I had a self-serving reason to pick Sustainability for the Rest of Us: Your No-Bullshit Five-point Plan for Saving the Planet by John Pabon up to read. I want to be sustainable. I want to save the planet. I’ve made efforts over time to reduce my carbon footprint, but it never seemed like enough. I hoped that the author would finally provide me with some additional clues on where my efforts could be better expended. 

In the beginning, I believed that I had made an error in judgment. This wasn’t the book for me, after all. Not only does Mr. Pabon declare that “this idea that you can be the change you want to see in this world is nonsense,” but he goes on to poke fun at the environmentally conscious, calling them “greenies.” Then he talks about how no one in their right mind would give up their smartphone and car and live off-grid. Hmm, well, since I don’t have a smartphone or car and do, in fact, live off-grid, perhaps I am not in my right mind. Or maybe I’m an anomaly. Or probably Mr. Pabon is making generalizations here.

Regardless, I thought I’d keep going despite being insulted to my face since the book promised so much. Fortunately, the next few chapters were well-researched and refrained from name-calling. Well, I guess that isn’t true since point number three was, “Don’t be a Dick.” Of course, I didn’t feel like I was doing the dicky things highlighted in that chapter, so it wasn’t offensive to me anyway.

Although you probably have figured it out already from the title, there isn’t a lot of pussy-footing around the topic of sustainability in this book. From declaring that China is now in the forefront of the green revolution to berating Prince Henry as being far from environmentally conscious when he takes his private jet to summits even if he isn’t wearing any shoes at the podium, it was interesting to see our that “heroes” have feet of clay after all.

Complicated environmental issues were broken down into easily digestible segments, and the down-to-earth commentary wasn’t as abrasive at it first seemed. I would suggest that the author learn when to use an apostrophe and when just to add an -s to nouns, but I’m an English teacher, so I notice that sort of repeated grammar error.

The section that appealed to me most was on how to be a pragmatic altruist. It’s true that the methods in the past are not effective in enacting real change. A pragmatic altruist will thus find a different way to participate in the climate revolution. I also found the afterward “Sustainability in the Time of Coronavirus” to be an interesting addition to the climate change discussion. 

All-in-all, Sustainability for the Rest of Us: Your No-Bullshit Five-point Plan for Saving the Planet by John Pabon provided quite a bit of food for thought about my future actions. If you’ve any interest in saving our planet, then I would recommend you pick up a copy of this book too.