Reviews for World Geography: Pupil's Edition (C)2005

The average rating for World Geography: Pupil's Edition (C)2005 based on 2 reviews is 2 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-02-05 00:00:00 Kelly Grimes Another "have fun while saving the planet" kid-indoctrination book. My thoughts: Problems with the book: 1. Assumes there is a problem called "global warming." In fact, says that climate change is "widely accepted that this is caused by human activity." No it's not. Scientists don't agree because the science isn't there; science is not done by agreement or consensus. 2. Defines carbon dioxide, which is good, but also says it's what we all exhale. How can a gas we exhale in our normal existence be harmful to the planet we are designed to live on? 3. Actually mentions the flatulation of cows and sheep as a problem in producing methane gas. Really? You're going to go with bovine farts? 4. Says the six warmest years in the past 150 have been since 1998. Even if that's true, so? The earth's climate warms and cools in natural cycles. 5. Quote: "Our agriculture, industry, and vehicles pollute our skies--even though on a bright sunny day you may still find that hard to believe." I wonder why that is . . . 6. "Native Americans who have cared for this country for thousands of years." Right . . . 7. The preface says you don't have to chain yourself and/or your family to a tree in order to do something for the planet, but that can be fun, too. What? Things you can do to save the planet: 1. First thing in the 100 you can do to save the planet: read the book. Huh. 2. Get a solar-powered battery charger. How much do those cost? In both dollars and in what it takes to make them? Doesn't mention that . . . 3. Surf the web to find out what you can do. How much energy will that take? 4. Use rechargeable batteries. I have no problem with this, but then it says in the same paragraph: Use "hand-operated items--such as wind-up radios--that function without batteries." So we should go back to the early 20th century and hand-crank our stuff? Right . . . 5. Listen to music that inspires you about the planet. Okay. Support musicians who support the earth . . . like those musicians who had the "live earth" concert in 2007 that cost more in money, energy, and carbon dioxide from planes, buses, and trucks to get them all there than most countries produce in a year. Way to go, Dave Matthews . . . 6. Save water. Living in a dry climate, I can appreciate these ways to save water, since they're what we've always done, not to save the planet but because it's what we had to do. 7. Change lightbulbs to CFL bulbs . . . sounds good until one breaks and the mercury inside is released. You can't just sweep that up. 8. "Inspect your trash every week before putting it out for collection or taking it to the dump. Make sure all your recyclables have been sorted correctly." You want kids rooting through garbage each week? 9. Recycle your pet poop into methane gas for fuel. You first. (And I thought methane gas was bad, not good . . .) 10. Keep your pets inside at night to keep them from killing birds and other animals. How does this save the planet? 11. Observe nature. Okay. How does this save the planet? 12. Enjoy nature. Okay. How does this save the planet? Oh, it doesn't, but it does, later in the paragraph, "make you feel good." I got it now. 13. Keep yourself healthy. How does this save . . . never mind. 14. Support your favorite green celebrities. Right . . . because they know what they're talking about. 15. Watch "An Inconvenient Truth," which is not truthful. Now they want you to be indoctrinated into the global warming cult. Also, "A Bug's Life" is apparently an environmental film . . . who knew? 16. Enjoy environmental art. Text accompanied by a photo of a large crab sculpture made from recycled farm parts . . . next to the ocean . . . and the sculpture is rusting . . . polluting the ocean they're trying to save . . . 17. Set up a trading club with friends for CDs and DVDs. Isn't that illegal? 18. "Don't believe the hype" in advertising. Does this include environmental advertising as well? 19. "When you buy something with unnecessary packaging, send a message to the retailer by leaving the excess packaging behind at the store!" Right. They'll just throw it away and get upset at you for littering, which is illegal and isn't environmentally friendly . . . since you just told us earlier to pick up litter when out on walks. 20. Reusable shopping bags. I'm okay with that. 21. Buy American. I'm okay with that (even though America is evil because we haven't signed the Kyoto Protocol), but I find it funny the authors are Australian and are telling us how we can do things better. Hmmm. 22. Participate in World Earth Hour: turning off your lights for an hour to raise awareness. Then turn all your lights right back on and go on with your life. 23. Plant and sustain a garden at school. With what spare time? 24. Have a week-long eco-week at school and take even more time away from learning! 25. Take an eco-friendly vacation (to a place like Disney World? a place that filled in swamplands to create a tourist attraction while at the same time promoting all sorts of eco-friendly things, but didn't even have warm-air dryers in the bathrooms?). 26. Instead of flying, drive or take the bus on vacations. Okay, if everyone drives, how does that make it better than flying? How many people can fit on an airplane as opposed to hundreds of cars on the road? 27. Use garbage and recycled stuff to make art. Is it really art then, or just a pile of trash? You decide. 28. Give gifts made of recycled stuff, because everyone loves getting old junk as a present. 29. The earth has been at an average of 57 degrees F for the last 10,000 years. Really? How do you know that? The ice caps could melt and raise ocean levels. Really? All the oceans are connected. Do you know how much water it would take to raise all the oceans just one millimeter? More than what's in the ice caps . . . 30. Hybrid cars, of course! Even though a Toyota Prius costs more in money, energy, fuel, materials, and other sundry things to make (because a certain material in the battery can only be found in one place on earth and then only refined in an entirely different place) than a Hummer does. 31. And finally, think about devoting your future to the environment. Here it is, then, what they really want. Other stuff: 1. They actually use a photo of someone hugging a tree. 2. They use a photo of a polar bear on a "melting" iceberg, photos which have been proven to be doctored. 3. They mention Hurricane Katrina, of course. 4. Under resources, they have a listing of websites under "Science" and they're all about carbon footprints . . . not really science. 5. They end the book with a good African proverb, but feel compelled to say it was quoted by Algore when he accepted the '07 Nobel Peace Prize.

Review # 2 was written on 2019-07-07 00:00:00 John Bebout This book is simply out of date. Information about the Climate Crisis is changing so fast, this book is full of ideas that were good ten plus years ago. For example, it sings the praises and advanced thinking of using recyclable grocery bags. Since I live in California, the entire state is supposed to have their own bags, or they pay extra for a bag at the store. It is common to see people put their purchases back into the grocery cart then load them into the bag they forgot to bring into the store. I did not check but I suspect most of the web links are unusable now. It suggests getting a screen savor for your computer. Definitely SO yesterday! There are many such examples. However, what hasn't changed is the authors' enthusiasm for thinking of green ideas. Plenty of the suggestions are still current: walk more, drive or be driven less, etc. It is a good try but another strike against it is that it is definitely on the preachy side and encourages kids to be preachy as well. Such books are still needed but really should be updated.