Best of
Green

2012

The Holistic Orchard: Tree Fruits and Berries the Biological Way


Michael Phillips - 2012
    Growing tree fruits and berries is something virtually anyone with space and passionate desire can do - given wise guidance and a personal commitment to observe the teachings of the trees. A holistic grower knows that producing fruit is not about manipulating nature but more importantly, fostering nature. Orcharding then becomes a fascinating adventure sure to provide your family with all sorts of mouth-watering fruit."The Holistic Orchard" demystifies the basic skills everybody should know about the inner-workings of the orchard ecosystem, as well as orchard design, soil biology, and organic health management. Detailed insights on grafting, planting, pruning, and choosing the right varieties for your climate are also included, along with a step-by-step instructional calendar to guide growers through the entire orchard year. The extensive profiles of pome fruits (apples, pears, asian pears, quinces), stone fruits (cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums), and berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, gooseberries, currants, and elderberries) will quickly have you savoring the prospects.Phillips completely changed the conversation about healthy orcharding with his first bestselling book, "The Apple Grower," and now he takes that dialogue even further, drawing connections between home orcharding and permaculture; the importance of native pollinators; the world of understory plantings with shade-tolerant berry bushes and other insectary plants; detailed information on cover crops and biodiversity; and the newest research on safe, homegrown solutions to pest and disease challenges.All along the way, Phillips' expertise and enthusiasm for healthy growing shines through, as does his ability to put the usual horticultural facts into an integrated ecology perspective. This book will inspire beginners as well as provide deeper answers for experienced fruit growers looking for scientific organic approaches. Exciting times lie ahead for those who now have every reason in the world to confidently plant that very first fruit tree!

The Man Who Planted Trees: Lost Groves, Champion Trees, and an Urgent Plan to Save the Planet


Jim Robbins - 2012
    The second best time? Today.”—Chinese proverb   Twenty years ago, David Milarch, a northern Michigan nurseryman with a penchant for hard living, had a vision: angels came to tell him that the earth was in trouble. Its trees were dying, and without them, human life was in jeopardy. The solution, they told him, was to clone the champion trees of the world—the largest, the hardiest, the ones that had survived millennia and were most resilient to climate change—and create a kind of Noah’s ark of tree genetics. Without knowing if the message had any basis in science, or why he’d been chosen for this task, Milarch began his mission of cloning the world’s great trees. Many scientists and tree experts told him it couldn’t be done, but, twenty years later, his team has successfully cloned some of the world’s oldest trees—among them giant redwoods and sequoias. They have also grown seedlings from the oldest tree in the world, the bristlecone pine Methuselah.   When New York Times journalist Jim Robbins came upon Milarch’s story, he was fascinated but had his doubts. Yet over several years, listening to Milarch and talking to scientists, he came to realize that there is so much we do not yet know about trees: how they die, how they communicate, the myriad crucial ways they filter water and air and otherwise support life on Earth. It became clear that as the planet changes, trees and forest are essential to assuring its survival.Praise for The Man Who Planted Trees“Absorbing, eloquent and loving . . . While Robbins’s tone is urgent, it doesn’t compromise his crystal-clear science. . . . Even the smallest details here are fascinating.”—The New York Times Book Review   “This is a story of miracles and obsession and love and survival. Told with Jim Robbins’s signature clarity and eye for telling detail, The Man Who Planted Trees is also the most hopeful book I’ve read in years. I kept thinking of the end of Saint Francis’s wonderful prayer, ‘And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in the world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.’ ”—Alexandra Fuller, author of Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight  “Scientists can be confined by their own thinking—they know what they know. It’s amazing for one layman to come up with the idea of saving champion trees as a meaningful way to address the issues of biodiversity and climate change. This could be a grassroots solution to a global problem. A few million people selecting and planting the right trees for the right places could really make a difference.”—Ramakrishna Nemani, earth scientist“The great poet W. S. Merwin once wrote, ‘On the last day of the world I would want to plant a tree.’ It’s good to see, in this lovely volume, that some folks are getting a head start!”—Bill McKibben, author of Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New PlanetThis book was printed in the United States of America on Rolland Enviro™ 100 Book, which is manufactured using FSC-certified 100% postconsumer fiber and meets permanent paper standards.

Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash


Edward Humes - 2012
    But our bins are just the starting point for a strange, impressive, mysterious, and costly journey that may also represent the greatest untapped opportunity of the century. In Garbology, Edward Humes investigates trash—what’s in it; how much we pay for it; how we manage to create so much of it; and how some families, communities, and even nations are finding a way back from waste to discover a new kind of prosperity. Along the way , he introduces a collection of garbage denizens unlike anyone you’ve ever met: the trash-tracking detectives of MIT, the bulldozer-driving sanitation workers building Los Angeles’ Garbage Mountain landfill, the artists residing in San Francisco’s dump, and the family whose annual trash output fills not a dumpster or a trash can, but a single mason jar.  Garbology reveals not just what we throw away, but who we are and where our society is headed. Waste is the one environmental and economic harm that ordinary working Americans have the power to change—and prosper in the process.

Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We're in without Going Crazy


Joanna Macy - 2012
    Climate change, the depletion of oil, economic upheaval, and mass extinction together create a planetary emergency of overwhelming proportions. Active Hope shows us how to strengthen our capacity to face this crisis so that we can respond with unexpected resilience and creative power. Drawing on decades of teaching an empowerment approach known as the Work That Reconnects, the authors guide us through a transformational process informed by mythic journeys, modern psychology, spirituality, and holistic science. This process equips us with tools to face the mess we’re in and play our role in the collective transition, or Great Turning, to a life-sustaining society.

The Weed Forager's Handbook


Adam Grubb - 2012
    

The Responsible Company: What We've Learned from Patagonia's First 40 Years


Yvon Chouinard - 2012
    Patagonia, named by Fortune in 2007 as the coolest company on the planet, has earned a reputation as much for its ground-breaking environmental and social practices as for the quality of its clothes. In this exceptionally frank account, Chouinard and Stanley recount how the company and its culture gained the confidence, by step and misstep, to make its work progressively more responsible, and to ultimately share its discoveries with companies as large as Wal-Mart or as small as the corner bakery. In plain, compelling prose, the authors describe the current impact of manufacturing and commerce on the planet’s natural systems and human communities, and how that impact now forces business to change its ways. The Responsible Company shows companies how to reduce the harm they cause, improve the quality of their business, and provide the kind of meaningful work everyone seeks. It concludes with specific, practical steps every business can undertake, as well as advice on what to do, in what order. This is the first book to show companies how to thread their way through economic sea change and slow the drift toward ecological bankruptcy. Its advice is simple but powerful: reduce your environmental footprint (and its skyrocketing cost), make legitimate products that last, reclaim deep knowledge of your business and its supply chain to make the most of opportunities in the years to come, and earn the trust you’ll need by treating your workers, customers and communities with respect.

Green


Laura Vaccaro Seeger - 2012
    In her newest book, Caldecott and Geisel Honor Book author Laura Vaccaro Seeger fashions an homage to a single color and, in doing so, creates a book that will delight and, quite possibly astonish you. Green is a Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book of 2012

Essential Oils for Pregnancy, Birth & Babies


Stephanie Fritz - 2012
    Essential Oils for Pregnancy, Birth & Babies is a reference guide written for pregnant women or anyone assisting them, including midwives and doulas.

Sign Painters


Faythe Levine - 2012
    But, like many skilled trades, the sign industry has been overrun by the techno-fueled promise of quicker and cheaper. The resulting proliferation of computer-designed, die-cut vinyl lettering and inkjet printers has ushered a creeping sameness into our visual landscape. Fortunately, there is a growing trend to seek out traditional sign painters and a renaissance in the trade. In 2010 filmmakers Faythe Levine, coauthor of Handmade Nation, and Sam Macon began documenting these dedicated practitioners, their time-honored methods, and their appreciation for quality and craftsmanship. Sign Painters, the first anecdotal history of the craft, features stories and photographs of more than two dozen sign painters working in cities throughout the United States.

Easy Growing: Organic Herbs and Edible Flowers from Small Spaces


Gayla Trail - 2012
    Suitable for Canadian climates.

The Permaculture Handbook: Garden Farming for Town and Country


Peter Bane - 2012
    Imagine how much more self-reliant our communities would be if thirty million acres of lawns were made productive again. Permaculture is a practical way to apply ecological design principles to food, housing, and energy systems, making growing fruits, vegetables, and livestock easier and more sustainable.The Permaculture Handbook is a step-by-step, beautifully illustrated guide to creating resilient and prosperous households and neighborhoods, complemented by extensive case studies of three successful farmsteads and market gardens. This comprehensive manual casts garden farming as both an economic opportunity and a strategy for living well with less money. It shows how, by mimicking the intelligence of nature and applying appropriate technologies such as solar and environmental design, permaculture can:Create an abundance of fresh, nourishing local produce Reduce dependence on expensive, polluting fossil fuels Drought-proof our cities and countryside Convert waste into wealthPermaculture is about working with the earth and with each other to repair the damage of industrial overreach and to enrich the living world that sustains us. The Permaculture Handbook is the definitive practical North American guide to this revolutionary practice, and is a must-read for anyone concerned about creating food security, resilience, and a legacy of abundance rather than depletion.Peter Bane is a permaculture teacher and site designer who has published and edited Permaculture Activist magazine for over twenty years. He helped create Earthaven Ecovillage in North Carolina, and is now pioneering suburban farming in Bloomington, Indiana.

