During a recent long wait at O’Hare Airport in Chicago, I visited the bookstore in search of something to keep me entertained on my 4-hour flight back to Vegas. Passing over the section of best selling fiction that I frequently find disappointing, I my eyes shifted to a display of books that was likely inspired by the soon-approaching Earth Day. I spent some time debating over the classic Rachel Carson book ‘Silent Spring,’ which changed a generation’s perception on the safety of pesticides, and a newer book from an author I had never heard of – Sophie Uliano’s ‘Gorgeously Green – 8 Simple Steps to an Earth-Friendly Life.’

Thumbing through the pages of the latter, I noticed that it was DIY-oriented with action steps at the end of each chapter, and since I love DIY, I forked over the $17. Before reading this book I thought I was already super eco-savvy. I drive a hybrid car, try to bring reusable bags with me to the store,  and routinely purchase organic foods while trying to eat ‘in season’ – as best as one can while living in the desert. The ‘Gorgeously Green Lifestyle Checklist’ in the first chapter led my to believe otherwise.

The book is divided into 8 chapters, each focusing on greening a different area of your life. These are becoming aware, greening your beauty routine, earth-friendly exercise and well-being, improving your shopping habits,  eliminating toxins from your home, embracing a sustainable diet, being eco-conscious in your travel and entertainment decisions, and becoming a eco-activist. Sophie makes being green seem hip and fun, while not being overly preachy.

The 300-page book is filled with so much information on almost every aspect of one’s life, I found it hard to take everything in. This is definitely a resource to keep, that I will go back to time and again. Before reading this book, I was not aware of just how toxic items I am using on my body are (yes, there are even asbestos in tampons), how bad dry cleaning and conventional cleaning products are for the environment, and how our unsustainable seafood consumption could lead to this food we now take for granted becoming nearly obsolete in as little as 40 years.

I have already started to make small changes in my life – bringing my own stainless steel reusable travel mug with me to Starbucks and using cloth napkins instead of paper towels at meal times. I know that more changes will come over time – like switching to non-toxic household and body care products once the ones I am currently using are finished, being more conscious of the seafood I consume, buying plants for my home to absorb some of the toxins, and taking action to reduce my junk mail.

This is a book I would definitely recommend to any woman who is trying to improve her life in relationship to the planet. For more information on the book and how to live a ‘Gorgeously Green’ lifestyle visit www.gorgeouslygreen.com.