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 New!
Post
Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and
Climate Uncertainty: A Guidebook on
Peak Oil and Global Warming for Local
Governmentsby Daniel Lerch2007, 113pp, $28
Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty is a guidebook on peak oil and global warming for people who work with and for local governments in the United States and Canada. It provides a sober look at how these phenomena are quickly creating new uncertainties and vulnerabilities for cities of all sizes, and explains what local decision-makers can do to address these challenges. Post Carbon Cities fills an important gap in the resources currently available to local government decision-makers on planning for the changing global energy and climate context of the 21st century.
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Most of the world's population now lives in cities. So if we are to address the problems of environmental deterioration and peak oil adequately, the city has to be a major focus of attention. "Ecocities" is about re-building cities and towns based on ecological principles for the long term sustainability, cultural vitality and health of the Earth's biosphere. Unique in the literature is the book's insight that the form of the city really matters -- and that it is within our ability to change it, and crucial that we do. Further, that the ecocity within its bio-region is comprehensible and do-able, and can produce a healthy and potentially happy future. The book describes the place of the city in evolution, nature and history. It pays special attention to the key question of accessibility and transportation, and outlines design principles for the ecocity. The reader is encouraged to plunge in to its economics and politics: the kinds of businesses, planning and leadership required. The book then outlines the tools by which a gradual transition to the ecocity could be accomplished. Throughout, this new edition is generously illustrated with the author's own inspired visions of what such rebuilt cities might actually look like. |
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In an era when incomprehensibly complex issues like Peak Oil and Climate Change dominate headlines, practical solutions at a local level can seem somehow inadequate. In response, Lyle Estill's Small is Possible introduces us to "hometown security," with this chronicle of a community-powered response to resource depletion in a fickle global economy. True stories, springing from the soils of Chatham County, North Carolina, offer a positive counter balance to the bleakness of our age. This is the story of how one small southern US town found actual solutions to actual problems. Unwilling to rely on government and wary of large corporations, these residents discovered it is possible for a community to feed itself, fuel itself, heal itself and govern itself. This book is filled with newspaper columns, blog entries, letters and essays that have appeared on the margins of small town economies. Tough subjects are handled with humor and finesse. Compelling stories of successful small businesses from the grocery co-op to the biodiesel co-op describe a town and its people on a genuine quest for sustainability. Everyone interested in sustainability, local economy, small business, and whole foods will be inspired by the success stories in this book. Lyle Estill is VP of Stuff at Piedmont Biofuels, and has won numerous awards for his work in the biodiesel business. He is the author of Biodiesel Power and lives in Moncure, North Carolina. |
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The term "guerrilla" may bring to mind a small band of armed soldiers, moving in the dead of night on a stealth mission. In the case of guerrilla gardening, the soldiers are planters, the weapons are shovels, and the mission is to transform an abandoned lot into a thing of beauty. Once an environmentalist's nonviolent direct action for inner-city renewal, this movement is spreading to all types of people in cities around the world. These modern-day Johnny Appleseeds perform random acts of gardening, often without permission. Typical targets are vacant lots, railway land, underused public squares, and back alleys. The concept is simple, whimsical, and has the cheeky appeal of being a not-quite-legal call to action. Dig in some soil, plant a few seeds, or mend a sagging fence-one good deed inspiring another, with win-win benefits all around. Guerrilla Gardening outlines the power-to-the-people campaign for greening our cities. Social activists, city dwellers, and longtime gardeners will delight in this fast-paced and funny call to arms. Tips for effective involvement include: Finding plants and seeds cheap (or free), Handling city officials, Getting the dirt on soil, Planting to bring back the birds, Knowing when to ask first David Tracey is a journalist and environmental designer who operates EcoUrbanist in Vancouver. He is executive director of Tree City Canada, a nonprofit ecological engagement group. |
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Explores the background and the history of the Ecovillage movement, and provides a comprehensive manual for planning, establishing, and maintaining a sustainable community in both urban and rural environments. Includes discussions on design, conflict management, food production, energy, economics, and more. |
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2003 New Society Publishers, 272 pp. $28.
