Book Roundup Wednesday: Books About Eco-Affection

 Every Wednesday, we review a selection of new and upcoming books addressing a specific aspect of environmentalism. This week, in the spirit of Valentine's Day, we’re recommending books about how to love and take care of  yourself and your partner.

Eco-Sex: Go Green Between the Sheets and Make Your Love Life Sustainable (by Stefanie Iris Weiss, $10, Ten Speed Press, Mar. 2010): Trying to court an enviro-chick or Mr. Goodplanet? Eco-Sex  will take you from book cover to sheet cover with your eco-mate, addressing everything from green dates to earth-friendly aphrodisiacs to safe, healthy sex.

The Essential Green You! Easy Ways to Detox Your Diet, Your Body, and Your Life (Deirdre Imus, $14, Simon & Schuster, Inc., Jan. 2009): In this third volume, Imus presents a complete love-yourself detox plan for women: diet, body, and life. As you flip pages, you realize that green clothing is no longer pricey, eco-eating habits are painless, and nontoxic personal-care items won’t cost you your look.

Go Green Get Lean: Trim Your Waistline with the Ultimate Low-Carbon Footprint Diet (Kate Geagan, $14, Rodale Inc., 2009): Addressing America’s steady stomp toward obesity, Geagan argues that foods smothered in fossil fuels are doubling waistlines just as fast as transfat in this eye-opening read. Even while correlating the unhealthy foods we eat with our growing carbon footprint, she candidly discloses her own flaws as a dietitian and mother trying to balance a fast-paced life with a healthy diet. She also describes the “PB&J moment” that altered her outlook on nutrition and the changes she’s made since, which can be applied to any lifestyle.

Ecobeauty: Scrubs, Rubs, Masks, and Bath Bombs for You and Your Friends (Lauren Cox, $14, Ten Speed Press, Mar. 2009): Cox writes that environmental consciousness and cosmetics can coexist harmoniously within a single person’s lifestyle, and that balance between the two starts at home. She reveals 100 eco-friendly and economically efficient projects (try making your own body scrub!) to overcome bad skin, dry hair, and greenhouse gases.

 

--Nicholas Mukhar