diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ec8b69c79..1bdcf6aba 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -252,6 +252,28 @@ GOOGLE_CLIENT_EMAIL="YOUR GOOGLE DEVELOPER EMAIL"
 GOOGLE_PRIVATE_KEY="YOUR GOOGLE DEVELOPER API KEY"
 ```
 
+## Logging
+
+The client includes a `Logger` instance that can be used to capture debugging information.
+
+To set the logging level for the client:
+
+```ruby
+Google::Apis.logger.level = Logger::DEBUG
+```
+
+When running in a Rails environment, the client will default to using `::Rails.logger`. If you
+prefer to use a separate logger instance for API calls, this can be changed via one of two ways.
+
+The first is to provide a new logger instance:
+
+```ruby
+Google::Apis.logger = Logger.new(STDERR)
+```
+
+The second is to set the environment variable `GOOGLE_API_USE_RAILS_LOGGER` to any value other than `'true'`
+
+
 ## Samples
 
 Samples for versions 0.9 and onward can be found in the `samples` directory.
diff --git a/lib/google/apis.rb b/lib/google/apis.rb
index 72977af08..a37bd14d0 100644
--- a/lib/google/apis.rb
+++ b/lib/google/apis.rb
@@ -39,10 +39,20 @@ module Google
       logger
     end
 
-    # Check to see if client is being used in a Rails environment and ge the logger if present
+    # Check to see if client is being used in a Rails environment and get the logger if present.
+    # Setting the ENV variable 'GOOGLE_API_USE_RAILS_LOGGER' to false will force the client
+    # to use its own logger.
+    #
     # @return [Logger]
     def self.rails_logger
-      ::Rails.logger if defined?(::Rails) && ::Rails.respond_to?(:logger) && ::Rails.logger
+      if 'true' == ENV.fetch('GOOGLE_API_USE_RAILS_LOGGER', 'true') &&
+          defined?(::Rails) &&
+          ::Rails.respond_to?(:logger) &&
+          !::Rails.logger.nil?
+        ::Rails.logger
+      else
+        nil
+      end
     end
   end
 end
diff --git a/spec/google/apis/logging_spec.rb b/spec/google/apis/logging_spec.rb
index 96d939a5a..3904b9078 100644
--- a/spec/google/apis/logging_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/google/apis/logging_spec.rb
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ require 'spec_helper'
 require 'google/apis'
 require 'google/apis/core/logging'
 
+
 RSpec.describe Google::Apis do
   it 'should have a default logger' do
     expect(Google::Apis.logger).to be_an_instance_of(Logger)
@@ -40,6 +41,60 @@ RSpec.describe Google::Apis do
       Google::Apis.logger = Logger.new(STDERR)
       expect(service.logger).to be Google::Apis.logger
     end
+  end
 
+  context 'with Rails' do
+
+    before(:example) do
+      Google::Apis.logger = nil
+      Kernel.const_set('Rails', Module.new) unless defined?(::Rails)
+    end
+
+    let(:logger) { Logger.new(STDERR) }
+
+    let(:service) do
+      Class.new do
+        include Google::Apis::Core::Logging
+      end.new
+    end
+
+    context 'with logger present' do
+      before(:example) do
+        allow(::Rails).to receive(:logger).and_return(logger)
+      end
+
+      it 'should use the Rails logger' do
+        expect(service.logger).to be Rails.logger
+      end
+    end
+
+    context 'with ENV bypass' do
+      before(:example) do
+        allow(::Rails).to receive(:logger).and_return(logger)
+        allow(::ENV).to receive(:fetch).and_return('false')
+      end
+
+      it 'should use own logger' do
+        expect(service.logger).not_to be Rails.logger
+      end
+
+      it 'should have a logger' do
+        expect(service.logger).to be_an_instance_of(Logger)
+      end
+    end
+
+    context 'with logger not present' do
+      before(:example) do
+        allow(::Rails).to receive(:logger).and_return(nil)
+      end
+
+      it 'should use own logger' do
+        expect(service.logger).not_to be Rails.logger
+      end
+
+      it 'should have a logger' do
+        expect(service.logger).to be_an_instance_of(Logger)
+      end
+    end
   end
 end