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Mike Berners-Lee
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How Bad Are Bananas?: The Carbon Footprint of Everything Paperback – April 1, 2011

by Mike Berners-Lee (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 874 ratings
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Is it more environmentally friendly to ride the bus or drive a hybrid car? In a public washroom, should you dry your hands with paper towel or use the air dryer? And how bad is it really to eat bananas shipped from South America?

Climate change is upon us whether we like it or not. Managing our carbon usage has become a part of everyday life and we have no choice but to live in a carbon-careful world. The seriousness of the challenge is getting stronger, demanding that we have a proper understanding of the carbon implications of our everyday lifestyle decisions. However most of us don't have sufficient understanding of carbon emissions to be able to engage in this intelligently.

Part green-lifestyle guide, part popular science, How Bad Are Bananas? is the first book to provide the information we need to make carbon-savvy purchases and informed lifestyle choices, and to build carbon considerations into our everyday thinking. It also helps put our decisions into perspective with entries for the big things (the World Cup, volcanic eruptions, and the Iraq war) as well as the small (email, ironing a shirt, a glass of beer). And it covers the range from birth (the carbon footprint of having a child) to death (the carbon impact of cremation). Packed full of surprises-a plastic bag has the smallest footprint of any item listed, while a block of cheese is bad news-the book continuously informs, delights, and engages the reader.

Highly accessible and entertaining, solidly researched and referenced, packed full of easily digestible figures, catchy statistics, and informative charts and graphs, How Bad Are Bananas? is doesn't tell people what to do, but it will raise awareness, encourage discussion, and help people to make up their own minds based on their own priorities.
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  1. Print length
    256 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Greystone Books
  4. Publication date
    April 1, 2011
  5. Dimensions
    5.59 x 0.61 x 8.49 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1553658310
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1553658313
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

• Winner of the 2012 Green BOok Festival Award

"deftly blends intelligence with entertainment, perhaps creating a unique genre: a page-turner for the climate conscious."—Publishers Weekly

“This informative book provides a workable way to think about how the elements of modern society and individual decisions contribute toward the insidious increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels--the "footprint"--that is the major contributor to global warming … Recommended. All levels/libraries”—Choice Reviews

"I can't remember the last time I read a book that was more fascinating and useful and enjoyable."—Bill Bryson

"An engaging book that manages to present serious science without preaching."—New Scientist

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Greystone Books; 0 edition (April 1, 2011)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1553658310
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1553658313
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.59 x 0.61 x 8.49 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 874 ratings

About the author

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Mike Berners-Lee

Mike Berners-Lee

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Mike Berners-Lee is author of the timely best-sellers 'There Is No Planet B' and 'How Bad Are Bananas? The Carbon Footprint of Everything'. An expert in sustainability, he is a professor at Lancaster University, UK and founder and director of Small World Consulting, which is a world leader in the field of supply chain carbon metrics and management. He has made numerous speaking, radio and television broadcast appearances to promote public awareness of climate change issues. About his book, 'The Carbon Footprint of Everything', Bill Bryson wrote: "I can't think of the last time I read a book that was more fascinating, and useful and enjoyable all at the same time".

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
874 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book very informative, interesting, and thought-provoking. Opinions are mixed on readability, with some finding it pleasant and easy to read, while others say it's difficult to understand and hard to read.

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Information contentReadability
14 customers mention "Information content"14 positive0 negative

Customers find the book informative, interesting, and thought-provoking. They say it presents a serious subject in an entertaining, frank, and mildly self-deprecating style. Readers also mention the book sparks interesting conversations and is a useful reference to own.

"...Presents a serious subject in an entertaining, frank and mildly self depracating style. I can see why it carries a testimonial from Bill Bryson !..." Read more

"A fairly interesting book, but the numbers are laid out without much context, which makes interpretation difficult...." Read more

"The book was extensively researched but not very useful as a shopping primer...." Read more

"This is a useful reference book for making choices in your lifestyle...." Read more

11 customers mention "Readability"4 positive7 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the readability of the book. Some mention it's pleasant and easy to read, while others say it'll be difficult to understand, hard to read and labored to comprehend. They also say the presentation is painfully laboress, without much context, which makes interpretation difficult. Readers also mention the book doesn't contain enough explanations of how numbers were calculated and is laid out poorly.

