Rethinking Sustainable Development (The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science Series)

Rethinking Sustainable Development (The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science Series) Review

Throughout the past decade, the meaning of "sustainable development" - which rose to prominence following after the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development - has evolved toward a broad and integrative concept that focuses on environmental protection as well as intergenerational social equity, human rights, and social justice.

As the definition of sustainable development has expanded its meaning has become even more ambiguous, and the gulf between theory and practice continue to widen. Often obscured by jargon-laden debate and embedded in capitalism, the possibilities of realizing goals of sustainable development have begun to fade while the reproduction of the socioeconomic forces that lead to unsustainable development continues to thrive. Yet to dismiss the notion of sustainable development would be a tacit acceptance of the conditions of unsustainable development.

The rapidly maturing capitalism worldwide appears have brought sustainable development to an impasse both in terms of theory and in practice. Capitalism has shown remarkable creativity and power to undermine the goals of sustainable development by appropriating and exploiting the language and practices of sustainable development. To effectively engage with the interplay between capitalism and sustainable development it is urgent that the debate takes on a greater conceptual and analytical clarity and be centered on the consideration of a just world order. A specific institutional environment is needed to achieve sustainable social justice must be clearly identified and articulated in ways that could be translated into effective practice.

This special issue of The ANNALS takes a radical departure from current reformist approaches to sustainable development and makes the argument for the necessity of an alternative vision of global political economy linked to strong commitment to a equity and social justice. With the help of case studies from different parts of the world, this volume examines and provides a foundation for thinking about alternative framework of analyses. Especially, it calls to reexamine the currently dominant formulations concerning the ‘desirable’ role of the state and no-governmental organization (NGOs) in sustainable development.

Providing an in-depth look at the conditions and processes that perpetuate unsustainable development, these articles examine a myriad of pivotal topics: poverty, prosperity, insecurity, diversity, and (NGOs), overproduction and scarcity, the role of the state, cultures of instability and violence, and social justice.

Social and environmental theorists, practitioners, and activists will find an innovative and ardent perspective that strives radical changes in the current discourse of sustainable development.

Eco House Book

Eco House Book Review

A complete guide to home improvement the environmentally friendly way: whether you want to redecorate or redesign your home, this essential book provides all the information you need to reduce your home's carbon footprint and improve the quality of your life.
For 40 years, Terence Conran has been a leader in intelligent design, changing the way we think about and furnish our homes. No, Conran shows us that it is possible to convert our existing homes into greener, healthier places without starting from scratch. Whether you want to redecorate or resign your home, Eco House Book explains how relatively small and economic changes can be made, including simple repairs to improve energy efficiency, water saving tips, and productive gardening, to more dramatic overhauls such as redesigning room use, converting basements and extending your home.
Environmental issues should be part of every decision you make on the home front--from selecting fabric for soft furnishings to designing and siting a home extension.
Special focus is given to reducing the vast amounts of energy and water that homes consume on a daily basis, with advice on low energy lighting strategies and decorative choices, improving insulation and reducing energy use, the latest green heating systems, alternative ways of generating power, and electricity reducing appliances. As we are urged to change our lifestyles to reduce our carbon footprint and consumption of water, there has never been a better time to green your home. (2009)

Housing and the Urban Environment: A Guide to Housing Design, Renewal and Urban Planning

Housing and the Urban Environment: A Guide to Housing Design, Renewal and Urban Planning Review

Looking ahead to the next decade, this book examines the kinds of dwellings likely to be needed, and considers key housing issues, including quality, design standards, urban-growth management, and a renewal of public housing. It provides a review of theory, research findings and trends for students and practitioners in the fields of housing management, town planning, urban studies and architecture.

