Josh Dorfman calls himself lazy, but this is not entirely true. For example, he has his own eco-friendly furniture company, Vivavi (www.vivavi.com). And the furniture is modern, not that itchy, scratchy burlap stuff that your hippie aunt scattered all over her garage apartment back in the days when environmentally friendly options were limited to Birkenstocks, barley, rough-hewn hemp products and all things rattan — the opposite of modern. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Dorfman also has a "Lime Radio" environmental talk show on Sirius Satellite Radio (Channel 114). Oh yeah, and he wrote a book, "The Lazy Environmentalist: Your Guide to Easy, Stylish, Green Living," ($14.94, Stewart, Tabori & Chang), which came out in June. It's bringing him to this weekend's Texas Book Festival.

So OK, Dorfman himself might not be all that lazy, but his book allows you to help save the Earth, while at the same time retaining your supercool style status and, as a bonus, exerting little more effort than it takes to flip through the yellow pages. In fact, think of the book as your personal green pages. It is broken into categories such as clothing, real estate and furniture; rather than read it cover-to-cover (unless you just want to), pick an area and voil?, there are 26 businesses specializing in green kitchen construction or nine environmentally friendly casket and urn companies.

Dorfman lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., so, when we found out he was coming to Austin for the book fest, we got our interstate coffee on.

Austin American-Statesman: This is the first phone 'Coffee with ...' we've done, so I have to set the stage with a few logistical questions. Where are you right now?

Josh Dorfman: I am in Williamsburg in Brooklyn. I'm in a cafe called Ella Cafe.

Can you describe the interior?

It's sort of Zen Modern. There is a really nice garden in the back, and it's sort of calm. It's a little bit of an oasis here. It's in an industrial-type neighborhood.

What are you drinking?

Caf? au lait.

Is that your coffee beverage of choice?

Yes. And I go all out, which I think probably means whole milk.

Have you ever been to Austin?

I was there once a long time ago in 1994. One of my good friends from college went to law school there.

What do you hope to do while you are here this time?

I'm hoping to see some good music and see the city and downtown. I've heard some good things about Austin, so I'm excited to spend some time and see for myself.

What made you decide to write the book?

I felt there is so much going on in the environmental movement. It's really relevant in how we live our lives. I feel it's part of my personal mission to help get that information out there. I have a strong sense of what I think will resonate with "normal people."

In it, you offer a guide for literally everything from baby cribs to caskets. How did you decide who got listed?

I'm also a retailer; I run a company called Vivavi. I look at green products and I kind of apply this test and ask, "Will someone want this product even if it's not green?" If I feel that the answer is yes, it's probably going into the book. If I feel like it's eco-friendly and no one is going to buy it because it "looks" eco-friendly, it's not going in the book. It can go into someone else's book. I really go with things that are design-driven. The other thing I'm trying to do with this book, is it helps to re-brand environmentalism. It doesn't have to be a guilt trip or moral issue; it can just be good design.

How environmentally friendly is your life?

Well, let's see — I happen to live in my eco-friendly showroom.

What? Can you explain how that happened?

So, when I started Vivavi, I started in Washington, D.C., in 2003. By 2004, I knew I wanted to be in New York City. The best eco-friendly furniture design was happening in Brooklyn. I rented from a woman that had a dance studio. She moved out, and I thought, "This is a good way to get my furniture showroom." I called around to the people I wanted to get furniture from (for the showroom) and I had my whole place furnished. I didn't really tell anyone that I was living there at first.

So, what's it like living in a showroom?

I have to make my bed in the morning; that's really important. I've been told that by some of my sales staff that they really love working for me, but I have to make the bed. It makes my life very integrated into my work. Green really is my lifestyle. Most people get a kick out of it. New York is an expensive city; if you want to get your feet off the ground you have to do some things you might never think you have to do. But, New Yorkers get that.

What is the least eco-friendly item in your house or what is the one un-green thing you just can't give up?

Long showers; I can't give 'em up. I do my best thinking in the shower. I have been known to spend ridiculously long amounts of time, so to offset that, I installed a low-flow shower head, which reduces the amount of water coming out of the shower head by 40 percent.

If people take away one thing from the book, what do you hope it is?

Hope — seriously. What I hope people take away from this is that there really is hope and there are solutions to these huge challenges that we face. The more we believe there really are solutions, the more choices we are willing to make.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

One of the most interesting and hopeful aspects of this environmental movement is that it really is happening all over the country. As you know, Texas has more wind energy built than any place in the country. That's what I like doing in the book or radio show is tell the stories that are happening all over the country.

mspencer@statesman.com; 912-2519

Josh Dorfman

Where:Texas Book Festival, Lifestyle Tent at 11th Street and Congress Avenue

What: Talks about his book 'The Lazy Environmentalist: Your Guide to Easy, Stylish, Green Living'

When: Noon to 12:45 p.m. Sunday

Information: www.texasbookfestival.org