In FOLKS, THIS AIN'T NORMAL, he discusses how far removed we are from the simple, sustainable joy that comes from living close to the land and the people we love. Salatin has many thoughts on what normal is and shares practical and philosophical ideas for changing our lives in small ways that have big impact.Salatin, hailed by the New York Times as "Virginia's most multifaceted agrarian since Thomas Jefferson [and] the high priest of the pasture" and profiled in the Academy Award nominated documentary Food, Inc. and the bestselling book The Omnivore's Dilemma, understands what food should be: Wholesome, seasonal, raised naturally, procured locally, prepared lovingly, and eaten with a profound reverence for the circle of life. And his message doesn't stop there. From child-rearing, to creating quality family time, to respecting the environment, Salatin writes with a wicked sense of humor and true storyteller's knack for the revealing anecdote. Salatin's crucial message and distinctive voice--practical, provocative, scientific, and down-home philosophical in equal measure--make FOLKS, THIS AIN'T NORMAL a must-read book.

    The world is in economic crisis, and there are no easy fixes to our predicament. Unsustainable trends in the economy, energy, and the environment have finally caught up with us and are converging on a very narrow window of time--the Twenty-Teens. The Crash Course presents our predicament and illuminates the path ahead, so you can face the coming disruptions and thrive--without fearing the future or retreating into denial. In this book you will find solid facts and grounded reasoning presented in a calm, positive, non-partisan manner.Our money system places impossible demands upon a finite world. Exponentially rising levels of debt, based on assumptions of future economic growth to fund repayment, will shudder to a halt and then reverse. Unfortunately, our financial system does not operate in reverse. The consequences of massive deleveraging will be severe.Oil is essential for economic growth. The reality of dwindling oil supplies is now internationally recognized, yet virtually no developed nations have a Plan B. The economic risks to individuals, companies, and countries are varied and enormous. Best-case, living standards will drop steadily worldwide. Worst-case, systemic financial crises will toss the world into jarring chaos.This book is written for those who are motivated to learn about the root causes of our predicaments, protect themselves and their families, mitigate risks as much as possible, and control what effects they can. With challenge comes opportunity, and The Crash Course offers a positive vision for how to reshape our lives to be more balanced, resilient, and sustainable.

    These collaborative organizations have the unique potential to harness their members' ideals, passions, skills, and knowledge—if they can succeed in getting along together.The Empowerment Manual is a comprehensive manual for groups seeking to organize with shared power and bottom-up leadership to foster vision, trust, accountability, and responsibility. This desperately needed toolkit provides keys to:Understanding group dynamics Facilitating communication and collective decision-making Dealing effectively with difficult people.Drawing on four decades of experience, Starhawk shows how collaborative groups can generate the cooperation, efficacy, and commitment critical to success. Her extensive exploration of group process is woven together with the story of RootBound—a fictional ecovillage mired in conflict—and rounded out with a series of real-life case studies. The included exercises and facilitator toolbox show how to establish the necessary structures, ground rules, and healthy norms. The Empowerment Manual is required reading for anyone who wants to help their group avoid disagreement and disillusionment and become a wellspring of creativity and innovation.Starhawk is the author of eleven previous books including the award-winning Webs of Power. A highly influential voice for global justice and the environment, she is deeply committed to bringing the creative power of spirituality to political activism.

    Since then, the Transition idea has gone viral across the globe, from Italian villages and Brazilian favelas to universities and London neighborhoods. In contrast to the ever-worsening stream of information about climate change, the economy, and resource depletion, Transition focuses on solutions, on community-scale responses, on meeting new people, and on having fun.The Transition Companion picks up the story today, drawing on the experience of one of the most fascinating experiments under way in the world. It tells inspiring tales of communities working for a future where local economies are valued and nurtured; where lower energy use is seen as a benefit; and where enterprise, creativity, and the building of resilience have become cornerstones of a new economy.The first part discusses where we are now in terms of resilience and vulnerability in the face of rising oil prices, climate change, and economic challenge. It presents a vision of the future if we do not address these issues, and how things might change if we start to do so. The book then looks in detail at the process a community in transition goes through, calling on the experience of those who have already embarked on this journey. These examples show how much can be achieved when people harness energy and imagination to create projects that will make their communities more resilient. The Transition Companion combines practical advice--the tools needed to start and maintain a Transition initiative--with numerous inspiring stories from local groups worldwide.

    In this indispensable guide, Farm City author Novella Carpenter and Willow Rosenthal share their experience as successful urban farmers and provide practical blueprints-complete with rich visual material-for novice and experienced growers looking to bring the principles of ethical food to the city streets. The Essential Urban Farmer guides readers from day one to market day, advising on how to find the perfect site, design a landscape, and cultivate crops. For anyone who has ever grown herbs on windowsills, or tomatoes on fire escapes, this is an invaluable volume with the potential to change our menus, our health, and our cities forever.

    But you also probably figured that most of these products were safe, and that someone—the manufacturers, the government—was looking out for you. The truth might surprise you.After experiencing a health scare of his own, journalist McKay Jenkins set out to discover the truth about toxic chemicals, our alarming levels of exposure, and our government’s utter failure to regulate them effectively. What’s Gotten into Us? reveals how dangerous, and how common, toxins are in the most ordinary things, and in the most familiar of places: • Our water: Thanks to suburban sprawl and agricultural runoff, 97 percent of our nation’s rivers and streams are now contaminated with everything from herbicides to pharmaceutical drugs. • Our bodies: High levels of hormone-disrupting chemicals from cosmetics, flame-retardants from clothing and furniture, even long-banned substances like DDT and lead, are consistently showing up in human blood samples.• Our homes: Many toxins lurk beneath our sinks and in our basements, of course, but did you know that they’re also found in wall-to-wall carpeting, plywood, and fabric softeners? • Our yards: Pesticides, fungicides, even common fertilizers—there are enormous, unseen costs to our national obsession with green, weed-free lawns.  What’s Gotten Into Us? is much more than a wake-up call. It offers numerous practical ways for us to regain some control over our lives, to make our own personal worlds a little less toxic. Inside, you’ll find ideas to help you make informed decisions about the products you buy, and to disentangle yourself from unhealthy products you don’t need—so that you and your family can start living healthier lives now, and in the years to come. Because, as this book shows, what you don’t know can hurt you.

