The Straw Bale House (A Real Goods Independent Living Book)

The Straw Bale House (A Real Goods Independent Living Book) Review

Imagine building a house with superior seismic stability, fire resistance, and thermal insulation, using an annually renewable resource, for half the cost of a comparable conventional home. Welcome to the straw bale house! Whether you build an entire house or something more modest-a home office or studio, a retreat cabin or guest cottage-plastered straw bale construction is an exceptionally durable and inexpensive option. What's more, it's fun, because the technique is easy to learn and easy to do yourself. And the resulting living spaces are unusually quiet and comfortable.

The Straw Bale House describes the many benefits of building with straw bales:

• super insulation, with R-values as high as R-50
• good indoor air quality and noise reduction
• a speedy construction process
• construction costs as low as -per-square-foot
• use of natural and abundant renewable resources
• a better solution than burning agricultural waste straw, which creates tons of air pollutants

The Straw Bale House (Real Goods Independent Living Book)

The Straw Bale House (Real Goods Independent Living Book) Review

Imagine building a house with superior seismic stability, fire resistance, and thermal insulation, using an annually renewable resource, for half the cost of a comparable conventional home. Welcome to the straw bale house! Whether you build an entire house or something more modest-a home office or studio, a retreat cabin or guest cottage-plastered straw bale construction is an exceptionally durable and inexpensive option. What's more, it's fun, because the technique is easy to learn and easy to do yourself. And the resulting living spaces are unusually quiet and comfortable.

The Straw Bale House describes the many benefits of building with straw bales:

• super insulation, with R-values as high as R-50
• good indoor air quality and noise reduction
• a speedy construction process
• construction costs as low as -per-square-foot
• use of natural and abundant renewable resources
• a better solution than burning agricultural waste straw, which creates tons of air pollutants

Picture Yourself Going Green: Step-by-Step Instruction for Living a Budget-Conscious, Earth-Friendly Lifestyle in Eight Weeks or Less (Environmental Issues)

Picture Yourself Going Green: Step-by-Step Instruction for Living a Budget-Conscious, Earth-Friendly Lifestyle in Eight Weeks or Less (Environmental Issues) Review

Are you looking for simple, budget-friendly ways to help you and your family live a healthier, more planet-friendly lifestyle? Picture Yourself Going Green: Step-by-Step Instruction for Living a Budget-Conscious, Earth-Friendly Lifestyle in Eight Weeks or Less provides you with uncomplicated solutions to help you conserve, reduce, reuse, recycle, and, thus, minimize our impact on the planet. You'll discover that even small changes make a difference and that going green is good for our health, the planet, and even our budgets. This book starts off with ten quick and simple changes that will green your lifestyle immediately; you can then follow an eight-week plan that will green everything from your energy use, transportation, and food choices to your wardrobe, beauty supplies, and travel. As you work through the suggestions and changes in the book, you'll find that simple efforts like turning off lights that aren't in use, carpooling to work, notching the thermostat down one degree, and taking a shorter shower can be beneficial to your family and the planet. Featuring simple instructions and a colorful layout full of pictures and illustrations, Picture Yourself Going Green is packed with helpful eco facts, tips, and ideas to help you along in your journey to become green.

Serious Straw Bale: A Home Construction Guide for All Climates (Real Goods Solar Living Book)

Serious Straw Bale: A Home Construction Guide for All Climates (Real Goods Solar Living Book) Review

Bergeron and Lacinski's new book Serious Straw Bale is the first to look carefully at the specific design considerations critical to success with a straw bale building in more extreme climates-where seasonal changes in temperature, precipitation, and humidity create special stresses that builders must understand and address. The authors draw upon years of experience with natural materials and experimental techniques, and present a compelling rationale for building with straw-one of nature's most resilient, available, and affordable byproducts.

The Independent Home: Living Well with Power from the Sun, Wind, and Water (Real Goods Independent Living Book)

The Independent Home: Living Well with Power from the Sun, Wind, and Water (Real Goods Independent Living Book) Review

The Independent Home: Living Well with Power from the Sun, Wind, and Water (Real Goods Independent Living Book) Feature

• Living Well With Power from the Sun, Wind, and Water

Whether you already own a home or plan to build one, The Independent Home will show you how to transform it into an energy-efficient, comfortable, self-sustainable home of the future-- right now. Michael Potts's home has been featured on the ABC evening news as an example of the sane approach to simple living; he demonstrates how one can live well, save money, save resources, and still retain modern conveniences and comfort. The Independent Home proves that it is not necessary to live in mud-floored huts and cook brown rice over a campfire to go back to the land. Mr. Potts's home has been featured on the ABC evening news as an example of a sane approach to simple living.