Call of the Mild: Learning to Hunt My Own Dinner


Lily Raff McCaulou - 2012
    She'd been raised as a gun-fearing environmentalist and an animal lover, and though a meat-eater, she'd always abided by the principle that harming animals is wrong. But Raff McCaulou's perspective shifted when she began spending weekends fly-fishing and weekdays interviewing hunters for her articles, realizing that many of them were more thoughtful about animals and the environment than she was. So she embarked upon the project of learning to hunt from square one. From attending a Hunter Safety course designed for children to field dressing an elk and serving it for dinner, she explores the sport of hunting and all it entails, and tackles the big questions surrounding one of the most misunderstood American practices and pastimes. Not just a personal memoir, this book also explores the role of the hunter in the twenty-first century, the tension (at times artificial) between hunters and environmentalists, and new models of sustainable and ethical food procurement.

James Wong's Homegrown Revolution


James Wong - 2012
    From goji berries to food-mile free sweet potatoes, James’ revolutionary approach to edible gardening will show you how to grow, cook and eat all manner of superfood crops that are just as easy (if not easier) and far more exciting to grow than the ‘ration book’ favourites.Inspiring, fun and full of plant know-how, this book is set to revolutionise the whole concept of ‘growing your own’ for newbie growers and seasoned allotment veterans alike. You’ll never look at your garden the same way again!

Ice: Portraits of Vanishing Glaciers


James Balog - 2012
    Since 2005, renowned nature photographer James Balog has devoted himself to capturing glaciers and documenting their daily changes. These stunning images are a celebration of some of the most extraordinary natural formations on earth, as well as a dramatic and timely demonstration of the stark consequences resulting from global warming—from Alaska to Iceland to the Alps.As glaciologists for the Extreme Ice Survey, Balog and his team are conducting the most extensive glacier study ever, covering France, Switzerland, Iceland, Greenland, the United States (Alaska and Montana), Nepal, Bolivia, and Antarctica. Their high-resolution cameras capture approximately 4,000 images per year. From this collection of nearly half a million photos, Balog presents the most stunning panoramic photography of glaciers ever published.

Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too


Beth Terry - 2012
    But while laid up after surgery, she read an article about the staggering amount of plastic polluting the oceans and decided then and there to kick her plastic habit. Now she wants to teach you how you can too. In her quirky and humorous style well known to the readers of her popular blog, My Plastic-Free Life, Terry provides personal anecdotes, stats about the environmental and health problems related to plastic, and personal solutions and tips on how to limit your plastic footprint. Terry includes handy lists and charts for easy reference, ways to get involved in larger community actions, and profiles of individuals--Plastic-Free Heroes who have gone beyond personal solutions to create a change on a larger scale. Plastic-Free also includes chapters on letting go of eco-guilt, strategies for coping with overwhelming problems, and ways to relate to other people who aren't as far along on the plastic-free path. Both a practical guide and the story of a personal journey from helplessness to empowerment, Plastic-Free is a must-read for anyone concerned about the ongoing health and happiness of themselves, their children, and the planet.

The Miracle of Trees


Olavi Huikari - 2012
    What is a tree? Why are they so important to life on Earth? How do they eat, breathe, grow, communicate, and regenerate themselves? How many different kinds of trees are there, and where do they live? In this beautiful little book, illustrated with rare old engravings and specially commissioned drawings, internationally renowned Finnish tree expert Professor Olavi Huikari takes us on an unforgettable journey deep into the secrets of these most majestic of Earth's life forms.

Vegetable Gardening the Colonial Williamsburg Way: 18th-Century Methods for Today's Organic Gardeners


Wesley Greene - 2012
    Findinginspiration and value in 18th-century plants, tools, and techniques, the gardeners at Colonial Williamsburg have discovered that these traditional vegetable-growing methods are perfectly at home in today's modern organic gardens. After all, in the 18th century, organic gardening was the only type of gardening and local produce the only produce available.Author Wesley Greene founded the Colonial Garden in Colonial Williamsburg's Historic Area in 1996. He and his colleagues have painstakingly researched the ways the colonists planted and tended their vegetable and herb beds, most of which are more relevant than ever. Along with historical commentary and complete growing instructions for 50 delicious vegetables, including colonial varieties still available today, gardeners and folklorists will find weather-watching guidelines, planting techniques, and seedsaving advice for legumes, brassicas, alliums, root crops, nightshades, melons, squash, greens, and other curious and tender produce.

People and Permaculture


Looby Macnamara - 2012
    This book provides a framework to help each of us improve our ability to care for ourselves, our friends, families and for the Earth. It is also a clear guide for those who may be new to permaculture, who may not even have a garden, but who wish to be involved in making changes to their lives and living more creative, low carbon lives. People & Permaculture transforms the context of permaculture making it relevant to everyone.Including over 50 practical activities, People & Permaculture empowers readers with tried and tested tools to initiate positive change in their lives. It is a hands-on yet powerful guide to creating a sustainable world.

Greenhorns: 50 Dispatches from the New Farmers' Movement


Zoë Ida Bradbury - 2012
    This book, edited by three of the group's leading members, comprises 50 original essays by new farmers who write about their experiences in the field from a wide range of angles, both practical and inspirational. Funny, sad, serious, and light-hearted, these essays touch on everything from financing and machinery to family, community building, and social change.