    Building on the foundations of E. F. Schumacher's revolutionary "economics as if people mattered," this book examines the true cost of confusing money with wealth. By analyzing the mistakes of contemporary economics, it shows how an economy centered on natural capital—the raw materials that support human life—can move our society toward a more productive relationship with the planet that sustains us all.The Wealth of Nature suggests public policy initiatives and personal choices that can help alleviate the economic impact of Peak Oil. These strategies must address not only financial concerns, but the issues of resource depletion and pollution as well. Examples include:Adjusting tax policy to penalize the use of natural nonrenewable resources over recycled materialsPlacing public welfare above corporate interestsEmpowering individuals, families, and communities by prioritizing local, sustainable solutionsBuilding economies at an appropriate scaleProfoundly insightful and impeccably argued, this book is required reading for anyone interested in the intersection of the environment and the economy as we enter the twilight of the Age of Abundance.John Michael Greer is a scholar of ecological history, an award-winning author, and an internationally renowned peak oil theorist whose blog The Archdruid Report has become one of the most widely cited online resources dealing with the future of industrial society.

    The only responsible way to learn the nuances of the land is to study the soil and vegetation in their natural state and pass this knowledge on to future generations.In Nature as Measure, a collection of Jackson’s essays from Altars of Unhewn Stone and Becoming Native to This Place, these ideas of land conservation and education are written from the point of view of a man who has practiced what he’s preached and proven that it is possible to partially restore much of the land that we’ve ravaged. Wes Jackson lays the foundation for a new farming economy, grounded in nature’s principles and located in dying small towns and rural communities. Exploding the tenets of industrial agriculture, Jackson seeks to integrate food production with nature in a way that sustains both.

    It was completed just before his death and published posthumously on the 7th of July 2011. Many reviewers have found it hard to categorise, with John Thackara describing it as "half encyclopedia, half commonplace book, half a secular bible, half survival guide, half ... yes, that’s a lot of halves, but ... I have never encountered a book that is so hard to characterise yet so hard, despite its weight, to put down ... It’s an incredibly nourishing cultural and scientific treasure trove."Lean Logic explores themes including ethics, science, relationships, culture, policy, art and history, but unconventionally for a book of such varied themes, it is structured in dictionary format, with each entry followed by a list of other related entries. This allows Fleming to highlight connections that might otherwise be overlooked without detracting from his in-depth exploration of each theme, and also has the effect of allowing the reader to follow the narrative of their choice as they explore Fleming's thoughts and research on strategies for the future.His vision of the future is challenging, as he sees in the present "an economy that is destroying the very foundations on which it depends" (ecologically, economically and culturally), but many reviewers have commented on the positive spirit and humour that suffuse its pages as Fleming describes strategies and principles for a satisfying, culturally rich future in such difficult circumstances.

    We use more water than any other culture in the world, much to quench what’s now our largest crop—the lawn. Yet most Americans cannot name the river or aquifer that flows to our taps, irrigates our food, and produces our electricity. And most don’t realize these freshwater sources are in deep trouble.Blue Revolution exposes the truth about the water crisis—driven not as much by lawn sprinklers as by a tradition that has encouraged everyone, from homeowners to farmers to utilities, to tap more and more. But the book also offers much reason for hope. Award-winning journalist Cynthia Barnett argues that the best solution is also the simplest and least expensive: a water ethic for America. Just as the green movement helped build awareness about energy and sustainability, so a blue movement will reconnect Americans to their water, helping us value and conserve our most life-giving resource. Avoiding past mistakes, living within our water means, and turning to “local water” as we do local foods are all part of this new, blue revolution. Reporting from across the country and around the globe, Barnett shows how people, businesses, and governments have come together to dramatically reduce water use and reverse the water crisis. Entire metro areas, such as San Antonio, Texas, have halved per capita water use. Singapore’s “closed water loop” recycles every drop. New technologies can slash agricultural irrigation in half: businesses can save a lot of water—and a lot of money—with designs as simple as recycling air-conditioning condensate. The first book to call for a national water ethic, Blue Revolution is also a powerful meditation on water and community in America.

    This unique book--part manifesto from a leader, part humorous activist memoir from a soccer mom--offers a wryly honest, behind the scenes, ultimately uplifting look at the state of the planet. For almost 20 years, Tzeporah Berman has been one of our most influential environmentalists. A founder of ForestEthics and PowerUp Canada, she was instrumental in shaping the tactics and concerns of the modern environmental movement. In her early 20s she faced nearly one thousand criminal charges and 6 years in prison for her role organizing blockades in Canada's rainforest. With ForestEthics she took on Victoria's Secret with a photo of a chainsaw-wielding lingerie model, convincing the catalogue manufacturer to stop using paper made from old-growth forests. She then transformed her tactics and sat down with CEOs and political leaders to reshape their policies and practices. She participated in saving over 12 million acres of endangered forests, including Canada's Great Bear Rainforest, and has campaigned against the development of Canada's oil sands. In her new role at Greenpeace International she is fighting the problem of our time: climate change, including researching the impacts of the Gulf Oil Spill and protesting oil drilling in the Arctic. As a concerned mother, her book is an impassioned plea for a better world.