Creating a Life Together is an overview of the process of forming new ecovillages and intentional communities, gleaned from founders of dozens of successful communities in North America formed since the early '90s. This is what they did, and what you can do, to create your community dream. It attempts to distill their hard experience into solid advice on getting started as a group, creating vision documents, decision-making and governance, agreements and policies, buying and financing land, communication and process, and selecting people to join you. It's what works, what doesn't work, and how not to reinvent the wheel. This information is not only for people forming new communities - whether or not you already own your land. It can also be valuable for those of you thinking about joining community one day - since you, too, will need to know what works. And it's also for those of you already living in community, since you can only benefit from knowing what others have done in similar circumstances. "Wow! The newest, most comprehensive bible for builders of intentional communities. Covers every aspect with vital information and hundreds of examples of how successful communities faced the challenges and created their shared lives out of their visions. The cautionary tales of sadder experiences and how communities fail, will help in avoiding the pitfalls. Not since I wrote the Foreword to Ingrid Komar's Living the Dream (1983), which documented the Twin Oaks community, have I seen a more useful and inspiring book." --Hazel Henderson, author, Creating Alternative Futures, and Politics of the Solar Age. "A great deal of research and trial-and-error has been assembled here, and every potential ecovillager should read it. This book will be an essential guide and msanual for the many Permaculture graduates who live in communities or design for them." --Bill Mollison, co-originator of the Permaculture concept, author of The Permaculture Designers Manual, Ferment and Human Nutrition. "A really valuable resource for anyone thinking about intentional community. I wish I had it years ago." -- Starhawk, author of Webs of Power, The Spiral Dance, and The Fifth Sacred Thing -- and committed communitarian. |
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In a world filled with stories of environmental devastation and social dysfunction , EcoVillage at Ithaca is a refreshing and hopeful look at a modern-day village that is taking an integrated approach to addressing these problems. This book tells the story of life at EcoVillage at Ithaca, an internationally recognized example of sustainable development. It transports the reader into the midst of a vibrant community that includes cohousing neighborhoods, small-scale organic farming, land preservation, green building, energy alternatives and hands-on education. By integrating proven social and environmental alternatives into a living model, EcoVillage at Ithaca provides a rare glimpse into one possible - and positive - future for the planet. EcoVillage at Ithaca delves into the heart of the lived experience at this innovative community. It provides a warm, personal and reflective look at what it is like to create a sustainable culture. The book
tells in-depth stories about an integrated
way of life: running a family farm;
creating "invented celebrations";
the poignancy of a home birth, as
well as a conscious death; community
work parties, and; dramatic examples
of personal transformation. Human scale, accessible and inspiring, the example of EcoVillage at Ithaca will help readers imagine fresh alternatives to "life as usual." It will appeal to all who are hungry to learn about successful working models of a more sustainable approach to living with each other and the Earth. Liz Walker co-founded and has directed EcoVillage at Ithaca since its inception in1991, and has lived there with her family since the first buildings were completed. She has worked on all aspects of the community's development, and has written and lectured widely on the topic. |
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In the same way that you can't lead a horse to water, you can't force economic development on people who don't want to be 'developed'. Leads the reader through the fascinating story of development failures and successes that led eventually to this technique that has been successful in over 250 communities in four countries. Inspiring, amusing, and easy to read, will appeal to a wide range of people interested in a new approach to revitalizing our communities. |
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This is an eye-popping , fundamental look at money, both the "legal tender" and the innovative forms that have been developed to promote local economies in communities around the nation and the world. Money explains the mysteries mad realities of currency, interest, barter, and much more in clear and accessible prose, revealing the alarming fragility of our existing financial system. More than simply a radical critique, it is also a practical and inspirational how-to manual for creating a vibrant and effective community currency system. |
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The eastern
savannas of war-ravaged Colombia,
known as the llanos, are among the
most brutal environments on Earth,
an unlikely setting for one of the
most hopeful environmental stories
ever told. Here, more than twenty-five
years ago, an intrepid visionary named
Paolo Lugari set out to create a village
that could sustain itself agriculturally,
economically, and artistically. He
reasoned that if a community could
survive in the Colombian llanos, it
would be possible to live anywhere. |
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Two hundred years ago herds of elk & antelope dotted the hills of the San Francisco - Monterey Bay area. Grizzly bears lumbered down to the creeks to fish for silver salmon and steelhead trout. From the vast marshlands, geese, ducks, and other birds rose in thick clouds "with a sound like that of a hurricane." This land of "inexpressible fertility," supported one of the densest Indian populations in all of North America. Clearly and accesibly written, uniquely alive & at the same time informed, this well-loved classic vividly recreates the lost world of the Indian people who lived here such a short time ago. "One of the three books that brought me the most joy over the past year." Alice Walker |
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 Superbia!:
31 Ways to Create Sustainable Neighborhoodsby Dan Chiras and Dave Wann 2003, 240pp., $25 Superbia! is a book of practical ideas for creating more socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable neighborhoods. It is about remaking suburban and urban neighborhoods to serve people better and to reduce human impact on the environment.
Ideas for the blossoming of the suburb are described in order of difficulty, from easy to boldest, including: * the
creation of a neighborhood newsletter
to foster a sense of neighborhood
identity and cooperation Well-illustrated and reader-friendly, Superbia! is written primarily for the millions who live in urban areas or existing suburbs. It will also be of major interest to environmentalists, planners, and all who want to create a more humane and nurturing lifestyle. |
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Copyright
©The Permaculture Activist, PO
Box 5516, Bloomington, IN 47407 USA
812-335-0383 Original material in this website may be reproduced in any form without permission on condition that it is accredited to the Permaculture Activist magazine, with a link back to this site or, in the case of printed material, a clear indication of the site URL (http://www.permacultureactivist.net). We would appreciate being notified of such use. Although care has been taken in preparing the information contained in this web site, the Permaculture Activist magazine does not and cannot guarantee the accuracy thereof. Anyone using the information does so at their own risk and shall be deemed to indemnify us from any and all injury or damage arising from such use. |
NEW!
EcoCities:
Rebuilding Cities in Balance with
Nature (Revised Edition)
NEW!
Small is Possible
Life in a Local Economy
NEW!
Guerrilla Gardening: A Manualfesto
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