Homesweet Homegrown: How to Grow, Make, And Store Food, No Matter Where You Live


Robyn Jasko - 2012
    Jasko and Biggs are committed to turning you into a healthy, happy farmer even if you live in a big city high-rise. Built around eight comprehensive sections (Know, Start, Grow, Plant, Plan, Make, Eat, and Store), this wonderful 128-page guide walks you through all the steps of successfully nurturing a crop of delicious, healthy vegetables. Everyone from the base beginner to the seasoned farmhand will find something for them in these pages. (The recipe section alone is enough to keep you comin' back to this gem for years!) Narrated in a friendly, helpful tone by Jasko and buoyed by Biggs's great illustrations, this book is the definition of awesomely useful. Super, super, SUPER inspiring. Grow your own everything!

The Whole Story of Climate: What Science Reveals About the Nature of Endless Change


E. Kirsten Peters - 2012
    What emerges is a much more complex and nuanced picture than is usually presented. For more information - and a book club guide - go to www.climatewholestory.com

Secrets of the Garden: Food Chains and the Food Web in Our Backyard


Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld - 2012
    And illustrator Priscilla Lamont's funny, friendly paintings make this a garden everyone will want to explore.Kids will eat up this wonderful book of backyard science—and perhaps they'll even be inspired to eat their vegetables!"A wonderfully informative and enjoyable journey through one family’s backyard garden, from spring planting to fall harvest. . . . this is bound to spark some backyard explorations." —Kirkus, Starred ReviewFrom the Hardcover edition.

The Wisdom of John Muir: 100+ Selections from the Letters, Journals, and Essays of the Great Naturalist


Anne Rowthorn - 2012
    The fact that it is neither, and yet it is both, distinguishes this book from the many extant books on John Muir. Building on her lifelong passion for the work and philosophy of John Muir, author Anne Rowthorn has created this entirely new treatment for showcasing the great naturalist's philosophy and writings. By pairing carefully selected material from various stages of Muir's life, Rowthorn's book provides a view into the experiences, places, and people that inspired and informed Muir's words and beliefs. The reader feels able to join in with Muir's own discoveries and transformations over the arc of his life. Rowthorn is careful not to overstep her role: she stands back and lets Muir's words speak for themselves.

Benny's Brigade


Arthur Bradford - 2012
    Out pops Benny—the world’s smallest and most gentlemanly walrus. After the girls learn that Benny misses his home in the sea, they send him sailing in a milk-carton boat, along with a trusty band of adventure-seeking slugs. Together, Benny’s Brigade (as they call themselves) begin their voyage to a truck-sized island paradise, avoiding the salt water as much as they can. Slugs don’t like salt.

Houses Made of Wood and Light: The Life and Architecture of Hank Schubart


Michele Dunkerley - 2012
    Salt Spring Island, one of the Gulf Islands in British Columbia, Canada, offered him a place to create the kind of architecture that responded to its surroundings, and Schubart-designed homes populate the island. Built of wood and glass, suffused with light, and oriented to views, they display characteristic features: random-width cedar siding, exposed beams, rusticated stonework. Over time, Schubart's homes on Salt Spring Island came to be considered uniquely Gulf Islands homes.This inviting book offers the first introduction to the life and architecture of West Coast modernist Henry A. Schubart, Jr. (1916-1998). While still in his teens, Schubart persuaded Frank Lloyd Wright to accept him as a Taliesin Fellow, and his year's apprenticeship in the master's workshop taught him principles of designing in harmony with nature that he explored throughout the rest of his life. Michele Dunkerley traces Schubart's career from his early practice in San Francisco at the noted firm Wurster, Bernardi & Emmons, to his successful firm with Howard Friedman, to his most lasting professional achievements on Salt Spring Island, where he became the de facto community architect, designing more than 230 residential, commercial, educational, and religious projects. Drawing lessons from his mentors over his decades on the island, he forged an everyday architecture with his mastery of detail and inventiveness. In doing so, he helped define how the island could grow without losing its soul. Color photographs and site plans display Schubart's remarkable homes and other commissions.

Whispers from the Wild: Writings by E.R.C. Davidar


E.R.C. Davidar - 2012
    Listening can reveal wondes like how to befriend an elephant, how to talk to a tiger and how to live in the jungle. Many such amazing experiences crowd this volume containing the unpublished writings from the early and last years of the well-known naturalist, the late E.R.C. Davidar, besides his acclaimed book Cheetal Walk. a lawyer by profession and a shikari-turned-photographer, he established maybe the first ever private elephant corridor in India, near his jungle-cottage, and undertook the first census of the Nilgiri tahr along the entire range. Charmingly told, funny and brimming with insights, the book, enriched with photographs from the family album, not only enlightens us about wildlife and conservation in the Nilgiris but becomes a memoir of a jungle lover and his family.

