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Confessions of an Eco Sinner
Confessions of an Eco Sinner
Dec 6, 2024 2:56 AM

Author:Fred Pearce

Confessions of an Eco Sinner

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Ever wondered if declaring support for fair-trade and then chucking Kenyan beans from your shopping trolley to reduce food miles really added up? Or whether the women in Bangladeshi sweatshops really want you to stop buying the clothes from their sewing machines? Or how the system works when you dump stuff but never buy from a charity shop?

While none of us should stop trying, it was never easy being green. Mindful of his footprint, Fred goes in search of the source of the cotton in his shirt, the prawns in his curry and the people who grew, mined or made all his stuff in an attempt to discover the true story behind our everyday things. This compelling story of his travels moves green thinking on to a new, more sophisticated plane.

Reviews

This is a splendid book and will do much good to counteract the comfortable hypocrisy of urban and suburban greens who pretend to 'save the earth' while carrying on business as usual. Fred Pearce goes out and sees the world as well as thinking and writing about it; he is one of the few that understand the Earth as it really is and we must listen to him.

—— James Lovelock, author of THE REVENGE OF GAIA

Pearce shows us how our greed, and our wilful blindness, are ruining the world in faraway places . . . An excellent book.

—— Guardian

Sometimes frightening, always enlightening, it will teach you more about other people's lives than you ever thought possible.

—— New Scientist

Beguiling . . . honest and revealing . . . optimistic . . . A big book for big problems.

—— Country Living

Follow in his global footprints as you read this compelling, thoughtful, provocative and utterly fascinating book.

—— CHOICE magazine

[Pearce] makes a strong case that the well-meaning Joe Publics of the world really do need someone to tell it like it is, in language they can understand and with the vital statistics intelligible to all. Essential reading.

—— New Agriculturist

We have got to find a way to shift to a slow-travel culture. Our very survival as a species could well hinge on it. I very much hope this important book helps to awaken people, and make them want to join the debate.

—— Jeremy Leggett

Dazzling. There is nothing else quite like it and yet it addresses such an important aspect of our lives today.

—— Chris Stewart, author of DRIVING OVER LEMONS

Timely and well-researched . . . this book makes for uncomfortable, yet necessary, reading for anyone who enjoys travel.

—— Sunday Telegraph

An elegantly written, well-researched, investigative travelogue that provides a valuable eye-witness account of the way holidays can impact - positively and negatively - on their destinations: environmentally, socially and economically . . . it arms the reader with a greater understanding of how to make more informed choices about where and how to holiday.

—— Richard Hammond , Resurgence

Despite the polemic, there is plenty of interest here, not least in [the book's] accessible description of how the travel industry works and the structures in place around the globe . . . Hickman acknowledges the increasing acceptance of environmental standards . . . But the argument he presents is a stark one - travel is damaging the world, and if we don't act soon, it may be too late. Sobering stuff.

—— Travel Weekly

A major new exposé . . . This is not yet another doomsday read about the perils of flying, or debating the pros and cons of carbon off-setting, it's an honest account of the huge impact we have on the destinations we frequent . . . Rather than throwing reams of statistics at us, Hickman paints a more graphic picture of the impact our travelling makes by telling the story through the eyes of locals he meets on his way round the globe. His discoveries of what lies behind the glossy veneer of a resort hotel make for sober reading.

—— Scotsman

A fascinating and harrowing read. I doubt anyone has spelt out the inherent dangers of tourism so clearly before. The publication of this could well prove to be a 'tipping point'.

—— Jason Webster, author of GUERRA

Leo Hickman's enthralling book should be read by politicians, students and, most of all, by every would-be tourist.

—— Tahir Shah, author of THE CALIPH'S HOUSE

This is a really excellent critique of the travel industry . . . If you are interested in the tourist industry this book is highly recommended, being easy to read, while being very thorough and searching in the questions it asks.

—— Fiona Archer , www.ecozine.co.uk

Excellent and thoroughly compelling . . . The Final Call deserves to be read by those of us lucky enough to be able to fly on a regular basis . . . Hickman's book is a sobering, thoughtful and intelligent reminder that it is a privilege we need to be forcefully reminded not to take for granted.

—— Irish Times

Thoughtful and thought-provoking.

—— Mick Herron , GEOGRAPHICAL magazine

Well written and engaging without being too gloomy and prescriptive, this book makes for uncomfortable, yet necessary, reading for anyone who enjoys travel.

—— Telegraph

This much appreciated book should be a must-read for everyone who likes to travel, and should be translated into the languages of the world's tourism champions. It should also be a must-read for politicians and decision makers in development agencies to finally understand that tourism has lost the 'virginity' of a harmless leisure sector to develop into a dangerous global driving force which needs to be regulated and restricted.

—— Contours magazine
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