Crafting Log Homes Solar Style: An Inspiring Guide to Self-Sufficiency

Crafting Log Homes Solar Style: An Inspiring Guide to Self-Sufficiency Review

A down-to-earth guide to building solar-powered log homes, complete with how-to illustrations and photos, plus enlightening stories from log home owners across the country. Follow the authors' journey of handcrafting an off-the-grid log home in the Colorado Rockies and discover how renewable energy is a perfect match for modern log home living, from small weekend cabins to expansive year-round homes. (The completed revised edition of Logs, Wind and Sun)

CONTENTS 1. Log Home Living, Solar Style
2. Site Selection
3. Plans and Permits
4. Logs
5. Tools for Construction
6. Excavation and Foundation Work
7. The Floor
8. Peeling and Lifting Logs
9. Building with Logs: Part I
10. Building with Logs: Part II
11. Gables and Dormers
12. Roof Framing
13. Windows, Doors and Wiring
14. More Settling Issues
15. Chinking and Finishing
16. A New Philosophy of Freedom
17. Harvesting Solar and Wind Power
18. Heating of House and Water
19. Pumping Water
20. Finish Work: Making Your House a Home
Log-ically Solar: Homeowner Profiles from Around the Country
LaVonne's LogBooks (a 2-year diary)
Appendix (Costs to Consider, Notes for Off-Grid Homes, Resources, General Bibliography, Recommended Reading)
Index

Living Green (Green Guides)

Living Green (Green Guides) Review

Worried about the planet, but not sure what to do about it? Want to lead a more environmentally friendly lifestyle, but don't know where to start? This book is the complete guide to green living. Informative and accessible text gives clear, practical and realistic advice about all areas of your life, including home, garden, shopping, food and getting around. Whether you live in a rural idyll or in the centre of a big city there is action you can take. Written by an expert in the field, this guide will help you make a real difference.

Energy: Use Less-Save More: 100 Energy-Saving Tips for the Home (The Chelsea Green Guides)

Energy: Use Less-Save More: 100 Energy-Saving Tips for the Home (The Chelsea Green Guides) Review

"ENERGY: USE LESS—SAVE MORE THE CHELSEA GREEN GUIDES—A NEW SERIES OF POCKET-SIZED BOOKS TO HELP SAVE THE EARTH! Did you know that lowering the temperature of your thermostat by a mere 2 degrees Fahrenheit could reduce your energy bill by 10 percent? Or that energy-efficient light bulbs last about 12 times longer than ordinary bulbs and consume one-fifth the energy? This is just the beginning of what you’ll learn in this handy book, containing more than one hundred ideas for saving energy. These tips will save you money, and help you take your first steps in the fight against global warming. Also available: WATER: USE LESS—SAVE MORE COMPOSTING: AN EASY HOUSEHOLD GUIDE REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE: AN EASY HOUSEHOLD GUIDE "

Green Building Handbook Volumes 1 and 2: Green Building Handbook: Volume 2: A Guide to Building Products and their Impact on the Environment

Green Building Handbook Volumes 1 and 2: Green Building Handbook: Volume 2: A Guide to Building Products and their Impact on the Environment Review

This key handbook provides a detailed reference for environmentally concerned purchasers of building products, and complements the Green Building Handbook Vol 1. Following the format of the original, this book discusses current issues in green building before moving on to consider eight building component types: fencing products, flat roofing membranes, glazing products, electrical wiring, adhesives, straw bale building, interior decoration and indoor air quality and ventilation. Invaluable for the specifier, this companion handbook will be useful to all those interested in finding greener ways of designing and making buildings.

Building with Straw Bales

Building with Straw Bales Review

Straw bale building is a radically different approach to the process of building. Like all innovative ideas, it has been pioneered by the passionate, and used experimentally by those with the vision to see its potential. It is firmly based in that sustainable, ëgreen buildingí culture that has brought to the construction industry many new and useful ideas about energy efficiency and responsibility towards the environment. As a building material, straw excels in the areas of cost-effectiveness and energy efficiency.This practical guide has been written by the most experienced straw bale builder in the UK. It gives details of all the main construction methods, and includes:ï bale specificationsï plansï walls and foundationsï doors and windowsï plasteringï building regulations and planning permissionï frequently asked questionsï construction drawings.This fully revised and updated edition includes new construction drawings, standard details for best practice design, examples of off-the-peg drawings for small buildings such as summer-houses and studios, and designs for affordable houses. These designs meet Building Regulations Code 6 for sustainable homes, and have a carbon rating of less than zero.

Backyards: A Sunset Design Guide

Backyards: A Sunset Design Guide Review

All the latest ideas on design and materials, along with essential landscaping advice from professional garden designers, so that you can create a uniquely livable backyard.