Into This World


Sybil Baker - 2012
    A tangled history of love and deception reunites two sisters whose fates were shaped by a long-lost love and its attendant lies, and the history of a country and a man they never understood.Sybil Baker is the author of The Life Plan and Talismans. She spent twelve years teaching in South Korea, returning to the United States in 2007. She teaches creative writing at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Better Homes and Gardens Can It!


Better Homes and Gardens - 2012
    It's easy and a great way to get the most from your backyard garden or farmer's market finds so that you can enjoy seasonal bounty all year long. This follow-up to Better Homes and Gardens You Can Can, gives you fresh, new flavor ideas and combinations to spice up your canning and preserving. Better Homes and Gardens Can It! brings canning and preserving to a whole new level, perfect for new canners looking for contemporary ideas as well as experienced canners wanting to expand their recipes.Full of delicious recipes and hands-on instruction, as well as gorgeous photography, this is the book you want to add new excitement to canning fruits and vegetables!Includes more than 100 recipes with simple instructions for successFeatures 140 beautiful full-color photographs that showcase the recipes and provide instructionBonus chapter of food gifts with simple packaging ideasFor today's growing number of do-it-yourselfers and home cooks who embrace the benefits in-season produce, Better Homes and Gardens Can It! is the source for fresh, new canning and preserving ideas.

Microeconomic Foundations I: Choice and Competitive Markets


David M. Kreps - 2012
    The objective is to take the reader from acquaintance with these foundational topics to something closer to mastery of the models and results connected to them. Provides a rigorous treatment of some of the basic tools of economic modeling and reasoning, along with an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of these tools Complements standard texts Covers choice, preference, and utility; structural properties of preferences and utility functions; basics of consumer demand; revealed preference and Afriat's Theorem; choice under uncertainty; dynamic choice; social choice and efficiency; competitive and profit-maximizing firms; expenditure minimization; demand theory (duality methods); producer and consumer surplus; aggregation; general equilibrium; efficiency and the core; GET, time, and uncertainty; and other topics Features a free web-based student's guide, which gives solutions to approximately half the problems, and a limited-access instructor's manual, which provides solutions to the rest of the problems Contains appendixes that review most of the specific mathematics employed in the book, including a from-first-principles treatment of dynamic programming

The Spine of the Continent: The Most Ambitious Wildlife Conservation Project Ever Undertaken


Mary Ellen Hannibal - 2012
    Wilson and Paul Ehrlich, who endorse his effort as necessary to saving nature on our continent.  With blue-ribbon scientific foundations, the Spine is yet a grassroots, cooperative effort among conservation activists – NGOs large and small -- and regular citizens.  The Spine of the Continent is not only about making physical connections so that nature will persist; it is about making connections between people and the land we call home.  In this fascinating, exciting, and important book, Mary Ellen Hannibal travels the length of the Spine, sharing stories and anecdotes about the passionate, idiosyncratic people she meets along the way – and the critters they love.

Long Way on a Little: An Earth Lover's Companion for Enjoying Meat, Pinching Pennies and Living Deliciously


Shannon Hayes - 2012
    "But to do it," she adds, "we need to expand our menus to include more than just the prime cuts, and we need to learn how to work with leftovers." More than just a cookbook, "Long Way on a Little" presents Hayes' practical knowledge about integrating livestock into a sustainable society with her accessible writing and engaging wit. Designed to be the only meat book a home cook could ever need, "Long Way on a Little" is packed with Hayes' signature delicious no-fail recipes for perfect roasts and steaks cooked indoors and out on the grill, easy-to-follow techniques to make use of the less-conventional, inexpensive cuts that often go to waste, tips on stretching a sustainable food budget, and an extensive section on using leftovers and creating soups; all with the aim of helping home cooks make the most effective and economical use of their local farm products or their own backyard livestock.While addressing the topic of making local food more affordable, Hayes also frankly grapples with tough health issues confronting so many Americans today, from diabetes to grain and gluten intolerance. The result is a family-pleasing, nutrient-dense, affordable cuisine that is a joy to prepare, rich in authentic flavor, and steeped in the wisdom of the world's greatest culinary traditions, all bundled together in a thought-provoking and informative book that is as stimulating to the mind as it is to the palate.Features: Recipes for cooking all major cuts of grassfed and pastured meats indoors and out on the grillCarbohydrate counts on all recipes for low carb and diabetic dietsGuide to Grain-free, Legume-free, Dairy-free and Paleo-friendly recipesRecipes for using animal fats in traditional cuisine, as well as for soaps, salves and candle-making16 page full-color insert illustrating fundamental techniques for working with whole animals: from making broth and demi-glace, grilling steaks and cutting up chickens, to rendering fat and soap, salve and candle making;Extensive section on soups and leftovers;Lively, up-to-date discussions of current issues pertaining to sustainable livestock farming in North America;Money-saving tips for making delicious meals go as far as possible

Buller's Birds of New Zealand: The Complete Work of JG Keulemans


Geoff Norman - 2012
    This beautiful new edition—now in a smaller, more accessible format—presents the full set of these cherished 19th-century artworks created by JG Keulemans for A History of the Birds of New Zealand by Walter Buller. With a foreword by Stephen Fry and an introduction that traces the history of ornithological painting and tells the story of Buller and his talented artist, this definitive book will appeal to all those who love New Zealand’s unique avifauna.