    Mineral treasures that took millions, or even billions, of years to form are now being squandered in just centuries-or sometimes just decades. Will there come a time when we actually run out of minerals? Debates already soar over how we are going to obtain energy without oil, coal, and gas. But what about the other mineral losses we face? Without metals, and semiconductors, how are we going to keep our industrial system running? Without mineral fertilizers and fuels, how are we going to produce the food we need?Ugo Bardi delivers a sweeping history of the mining industry, starting with its humble beginning when our early ancestors started digging underground to find the stones they needed for their tools. He traces the links between mineral riches and empires, wars, and civilizations, and shows how mining in its various forms came to be one of the largest global industries. He also illustrates how the gigantic mining machine is now starting to show signs of difficulties. The easy mineral resources, the least expensive to extract and process, have been mostly exploited and depleted. There are plenty of minerals left to extract, but at higher costs and with increasing difficulties.The effects of depletion take different forms and one may be the economic crisis that is gripping the world system. And depletion is not the only problem. Mining has a dark side-pollution-that takes many forms and delivers many consequences, including climate change. The world we have been accustomed to, so far, was based on cheap mineral resources and on the ability of the ecosystem to absorb pollution without generating damage to human beings. Both conditions are rapidly disappearing. Having thoroughly plundered planet Earth, we are entering a new world. Bardi draws upon the world's leading minerals experts to offer a compelling glimpse into that new world ahead.

    After years of helping clients set up spaces to grow their own fruit and vegetables they believe anyone can create their own little edible garden, in most any area. And in this easy-to-use guide they show you how simple it is!Fundamentals such as Soil, Climate, Watering, Composting, Worm Farms, Saving and Sowing Seeds, and Raised Garden Beds and Crates are all discussed comprehensively – each with a fully illustrated step-by-step activity to help you create your own little veggie patch.The complete A-Z of Edible Plants gives you vital information on more than 40 vegetables (and fruit trees), including detailed planting information, ongoing maintenance advice, tips on best companions and when to harvest. And the family activities scattered throughout the book will get the kids involved too, whether it's Making a Scarecrow, Building a Spud Tower or Growing Beans in a Bean Can.Lots of fun, and packed full of all the information you'll need (plus some hilarious tips and stories from the Little Veggie Patch boys' own experience along the way), this colourful guide is for anyone interested in growing their own food.

    Yet armed with the right tools and information, survivors can fend for themselves and get through even the toughest circumstances. Matthew Stein's When Disaster Strikes provides a thorough, practical guide for how to prepare for and react in many of life's most unpredictable scenarios.In this disaster-preparedness manual, he outlines the materials you'll need-from food and water, to shelter and energy, to first-aid and survival skills-to help you safely live through the worst. When Disaster Strikes covers how to find and store food, water, and clothing, as well as the basics of installing back-up power and lights. You'll learn how to gather and sterilize water, build a fire, treat injuries in an emergency, and use alternative medical sources when conventional ones are unavailable.Stein instructs you on the smartest responses to natural disasters-such as fires, earthquakes, hurricanes and floods-how to keep warm during winter storms, even how to protect yourself from attack or other dangerous situations. With this comprehensive guide in hand, you can be sure to respond quickly, correctly, and confidently when a crisis threatens.

    His book COMFORTABLY UNAWARE introduces us to our responsibility in global depletion, and encourages us to think about our food choices with every bite.

     Eco Amazons brings together the women leading the charge to create a sustainable future. They are individuals at the forefront of the global preservation movement, making a noticeable difference in all of our lives. Through intimate interviews conducted by journalist Dorka Keehn and arresting images by award-winning photographer Colin Finlay, Eco Amazons chronicles and illuminates the critical environmental issues of our time and shows how concern leads to passion, and how passion leads to action that can be emulated by all. While many of the leaders of the modern environmental movement have consistently been women, most of their names, struggles, and successes have yet to achieve national recognition. A generation ago, conservation held the spotlight; but because of these women, the beam is now shining equally on health and urban issues like clean air and safe drinking water. As the movement has expanded, women continue to spearhead change in new areas of environmental focus such as art, design, economics, and food production. With a forward by Julia Butterfly Hill—the internationally known activist who lived in a redwood tree affectionately know as “Luna” for 738 days—this seminal book brings to light the stories and lives of 20 American women making a difference. These eco-warriors include Majora Carter, who founded the environmental justice organization Sustainable South Bronx, which includes one of the nation’s first urban-farm training programs; Agnes Denes, a pioneer of the ecological art movement; Julia Bonds, a coal miner’s daughter and the director of Coal River Mountain Watch in the Appalachian Mountains who is fighting the highly destructive mining practice known as “mountaintop removal”; and Alice Waters, the chef and owner of the award-wining restaurant Chez Panisse, who has championed farmer’s markets and organic products.

    Sando’s beans are sought after by famous chefs like Thomas Keller (Vallarta is his favorite), and he’s frequently profiled in publications such as Bon Appetit, Saveur, and the New York Times.In The Rancho Gordo Heirloom Bean Grower's Guide, Sando invites the gardener and home cook to share his passion, profiling the fifty best beans to grow, cook, and save. From the silky flavor of Good Mother Stallard to the buttery Runner Cannellinis, the most delicious varieties are presented in these pages along with growing tips, flavor notes, stories of their heritage, and beautiful photographs that showcase the unique beauty of each bean. In reintroducing the best of the New World heirloom beans, Sando has created a sensation, and food-lovers everywhere will relish transforming this humble staple into a celebrated delicacy.

    In Wild Dog Dreaming, Deborah Bird Rose explores what constitutes an ethical relationship with nonhuman others in this era of loss. She asks, Who are we, as a species? How do we fit into the Earth's systems? Amidst so much change, how do we find our way into new stories to guide us? Rose explores these questions in the form of a dialogue between science and the humanities. Drawing on her conversations with Aboriginal people, for whom questions of extinction are up-close and very personal, Rose develops a mode of exposition that is dialogical, philosophical, and open-ended.An inspiration for Rose--and a touchstone throughout her book--is the endangered dingo of Australia. The dingo is not the first animal to face extinction, but its story is particularly disturbing because the threat to its future is being actively engineered by humans. The brazenness with which the dingo is being wiped out sheds valuable, and chilling, light on the likely fate of countless other animal and plant species."People save what they love," observed Michael Soule, the great conservation biologist. We must ask whether we, as humans, are capable of loving--and therefore capable of caring for--the animals and plants that are disappearing in a cascade of extinctions. Wild Dog Dreaming engages this question, and the result is a bold account of the entangled ethics of love, contingency, and desire.