"...but the numbers are laid out without much context, which makes interpretation difficult. Using some infographics would have helped...." Read more

"Great and easy to read. Everyone should obtain and read and take action form this book!..." Read more

"...There is some interesting things in the book but it is laid out so poorly you have to weed through all kinds of useless facts to get to it...." Read more

"...presented in a choppy, dry format that makes it near impossible to read through in very long sessions...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

Kevin
5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly Enjoyable and Entertaining
Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2013
Verified Purchase
A great book - content, concept and style. Creates some very thoughful structures for thinking about the challenges of impact and footprint that is valauble way beyond the carbon realm too. Works for a straight through read or, as I did, to dip in and out. Presents a serious subject in an entertaining, frank and mildly self depracating style. I can see why it carries a testimonial from Bill Bryson ! @kevinimoss
2 people found this helpful
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FB
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting numbers, not much context, a good reference though
Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2015
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A fairly interesting book, but the numbers are laid out without much context, which makes interpretation difficult. Using some infographics would have helped. Still, a useful reference to own.
One person found this helpful
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K. F. Laux
5.0 out of 5 stars A primer in "carbonomics"
Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2011
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If you accept the scientific consensus that climate change is happening, is caused largely by humans, and is something that requires immediate action, then this book is a must-read. (If you don't accept the above premises, why are you reading this review at all?)

The author sets out to establish estimates of the carbon footprints of a wide variety of products and services--cherry tomatoes, e-mail, swimming pools, nylon pants, a lamb chop.... As he frequently reminds us, approximations are unavoidable and in many places the process is more art than science, particularly when examining something as complex as a computer, or an automobile, or a war (!). But he presents reasoning and arguments that seemed to this reader to be credible, if the results were sometimes surprising.

If we are to take carbon emissions seriously henceforth (and I'm sorry to say that it's not clear that we will, yet, especially here in the U.S.), we will need to "pick our battles", as the author puts it--understand that whether we dry our hands with paper towels or an air blower is utterly trivial next to the question of how many intercontinental flights we take each year. In a sense, we have only a very poor understanding of the carbon costs of all manner of things; this book is a helpful first step to remedy the situation, and contains quite a few surprises. (especially about cheeseburger-powered bicycles!)

I would have organized it a bit differently myself...presenting different alternatives for eg. vegetables (locally grown vs. air-freighted in etc) is quite useful, but I'm not sure how totting up the carbon footprint of "the world's data centers" helps anyone choose anything. Worse still is the tacked-on "black carbon" near the end, which is not a product or service, indeed not even in the same category--it's a consequence, not a cause.

But these are relative nits. Sooner or later (...and for our childrens sake, it had better be sooner) we will all have to learn about the environmental costs of our lifestyles, to parallel the financial costs. This is a valiant effort to that end.
19 people found this helpful
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thomas richardson
5.0 out of 5 stars surprising, positive , practical. Loved it.
Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2021
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Great and easy to read. Everyone should obtain and read and take action form this book! A person cannot do everything but every person can do something to lower their own carbon foot print.
One person found this helpful
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theresaoregonian
5.0 out of 5 stars Fresh new outlook on carbon footprints
Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2014
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I enjoyed it. The author works for a company that does work with companies, etc. on their carbon footprint so it was cool that he tried to give it a view for the everyday person.

Some people say his assumptions are flawed, BUT he does lay out all his assumptions. He does NOT say that his way is the best or only way. He clearly states that he was trying to come up with a total picture of an item's carbon footprint.

For example, rather than just look at how much energy a refrigerator consumes, he tries to factor in the energy used to manufacture all the materials that go into making the fridge.

