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Agriculture
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Food,
Water, & Waste Cycling
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Videos,
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NEW!
The
Barefoot Architect: A
Handbook for Green Building
by Johan van Lengen
720 pp, 2008, $18
The
first English translation
of the international bestseller
dripping with easy-to-understand
drawings.
A
former UN worker and prominent
architect, Johan van Lengen
has seen firsthand the
desperate need for a "greener"
approach to housing in
impoverished tropical
climates. This comprehensive
book clearly explains
every aspect of this endeavor,
including design (siting,
orientation, climate consideration),
materials (sisal, cactus,
bamboo, earth), and implementation.
The author emphasizes
throughout the book what
is inexpensive and sustainable.
Included are sections
discussing urban planning,
small-scale energy production,
cleaning and storing drinking
water, and dealing with
septic |
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waste, and all information
is applied to three distinct
tropical regions: humid
areas, temporate areas,
and desert climates. Hundreds
of explanatory drawings
by van Lengen allow even
novice builders to get
started.Basic design,
climate, and site planning
for humid and dry climates.
Includes info on Adobe,
rammed earth, bamboo,
plaster, wood, concrete
and ferro-cement; Foundations,
roofs, floors, walls,
doors, windows, and eco-techniques;
Solar heating, water-powered
electricity, natural cooling
and ventilation; Water
purification, pumps, cisterns,
septic tanks, composting
toilets
This
book is for people who
dream of building a simple
home. It is also for those
in the building trades:
carpenters, masons, plumbers,
and artisans, as well
as for urban planners,
rural technicians, and
small community designers.
It
covers basic design, use
of a great variety of
natural materials, construction
details, natural heating
and cooling, and water
and sanitation techniques.
Although many of the methods
shown are traditional,
more modern techniques
are shown as well. |
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NEW!
The
Solar House:
Passive Heating and Cooling
by Daniel D. Chiras
286pp, 2002, $30
Passive
solar heating and passive
cooling—approaches
known as natural conditioning—provide
comfort throughout the
year by reducing, or eliminating,
the need for fossil fuel.
Yet while heat from sunlight
and ventilation from breezes
is free for the taking,
few modern architects
or builders really understand
the principles involved.
Now
Dan Chiras, author of
the popular book "The
Natural House," brings
those principles up to
date for a new generation
of solar enthusiasts. |
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In
"The Solar House,"
Chiras sets the record
straight on the vast potential
for passive heating and
cooling. Acknowledging
the good intentions of
misguided solar designers
in the past, he highlights
certain egregious erros
and shows how to avoid
them. More importantly,
Chiras explains in methodical
detail how today’s
home builders can succeed
with solar designs.
Readers
will learn:
- How to select a cost-effective,
energy-efficient, and
environmentally friendly
backup heating system.
- how to preserve indoor
air quality in an airtight,
energy-efficient home.
- ways of employing green
building materials in
a naturally conditioned
home. |
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NEW!
Extreme
Weather Hits Home
Protecting Your Buildings
from Climate Change
By John C.
Banta 256pp, 2007, $23 $12
We
know how to prepare our
homes for each seasonal
change, but do we know
how to prepare for climate
change? Violent weather
events like floods, tornadoes,
ice storms and hurricanes
only tell part of the
story. Climate change
is frequently more subtle
but its effects on our
homes and properties can
still be devastating. |
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Nearly
50 percent of North America
has a potential for structural
damage from shifting moisture
in expansive clay soils;
a condition that is already
costing billions of dollars
each year. Humidity is
projected to increase,
trapping moisture in wall
cavities and resulting
in deterioration. As the
climate changes and moisture
levels adjust, there are
a number of proactive
steps that can be taken
to prevent or lessen expensive
repairs.
Extreme
Weather is the only book
of its kind that shows
how to protect your home
or business from climate
change, by focusing on
the following areas:
* Risk and causal assessment,
due to region and soil
* Extreme weather’s
rapid and slow effects
* Site, foundation, wall,
and roof considerations
and modifications
* Insurance options
* Anticipated changes
for the United States,
Canada and Mexico
Our
homes are one of the most
expensive investments
we will ever make. They
are also our refuge from
the elements, and we must
protect them so they can
protect us. This book
is a valuable resource
for all property owners.
John C. Banta is a senior
indoor environmental consultant
for Restorations Consultants,
Inc. |
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Building
Green: A Complete How-To
Guide to Alternative Building
Methods
by Clarke Snell and Timothy
L. Callahan 2007, 614pp.,
$30 (subject to extra shipping
surcharges when ordered
by itself due to the weight,
cheaper when shipped overseas
with other books)
Snell
and Callahan, whose popular
Good House
Book helped environmentally-minded
readers create an earth-friendly
home, have returned with
a photo-packed, amazingly
complete, start-to-finish
guide to "green"
house-building.
This
absolutely groundbreaking
manual doesn't just talk
about eco-friendly building
techniques, but actually
shows every step! |
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| More
than 1,200 close-up photographs,
along with in-depth descriptions,
follow the real construction
of an alternative house
from site selection to the
addition of final-touch
interior details. Co-authors
Clarke Snell and Timothy
Callahan (a professional
builder and contractor)
provide thorough discussions
of the fundamental concepts
of construction, substitutes
for conventional approaches,
and planning a home that's
not only comfortable and
beautiful, but environmentally
responsible. Then, they
roll up their sleeves and
get to work assembling a
guest house that incorporates
four different alternative
building methods: straw
bale, cob, cordwood, and
modified stick frame. The
images show every move:
how the site is cleared,
the basic structure put
together, the cob wall sculpted,
the bales and cordwood stacked,
a living roof created, and
more. Most important, the
manual conveys real-world
challenges and processes,
and offers dozens of sidebars
with invaluable advice.