    A Responsible Business sees stakeholders as full partners and meaningful instruments for the evolution of healthier communities and more successful businesses." --from the Introduction The Responsible Business offers a new and strategic approach to doing business that holistically integrates responsibility into all aspects of an organization, allowing for returns at every level, business and social. This book goes beyond the often well intentioned but limited attempts at sustainability to present a framework that allows organizations to bring responsibility into everything they do and re-imagine success. From innovation, product development, and production processes to business management, strategic planning, and shareholder development, the author shows how being a Responsible Business is a practical skill that can be applied day-to-day at every level of the business.No longer just the role of a department or the job of CSR professionals, successful responsibility and business efforts start at the business level, are then taken to the corporate level, and are finally applied throughout the organization. The Responsible Business outlines a framework for building a responsibility and consciousness infrastructure that applies a living systems view to the business and inspires all of its stakeholders, including shareholders.Throughout the book, illustrated by examples from technology to manufacturing, large and small, public and private, Sanford demonstrates how to make responsibility integral to all aspects of a business as an engine for innovation, profitability, and purpose.Praise for The Responsible Business"This is a very significant book. It makes it clear that businesses have a single boss with five interrelated aspects. The stories are among the crispest, most evocative case histories I have seen. The book is for any corporate leader trying to do the impossible: create a business that recreates the world." --Art Kleiner, editor-in-chief, strategy + business, and author, The Age of Heretics"Carol Sanford offers us a proven, practical, and systems-based approach that integrates five stakeholder groups into a business system working as an integral whole. Essential reading for leaders wanting a system framework for sustainability and business success!" --Otto Scharmer, MIT Sloan senior lecturer; author, Theory U: Leading from the Future as it Emerges; and coauthor, Presence"The Responsible Business challenges many assumptions corporate leaders, investment advisors, and sustainability experts have long taken for granted. It provides a road map that can help innovative businesses think about how to be truly transformational." --Sam Ford, Fast Company expert blogger and director, Peppercom"The powerful concepts in The Responsible Business have changed the process of sustainable development and how communities truly thrive. Indeed, these proven approaches will be the roadmap to truly achieve the deepest level of living communities." --Bill Reed, founding member of LEED System and coauthor, The Integrative Design Guide to Green Building"Critical for re-imagining the future of business. Rarely a day goes by that I do not call on this way of thinking and looking at the world. It is useful for taking on the big business decisions that so many of us face every day." --Chad Holliday, chairman, Bank of America

    dealing with family break-up... exploring change - and making it happen - in your organisation... worrying about how to look after your elderly parents... In any case, you'll know that with some problems it's hard to know where to start - we can't define them, we get in a muddle thinking about them, we may try to ignore some aspect/s of them and - when we finally do something - they usually get worse. These problems are so entangled they become 'messy situations' and our first mistake is to try and fix them as we would fix a simple problem. But Systems Thinking offers a range of good ways of approaching these situations and unravelling them. Rosalind Armson is one of the world's foremost teachers and practitioners of Systems Thinking, and her remarkable book explains how these messes happen and what to do about them. Specifically, she sets out a series of sophisticated and challenging - but practical and easily learned - skills and techniques for thinking better when you're'in a mess'. Whether you're new to Systems Thinking or have long experience, the book invites you to develop your skills through working with your own messy situations. It's written for managers, project managers, team leaders, 'change leaders', strategists, policy makers and concerned citizens as well as university students from a broad set of disciplines. Organisations and readers in education, healthcare, environmental management, IT planning and social care are just a few of those likely to find it helpful."

    With clear, simple language and a practical "can do" approach, author David Bergman coverseverything from the profession's ethical responsibility, to design structures and spaces that sustain our natural resources, to specific considerations such as rainwater harvesting, graywater recycling, passive heating techniques, solar orientation, green roofs, wind energy, daylighting, indoor air quality, material evaluation and specification, and how to work with green building certification programs.

    In this perpetual motion of interactions between firms that produce and households that consume, little or no accounting is given of the flow of energy and materials from the environment and back again. In the standard economic model, energy and matter are completely recycled in these transactions, and economic activity is seemingly exempt from the Second Law of Thermodynamics. As we enter the second half of the age of oil, and as energy supplies and the environmental impacts of energy production and consumption become major issues on the world stage, this exemption appears illusory at best.In "Energy and the Wealth of Nations," concepts such as energy return on investment (EROI) provide powerful insights into the real balance sheets that drive our petroleum economy. Hall and Klitgaard explore the relation between energy and the wealth explosion of the 20th century, the failure of markets to recognize or efficiently allocate diminishing resources, the economic consequences of peak oil, the EROI for finding and exploiting new oil fields, and whether alternative energy technologies such as wind and solar power meet the minimum EROI requirements needed to run our society as we know it. This book is an essential read for all scientists and economists who have recognized the urgent need for a more scientific, unified approach to economics in an energy-constrained world, and serves as an ideal teaching text for the growing number of courses, such as the authors own, on the role of energy in society.

    The Earth says that God tells me to take care of the Indians on this earth; the Earth says to the Indians that stop on the Earth, feed them right. . . . God says feed the Indians upon the earth.” —Cayuse Chief Young Chief, Walla Walla Council of 1855 America has always been Indian land. Historically and culturally, Native Americans have had a strong appreciation for the land and what it offers. After continually struggling to hold on to their land and losing millions of acres, Native Americans still have a strong and ongoing relationship to their homelands. The land holds spiritual value and offers a way of life through fishing, farming, and hunting. It remains essential—not only for subsistence but also for cultural continuity—that Native Americans regain rights to land they were promised. Beth Rose Middleton examines new and innovative ideas concerning Native land conservancies, providing advice on land trusts, collaborations, and conservation groups. Increasingly, tribes are working to protect their access to culturally important lands by collaborating with Native and non- Native conservation movements. By using private conservation partnerships to reacquire lost land, tribes can ensure the health and sustainability of vital natural resources. In particular, tribal governments are using conservation easements and land trusts to reclaim rights to lost acreage. Through the use of these and other private conservation tools, tribes are able to protect or in some cases buy back the land that was never sold but rather was taken from them.Trust in the Land sets into motion a new wave of ideas concerning land conservation. This informative book will appeal to Native and non-Native individuals and organizations interested in protecting the land as well as environmentalists and government agencies.