Your Green Home: A Guide to Planning a Healthy, Environmentally Friendly New Home (Mother Earth News Wiser Living Series)

Your Green Home: A Guide to Planning a Healthy, Environmentally Friendly New Home (Mother Earth News Wiser Living Series) Review

More and more homeowners today want houses that are healthy to live in and cause minimal damage to the environment. That’s what green building is all about.

Your Green Home is written for homeowners planning a new home—whether you are working with an architect or builder, or serving as your own general contractor. Intended to improve the overall environmental performance of new houses being built, the book sets out to answer some of the big-picture questions relating to having a home designed and built—and getting what you want.

Your Green Home covers:

• Home location and its relationship to the community
• Site design
• Construction systems
• Building design to optimize energy performance
• Renewable energy systems
• Material selection
• Indoor environmental quality
• Water efficiency
• Material selection

Written by the founder of BuildingGreen—North America’s premier green building authority—this book will prove useful not only to future homeowners, but also to designers and builders seeking to meet this demand. Building professionals well-versed in green building may find this a useful book to give to potential clients to convey the scope and principles of green building.

Alex Wilson is president of BuildingGreen, Inc. and executive editor of Environmental Building News, the oldest and most respected publication serving North America’s green building industry. A green building expert since the 1970s, he has authored countless articles on the topic and several books, including Green Building Products, the Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings, and Green Development: Integrating Ecology and Real Estate.

Wind Power for Home & Business: Renewable Energy for the 1990s and Beyond (Real Goods Independent Living Book)

Wind Power for Home & Business: Renewable Energy for the 1990s and Beyond (Real Goods Independent Living Book) Review

In 1993, Chelsea Green published Paul Gipe's landmark guide to the newest and best techniques for harvesting wind energy with small and medium-sized turbines. Now in its fourth printing, the book has sold more than 10,000 copies and inspired countless independent power producers to take control of their own electrical supply.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Green Living

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Green Living Review

The environmental movement and rising awareness of global warming have sparked an interest in green living. People want to know what they can do to live sustainable lives. In this book, you will find an overview of global warming and environmental degradation of air, water, and soil; what sustainable living is and how to do it; how to cut down on carbon output (the cause of global warming) with alternative cars and fuels; and environmentally friendly home and lawn care products.

Eco-Renovation: The Ecological Home Improvement Guide (The Real Goods Independent Living Books)

Eco-Renovation: The Ecological Home Improvement Guide (The Real Goods Independent Living Books) Review

Eco-Renovation is the first book specifically aimed at homeowners who want to make their houses as "green" as possible. It will show the reader how to reduce energy bills and select resource-efficient building materials.

Hey Mr. Green: Sierra Magazine's Answer Guy Tackles Your Toughest Green Living Questions

Hey Mr. Green: Sierra Magazine's Answer Guy Tackles Your Toughest Green Living Questions Review

When is the right time to replace an old refrigerator? Is it okay to knit a sweater with acrylic yarn? Is it more environmentally correct to buy beer in bottles or cans? For the last several years, Bob Schildgen’s popular “Hey Mr. Green” column has tackled real-world questions from real people. Readers trust his answers, which are backed by Sierra Club’s research, but they also enjoy his realism and irreverent humor. This book distills the best of the column into one enormously useful and entertaining resource. It’s organized by subject — household issues, food and drink, transportation, reuse and recycling, and “big picture” environmental questions — making it easy to find answers to common questions. Whether puzzling over the intricacies of product life cycles or taking a reader to task for blasting his air conditioner, Hey Mr. Green is an indispensable, opinionated, and authoritative guide to minding one’s environmental footprint.

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.

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.

Green Living: How To Live A More Sustainable, Earth Friendly Lifestyle

Green Living: How To Live A More Sustainable, Earth Friendly Lifestyle Review

Green living, the environment, being earth friendly, using solar and wind power - these are all very hot topics in today's society. And thanks to recent government efforts, everyone is trying to learn how to make their own homes and lives more sustainable and earth friendly.

If you're new to the concept of living green... whether you want to learn how to start doing your part for the environment or you just want to learn how to reduce your bills and keep more money in your wallet from month to month, this kindle book is just for you.

It's written for beginners, so you don't have to worry about technical concepts and language that goes too far over your head. Instead you can get a general overview of the basics, and learn about a number of environmentally friendly tactics which can be put to work in your own home from day one.

