‣ Energy bills have skyrocketed in North America, and traditional energy sources can be as damaging to the environment as they are to your pocketbook. The Homeowner's Guide to Renewable Energy will show you how to slash your home energy costs while dramatically reducing your carbon footprint.

Completely revised and updated, this new ...

‣ Communities everywhere are challenged by issues such as health, elder and child care, housing, education, food security and the environment. On the surface, these problems appear to be rooted in economic crisis-forexample budget cuts have triggered reduced public services, soaring food prices have created food security concerns, ...

‣ Making a Living While Making a Difference is a timely and highly informative guide to a working life built on principled choices and an entrepreneurial attitude. It's "about" greener enterprises and technologies, socially responsible business, innovative nonprofit work, and reinventing government. It's really about putting the ...

‣ Lead in lipstick, carcinogens in baby shampoo – the cosmetics industry needs a makeover! Discover what happens when a group of breast cancer activists and environmentalists knock on the doors of the world's largest cosmetics companies to demand safe, non-toxic products.

‣ 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 ...

‣ In the on-going attempts to overcome racism and sexism in North America today, we are overlooking another kind of discrimination that is no less damaging and equally unjustifiable. It is a form of injustice that everyone knows, but no one sees: discrimination based on rank. Low rank-signifying weakness, vulnerability, and the absence ...

‣ After six years of economic development work in Africa, Ernesto Sirolli witnessed how little most foreign aid programs were actually doing for the people they hoped to help-from creating a communal tomato field on the banks of the Zambezi river (only to be demolished by the river's hippos at harvest time) to donating snow-plows ...

‣ This booklet seeks to promote appreciation of the history and culture of Snuneymuxw First Nation on Gabriola Island. In the spirit of syeyutsus (walking together), Traditional Knowledge Keeper and Snuneymuxw Elder Geraldine Manson, C'tasi:a, offers a deeper understanding of the Nation's ongoing relationship to the land.

‣ While the voluntary simplicity movement has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, it is still often stereotyped as being mainly concerned with a thrifty lifestyle. But simple living has much deeper implications than just cleaning closets or selling off a second car. In Stepping Lightly, Mark Burch considers the deeper rewards ...

‣ How can we embrace the absolute necessity of preserving and protecting the earth for our descendants, creating a future in which there is still clean water to drink, fresh air to breathe, and fresh, healthy food vital to human existence?

Grow Create Inspire is a rallying cry, itself an inspiration urging all of us to help fill the ...

‣ From BPA in baby bottles and asbestos in crayons to misleading "natural" labels-it can despair even the most steadfast parent.

Lighthearted yet authoritative, Spit That Out! cuts through the information overload, sorts cloth from disposable, and empowers readers to make simple but impactful changes.

Featuring real life anxieties ...

‣ Buildings and their associated systems are the largest source of greenhouse gases in the world. The 2030 Challenge aims to produce zero net -energy from new North American construction by 2030 while achieving a 50% reduction in carbon emissions from existing buildings. With less than 4% of commercial and residential structures in ...

‣ The search for meaning, embodied by such values as mindfulness, creativity, compassion and empathy, is driving global transformation. The Heart of Sustainability explores the ways visionaries are driving this paradigm shift that is shaping our collective future.

‣ In the wake of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh-the worst garment industry accident in recorded history-the words "fashion disaster" acquired a new and much more sinister meaning. Commentators suggested that the tragedy was completely predictable in a sector with a shocking track record of rampant environmental damage, ...

‣ More than ever, people are longing for deep and meaningful change. Another world is not only possible; it is essential. Yet despite our creative and determined efforts to attain social justice and ecological sustainability, our global crises continue to deepen.

In Drinking Molotov Cocktails with Gandhi, bestselling author Mark Boyle ...

‣ Intellectual arguments alone will not sway the dominant paradigm; to be motivated to create change, people must be moved. Art has the power to inform, influence, and inspire. The creative impulse can, quite literally, change the world.

Better explores the intersection of sustainability and art, showing how each of us can reinvent ...

‣ Eighty-three million dogs and ninety-six million cats call the US home. Dogs alone produce enough waste to fill more than 1,091 football fields 1 foot deep in a single year. Add billions of plastic pick-up bags to the mix, and season well with tons of litter box waste. Scoop a hefty portion into local landfills and seal it tightly ...

‣ The Big Swim puts forward the idea that personal growth arises from facing both inner tensions and threats to the biosphere. In a collection of stories that is frequently touching, surprisingly funny and always thought-provoking, author Carrie Saxifrage seeks out the places where science meets self-discovery, inviting us to join ...

‣ From climate change, resource wars, to the collapse of consumerism, we are in for a wild ride. Afterburn is a thoughtful exploration of the vital issues confronting humanity—and us as individuals—as the fossil fuel era draws to a close and we prepare for a "civilization reboot" similar in scale to the agricultural and industrial revolutions.

‣ Disposing of unwanted natural materials can be expensive and time-consuming, or it can present a tremendous opportunity for creating collaborative eco-art. Invasive species control, green waste management, urban gardening and traditional crafts can all be brought together to strengthen community relationships and foster responsible ...

‣ Our industrialized food system is failing us, and as individuals we must take more responsibility for our own health and food security. Leaf crops produce more nutrients per square foot of growing space and per day of growing season than any other crops, especially vitamins and minerals commonly lacking in the North American diet. ...