Expert designers | Experienced design and landscaping professionals help you get the backyard you want on the budget you can afford

Real-world solutions | Pro-designed patios and gardens show the best ways to pull all the elements together to create a cohesive, comfortable space

At a glance | Clear, concise charts make it easy to choose materials based on appearance, durability, ease of installation, and price

Go green | The latest information on green materials, water conservation, and safety issues

50 Plus One Tips for Going Green (50 Plus One)

50 Plus One Tips for Going Green (50 Plus One) Review

Going green has become a worldwide movement and is taking center stage with governments, businesses and consumers who realize it is everyone's responsibility to work for a cleaner, greener environment. This book shows how even small efforts will produce big results. The book explains what renewable and sustainable resources are all about, why recycling is crucial to the war on junk, why building and remodeling green are so important, and much more!

Zen And The Art Of The Collegiate Essay

Zen And The Art Of The Collegiate Essay Review

It's all in here . . . all about J.M. Fisher . . . what he ate for breakfast . . . his bizarre mood swings . . . his misguided attempts at stand-up comedy . . . life-coaching offered by his buddy, the Magic Swami . . . and his manly fascination with beautiful women. Some readers may ask, "Why should I care?" Well, Fisher answers that challenging question, and exposes all, in his blockbuster chapter, "Au Naturel!" Features his Mega-Monster hits: "Citizen Jess," "Life on Mars?" and "Doctor Chopstick." All-in-all, more than 50 personal essays -- exclusively by Fisher -- writing about university life as a middle-aged man -- in the 21st century. All his classics are here! Including, "Go Urban, Dude!" "Mr Stickman," "The Value of Deception," "Nothing Worthwhile Considered," and "On Truth and Lies in a Global Sense." This is the Real McCoy Collection -- not some lame MP3's or karoke tracks, but the original words -- perfectly bound inside a real book.

Handmade Home: Simple Ways to Repurpose Old Materials into New Family Treasures

Handmade Home: Simple Ways to Repurpose Old Materials into New Family Treasures Review

Handmade Home: Simple Ways to Repurpose Old Materials into New Family Treasures Feature

• Dimensions: 9.22 in. h x 7.22 in. w x 0.3 in. d
• Weight: 0.48 ounces
• Made in US

For many of us, our home is the center of our life. It is the place where our families meet and mingle, where we share our meals and share our dreams. So much more than just a space to live, our homes offer us a place of comfort, nourishment, and love for us and for our children.

In Handmade Home, Amanda Blake Soule, author of The Creative Family and the blog SouleMama.com, offers simple sewing and craft projects for the home that reflect the needs, activities, and personalities of today’s families. As Amanda writes in the introduction, “As a crafter, I’m always looking for the next thing I want to make. As a mama, I’m always looking for the next thing we need—to do, to have, to use—as a family. The coming together of these parts is where the heart of Handmade Home lies.”

Filled with thirty-three projects made by reusing and repurposing materials, all of the items here offer a practical use in the home. From picnic blankets made out of repurposed bed sheets to curtains made out of vintage handkerchiefs, these projects express the sense of making something new out of something old as a way to live a more financially pared-down and simple life; lessen our impact on the earth; connect to the past and preserve a more traditional way of life; and place value on the work of the hands. Also included are projects that children can help with, allowing them to make their own special contribution to the family home.

More than just a collection of projects for handmade items, this book offers the tools to create a life—and home—full of beauty, integrity, and joy.

Projects include:

   • Papa’s Healing Cozy: This hot water bottle cover becomes a simple way to offer comfort to a sick child

   • Baby Sling: A simple pattern for an object that offers so much to a small child—refuge from the world and a place to lay their head next to a parent’s heart

   • Beach Blanket To-Go: Repurpose old sheets to create the perfect picnic blanket for special outdoor meals

   • Cozy Wall Pockets: A creative solution for storing a child’s small treasures


 

Green House: Eco-Friendly Disposal and Recycling at Home

Green House: Eco-Friendly Disposal and Recycling at Home Review

The realities of climate change can be overwhelming, but the good news is that-with your help-global warming can be slowed and ultimately stopped. You may already recycle those newspapers and milk cartons, and perhaps you have a compost pile in the backyard. But what about that old inkjet cartridge? Or that scratched CD? Green House: Eco-Friendly Disposal and Recycling at Home is an A to Z guide to disposing and recycling all varieties of common household trash, from broken appliances to spent smoke detectors and cell phones to pet waste. With a sense of humor and an eye towards modern-day practicalities, Norm Crampton discusses the most environmentally-friendly methods of dealing with household waste, and when there are multiple disposal options, he describes the ins and outs of each alternative. Crampton also points out that some trash may be someone else's treasure-some recyclers may pay you for your old cell phone and your cooking grease can become bio-fuel! For homeowners and apartment dwellers alike, Green House is a handy little reference book and the first step towards reducing your ecological footprint.

