 “Ecological Intelligence: How Knowing the Hidden Impacts of What We Can Buy Can Change Everything,” will change . The author, Daniel Goleman, is a best-selling writer who reveals the hidden costs of what we buy, like the externalized costs that the environment pays for. Goleman also illustrates new market forces that can drive the changes we must make to prevent catastrophe.
Goleman’s premise is “radical transparency.” He suggests that, if consumers are aware of the ecological impact of the products they buy, they will buy more environmentally sensitive products. Perhaps Goleman’s strongest point is that he is able to get into the mind of his readers. After reading this book, the external costs of the products you buy will fill your mind, in a good way.
Goleman asks his readers to go beyond buzzwords like “organic,” “recycled,” and “fair-trade.” We need to achieve a deeper understanding of how the products we buy, use, and discard affect the environment. In an interview with Oprah, Goleman points out that most of the steps we take today, such as turning down the thermostat, using reusable shopping bags, and recycling paper, will be seen as baby steps. He also points out to Oprah the danger of greenwashing, which is the selective display of the virtues of a product, while hiding the disadvantages. For example, a shirt that is labeled 100% organic cotton uses about 660 gallons of water to grow the cotton. And if the shirt is colored, a large amount of dye, which harbor carcinogens, rinses off into factory wastewater, which could end up in rivers. Goleman states that while these products are “green-ish,” draped with the appearance of ecological merit, that’s not the whole truth.
The whole truth can be found with GoodGuide, a new software program. It calculates the specific ecological impact of a product through its entire life, from manufacturing, transportation, use, and disposal. Another great resource is CostmeticDatabase, a website that evaluates ingredients in cosmetics. Goleman also believed eco-moms will lead the green revolution since mothers do most of the shopping that affect the well-being of their families.
Goleman sells his readers on life cycle assessment (LCA), a method used by industrial ecologists to assess the impact of man-made systems, such as the production and distribution of organic shirts, on the environment.
“Ecological Intelligence” is an engaging read that hooks its readers from the beginning. As Goleman begins the book, he discusses an impulse buy: a little 99-cent red and yellow toy car for his grandson. After coming home, he discovered that lead is added into paint (especially red and yellow) to make it last longer, and that cheaper products are more likely to contain lead because it’s cheaper than alternatives. He pictured his grandson, who was eighteen months old at the time, chewing on the little toy car. In light of that toy car (which he never gave to his grandson), he set out to discover how humans could intelligently consume products.
This book tracks Goleman’s quest to find the answer, both for the consumer and for the producer. It is a fascinating book that will change how you see the world we consume.
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