    This imbalance highlights the need not only to focus on food production but also to implement successful food policies.In this new textbook intended to be used with the three volumes of Case Studies in Food Policy for Developing Countries (also from Cornell), the 2001 World Food Prize laureate Per Pinstrup-Andersen and his colleague Derrill D. Watson II analyze international food policies and discuss how such policies can and must address the many complex challenges that lie ahead in view of continued poverty, globalization, climate change, food price volatility, natural resource degradation, demographic and dietary transitions, and increasing interests in local and organic food production.Food Policy for Developing Countries offers a social entrepreneurship approach to food policy analysis. Calling on a wide variety of disciplines including economics, nutrition, sociology, anthropology, environmental science, medicine, and geography, the authors show how all elements in the food system function together.

    Struck by the way the humble bicycle was central to so many people lives, he was inspired to create THE BICYCLE, his second picture book for the charity. THE BICYCLE features separate illustrations from internationally acclaimed artists - including Quentin Blake, Shaun Tan, Tony Ross and Freya Blackwood - which celebrate the liberating joy of two wheels. Sprinkled throughout are delightful quotes from famous people, as well as quotes from Cambodian children such as 14-year-old Dany, who describes his bicycle as his ′best friend′.All royalties from the sale of THE BICYCLE will go to Save the Children, an organisation that works to improve the quality of children′s lives around the world.Ages: 3+

    Only through radical measures--that is, getting to the true root or underlying cause of disease--can effective healing occur. In Radical Medicine, naturopathic physician Louisa Williams describes how to treat these and other modern-day “obstacles to cure,” in order to ensure against future degenerative disease and achieve the optimal health that is our birthright. Examining the many health problems triggered by dental amalgams and poor dentistry, Dr. Williams explains that our teeth are focal points for health issues that arise elsewhere in the body. She explores the impact of vaccinations, the excessive use of antibiotics, and the chemical-laden products used as health and beauty aids--which are linked to Alzheimer’s disease, heart attacks, and breast and other cancers--and provides information on cutting-edge detoxification treatments as well as drainage and nutritional therapies. A practical guide for practitioners and patients alike, Radical Medicine offers a wealth of holistic, natural therapies for overcoming what is poisoning us and our world so we can achieve optimal health and well-being.

    Offers an insightful and intelligent exploration of modern beekeeping practices, and how they can be improved for a more sustainable and bee-friendly approach.

    First hailed as a great advance in science, The Limits to Growth was subsequently rejected and demonized. However, with many national economies now at risk and global peak oil apparently a reality, the methods, scenarios, and predictions of The Limits to Growth are in great need of reappraisal. In "The" "Limits to Growth Revisited," Ugo Bardi examines both the science and the polemics surrounding this work, and in particular the reactions of economists that marginalized its methods and conclusions for more than 30 years. The Limits to Growth was a milestone in attempts to model the future of our society, and it is vital today for both scientists and policy makers to understand its scientific basis, current relevance, and the social and political mechanisms that led to its rejection. Bardi also addresses the all-important question of whether the methods and approaches of The Limits to Growth can contribute to an understanding of what happened to the global economy in the Great Recession and where we are headed from there."

    When they found a century-old farmhouse on 150 acres of land that was in their price range, they jumped at the chance to make their move. The fact that the home was "off-grid" with no power or telephone lines connecting it to the outside world seemed like a bonus!Twelve years later their life in the country is not quite as simple as they had envisioned, but it is peaceful. There were more challenges than they could have anticipated, as well as more rewards.Along the way they installed more solar panels, erected a wind turbine, and upgraded and replaced all of the major components of their off-grid electrical system. They installed a solar-thermal hot water system; figured out how to have a phone, internet, and satellite TV; and kept their home heated with wood cut from their own property. They also carved out a garden and began growing much of their own food.They acquired new skills and knowledge, but, most importantly, they learned to appreciate the value of good neighbors, good books, and good manure.Cam Mather is a writer, publisher, and video producer who knows how to equalize batteries and pinch suckers off of tomato plants.Michelle Mather looks after the editing, the website, and the dwindling bank account and keeps Cam calm during times of crisis.

    40 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more – everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies. This detailed literature summary also contains Topics for Discussion and a Free Quiz on No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies by Naomi Klein.

    Techno-Fix shows why negative unintended consequences of science and technology are inherently unavoidable and unpredictable, why counter-technologies, techno-fixes, and efficiency improvements do not offer lasting solutions, and why modern technology, in the presence of continued economic growth, does not promote sustainability but instead hastens collapse.The authors explore the reasons for the uncritical acceptance of new technologies; show that technological optimism is based on ignorance and that increasing consumerism and materialism, which have been facilitated by science and technology, have failed to increase happiness. The common belief that technological change is inevitable is questioned, the myth of the value-neutrality of technology is exposed and the ethics of the technological imperative: “what can be done should be done” is challenged. Techno-Fix asserts that science and technology, as currently practiced, cannot solve the many serious problems we face and that a paradigm shift is needed to reorient science and technology in a more socially responsible and environmentally sustainable direction.The readers of Techno-Fix will learn a number of inconvenient truths about science and technology, topics that are rarely, if ever, covered in the media or discussed among professionals. Readers will be challenged to re-examine their current worldview, their paradigms and assumptions about the so-called promises of modern technology. But they will also feel empowered and inspired by the fact that most problems confronting humanity have inherently simple, low-tech solutions.The authors of Techno-Fix, both Ph.D.s, have decades of experience in science and engineering, and deliver a highly readable, insightful and powerful critique of modern technology.Techno-Fix has been endorsed by Richard Heinberg, Bill McKibben, David Suzuki, William Rees, and other notables in the environmental and academic community.

