need to work together to help fix it."—Former Vice President Al Gore

"Entertaining and eye-opening...the sharp, well written book doesn't read like an admonishment; instead it's a call to action that reminds us all of our responsibility and capability to change the world."—Town & Country

"The author breaks complex issues down to be understandable to the lay reader, while her humor and wit ensure that readers will close the book feeling energized rather than hopeless."—Booklist (starred review)

"Readers will find solace, humor and a route to feeling empowered with possibilities for positive change, rather than drained by an accumulation of bad news."—Society of Environmental Journalists' Judges for the Rachel Carson Environment Book Award

"The subject of climate change is inescapable, as it should be, but too few stories focus on one's everyday impact upon the environment. In Inconspicuous Consumption, former New York Times science writer Tatiana Schlossberg breaks down exactly how everyday activities - watching Netflix, eating a burger, turning on the light - impact the environment."—Bustle

"How many chances do we get each day to make a meaningful difference for Earth? Plenty, says environmental writer Tatiana Schlossberg. Can we eradicate ecodespair? With knowledge, context, and applicable insight, yes, absolutely. Moreover, as thoughtful citizens we can begin to reverse ecodystopia to utopia. Inconspicuous Consumption is smart, funny, and helpful, and this is everything because our Earth deserves our full attention."—Min Jin Lee, author of Free Food for Millionairesand Pachinko, finalist for the National Book Award

"Schlossberg adeptly guides readers toward understanding the unlikely implications of how the manufacture of everyday acquisitions...exact environmental and human costs. Beyond individual choices, though, Schlossberg's sophisticated understanding of the world's complexity and her conversational style rally readers to vigilance about corporate and governmental oversight in this small world."—The National Book Review

"An approachable, lighthearted tally of our more pernicious environmental impacts, rich with historical context. For all its aversion to the reductionist notion of an ecofriendly lifestyle in the twenty-first century, this book delivers on actionable data for the ecoconscious consumer and climate activist."—Kim Cobb, professor, earth and atmospheric sciences,Georgia Institute of Technology

"Schlossberg brings a variety of current conversations on environment together in down-to-earth, easily understood terms. Avoiding dense technical language and writing in a highly personalized style laced with humor and asides, the author provides much-needed clarifications about climate change and pollution that not only empower average consumers with the ability to act and make informed decisions, but also encourage and inspire that action. If fighting climate change can be engaging, fun, and fulfilling, this is the road map."—Kirkus

"[A] straightforward, accessible look at the environmental impact of consumer habits...With insight and urgency, Schlossberg prods readers to think more deeply...[and] delivers an intriguing and educational narrative."—Publishers Weekly

"With this call for mass action [Schlossberg] presents valuable information that could help readers make more sustainable choices in their lives."—Library Journal

From the Publisher

By the time listeners finish this audiobook, two facts become apparent: Humans are negatively impacting the environment in numerous ways they are not even aware of, and Schlossberg should have left the narration to a professional. Her delivery lacks solid inflection, and though she fills the audiobook with puns and jokes, her voice doesn’t reflect their playfulness. Despite the complexity of her understanding of inconspicuous consumption, her narration doesn’t motivate or engage listeners; instead it leaves them feeling as disengaged as her tone. That is especially disappointing given that she shows how everything from Internet usage to clothes to waste food represents missed opportunities and further degradation of the environment. L.E. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2019 - AudioFile

By the time listeners finish this audiobook, two facts become apparent: Humans are negatively impacting the environment in numerous ways they are not even aware of, and Schlossberg should have left the narration to a professional. Her delivery lacks solid inflection, and though she fills the audiobook with puns and jokes, her voice doesn’t reflect their playfulness. Despite the complexity of her understanding of inconspicuous consumption, her narration doesn’t motivate or engage listeners; instead it leaves them feeling as disengaged as her tone. That is especially disappointing given that she shows how everything from Internet usage to clothes to waste food represents missed opportunities and further degradation of the environment. L.E. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2019 - AudioFile

2019-07-01
An environmental journalist pens an informative, practical guide to understanding and acting on climate change.

To many, the climate change crisis often seems so overwhelming and intimidating that they try to avoid thinking about it altogether. As former New York Times reporter Schlossberg relates, before becoming informed, "I didn't like reading about climate change and its effects—it filled me with dread and made me feel powerless. The problems seemed too big and too inevitable for me to do anything about, so it felt like it was probably best to look away." But as she demonstrates in her debut book, climate change is not just a remote problem about California wildfires and superhurricanes that is only relevant to scientists and legislators. "There are trade-offs and consequences for almost everything we buy and use and eat," she writes; our personal choices and daily activities have a direct impact on the planet's overall health and future. Breaking the narrative into four categories—Technology and the Internet, Food, Fashion, and Fuel—Schlossberg follows and connects the dots between our habits and the far-reaching consequences they may have. Although the thrust of the book is climate change, this is more a volume about cause and effect that tackles a broad scope of topics. Whether visiting a Connecticut apple orchard to flesh out the current definition of "organic food," exploring microplastic pollution caused by sweat-wicking microfiber athletic wear, or weighing the environmental advantages of e-commerce versus traditional retail shopping, Schlossberg brings a variety of current conversations on environment together in down-to-earth, easily understood terms. Avoiding dense technical language and writing in a highly personalized style laced with humor and asides, the author provides much-needed clarifications about climate change and pollution that not only empower average consumers with the ability to act and make informed decisions, but also encourage and inspire that action.

If fighting climate change can be engaging, fun, and fulfilling, this is the road map.

Kirkus Reviews