‣ A recent survey shows that members of Gen Y are walking 37 percent more than they were a decade ago, biking 122 percent more and taking public transit 100 percent more. Still, the legacy of the car culture persists. Raised on the notion that driving equals freedom, too many of us just don't realize that a personally rewarding alternative ...

‣ Healthy babies don't just happen. The lifestyle of the prospective parents is a crucial factor in promoting fertility and ensuring a successful pregnancy. But the average North American diet is saturated with processed foods, and environmental toxins are rampant-we must take responsibility for what we put into and onto our bodies ...

‣ There are nearly 25 million veterans and active-duty soldiers in North America. Some experts estimate that more than one quarter of these men and women suffer from post-traumatic distress, and many other military personnel experience difficulty reintegrating into civilian life. While conventionally prescribed treatments primarily ...

‣ In the Summer of Love in San Francisco's Haight-Asbury, a charismatic young hippie by the name of Stephen Gaskin launched "Monday Night Class"-a weekly event which drew together an eclectic mix of truth-seekers and flower children. Soon the class became a caravan, and after touring the country this colorful crew decided to seek ...

‣ If we want to reduce our environmental impact, build resiliency in our community and improve food security, it's up to us to make it happen. In many North American communities, the instrument of change is ... grain. Grain is the perfect metaphor for how we've lost control of our food supply, and with it the skills and tools to feed ...

‣ Society is at a crossroads. We can either continue on the path of consumption at any cost, or we can make new choices that will lead to a happier, more rewarding life, while helping to preserve the planet for future generations. Unfortunately, we can't all afford to install solar panels or buy a Prius. Does this mean we are doomed ...

‣ Houdan. Nankin. Indian Runner. Narragansett. These may sound like exotic place names or unusual varieties of produce, but each actually refers to one of the many hundreds of lesser-known poultry breeds which tempt the livestock owner who's prepared to venture into less familiar territory. Providing an alternative to commercial breeds ...

‣ Over the centuries, Christianity has accomplished much which is deserving of praise. Its institutions have fed the hungry, sheltered the homeless, and advocated for the poor. Christian faith has sustained people through crisis and inspired many to work for social justice.

Yet, although the word "Christian" connotes the epitome ...

‣ When most of us think of self-sufficiency, we think of growing a large garden, and maybe keeping a few chickens for eggs or meat. While this is certainly part of the picture, unless you live on a large acreage or happen to be a permaculture god or goddess, it is unlikely that it will be enough to allow you to completely break free ...

‣ To undermine something is to weaken its very foundation in order to bring about its eventual collapse.

Underminers is a radical guide to dismantling the industrial machine. The first section of the book deconstructs the Tools of Disconnection-the subtle and seemingly innocuous methods by which we are manipulated into artificial separation ...

‣ The current business-for-profit model rewards short-term thinking, narrow self-interest, and a social-and-environmental-costs-be-damned attitude. Non-profits, while more focused on the greater good, tend to be inherently resource-challenged and rely on increasingly scarce grants and donations to sustain their existence. Social enterprise ...

‣ Conventional wisdom has North America entering a new era of energy abundance thanks to shale gas. But has industry been honest? Cold, Hungry and in the Dark argues that declining productivity combined with increasing demand will trigger a crisis that will cause prices to skyrocket, damage the economy and have a profound impact on ...

‣ Politicians, economists, and Wall Street would have us believe that limitless economic expansion is the Holy Grail, and that there is no conflict between growing the economy and protecting the environment. Supply Shock debunks these widely accepted myths and demonstrates that we are in fact navigating the end of the era of economic ...

‣ A remarkable cast of characters inhabit the pages of this book. Meet Tim Toben, who developed a high rise with the lowest energy consumption of any building in the southeastern United States, was foreclosed upon, and lost millions in the process. Gary Phillips held the line against real estate developers in Chatham County and was ...

‣ Every man for himself! For too long we have lived in a competitive, consumer-oriented culture, destroying the well-being of people and the planet. We believe that money brings happiness, yet all too often, the opposite is true. The pursuit of wealth at any cost corrupts our values and diminishes our lives. The resulting inequality ...

‣ In towns and cities across North America, a quiet revolution is underway. Fed up with sending their money off to make a fast buck in faraway markets, people are putting their money to work where they live, in markets they trust and understand-starting with food.

Financing Our Foodshed is a collection of real life stories of these ...

‣ Soaring prices and concerns about chemical-laden fruits and vegetables increasingly drive us to grow our own healthy food close to home. In cities however, vanishing ground space and contaminated soils spur farmers, activists, and restaurateurs to look to the skyline for a solution. The hunger for local food has reached new heights, ...

‣ In contemporary Western society, urban development is regarded as an unfortunate blight from which nature provides a much-needed respite. This apparent dichotomy ignores the interdependence between human settlement and the natural world. In fact, one of the most pressing problems facing urban theorists today is determining how to ...

‣ Fueled by a failing economy and a passionate desire for a return to simpler times, a new wave of homesteaders is seeking the good life, and the kind of true satisfaction that can only be built, not bought. Many of these modern pioneers are cash poor, but rich in energy and creativity. Plowing with Pigs and Other Creative, Low-Budget ...

‣ The Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings has sold nearly a 250,000 copies since 1990. Completely revised and updated to incorporate the latest developments in green technology, this is the definitive resource for consumers searching for the most cost-effective and energy-efficient household products and technologies.

‣ Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without-our grandmothers knew the importance of responsible, thrifty choices. But somewhere along the way we succumbed to the belief that we can get everything for next to nothing, have it shipped halfway around the world and then, more often than not, just throw it away.

This consumer binge ...