The Tangled Bank: Writings from Orion


Robert Michael Pyle - 2012
    Each essay collected in The Tangled Bank explores Charles Darwin’s contention that the elements of such a bank, and by extension all the living world, are endlessly interesting and ever evolving.Pyle’s thoughtful and concise narratives range in subject from hops and those who love them to independent bookstores to the monarchs of Mexico. In each piece, Pyle refutes “the idea that the world is a boring place,” sharing his meticulous observations of the endless and fascinating details of the living earth.

Life on the Brink: Environmentalists Confront Overpopulation


Philip Cafaro - 2012
    Some of the leading voices in the American environmental movement restate the case that population growth is a major force behind many of our most serious ecological problems, including global climate change, habitat loss and species extinctions, air and water pollution, and food and water scarcity. As we surpass seven billion world inhabitants, contributors argue that ending population growth worldwide and in the United States is a moral imperative that deserves renewed commitment.Hailing from a range of disciplines and offering varied perspectives, these essays hold in common a commitment to sharing resources with other species and a willingness to consider what will be necessary to do so. In defense of nature and of a vibrant human future, contributors confront hard issues regarding contraception, abortion, immigration, and limits to growth that many environmentalists have become too timid or politically correct to address in recent years.Ending population growth will not happen easily. Creating genuinely sustainable societies requires major change to economic systems and ethical values coupled with clear thinking and hard work. Life on the Brink is an invitation to join the discussion about the great work of building a better future.Contributors: Albert Bartlett, Joseph Bish, Lester Brown, Tom Butler, Philip Cafaro, Martha Campbell, William R. Catton Jr., Eileen Crist, Anne Ehrlich, Paul Ehrlich, Robert Engelman, Dave Foreman, Amy Gulick, Ronnie Hawkins, Leon Kolankiewicz, Richard Lamm, Jeffrey McKee, Stephanie Mills, Roderick Nash, Tim Palmer, Charmayne Palomba, William Ryerson, Winthrop Staples III, Captain Paul Watson, Don Weeden, George Wuerthner.

The Mini Farming Guide to Composting: Self-Sufficiency from Your Kitchen to Your Backyard


Brett L. Markham - 2012
    Whether it’s your mini farm or flower garden that needs nourishment, Markham explains how to compost just about anything you can grow--and reminds us that developing your own composting practices can not only be fun but saves money and encourages self-sufficiency. Learn to make a backyard compost structure with Brett’s easy-to-follow directions and learn the science behind how food scraps become food for plants. In The Mini Farming Guide to Composting you’ll find instructions to make composting simple, with checklists, extensive tables, measurements, photographs taken by the author, and diagrams. Topics include:--The Importance of Soil Microbiology--The Nutrient Cycle--Compost and Sustainable Nutrient Cycles--Sustainability and a Positive Bottom Line--Theory: The Science of Compost--Practice: The Technique of Compost--Other Sustainability Practices: Biochar and More--Indoor Composting: Vermicomposting--Limits of Composting, Appropriate Amendments--Easy Composting Bins You Can Make

Loving this Planet: Leading Thinkers Talk About How to Make a Better World


Helen Caldicott - 2012
    Together with some of the most brilliant thinkers and inspiring advocates of our time, Caldicott--whom Meryl Streep has called "my inspiration to speak out"--scrutinizes our unsustainable dependence on nuclear energy; explores how the United States could transition to renewable energy; and raises awareness about a host of other planetary issues, from deforestation and sea-level rise to nuclear arms and the potential health effects of cell phone radiation.

The Research Funding Toolkit


Jacqueline Aldridge - 2012
    A complex set of factors determine whether research projects win grants. This handbook helps you navigate these issues and identify your personal challenges to research grant success.

The Case for Copyright Reform


Christian Engström - 2012
    These are the main points of the proposal for copyright reform that the Pirate Party is advocating. This is a constructive alternative to the controversial ACTA agreement, and to the criminalization of the entire young generation.

Liber 118 U.S. 394: The Battle Of Oakland


Paco Nathan - 2012
    He builds fantastic UAVs for search and rescue, then spends off-hours surfing or mountain biking through wine country. After his employer pivots into a defense contractor, Rom encounters a very different shadow world. On one hand, there's an organization of eccentric billionaires who have financed odd technologies for use at Burning Man, Maker Faire, and in subtle support of the Occupy protests. One the other hand, a religious right lobby called The Fellowship openly opposes democracy, and works as a kind of self-appointed police force for transnational corporations. Conflict ensues over hotly contested issues of corporate personhood, militarized police in metro areas, accusations of "domestic terror" by a corrupt Homeland Security Agency, all of which thrust many innocent people into a private prisons system bankrolled by Halliburton. At the heart of this story lies a centuries-old secret about ritual magick which the Elizabethans learned from the Aztecs. Take a look at the hidden story of transnational corporations... Because the world needs corporate theorists who aren't paid shills.