    . . . If you're new to the natural/organic/biodynamic wine debates, Authentic Wine is the place to start.”—Huffington Post“This is one of the most engaging, thoughtful and enlightening books on contemporary wine. . . . A manifesto for an industry looking to shape its future.”—Wine And SpiritsNaturalness is a hot topic in the wine world. But what exactly is a “natural wine”? For this pioneering book, best-selling wine writer Jamie Goode teams up with winemaker and Master of Wine Sam Harrop to explore the wide range of issues surrounding authenticity in wine. They begin by emphasizing that wine’s diversity, one of its strengths, is currently under threat from increasingly homogenized commercial wines that lack a sense of place. Drawing on a global array of examples and anecdotes, Goode and Harrop examine complex concepts—terroir, biodynamics, and sustainability—in clear language. They also discuss topics including cultured and wild yeasts, wine “faults,” the carbon footprint of the wine industry, “natural” as a marketing concept, and more. Authentic Wine illuminates a subject of great interest to wine producers, consumers, and anyone wondering where the wine industry is headed.

    Popular identification guide to birds in Australia.

    Topics covered include all aspects of making and using biodynamic preparations and composts, managing the health of plants, weed control, parasite control, issues around mixed cultivation, and animal care.

    It is lightweight, highly elastic and ductile, and in addition offers qualities especially in demand in an era of limited resources, renewability and abundant availability. Architects and engineers have significantly widened the applications of bamboo in recent years and today even wide-span bridges can be built from it. Impressed with its technical and aesthetic possibilities, European, Japanese and North American architects have adopted bamboo for a variety of construction tasks, ranging from exclusive private residences to experimental pavilions, and from airy canopies to schools or museums. The book provides a detailed manual for bamboo constructions and presents a broad selection of built examples, among them the spectacular bamboo pavilions of the 2010 Shanghai World Exposition, a parking garage in Leipzig, Germany, the Nomadic Museum in Mexico City and Richard Rogers' Terminal 4 at Madrid Airport.

    Looking through doom-colored glasses, the future appears turbulent and chaotic, for obvious reasons. But when we switch to rose-colored glasses, it's thrilling to see that dawn is breaking out all over. A dysfunctional way of life is dying, and this opens up a wide variety of new possibilities, some of which could lead to a genuinely sustainable future. No matter what we do, the Earth will heal. It will heal if we self-destruct, and it will heal if we remember healthy values and lifestyles. Are we capable of intelligent change? Yes. But problems that took centuries to create will not be resolved in a single generation. The purpose of this book is to encourage the healing process, to propose important questions, and to examine our reality from a different perspective. One thing is certain: the future demands a radically more intelligent worldview and skill set - and a genuinely healthy future will have little in common with the way we live today. The four directions of this book are sustainable population, sustainable worldview, sustainable food, and reconnection with our past, our ancestors, and our non-human relatives - the living world. Subjects discussed include ecological history, domestication, voluntary simplicity, collapse, materialism, peak energy, peak food, peak population, antibiotics, aquaculture, and agroforestry.

    The accomplishments of the recycling movement can be seen in municipal practice, a thriving private recycling industry, and widespread public support and participation. In the United States, more people recycle than vote. But, as Samantha MacBride points out in this book, the goals of recycling -- saving the earth (and trees), conserving resources, and greening the economy -- are still far from being realized. The vast majority of solid wastes are still burned or buried. MacBride argues that, since the emergence of the recycling movement in 1970, manufacturers of products that end up in waste have successfully prevented the implementation of more onerous, yet far more effective, forms of sustainable waste policy. Recycling as we know it today generates the illusion of progress while allowing industry to maintain the status quo and place responsibility on consumers and local government.MacBride offers a series of case studies in recycling that pose provocative questions about whether the current ways we deal with waste are really the best ways to bring about real sustainability and environmental justice. She does not aim to debunk or discourage recycling but to help us think beyond recycling as it is today.

    From toxic chemicals like formaldehyde and phthalates to insecticides, flame retardants, and nano-particles, synthetic clothing today contains a toxic stew of dozens of substances that pose a threat to both human and environmental health. You'll learn: what fabrics and chemicals to watch for when selecting clothing; how to identify deceptive synthetic fabrics; why to avoid clothing labeled antishrink, antibacterial, antimicrobial, antistatic, anti-odor, antiwrinkle, or antistain; the advantages for choosing natural fabrics; and tips for ecological and health-friendly cleaning; Based on medical science, these studies have been brought together for the first time in one place; important findings which have, for too long, been hidden from public awareness.

    This follow-up to Phaidon’s successful The Endless City is a close look at the issues that affect cities, and thus human life across the globe in the twenty-first century. Based on a series of conferences held by the London School of Economics, Living in the Endless City examines Mumbai, Sao Paolo and Istanbul through a series of essays by global scholars and thinkers, photographs illustrating key aspects of life in the three cities, and compellingly presented analytical data.

    Ethical and cultural issues constraining the societal response to climate change are also discussed. This book provides a handbook for those who want to understand and contribute to meeting this challenge. It covers a very wide range of disciplines - core biophysical sciences involved with climate change (geosciences, atmospheric sciences, ocean sciences, ecology/biology) as well as economics, political science, health sciences, institutions and governance, sociology, ethics and philosophy, and engineering. As such it will be invaluable for a wide range of researchers and professionals wanting a cutting-edge synthesis of climate change issues, and for advanced student courses on climate change.

