Key features include:- use of compatible perennials;- non-invasive planting techniques;- emphasis on biodiversity;- specifically adaptable to local climate, landscape, and soil conditions;- highly productive output of edibles.Now, picture your backyard as one incredibly lush garden, filled with edible flowers, bursting with fruit and berries, and carpeted with scented herbs and tangy salad greens. The visual impact is of Monet's palette, a wash of color, texture, and hue. But this is no still life. The flowers nurture endangered pollinators. Bright-featured songbirds feed on abundant berries and gather twigs for their nests.The plants themselves are grouped in natural communities, where each species plays a role in building soil, deterring pests, storing nutrients, and luring beneficial insects. And finally, you—good ol' homo sapiens—are an integral part of the scene. Your garden tools are resting against a nearby tree, and have a slight patina of rust, because this garden requires so little maintenance. You recline into a hammock to admire your work. You have created a garden paradise.This is no dream, but rather an ecological garden, which takes the principles of permaculture and applies them on a home-scale. There is nothing technical, intrusive, secretive, or expensive about this form of gardening. All that is required is some botanical knowledge (which is in this book) and a mindset that defines a backyard paradise as something other than a carpet of grass fed by MiracleGro.

     In this powerful and provocative book, Scottish writer and campaigner Alastair McIntosh shows how it is still possible for individuals and communities to take on the might of corporate power and emerge victorious. As a founder of the Isle of Eigg Trust, McIntosh helped the beleaguered residents of Eigg to become the first Scottish community ever to clear their laird from his own estate. And plans to turn a majestic Hebridean mountain into a superquarry were overturned after McIntosh persuaded a Native American warrior chief to visit the Isle of Harris and testify at the government inquiry. This extraordinary book weaves together theology, mythology, economics, ecology, history, poetics and politics as the author journeys towards a radical new philosophy of community, spirit and place. His daring and imaginative responses to the destruction of the natural world make Soil and Soul an uplifting, inspirational and often richly humorous read.

    The indomitable Shuar of the Amazon--reputed to be the only tribe in the Americas that has never been conquered--have lived as warriors, hunters, cultivators, and healers for generations. Even in today's acquisitive, often wasteful world they defend their rainforests and sustainable ways of life and offer their philosophy of love, joy, and hope. More than three decades after first befriending members of the Shuar, author and environmentalist John Perkins and his publisher, Ehud Sperling, inspired Shakaim Mariano Chumpi-a young Shuar warrior who has fought in the jungle war between his native Ecuador and Peru-to travel among his people and record their thoughts, history, and customs. The result is Spirit of the Shuar. Here, in their own words, the Shuar share their practices of shapeshifting, "dreaming the world," and ecstatic sex, including the role older women play in teaching uninitiated men how to please. They explain the interdependence of humans and the environment, their formula for peace and balance, and their faith in arutam, the life-giving spirit of nature that allows each of us to transform ourselves. And they describe how their ancient-and current-practice of shrinking heads fits into their cultural philosophy. Whether exploring the mystery of shamanic shapeshifting, delving deeper into the powers of healing herbs and psychotropic plants, or finding new ways to live sustainably and sensitively in the face of encroaching development and environmental destruction, the Shuar have emerged as a strong people determined to preserve their identity and beliefs and share their teachings with a world in dire need of their wisdom. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to the Ayumpum Foundation to help the Shuar conserve their forests and spread their message.

    Substantially updated, this revised bestseller now contains more recent information on global problems, more effective actions, and many new resources.

    Written when the native plant movement was just getting started, it helped convert a generation of gardeners to the practical and aesthetic values of using drought-tolerant plants in southwestern landscapes.In this new edition, Jill Nokes has extensively rewritten every section to include the latest information on the production, cultivation, and landscape use of native plants. She has added over 75 new species and updated the propagation and care information for the original 350 species of trees, shrubs, and woody vines. In addition to the individual plant descriptions, she also devotes whole chapters to gathering and storing seeds, seed germination, planting, vegetative propagation, and transplanting. With this wealth of clearly presented, easy-to-reference information, How to Grow Native Plants of Texas and the Southwest will remain the last word on this subject.

    This new, greatly expanded edition of Annette McFarlane's gardening classic offers gardeners an authoritative and comprehensive guide to growing an extensive range of organic vegetables.

    Here he presents a radical alternative to conventional woodland management that creates biodiverse, healthy environments, yields a great variety of value-added products, provides a secure livelihood for woodland workers and farmers, and benefits the local community. The author views the separation of agriculture from silviculture as unnecessarily limiting and argues for a new approach to planning that will encourage the creation of sustainably managed woodlands for the benefit of people, the local environment, and the global climate. Although specific to Britain, the principles of The Woodland Way will be understood by foresters worldwide. This brilliant book covers every aspect of woodland stewardship from both a practical and philosophical standpoint. Ben Law writes from the heart after long years of struggle with a whole host of naysayers who tried to convince him by fair means and foul to give up his vision for a renaissance in the countryside.

    It crushed power grids from the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic, forcing thousands of people into public shelters and leaving millions of others in their homes without electricity. In this riveting book Stephen Doheny-Farina presents an insider’s account of these events, describing the destruction of the electric network in his own village and the emergence of the face-to-face interactions that took its place. His stories examine the impact of electronic communications on community, illuminating the relationship between electronic and human connections and between networks and neighborhoods, and exploring why and how media portrayals of disasters can distort authentic experience. Doheny-Farina begins by discussing the disaster and tracing the origins of the storm. He then goes back two hundred years to tell how this particular electric grid was built, showing us the sacrifices people made to create the grids that (usually) connect us to one another. Today’s power grid, says Doheny-Farina, has become more vulnerable than we realize, as demand begins to outstrip capacity in urban centers around the nation. His book reminds us what those grids mean—both positively and negatively—to our electronically saturated lives.