The Nature of Nutrition: A Unifying Framework from Animal Adaptation to Human Obesity


Stephen J. Simpson - 2012
    The need for nutrients determines whether wild animals thrive, how populations evolve and decline, and how ecological communities are structured. "The Nature of Nutrition" is the first book to address nutrition's enormously complex role in biology, both at the level of individual organisms and in their broader ecological interactions.Stephen Simpson and David Raubenheimer provide a comprehensive theoretical approach to the analysis of nutrition--the Geometric Framework. They show how it can help us to understand the links between nutrition and the biology of individual animals, including the physiological mechanisms that determine the nutritional interactions of the animal with its environment, and the consequences of these interactions in terms of health, immune responses, and lifespan. Simpson and Raubenheimer explain how these effects translate into the collective behavior of groups and societies, and in turn influence food webs and the structure of ecosystems. Then they demonstrate how the Geometric Framework can be used to tackle issues in applied nutrition, such as the problem of optimizing diets for livestock and endangered species, and how it can also help to address the epidemic of human obesity and metabolic diseaseDrawing on a wealth of examples from slime molds to humans, "The Nature of Nutrition" has important applications in ecology, evolution, and physiology, and offers promising solutions for human health, conservation, and agriculture.

Green Illusions


Ozzie Zehner - 2012
    We have a consumption crisis. And this book, which takes aim at cherished assumptions regarding energy, offers refreshingly straight talk about what’s wrong with the way we think and talk about the problem. Though we generally believe we can solve environmental problems with more energy—more solar cells, wind turbines, and biofuels—alternative technologies come with their own side effects and limitations. How, for instance, do solar cells cause harm? Why can’t engineers solve wind power’s biggest obstacle? Why won’t contraception solve the problem of overpopulation lying at the heart of our concerns about energy, and what will? This practical, environmentally informed, and lucid book persuasively argues for a change of perspective. If consumption is the problem, as Ozzie Zehner suggests, then we need to shift our focus from suspect alternative energies to improving social and political fundamentals: walkable communities, improved consumption, enlightened governance, and, most notably, women’s rights. The dozens of first steps he offers are surprisingly straightforward. For instance, he introduces a simple sticker that promises a greater impact than all of the nation’s solar cells. He uncovers why carbon taxes won’t solve our energy challenges (and presents two taxes that could). Finally, he explores how future environmentalists will focus on similarly fresh alternatives that are affordable, clean, and can actually improve our well-being. Watch a book trailer.

Madlands


Anna Rose - 2012
    She's on a mission: to see if she can change the mind of one sceptic, and with him, the views of a nation confused about the science behind the biggest threat humanity has ever faced.Anna's journey with Nick forces them both to confront closely held assumptions, think deeply about complex science, and ultimately ask what our responsibilities are as humans alive in uncertain times acting on substantial but incomplete scientific knowledge. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with experts around the world, as well as field visits to a farm in north-western New South Wales, a remote Hawaiian volcano 13,000 feet above the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and the crystal waters of the Great Barrier Reef, Madlands traces the rise of climate scepticism and the struggles of scientists and activists to communicate the facts to an increasingly confused public.Through the eyes of one young Australian, we're invited to step back and look at the bigger picture of what we know about climate change, and what we don't. Madlands is part travel story, part scientific exploration, part tale of self-discovery, and part call to arms. It is written to inform, entertain and ultimately to change the debate on climate change in Australia.

Sustainability: A Comprehensive Foundation


Tom Theis - 2012
    As sustainability is a multi-disciplinary area of study, the text is the product of multiple authors drawn from the diverse faculty of the University of Illinois: each chapter is written by a recognized expert in the field.

The Derrick Jensen Reader: Writings on Environmental Revolution


Derrick Jensen - 2012
    Here for the first time in The Derrick Jensen Reader are collected generous selections from his prescient, unflinching books on the problem of civilization and the path to true resistance.In the acclaimed A Language Older Than Words, Jensen dissects his own abusive childhood to examine the pathology of Western culture and shares with us the power and beauty of an alliance with the natural world. He continues to use the lens of his own experience as well as the wisdom of philosophers, activists, and teachers to expose oppression and call us to action in his other early works, Listening to the Land, A Culture of Make Believe, Strangely Like War, and Walking on Water. We see his analysis deepen when he asks us to accept that the only moral response to biocide is resistance in the two-volume Endgame, a truth he explores further in Thought to Exist in the Wild, What We Leave Behind, the graphic novel As The World Burns, and in his two novels, Songs of the Dead and Lives Less Valuable. And in Dreams, Jensen's latest work, he leads us still further toward his vision for a healed planet, freeing us to see beyond the limits of our present culture to a future luminous with meaning.