It's head and shoulders
above all others in the
field. |
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New!
Natural
Remodeling for the Not-So-Green
House:
Bringing Your Home Into
Harmony with Nature
by Carol
Venolia & Kelly Lerner
$25, 2006, 280pp
You
don't have to build from
scratch to live in a house
that's good for you and
the earth. This unique
guide teaches the basics
of ecological renovation,
planning your project,
choosing materials, and
making your home more
energy efficient. It presents
simple ideas you can do
right away to more advanced
moves you can make after
careful planning. You'll
have the tools you need
to create a beautiful
green haven that's uniquely
your own. |
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Carol
Venolia specializes in
the field of eco-healthy
building. Her first book,
Healing Environments,
has enjoyed international
success, and her home
designs have been featured
in The Natural House Catalog,
Earth to Spirit, The Healthy
House and Environ magazine.
Carol currently writes
the "Design for Life"
column for Natural Home
& Garden magazine.
Kelly
Lerner is an award-winning
architect and innovator
in the fields of sustainable
development, straw-bale
construction, and earthen
plasters. She spearheaded
an internationally recognized
project responsible for
building more than 600
passive-solar-heated straw-bale
houses in China. Her designs
have been featured in
Landscape Architecture
Magazine, Metropolis Magazine,
The Straw Bale House,
Serious Straw Bale, The
New Straw Bale House,
and Green by Design |
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Building
with Awareness: The Construction
of a Hybrid Home
DVD & Guidebook
by
Ted Owens $39,
2006,152pp + DVD
The
award winning DVD video,
Building With Awareness:
The Construction of a
Hybrid Home, now has a
full-color book companion.
Follow the construction
of one straw bale solar
house, from start to finish.
Learn where to place windows
for passive heating and
cooling, how rubble trench
foundations can save on
the cost of concrete,
post-and-beam framing
for straw bale walls,
how to notch and stack
straw bales, how to build
interior thermal mass
walls, how to generate
electricity from the sun,
how to make and apply
earth plasters, and much
more. |
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The
Hand-Sculpted House
by Ianto
Evans, Michael G. Smith,
Linda Smiley
2002, $35, 346pp.
Cob
has been a traditional
building process for millennia
in Europe, even in rainy
and windy climates like
the British Isles, where
many cob buildings still
serve as family homes
after hundreds of years.
The technique is newly
arrived to the Americas,
and, as with so many social
trends, the early adopters
are in the Pacific Northwest. |
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houses (or cottages, since
they are always efficiently
small by American construction
standards) are not only
compatible with their
surroundings, they ARE
their surroundings, literally
rising up from the earth.
They are full of light,
energy-efficient, and
cozy, with curved walls
and built-in, whimsical
touches. They are delightful.
They are ecstatic.
The
Hand-Sculpted House is
theoretical and philosophical,
but intensely practical
as well. You will get
all the how-to information
to undertake a cob building
project. As the modern
world rediscovers the
importance of living in
sustainable harmony with
the environment, this
book is a bible of radical
simplicity.
Ianto
Evans is an applied ecologist,
landscape architect, inventor,
and teacher with building
experience on six continents.
Cob is traditional in
his homeland, Wales. In
addition to teaching ecological
building, Ianto has consulted
with USAID, the World
Bank, the Peace Corps,
and several national governments.
Michael
G. Smith teaches practical
workshops and consults
on cob construction, natural
building, and permaculture.
He is the author of The
Cobber's Companion: How
to Build Your Own Earthen
Home and co-editor of
The Art of Natural Building:
Design, Construction,
Resources.
Linda
Smiley teaches workshops
on cob, sculpting sacred
spaces, intuitive design,
and natural plasters and
finishes. With a background
as a recreational therapist,
she specializes in helping
people use natural building
as a tool for personal
transformation and healing. |
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Planting
Green Roofs and Living Walls
By Nigel
Dunnett and Noël Kingsbury
2004, 256 pp, hardcover,
$35
This
book introduces a revolutionary
new concept to gardeners.
Planting on roofs and walls
began in Europe, but it
is now becoming popular
all over the world. Green
roofs and walls reduce pollution
and run-off, and also help
insulate and reduce the
maintenance needs of buildings.
Planting Green Roofs and
Living Walls discusses the
practical techniques required
to make planting on roofs
and walls a reality. It
describes how roofs may
be modified to bear the
weight of vegetation, considers |
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the different options for
drainage layers and growing
media, and lists the plants
suitable for different climates
and environments. This informative
book will encourage gardeners
everywhere to consider the
enormous benefits to be
gained from planting on
their roofs and walls.
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New!
Rain Gardens
Managing Water Sustainably
in the Garden and Designed
Landscape
By Nigel
Dunnett and Andy Clayden
188pp, 157 color photos,
41 line drawings, 2007,
$35
Rain
gardens encompass all
possible elements that
can be used to capture,
channel, divert and make
the most of the rain and
snow that fall on a property.
Using the innovative and
attractive approaches
described here, it is
possible to enhance outdoor
spaces and minimize the
damaging effects of drought,
stormwater runoff, and
other environmental challenges.
Nigel Dunnett & Andy
Clayden have created a
comprehensive guide to
water management techniques
for the garden and built
environment. |
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| Filled
with practical, manageable
solutions for small and
large-scale implementations
and utilizing authoritative
research with state-of-the-art
case studies from all
over the world, Rain Gardens
is the first book on sustainable
water management schemes
suitable for students
and professionals.
"Every
bit as appealing as its
title, Rain Gardens tells
us what to do as we find
ourselves in a built environment
where much of the earth
is paved over and our
supply of cheap water
is diminishing. An educational,
practical, timely, and
inspiring book."—Katherine
Cook, Pacific Horticulture |
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