Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
by William McDonough
from North Point Press
Paper or plastic? Neither, say William McDonough and Michael Braungart. Why settle for the least harmful alternative when we could have something that is better--say, edible grocery bags! In Cradle to Cradle, the authors present a manifesto calling for a new industrial revolution, one that would render both traditional manufacturing and traditional environmentalism obsolete. Recycling, for instance, is actually "downcycling," creating hybrids of biological and technical "nutrients" which are then unrecoverable and unusable. The authors, an architect and a chemist, want to eliminate the concept of waste altogether, while preserving commerce and allowing for human nature. They offer several compelling examples of corporations that are not just doing less harm--they're actually doing some good for the environment and their neighborhoods, and making more money in the process. Cradle to Cradle is a refreshing change from the intractable environmental conflicts that dominate headlines. It's a handbook for 21st-century innovation and should be required reading for business hotshots and environmental activists. --Therese Littleton
"Reduce, reuse, recycle" urge environmentalists; in other words, do more with less in order to minimize damage. As William McDonough and Michael Braungart argue in their provocative, visionary book, however, this approach perpetuates a one-way, "cradle to grave" manufacturing model that dates to the Industrial Revolution and casts off as much as 90 percent of the materials it uses as waste, much of it toxic. Why not challenge the notion that human industry must inevitably damage the natural world, they ask.
In fact, why not take nature itself as our model? A tree produces thousands of blossoms in order to create another tree, yet we do not consider its abundance wasteful but safe, beautiful, and highly effective; hence, "waste equals food" is the first principle the book sets forth. Products might be designed so that, after their useful life, they provide nourishment for something new-either as "biological nutrients" that safely re-enter the environment or as "technical nutrients" that circulate within closed-loop industrial cycles, without being "downcycled" into low-grade uses (as most "recyclables" now are).
Elaborating their principles from experience (re)designing everything from carpeting to corporate campuses, the authors make an exciting and viable case for change.
In fact, why not take nature itself as our model? A tree produces thousands of blossoms in order to create another tree, yet we do not consider its abundance wasteful but safe, beautiful, and highly effective; hence, "waste equals food" is the first principle the book sets forth. Products might be designed so that, after their useful life, they provide nourishment for something new-either as "biological nutrients" that safely re-enter the environment or as "technical nutrients" that circulate within closed-loop industrial cycles, without being "downcycled" into low-grade uses (as most "recyclables" now are).
Elaborating their principles from experience (re)designing everything from carpeting to corporate campuses, the authors make an exciting and viable case for change.
Worms Eat My Garbage: How to Set Up and Maintain a Worm Composting System
by Mary Appelhof
from Flower Press
The definitive guide to vermicomposting-a process using redworms to recycle food waste into nutrient-rich food for plants. Newly revised and updated, this 162 page manual provides complete illustrated instructions on setting up and maintaining small-scale worm composting systems. Topics include different bins, what kind of worms to use, sex life of a worm, preparing worm beddings, how to meet the needs of the worms, what kinds of foods to feed the worms, harvesting worms, and making potting soil from the vermicompost produced. A 63 page bibliography, 24 annotated references, a glossary,and comprehensive index make this a valuabe reference book as well as a practical manual.
It's Easy Being Green: A Handbook for Earth-Friendly Living
by Crissy Trask
from Gibbs Smith, Publisher
Surveys find that over 80 percent of Americans agree with the goals of the environmental movement. Sadly, most Americans admit to doing little more than basic recycling when it comes to acting on that disposition. What is the reason for this great divide between environmental sentiment in this country and individual actions? Author and environmental consultant Crissy Trask seeks to answer this question-and solve the disparity-with a new book that makes it easy to be an environmentalist, no matter how busy or hectic your lifestyle. This is a day to day guide with simple, practical suggestions that anyone can put into action, like:
The Humanure Handbook: A Guide to Composting Human Manure, Third Edition
by Joseph C. Jenkins
from Jenkins Publishing
There are almost seven billion defecating people on planet Earth, but few who have any clue about how to constructively handle the burgeoning mountain of human crap. The Humanure Handbook, third edition, will amuse you, educate you, and possibly offend you, but it will certainly pertain to you—unless, of course, your bowels never move.
This new edition of The Humanure Handbook is:
Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash
by Elizabeth Royte
from Back Bay Books
The wild adventure begins once our trash hits the canas Elizabeth Royte boldly follows the things weve disposed of to their ultimate (often surprising) destination. Her highly praised book melds science, travel, anthropology, and a strong dose of clear-headed analysis as it reminds us how our decisions about consumption and waste have a very real impact.
