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CM . . . . Volume XV Number 17. . . .April 17, 2009. 
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Using Energy. (Green Team).
Sally Hewitt.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2009.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (hc.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-4103-9 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-4096-4 (RLB).
Subject Headings:
Power resources-Juvenile literature.
Energy conservation-Juvenile literature.
Grades 3-6 / Ages 8-12.
Review by Harriet Zaidman.
**/4
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Using Water. (Green Team).
Sally Hewitt.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2009.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (hc.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-4104-6 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-4097-1 (RLB).
Subject Headings:
Water supply-Juvenile literature.
Water use-Juvenile literature.
Water conservation-Juvenile literature.
Grades 3-6 / Ages 8-12.
Review by Harriet Zaidman.
**/4
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Your Food. (Green Team).
Sally Hewitt.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2009.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (hc.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-4106-0 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-4099-5 (RLB).
Subject Headings:
Food-Juvenile literature.
Environmental responsibility-Juvenile literature.
Sustainable living-Juvenile literature.
Grades 3-6 / Ages 8-12.
Review by Harriet Zaidman.
**/4
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Your Local Environment. (Green Team).
Sally Hewitt.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2009.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (hc.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-4107-7 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-4100-8 (RLB).
Subject Headings:
Environmental responsibility-Juvenile literature.
Environmental protection-Juvenile literature.
Grades 3-6 / Ages 8-12.
Review by Harriet Zaidman.
**/4
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Waste and Recycling. (Green Team).
Sally Hewitt.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2009.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (hc.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-4105-3 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-4098-8 (RLB).
Subject Headings:
Recycling (Waste, etc.)-Juvenile literature.
Refuse and refuse disposal-Juvenile literature.
Grades 3-6 / Ages 8-12.
Review by Harriet Zaidman.
**/4
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Reduce and Reuse. (Green Team).
Sally Hewitt.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2009.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (hc.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-4102-2 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-4095-7 (RLB).
Subject Headings:
Waste minimization-Juvenile literature.
Salvage (Waste, etc.)-Juvenile literature.
Recycling (Waste, etc.)-Juvenile literature.
Grades 3-6 / Ages 8-12.
Review by Harriet Zaidman.
**/4
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excerpt:
Turn it off!
The little green, red, or white lights on our television, DVD player, or radio tell you that the machine has been left on standby and is using energy and giving out heat. Agree with your parents and teachers what needs to be left on and what can be switched off when it is not in use. (From Using Energy.)
The issues of pollution and global warming are pressing concerns these days. Those who don’t care about the damage to the environment from industry and daily living longer are deemed to be out of touch, quite a switch from the ridicule that environmentalists were subjected to in previous decades.
There’s a popular view that educating young people is the way to get adults to change their consumerist and wasteful habits. The “Green Team” series offers young children ideas about how to reduce the use of energy, water and materials, and how to engage in effective recycling programs on a consistent basis. Using examples of programs from around the world, especially those in which children are actively engaged, young people can develop ideas to apply to their local and home situation.
In general, these books can inspire children to get organized in their family, school and community. The enthusiasm and commitment that children display is infectious and can lead to lasting positive changes for the environment. After all, there’s nothing like the innocence and honesty of children to shame cynical and lazy adults into action. Teachers can use the books, too, to educate their students about the way our resources are being used and how they should be protected. The diversity of projects highlighted shows how ingenious people are and just how simple responsible living can be. The examples range from installing solar energy panels instead of using fossil fuels for heating to growing vegetables in a house or school garden instead of buying produce that has been trucked across a continent in gas-guzzling vehicles.
The books in the “Green Team” series have an optimistic tone to them, one which is suitable to elementary age children. However, some of the optimism is misguided because not all the information is accurate or complete.
A case in point: discarded electronic devices, from computers to cell phones. Both Waste and Recycling and Reduce and Recycle tell young readers that devices such as these are recycled, either by sending them to be used in developing countries or to be disassembled and reused in other industrial processes. “Charities such as (Fonebank) reduce the effect of cell phones on the environment by collecting them and sending them to developing countries where they are reused. Broken phones that cannot be mended are recycled responsibly.” (Reduce and Reuse)
Because recycling electronic waste is expensive, it is being sent to developing countries where labour is cheaper. Unfortunately, weak laws or lack of enforcement in these countries mean that this waste is not being processed safely. Broadcast and print journalists have documented how Western companies sell e-waste that people, with the best of intentions have brought to recycling depots, to companies in Asia and Africa. There, the companies take full advantage of people’s desperation for work. A quick Google search for ‘e-waste’ turns up numerous sites that show mountains of computers and cell phones piled next to villages with children climbing among them. The devices are stripped of their component materials - lead, copper, gold, silver and platinum and more – in people’s homes and in factories where protection for the worker is nonexistent. These materials and the processes to separate them can release dangerous toxins that cause air and water contamination, as well as cancers, neurological damage and birth defects in humans.
Environmentalists who are trying to raise people’s consciousness about this tragedy will have to shout louder. It’s a case of out-of-sight, out-of-mind for Western governments, of profit making for companies engaged in these practices, and an uncaring attitude of the governments in which this is taking place. It’s not unreasonable to ask why Crabtree does not address this and other issues related to responsible environmental stewardship.
The “Green Team” series is time-sensitive. Hopefully, many of the activities it suggests will become normal in the coming years. In the short term, teachers can use the books to raise their students’ awareness and to inspire them to action. The results can only be positive, and, if issues such as how recycling materials are processed are investigated and addressed, the health of people across the world and their environment can improve, too. It’s time to think globally as well as locally.
The books are 32 pages long, with 12 two-page chapters. Subtopics clearly explain the issues in each chapter, and bright photographs with detailed captions add to the attraction of the books. A glossary defines words that have been bolded in the text, related websites are suggested and an index is found on the final page.
Recommended with reservations.
Harriet Zaidman is a teacher-librarian in Winnipeg, MB.
To comment on this title or this review, send mail to
cm@umanitoba.ca.
Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.
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