Working Green Wood With Peg

Working Green Wood With Peg Review

Guide to using polyethylene glycol to cure green wood and keep your work defect-free. Instructions for treating stabilized wood.

The Complete Guide to Green Building & Remodeling Your Home: Everything You Need to Know Explained Simply (Back-To-Basics)

The Complete Guide to Green Building & Remodeling Your Home: Everything You Need to Know Explained Simply (Back-To-Basics) Review

In today s economy and socially conscious environment regarding the environment, many people cannot afford not to start considering ways they can build or remodel their home to ensure it is green. With scientific sources such as the UN council on global warming making statements about the degradation of ice flow and environmental conditions by 2050 and the likelihood that crude oil sources will be used up within the next fifty years, it is especially necessary for young families to consider the implications of reexamining their homes and living situations to be more green. This book will guide you and your family through the process of learning more about and implementing the necessary changes and perspectives needed to change your home or build a new home that is environmentally conscious and prepared for the changing economic and environmental climate in the coming decades. You will learn why people have started to build green and how it can be done in today s regulatory and cost conditions quickly and inexpensively. You will learn how to remodel with green in mind and how to start working with building professionals that can provide the necessary materials, plans, and paperwork you need to proceed. You will learn which materials are best for green building by lifespan and how to choose between various green materials. You will learn how to not only use green materials but to make sure the construction process is green as well. You will learn the basics of framing your building, natural building methods, the energy systems you might use, and the heating cooling options at your disposal. Construction and environmental experts have been interviewed and their expertise is included in this book to help you learn everything you need to accomplish the above as well as to know what kinds of water and waste systems are best, how to site plan and landscape your home, and what the most common myths about green building are. You will learn ten things you can do on any building project to keep it green and any materials you should always have on hand for anything you do around the house. Regardless of whether you are just looking to remodel to make your house greener or are building a new home, this book will give you everything you need to stay green and respect the environment with your home.

Modern Carpentry

Modern Carpentry Review

Modern Carpentry is a colorful, easy-to-understand source of authoritative and up-to-date information on building materials and construction methods. The text provides detailed coverage of all aspects of light frame construction, including site preparation and layout; foundations; framing; sheathing; roofing; windows and doors; exterior finish; stairs; cabinetwork and interior wall, floor, and ceiling finish. Special emphasis is placed on the use of the latest tools, materials, and prefabricated components.

Easy Green Living: The Ultimate Guide to Simple, Eco-Friendly Choices for You and Your Home

Easy Green Living: The Ultimate Guide to Simple, Eco-Friendly Choices for You and Your Home Review

We are what we eat, but we also are what we use to clean our homes, pamper our skin, and decorate our rooms, according to Renée Loux, accomplished raw food chef, award-winning author, and host of Fine Living TV's Easy Being Green. In her new book, Easy Green Living, she applies her whole-foods philosophy to home, garden, and beauty routines.

Renée Loux demonstrates that being green at home is easy, affordable, and better in every sense of the word. She discusses the daily choices we face that can keep the home, personal care, and beauty routines free of toxins. She exposes the dirt on cleaning products and common hazardous ingredients and reveals her recommendations for greener options, including her "Green Thumb Guides" for choosing non-toxic, eco-smart, and human-friendly products. Peppered with compelling and inspiring facts, Easy Green Living is full of "5 Step" lists, products and recipes for green cleaning, helpful charts, safer choices for every room, and inspirational advice so we can save the planet--one cleaning spritz at a time.

As recent special issues of Vanity Fair, Time, Newsweek, and other major publications have demonstrated, going green is an idea whose time has come. Whether addressing big-picture topics like renewable energy, or offering simple suggestions for everyday living, this complete lifestyle guide shows that healthier choices don't mean a radical or complicated life change--it is, after all, easy to be green.