    He demonstrates how the power of the machine generates increasingly asymmetrical exchanges and distribution of resources and risks between distant populations and ecosystems, and thus an increasingly polarized world order. The author challenges us to reconceptualize the machine-"industrial technomass"-as a species of power and a problem of culture. He shows how economic anthropology has the tools to deconstruct the concepts of production, money capital, and market exchange, and to analyze capital accumulation as a problem at the very interface of the natural and social sciences. His analysis provides an alternative understanding of economic growth and technological development. Hornborg's work is essential for researchers in anthropology, human ecology, economics, political economy, world-systems theory, environmental justice, and science and technology studies. Find out more about the author at the Lund University, Sweden web site.

    "

    From straw bale and cob, to recycled concrete and salvaged materials, this anthology of articles from leaders in the field focuses on both the practical and the esthetic concerns of ecological building designs and techniques. Includes examples of diverse natural dwellings, from a Hybrid Hobbit House to a thatched studio and a cob office.Catherine Wanek is the publisher and editor of The Last Straw Journal. Joseph F. Kennedy has expanded the boundaries of ecological architecture with NASA’s space station habitability module. Michael Smith is the author of The Cob Cottage (Chelsea Green, 2001), among others.

    They had a yearning to farm. They wanted to eat slow food. Although completely inexperiences, they learned through trial and error how to milk a cow, plant crops, repair their almost derelict house, and grow enough food to feem themselves. The eight children are now adults and David, a Miles Franklin award-winning author, still chops wood, makes bread and cheese, and keeps bees, while Gerda uses fresh food as therapy in her work as a counsellor in a maximum security prison. This is the story of a year in their life, with a recipe for each week using what's ripe in their garden. It is also the story of a particular approach to life, in which the growing, preparation and eating of food plays a central part.

    of Paris, France) employs a view of the universe found in quantum physics to build his argument as to how basic spiritual questions may be answered and the problems of humanity, such as greed and the dichotomy between rich and poor, can be overcome. His m

    Each chapter focuses on a favorite children's picture book--and reveals the systems principle inherent in the story, general points for discussion, illustrations of key concepts, and questions to spark conversation for both younger and older readers.

    It meets the fundamental needs for shelter from the elements, but, almost from its origins, has acquired other purposes and meanings. The Selective Environment is an approach to environmentally responsive architectural design that seeks to make connections between the technical preoccupations of architectural science, and the necessity, never more urgent than today, to sustain cultural identity at a time of rapid global, technological change.

    The key conclusion of this work is that a whole-of-government cultural framework, operating in parallel with social, environmental and economic frameworks, is essential for the achievement of a sustainable and healthy society. Cultural vitality is as essential to a healthy and sustainable society as social equity, environmental responsibility and economic viability. In order for public planning to be more effective, its methodology should include an integrated framework of cultural evaluation along similar lines to those being developed for social, environmental and economic impact assessment.

    Derek Owens argues that, in light of worsening environmental crises and accelerating social injustices, we need to use sustainability as a way to structure courses and curricula, and that composition studies, with its inherent cross-disciplinarity and its unique function in students' academic lives, can play a key role in giving sustainability a central place in students' thinking and in the curriculum as a whole.Owens draws on student writing to articulate a pedagogy that gives students opportunities to think and write in three zones of inquiry: place, work, and future. This approach allows for the creation of a variegated course wherein students write neighborhood portraits, critique their work experiences, reflect on their majors, investigate alternative theories of education, compose oral histories, construct narratives about their futures, and design their own assignments--all from the perspective of sustainability. These writings are juxtaposed with observations from writers in architecture, ecological economics, future studies, planning, sociology, sustainable business, and urban studies.The appendixes include a wealth of environmental statistics, as well as a detailed description of Owens's composition course, with assignments ready to use or adapt.

    Water Distribution Modeling does just that! Written by industry experts, it provides a practical resource for engineers and modelers that goes well beyond being a how-to guide for typing data into a computer program. It contains straightforward answers to common questions related both to modeling and to distribution systems in general. This textbook walks the practicing engineer or student through the modeling process from start to finish - from data collection and field-testing to using a model for system design and complex operational tasks. Water Distribution Modeling includes a complete version of the WaterCAD software on CD-ROM along with more than 100 problems that can be completed for Continuing Education Units.

    Resetting the Compass: Australia's Journey Towards Sustainability Updated Edition sets out Australia's environmental problems in their global context and explains what is now needed to fix them. It also illustrates how ecological sustainability can be achieved together with economic, social and cultural sustainability. The book examines the pressures on our environment from population growth, consumption patterns and technological change. The specific actions needed to deal with each of the problems identified are described in detail. This Updated Edition includes: New assessments from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. New figures related to Australia's emissions from the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory. New assessments of current conditions and trends from the National Land and Water Audit. Latest estimates of the volume of vegetation clearing and new information on wind farms. This book is essential reading for politicians and public servants; business leaders and managers; environmentalists; academics and students in environmental courses; and all those interested in environmental issues.