Play These Games: 101 Delightful Diversions Using Everyday Items


Heather Swain - 2012
    Using simple, everyday items found around the house, Play These Games will inspire kids and the young at heart with a spectrum of ingenious games to make and play so they’ll never be bored again! •Gather family photos to create a personalized set of Go Fish cards •Grab loose buttons for button golf, shuffle button, and button hockey •Unleash your inner pinball wizard with a clothespin and cardboard box version of the arcade classic •Get out the hula hoops and brooms for a backyard jousting tournament •Try one of fifteen variations of the classic game of Tag Whether it’s competitive or cooperative, for large groups or duos, the games in this clever guide are fun to create and a blast to play.

Green Building: Principles and Practices in Residential Construction


Carl Seville - 2012
    Students are tired of the same recycled photographs from the 1970's. This book's contemporary photographs and figures will excite your students about the possibility of building green homes."Richard Bruce, Department of Technology & Construction Management, Missouri State University"According to my knowledge, this book is the most comprehensive treatment on the subject of green building in residential construction. It achieves an excellent balance between principles and real-world practice. The "best practice" approach (i.e. integrating of green principles with existing design/construction practices) as well as the attention to construction issues are excellent. The book is not only valuable for college faculty and students in architecture, engineering, landscape, interior design and construction, but also as a reference for industry practitioners (owners/buyers, architects, engineers, contractors, and building department officials etc.)"Lingguang Song, Ph.D, Department of Construction Management, University of Houston

Drinking the Summer Garden: Homegrown Thirst Quenchers, Concoctions, Sips, and Nibbles (You Grow Guides, #1)


Gayla Trail - 2012
    Using a wide range of ingredients and flavors available fresh from summer gardens and farmers markets, Gayla Trail shows you how to concoct seasonal drinks that you can’t buy in a bottle.From frosty, low-sugar thirst quenchers that will keep the kids hydrated and happy, to fun and unusual twists on classic grown up libations, DRINKING THE SUMMER GARDEN is packed with more than 40 recipes to satisfy every taste. Featuring instruction on syrup-making, pickling, homegrown garnishes, fermenting, handcrafting liqueurs, as well as handy how-to techniques written and presented in Trail’s irreverent, friendly style, this volume will encourage and inspire further explorations in the kitchen and the garden.

The Prince's Speech: On the Future of Food


Charles, Prince of Wales - 2012
    Rodale’s special commemorative edition of that speech has been enhanced with an all-new foreword by Wendell Berry and afterword by Will Allen and Eric Schlosser. Sustainability, specifically in global food systems, is an issue the Prince has championed for decades. His speech addresses such issues as the growing global food shortage and wasteful contemporary agricultural practices that, over time, will deplete our soil, harm the workers who toil in the fields, and have cataclysmic impact on the global economy. In their stead he advocates organic farming and agricultural systems that are environmentally and economically resilient -- systems, for the well being of future generations, must be adopted today.

The Sociology of Food and Agriculture


Michael S. Carolan - 2012
    This book is an introductory textbook aimed at undergraduate students, and is suitable for those with little or no background in sociology.The author starts by looking at the recent development of agriculture under capitalism and neo-liberal regimes and the transformation of farming from a small-scale, family-run business to a globalized system. The consequent changes in rural employment and role of multinationals in controlling markets are described. Topics such as the global hunger and obesity challenges, GM foods, and international trade and subsidies are assessed as part of the world food economy. The second section of the book focuses on community impacts, food and culture, and diversity. Later chapters examine topics such as food security, alternative and social movements, food sovereignty, local versus global, and fair trade. All chapters include learning objectives and recommendations for further reading to aid student learning.

Green Is Good: Save Money, Make Money, and Help Your Community Profit from Clean Energy


Brian F. Keane - 2012
    Those who see that opportunity are already seizing it … all the way to the bank. Green Is Good is a no-nonsense guide to how you, the average American, can easily incorporate clean energy and energy efficiency into your daily life and in the process save money, make money, and help wean your community off fossil fuels. Renewable energy guru Brian F. Keane walks you through the cost-benefit trade-offs that come with the exciting new technologies and introduces you to the revolutionary clean-energy products on the horizon, making the ins and outs of renewable energy easily accessible. He shows what you can do on every level to seize the opportunity and profit from it. A renewable energy future isn’t just good for the environment; it’s good for the economy, and Green Is Good will show you how—before it’s too late.

Self-reliance: Recession-proof your pantry


Jackie Clay - 2012
    This self-reliance guide from Backwoods Home Magazine is a must-have for everyone starting on the road to self-reliance as well as those well along their way.

Traitor: The Whistleblower and the "American Taliban"


Jesselyn A. Radack - 2012
    This is the the memoir of the Justice Department legal ethics advisor, Jesselyn Radack, who blew the whistle on government misconduct in the case of the so-called "American Taliban," John Walker Lindh--America's first terrorism prosecution after 9/11.(from amazon.com)