My second book in 20 books, 20 weeks is 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth (UK edition with a white cover) by The Earth Works Group.
I can’t remember when I bought this book, or if it was given to me. As the title suggests, it contains some simple changes you can make to reduce your environmental impact. Some of the suggestions are out of date for a good reason – attitudes towards saving the planet have changed in 30+ years, and mostly for the better. Renewable energy wasn’t a big thing when the book was published, but now it’s common to see a third or more of UK electricity demand being met from wind, solar and hydro (wind in particular is a big contributor). Newspaper circulation has also declined, and far less junk mail is sent through the post, so advice on how to recycle those is also redundant for many people. Whilst I can remember leaded petrol, it’s not been possible to buy it at UK petrol stations for over a decade, and with a few exceptions it’s been eradicated worldwide.
However, there are a lot of useful tips which are relevant today. Reducing consumption and recycling where possible are necessary, and easier now that we have doorstep recycling in the UK. We haven’t done as much as we can to protect the rainforests, UK homes are still poorly insulated, and different approaches to managing landscapes and gardens (e.g. by using less water and encouraging a diverse range of species) would be a positive step forward.
In terms of the impact, it was hugely influential on me as a teenager. I read the book cover to cover many times, and had most of the contents memorised at one point – which I would repeat to anyone who was interested (and some who were not!). Although my undergraduate degree (computer science) wasn’t related to the environment, and I don’t work in the sector, I did join one of the largest local Friends of the Earth groups at university, as well as People & Planet and Greenpeace. I ended up co-running Manchester Friends of the Earth for several years, as well as sorting out the accounts as treasurer, and I still do as much as I can to reduce my environmental impact (I don’t have children or a car and don’t fly, but I do eat meat and live alone).