Recycled Crafts Box
by Laura C. Martin
from Storey Publishing, LLC
Corrugated Castle. Fancy Foil Fish Mobile. Paper Bead Bangles. Braided Rag Coasters. Old Shoe Flower Pots. Puppy Dog Sock Puppet. With a little imagination, just about anything we think of as trash can be transformed into an art project good enough to give as a gift or to keep and treasure yourself.
In her first Storey Kids book, Nature's Art Box, master crafter Laura C. Martin showed kids how pebbles, twigs, seedpods, and shells can be turned into things of beauty. Now, in Recycled Crafts Box, she uses as her art supplies the paper, plastic, metal, and cloth we usually consign to the recycling bin or the garbage can.
The way Martin sees it, just about everything around us holds artistic possibilities. Plastic picnic plates can be cut up to make a bouquet of flowers that will never wilt (and don't need watering). Roll leftover gift wrap into tight tubes and cut it into small sections to make one of- a-kind beads. Decorate the sides of old paint cans with acrylic paint and tie sturdy rope to the handles to make a pair of stilts.
Along the way, Martin offers sidebars on the history of rubbish and profiles of artists whose medium is junk. She passes along important lessons about being a good steward of the Earth. But the lessons are light and fun--never preachy.
Fun for kids, perfect for involved and homeschooling parents, and ideal for schoolteachers who have seen their art supply budgets slashed, Recycled Crafts Box shows budding artists how to make something beautiful and save the planet at the same time.
Gone Tomorrow: The Hidden Life of Garbage
by Heather Rogers
from New Press
A sobering exploration of our high-octane trash output that was named an Editor's Choice by the New York Times and a nonfiction choice by The Guardian.
Eat a take-out meal, buy a pair of shoes, or read a newspaper, and you're soon faced with a bewildering amount of garbage. The United States is the planet's number-one producer of trash. Each American throws out 4.5 pounds daily. But garbage is also a global problem; the Pacific Ocean is today six times more abundant with plastic waste than zooplankton. How did we end up with this much rubbish, and where does it all go? Journalist and filmmaker Heather Rogers answers these questions by taking readers on a grisly, oddly fascinating tour through the underworld of garbage.
Said to "read like a thriller" (Library Journal), Gone Tomorrow excavates the history of rubbish handling from the 1800s to the present, pinpointing the roots of today's waste-addicted society. With a "lively authorial voice" (New York Press), Rogers draws connections between modern industrial production, consumer culture, and our throwaway lifestyle. She also investigates controversial topics like the politics of recycling and the export of trash to poor countries, while offering a potent argument for change. 10 b/w photographs.
Water Treatment: Principles and Design
by MWH
from Wiley
The one-stop resource for all aspects of water treatment engineering-from theory to practice
Completely revised and updated to address current practices and technologies, Water Treatment: Principles and Design, Second Edition provides unique coverage of both the principles and theory of water treatment, as well as the practical considerations of plant design and distribution.
Written by the world's leading water engineering firm, Water Treatment: Principles and Design, Second Edition presents the breadth of water treatment engineering-from the theory and principles of water chemistry and microbiology to in-depth discussions of revolutionary treatment processes to concise tips for plant and network design. Material has been extensively updated and revised in response to regulatory requirements and growing public awareness, particularly in the areas of disinfection, membrane filtration, disposal of treatment plant residuals, and basic microbiology with an emphasis on human pathogens and diseases.
Water Treatment: Principles and Design, Second Edition provides an essential textbook for students and a reliable resource for environmental and water resources engineers.
Waste and Want: A Social History of Trash
by Susan Strasser
from Holt Paperbacks
Susan Strasser's pathbreaking histories of housework and the rise of the mass market have become classics in the literature of consumer culture. Here she turns to an essential but neglected part of that culture-the trash it produces-and finds in it an unexpected wealth of meaning.
Before the twentieth century, streets and bodies stank, but trash was nearly nonexistent. With goods and money scarce, almost everything was reused. Strasser paints a vivid picture of an America where scavenger pigs roamed the streets, swill children collected kitchen garbage, and itinerant peddlers traded manufactured goods for rags and bones. Over the last hundred years, however, Americans have become hooked on convenience, disposability, fashion, and constant technological change-the rise of mass consumption has led to waste on a previously unimaginable scale.
Lively and colorful, Waste and Want recaptures a hidden part of our social history, vividly illustrating that what counts as trash depends on who's counting, and that what we throw away defines us as much as what we keep.
Green House: Eco-Friendly Disposal and Recycling at Home
by Norm Crampton
from M. Evans and Company, Inc.
Consumers may already recycle newspapers and aluminum cans. But what about the containers that have both plastic and cardboard components? Should we really toss water bottle caps? Scratched CDs? Computers? Cell Phones? 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 to pet waste. Crampton provides informative, comprehensive and practical information for adopting greener and more earth friendly habits of disposal by promoting recycling and living a little lighter.
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