    "Industrial" has become synonymous with pollution, human rights abuse, and corporate greed. In Industrial Evolution, Lyle Estill seeks to reclaim the term, with its original connotations of hard work, diligence, and productivity, and to show how community-scale enterprise can create a vibrant, sustainable local economy.Industrial Evolution is a story of survival. It is about how the small group of committed entrepreneurs introduced in Small is Possible managed to keep their dream alive and thriving through the economic recession, emerging with a model of what a sustainable local economy might look like in a post carbon future. Compulsively readable and seasoned with light humor, this grassroots account demonstrates that ecological stewardship and enterprise at an appropriate scale can lay the foundation for abundance.Industrial Evolution skips the doom and gloom and is all about solutions. By showing that it is possible to take the big out of industry, this book motivates people to work together in a meaningful way. Filled with inspirational tales of success, failure, perseverance, and real world experiences that anyone can relate to, Industrial Evolution is a must-read for activists, organizers, politicians, and anyone who cares about resilient communities.Lyle Estill is the president and co-founder of Piedmont Biofuels and the author of Small is Possible and Biodiesel Power. He has won numerous awards for his commitment to sustainability, outreach, community development, and leadership.

    

    The Sourcebook of Contemporary Green Architecture features designs from the most provocative architects in the field today, including Renzo Piano, Marc Opdebeeck, Charles Barclay, Mizien Arquitectura, Studio 804, and many others, and showcases projects from prefab houses to public works and beyond.

    A Green Vitruvius is intended as a green pattern book for today. Now fully updated, this well established textbook provides advice suitable for undergraduate and post graduate students on the integration of sustainable practice into the design and construction process, the issues to be considered, the strategies to be adopted, the elements of green design and design evaluation within the process. Classic design elegance is found in the holistic clear solution.

    Drawing on meticulous research as well as personal shamanic experience, Year Zero: Time of the Great Shift clarifies the ‘big picture’ of planetary evolution from the perspectives of ancient wisdom and modern science. It reveals an intricate interplay between phenomena such as galactic superwaves, magnetic pole reversals, evolutionary impulses within matter, and the descent of supramental light that shape a new species of humanity on a rapidly evolving earth. A fascinating read for anyone interested in spirituality, alternative healing, and new sciences.

    Arguably it is one of Australia's greatest intellectual exports, having helped people worldwide to design ecologically sustainable strategies for their homes, gardens, farms and communities. This book charts a history of the first three decades of permaculture, through the personal stories of Australian permaculturists. From permaculture co-originator David Holmgren, to ABC TV's Gardening Australia presenter Josh Byrne, the authors span the generations and the continent.

These stories represent the scope, depth and diversity of permaculture in Australia and around the world. They explore some of the influences on those who have embraced it, record milestones and highlight recurring themes. The editors' contributions and afterword by social ecologist Professor Stuart B Hill frame the stories in terms of transformation of the inner landscape of our minds and hearts, as the critical starting point for the outer change that is needed.

For those whose lives have been changed by permaculture, this book provides a context for articulating and celebrating their own stories and experiences. Even more, it invites each of us, permaculturists or not, to embrace our power in designing our world out of the best in ourselves, for the benefit of the whole earth community.

    Now, Peak Oil is used thousands of times a day by journalists, politicians, industry leaders, economists, scientists and countless others around the globe. Peak Oil is not the end of oil but it tells us the end is in sight. Anyone interested in food production, economic growth, climate change or global security needs to understand this new reality.In Peeking at Peak Oil Professor Kjell Aleklett, President of ASPO International and head of the world's leading research group on Peak Oil, describes the decade-long journey of Peak Oil from extremist fringe theory to today's accepted fact: Global oil production is entering terminal decline. He explains everything you need to know about Peak Oil and its world-changing consequences from an insider's perspective. In simple steps, Kjell tells us how oil is formed, discovered and produced. He uses science to reveal the errors and deceit of national and international oil authorities, companies and governments too terrified to admit the truth. He describes his personal involvement in the intrigues of the past decade.What happens when a handful of giant oil fields containing two thirds of our planet's oil become depleted? Will major oil consumers such as the EU and US face rationing within a decade? Will oil producing nations conserve their own oil when they realize that no one can export oil to them in the future? Does Peak Oil mean Peak Economic Growth? If you want to know the real story about energy today and what the future has in store, then you need to be "Peeking at Peak Oil".

    

    Originally used by people to transport necessities to and from public baths, merchants adapted the practice to carry, protect, and gift-wrap their products. With the onset of plastic bags, however, this beautiful custom diminished. Luckily, today's eco-friendly movement has stirred interest in furoshiki once again. This book will teach you the four basic knots and various folding methods used to create handbags, backpacks, shopping bags, and bottle bags for objects of varying shapes and sizes. Traditional embroidery designs are included so you can customize each of your furoshiki and bring beauty, style, and environmental consciousness to your life.

