Seven Wonders: Everyday Things for a Healthier Planet

by John C. Ryan

An engaging call for conservation and environmental protection describes the ecological benefits of such everyday items as the bicycle, ceiling fan, clothesline, condom, Thai food, public library, and ladybug, examining their influence on air pollution, pesticide poisoning, waste control, and more. Original. 25,000 first printing.

Genres: Nonfiction

98 pages, Paperback

First published October 3, 1999

About the author

This is the disambiguation profile for otherwise unseparated authors publishing as John C. Ryan

See also:
John C. Ryan = Romance, Historical Fiction
John C. Ryan = Fiction, Biographical Fiction, WWII

Reviews

[Daria Yune · Rating 5 out of 5]

One day my dad came to me with a variety of books in his hands.
-'You want to learn more about Climate Change? Read these.' he said and the big pile of books was passed on to my hands. I put them on the floor before giving him a slightly confused look. The books came down with a heavy thud and my dad just gave me a small grin before leaving the room. I sat down in front of them and noticed this small red spine peeking through the heavy reads. "Seven Wonders" it said. Luckily, I managed to pull it out without having the entire book tower collapse onto my floor. I flipped it over to look at the description at the back.
It started the same way a bad joke would start: "What do a library, a condom and a bicycle have in common?"
But instead of the very predictable and disappointing answer you would have gotten with the joke, this book responds to that question in a very interesting and insightful way. It talks about the environment and the everyday changes one can apply to their lifestyle, while using these seven inventions as a guideline to talk about these complex topics that surround the climate crisis.
It may appear it focuses on these seven things only but in the end it's about so much more than that.
This book may be twenty years old already (which probably is the only thing I don't like that much, the unupdated information) but it's still very relevant in today's world (if not even more so).

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book giving one several actions that can help the environment.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This appropriately slim volume explains why seven simple things, and the thinking behind their use, would/could save the planet. They are: the public library (sharing rather than purchasing and consuming), the bicycle (not just less fossil fuels, but also health and community) pad thai (eating lower on the food chain), the clothesline (why pay for what nature will do for free?), the ladybug (ditto, plus getting toxins out of our yards), the ceiling fan(um, okay, that didn't make much of an impression I guess) and the condom (because if we all shrink our carbon footprints while simultaneously doubling world population, all that work is for naught. Plus, y'know, AIDS and all.).

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though it is a decade old, there are lots of great ideas in this book. It would be nice to read a revised edition with updated data.

[Alley]

What do a condom, pad thai, a clothesline and four other things have in common? They could change the world.