Current Feature:
by Colin Beavan
also the blog, No Impact Man
from the publisher:
A guilty liberal finally snaps, swears off plastic, goes organic, becomes a bicycle nut, turns off his power, and generally becomes a tree-hugging lunatic who tries to save the polar bears and the rest of the planet from environmental catastrophe while dragging his baby daughter and Prada-wearing, Four Seasons–loving wife along for the ride. And that’s just the beginning. Bill McKibben meets Bill Bryson in this seriously engaging look at one man’s decision to put his money where his mouth is and go off the grid for one year—while still living in New York City—to see if it’s possible to make no net impact on the environment. In other words, no trash, no toxins in the water, no elevators, no subway, no products in packaging, no air-conditioning, no television . . .What would it be like to try to live a no-impact lifestyle? Is it possible? Could it catch on? Is living this way more satisfying or less satisfying? Harder or easier? Is it worthwhile or senseless? Are we all doomed or can our culture reduce the barriers to sustainable living so it becomes as easy as falling off a log? These are the questions at the heart of this whole mad endeavor, via which Colin Beavan hopes to explain to the rest of us how we can realistically live a more “eco-effective” and by turns more content life in an age of inconvenient truths.
Rosemary Morrow‘s all-encompassing and accessible The Earth User’s Guide to Permaculture. The official text of the Darwin Permaculture Design Certificate course, May 2009.
Design with Nature by Ian L. McHarg. About the book from Amazon: With a distinct emphasis on human cooperation and biological partnership in design, the author explores the relationship between the built environment and nature to illustrate how both can be used to their full potential without being detrimental or destructive to each other.
Folklore and Odysseys of Food and Medicinal Plants by Ernst and Johanna Lehner, published in 1973. You can find links to major and independent booksellers to purchase it, or search for it in your local library here at Open Library. You can also write a description of it for the Open Library site if you’re familiar with the book.
Native Plants for Top End Gardeners by Nicholas Smith available here at Niblock Publishers.
Mud Brick and Earth Building the Chinese Way by Ron Edwards. Recommended by James in Brisbane at http://www.randomplantings.com/