I thought it was a fresh new look. He tried to take it a step beyond....here's how much electricity you use every year with your fridge. The TOTAL carbon footprint. I've never seen anyone evaluate it that way, so I enjoyed the fresh outlook

I would recommend it. It's different and thoughtfully put together. Even if you don't agree with his methodology, it's all presented and was thoughtfully arrived at.
3 people found this helpful
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Nettie Sonn
3.0 out of 5 stars Not as helpful as I would have liked
Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2013
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The book was extensively researched but not very useful as a shopping primer. He has two whole lines in the book comparing hybrid to electric cars but doesn't compare them to biodiesel. This is the biggest reason I bought the book so I can purchase the best vehicle. He rates tea not on the chemicals used or region of the world it was grown but on how much milk you put in it. He rates rice on the efficiency of the farmer but never gives brands of efficiently produced rice. How would anyone know if a particular rice was grown efficiently. He gives the carbon footprint of a car crash, a forest fire , a space shuttle even a heart surgery. I'm sorry but I'm not going to choose to die because of the carbon footprint of a life saving surgery or decide whether to crash my car into a tree because of it either. Exactly what am I suppose to use this information for. There is some interesting things in the book but it is laid out so poorly you have to weed through all kinds of useless facts to get to it. This isn't very helpful for someone wanting to be a greener consumer.
61 people found this helpful
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Lona Hansen
4.0 out of 5 stars UK oriented, but useful
Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2021
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This is a useful reference book for making choices in your lifestyle. Even though it's intended for a UK audience, you can find US analogies to make your choices.

Some of Brenners-Lee's conclusions are counter intuitive. For example, he calculates that single use plastic bags have a lower carbon footprint than canvas bags. Some are obvious like using canned vegetables and fruits rather than fresh non local vegetables and fruits.

This book doesn't give a lot of information about how to calculate carbon footprints. But, it's a good starting guide for someone who wants to have a more positive low carbon lifestyle.
One person found this helpful
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MarineArchitect
5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone should own a copy
Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2011
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So much of the green movement is smoke and mirrors, with feel-good being the principal aim. This book will show you that plastic bags are the very least of our problems (8 plastic bags = 1 banana). New cars and airplane flights are what we should all be worrying about.
Great book!
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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BW
5.0 out of 5 stars A really excellent baseline of knowledge for those with an interest in the envirement.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 27, 2023
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simple and educational.
An excellent message delivered simply. We need to know the approximate carbon cost of everyhting in the same way we have an idea of the monetry value of things, in order to inform ourselves of the way forward. great value informative must read.
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Tesdorpf
5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiration pur
Reviewed in Germany on January 8, 2022
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Das Bucht hat mir neue Denkanstöße gegeben und auch denen an die ich es ausgeliehen habe
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ejanes
5.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected, but very thought-provoking nonetheless
Reviewed in Canada on July 6, 2017
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Excellent breakdown of the carbon footprints of various goods and services. I don't agree with the way Mr. Berners-Lee calculates everything, but he has definitely put together a thought-provoking book. For those interested in buying, be aware that this is more of a quick reference guide than a book. It is broken down by good/service, with a few paragraphs describing the relative carbon footprint.
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Olivier
5.0 out of 5 stars Carbon footprint for the citizen
Reviewed in France on April 29, 2018
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This book is a kind of dictionary of every day stuffs and services, whose contents is not definitions but an analysis of their life cycle, and more specifically an analysis of their CO2 impact. I know this book has been criticized for its lack of precision, guestimations says the book, but I think this only reflects the great difficulty of the subject. Indeed the economic actors of our societies are not always open to be transparent on their processes. What is great in this book is not to know the exact carbon footprint of a banana, but to discover its life cycle, and to derive general laws. Now that this book is about 10 years old, it would be even greater to have an updated version, to know if anything changed, even in terms of precision. And even better to have an enlarged one who could present life cycle analysis for other impacts than carbon footprint: say, water and minerals depletion, air pollution and so on. Anyway I recommend it for any citizen, just because it helps thinking.
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Thomas Tempe
5.0 out of 5 stars A good time for climate nerds
Reviewed in France on November 14, 2022
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Highly credible, detailed, practical. Greatly helps put footprints and levers of action in perspective, a pleasant yet purposeful read for the number-minded people out there.
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