    The author demonstrates that it is not too late to create the future we all say we want for our children and our children's children--a future that is environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling and socially just. . This book is about a change of thinking that supports a paradigm shift-from adolescent self-centeredness to adult responsibility for all life forms. Anyone willing to genuinely "grow up" can make this necessary choice. Ever-increasing numbers of individuals today are already seeking self-actualization, growing in consciousness, and willing to take on leadership roles in bringing about the first conscious evolution of our species. This represents a somewhat invisible global movement of historic proportions. The Great Growing Up invites anyone concerned with humanity's future to participate in this new thinking. The work of growing up is not primarily about political action-it requires no government funding, no special trainings. The work is about a change of mind; we simply begin acting like mature adults. The author points out how. Taking the reader by the hand, Renesch presents a brief historical overview of the ideals and radical visions that informed this country's foundation. He invites us to consider what's been obscured, what's been lost, and when and why? He helps us to look courageously at the choices that have led to our personal, societal and planetary dilemmas. He identifies patterns of human behavior that currently prevent making the shift in collective consciousness and pops a number of myths/beliefs we have that are no longer valid. Finally, he details the behaviors we need to encourage and offers an optimistic option for the future despite many negative global trends. His friendly writing style encourages trust and agreement, and the vast resources of his lifelong collaboration with business persons, futures and systems experts lends strong authority to his proposals. "John Renesch, renowned futurist and prolific author, has written a deeply provocative book to inspire the evolution of a new humanity. The Great Growing Up brilliantly captures the critical importance of the present moment and outlines a trajectory for achieving a mature, peaceful future for all. John?'s roadmap to our collective future is clear, compelling, and transformative. His new book is important and empowering. I highly recommend it." -- Lynne Twist, co-founder, The Pachamama Alliance"Like a master painter, John Renesch provides a broad interpretive mural of the last half-century along with a sweeping and sense-making depiction of how humankind has encumbered itself with less than a fully human milieu. But he does not leave us in stoicism or anomie. He encourages hope that we can rebuild our future through new forms of conscious leadership. One is left with both an understanding of our past and a renewed sense of mission regarding a future on which mankind's very survival depends." -- Andre L. Delbecq, J. Thomas and Kathleen L. McCarthy University Professor, Santa Clara University"John Renesch is a Renaissance Man who lives in the twenty-first century. In The Great Growing Up he shows how, through conscious evolution, we can put our predatory past behind us and create a dignitarian world. Prophetic yet practical, The Great Growing Up integrates science, philosophy, spirituality, and psychology into a compelling vision of a world that will work for everyone." -- Robert W. Fuller, former president, Oberlin College, author of All Rise: Somebodies, Nobodies, and the Politics of Dignity "This book is about the art of the possible despite all odds in these turbulent times. It is a manifesto for all of us as humans to lead rather than follow our own evolution." -- Mark Thompson, bestselling coauthor of Success Built to Last "In his new book - The Great Growing Up - John Renesch challenges us with authority, humanity, energy and optimism, to address the key issues facing society today, both globally and personally - and these two dimensions are closely linked. It is full of valuable insights, as well as being a call to action. These messages need urgent attention if we are to survive this century, let alone see a better world in the years ahead. Time is not on our side." -- Bruce Lloyd, Emeritus Professor of Strategic Management, London South Bank University "Ever the optimistic realist, John Renesch makes clear from the beginning that The Great Growing Up intends to make us uncomfortable with the lies we tell ourselves about our world and our place in it. In debunking the myths that we think guide us, John offers a transformative manifesto of what is possible for humanity with the emphasis on "human." But this is not new age mumbo jumbo; John's background in business and the physical sciences is evident throughout. Read this book and share it." -- James A. Autry, author of The Servant Leader and Looking Around for God "In The Great Growing Up, John Renesch meticulously describes today's dysfunctional societies and the dissatisfactions they have created. However, a well-functioning society is possible through 'conscious evolution, ' the use of human intention to create alternative money systems, transformative learning, gender parity, energy independence, and a host of other paradigm changes. The Great Growing Up contains a vivid description of contemporary society that is as accurate as it is depressing; however, Renesch gives his readers a 'Great Dream' for the future that is rooted in the writings of the founders of the United States, yet rebooted for the tattered world of the 21st century . . . a splendid book." -- Stanley Krippner, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Saybrook University, coauthor of Personal Mythology "John Renesch has been a pioneer and visionary in the search for human val

    No economist predicted the current planetary crisis even though the world has now undergone five severe recessions primed by dramatic increases in the price of oil. This book presents the results of more than twenty years of work aimed at developing an alternative method of analysis of the economic process and related sustainability issues: it is possible to perform an integrated and comprehensive analysis of the sustainability of socio-economic systems using indicators and variables that have been so far ignored by conventional economists.The book's innovative approach aims to provide a better framework with which we can face the predicaments of sustainability issues. It begins by presenting practical examples of the shortcomings of conventional economic analysis and examines the systemic problems faced when trying to use quantitative analysis for governance.?In providing a critical appraisal of current applications of economic narratives to the issue of sustainability, the book presents several innovative concepts required to generate a post-Newtonian approach to quantitative analysis in the Musiasem approach.?An empirical section illustrates the results of an analysis of structural changes in world and EU countries. Finally, the book, using the insight gained in the theoretical and empirical analysis, exposes the dubious quality of many narratives currently used in the sustainability debate.Overall, the performance of modern economies across different hierarchical levels of organization and across different disciplinary knowledge systems is fully analyzed and a more realistic measure of happiness and well-being is devised. The book should be of interest to researchers and students looking at the issue of sustainability within a variety of disciplines.

    It introduces The World System Model as a new and holistic way to gain an understanding of our particular predicament - and The IFF World Game as a quick and effective way of involving others in the exercise. It goes on to examine the kind of resilient and adaptive solutions that can be most helpful to us - whether they are applied at the level of the school, the city or the Earth. Since so many of us (both human and other beings) have to live on this planet together, it sets out our best hope yet of finding sustainable ways of 'one-planet living'. Best of all, it helps ensure that we keep our heads out of the sand.

    Extensively illustrated with photographs and drawings, "Living Architecture" highlights the most exciting green roof and living wall projects in Australia and New Zealand within an international context. Cities around the world are becoming denser, with greater built form resulting in more hard surfaces and less green space, leaving little room for vegetation or habitat. One way of creating more natural environments within cities is to incorporate green roofs and walls in new buildings or to retrofit them in existing structures. This practice has long been established in Europe and elsewhere, and now Australia and New Zealand have begun to embrace it. The installation of green roofs and walls has many benefits, including the management of stormwater and improved water quality by retaining and filtering rainwater through the plants soil and root uptake zone; reducing the urban heat island effect in cities; increasing real estate values around green roofs and reducing energy consumption within the interior space by shading, insulation and reducing noise level from outside; and providing biodiversity opportunities via a vertical link between the roof and the ground. This book will appeal to a wide range of readers, from students and practitioners of architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning and ecology, through to members of the community interested in how they can more effectively use the rooftops and walls of their homes or workplaces to increase green open space in the urban environment."