Table of Contents:

Introduction
Alternative Power & Energy
Solar Power Basics
Solar Panels
Wind Turbines & Windmills
Natural Passive Solar Techniques
Solar hot water
Passive Solar Collectors
Solar Hot Water Tanks
Solar cooking
Greening Inside Your Home
The Basics: Plugs and Lights
Reduce and Recycle
Using gray water
Non Toxic, Natural cleaning
Composting Toilets
Greening Outside Your Home Yard and Garden Design
Composting
Rainwater & Gray Water
Resources


This kindle book has 10,108 words

Llewellyn's 2009 Green Living Guide (Annuals - Green Living Guide)

Llewellyn's 2009 Green Living Guide (Annuals - Green Living Guide) Review

Renew, re-use, recycle has become a call to action for millions who care about our planet. What can each of us do to ensure a bright future for our children, grandchildren, and forthcoming generations? "The Green Living Guide" - a new annual from Llewellyn - offers fresh ideas and Earth-friendly advice for sustaining our world. From green careers to green houses to green weddings, this collection explores how to live in harmony with the environment. Ranging from personal lifestyle options to broad solutions, you'll find a bounty of ways - small and large - to make a difference. This issue features over twenty in-depth articles on ecotravel, hybrid cars, bike commuting, rain gardens, vermicomposting, beekeeping, wind turbine power, permaculture, and more. Also included are practical tips and resources for those who want to become an Earth advocate in their home, community, and world.

Kitchen Living: Contemporary Ideas for the Heart of the Home

Kitchen Living: Contemporary Ideas for the Heart of the Home Review

As society has evolved, so has the kitchen, and today, it is very much the center of the home. In the true sense of the term, it has become the home’s “living room”—the place where we eat and drink, talk, work, read, gossip on the phone, and entertain friends. Kitchen Living takes a fresh look at the heart of the home, infusing it with innovative ideas for storage, decoration, furniture, table settings, and more. Whether your style is Tuscan Farmhouse or Laboratory Chic, Elizabeth Hilliard provides you with a wealth of practical and aesthetic choices for color, lighting, and flooring. With more than 150 stylish color photos, this is an outstanding guide to enhancing the way we live—in the kitchen. Elizabeth Hilliard is an award-winning design writer; among her many books are Country Style, Finishing Touches, Brilliant Color at Home, Paint: The Big Book of Natural Color, The Tile Book, Perfect Order, Kilims: Decorating with Tribal Rugs, and Chandeliers.

Building Green, New Edition: A Complete How-To Guide to Alternative Building Methods Earth Plaster * Straw Bale * Cordwood * Cob * Living Roofs (Building Green: A Complete How-To Guide to Alternative)

Building Green, New Edition: A Complete How-To Guide to Alternative Building Methods Earth Plaster * Straw Bale * Cordwood * Cob * Living Roofs (Building Green: A Complete How-To Guide to Alternative) Review

The best-selling and highly regarded reference to sustainable construction gets an update! It’s refreshed with a completely revised introduction, a bright new cover, and extensive online resource tie-ins. Plus, it’s now printed on recycled paper with agri-based inks, so it’s greener than ever!

This groundbreaking book doesn’t just tell you about “green” house-building techniques: it actually shows you, with more than 1,200 step-by-step photographs that follow the actual erection of an alternative building from site selection to final-touch interior details. Readers will get a clear sense of the real world challenges as Snell and Callahan create a lovely country cottage using four methods: straw bale, cob, cordwood, and modified stick-frame.

Along with sidebars throughout, there’s a thorough discussion of the fundamentals of building construction, alternative approaches, and designing a beautiful yet environmentally responsible home. Building Green was the first book of its kind—and it remains heads and shoulders above other titles in this field.  

 

Green Living For Dummies (For Dummies (Home & Garden))

Green Living For Dummies (For Dummies (Home & Garden)) Review

Want to do your part to reduce energy consumption, waste, and pollution; clean up the environment, and save the planet? Green Living For Dummies is packed with practical suggestions you can follow to make your lifestyle greener by doing as little damage as possible to the planet and the animal and plant life that depend on it.

This practical guide delivers an array of realistic practices and changes you can undertake to help the environment and create a better home for yourself and your loved ones. You’ll discover easy and innovative ways to make a difference by reducing energy use and waste, scaling back reliance on your car, and even making minor adjustments to your diet. You’ll also find how to live green at work and in your community, and you’ll develop a deeper understanding of how these changes benefit both the environment and your own health and well-being! Discover how to:

• Go green gradually
• Make eco-friendly home improvements
• Work greener transportation into your lifestyle
• Save money by going green
• Eat locally and organically
• Raise your children’s environmental awareness
• Reduce waste by repairing, restoring, and reusing
• Become a green consumer
• Invest in green companies for fun and profit

Complete with handy lists of things you can do to make a difference right away and down the road Green Living For Dummies is the resource you need to start taking steps toward shrinking your footprint.