Environment

Perch Hill is the story of the years spent in finding and building a personal Arcadia, sometimes a dream, sometimes a nightmare, by writer Adam Nicolson and his wife, cook and gardener, Sarah Raven. Adam Nicolson was determined to leave metropolitan life but the rundown farm in the Sussex Weald was not quite what he bargained for. The scenery was breathtaking and the rural neighbours charming, but the hard end of real farming life was another matter - mud, cold, planning regulations and unco-operative... read more

'Candid, observant and often very funny' - Daily Mail

'A delightful memoir - a reminder that the very best writing starts at home' - Robert McCrum, Observer

Sustainable architecture is gaining in popularity as people develop an ever-greater commitment to preserving the Earth s resources. This practical new guide contains an illustrated reference section covering all aspects of sustainable building and decoration, from insulation to solar panels and from light bulbs to kitchen countertops. Thirty case studies, featuring sustainably built homes from around the world, from an ambassador s official residence to a rooftop extension, offer inspiration. The informative text takes a balanced a... read more

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 edition describes the most practical and affordable methods for making significant improvements in home energy efficiency and tapping into clean, affordable, renewable energy resources. If impleme... read more

Advances in solar technology have made many DIY-friendly products available to consumers, several of which will be hitting the market for the first time in 2011. These include solar water heaters, solar battery charging stations, solar powered lights, photovoltaic shingles that provide supplementary electricity, solar heat pumps, and solar panel kits that generate primary home electrical service. Among the step-by-step projects is a solar water heating system you can build and install yourself for under $1000; simple thermosyphon s... read more

Timber is a vital resource that is all around us. It is the house that shelters us, the furniture we relax in, the books we read, the paper we print, the disposable diapers for our babies and the boxes that contain our cereal, detergent and new appliances. The way we produce and consume timber, however, is changing. With international timber companies and big box discount retailers increasingly controlling through global commodity chains where and how much timber is traded, the world's remaining old-growth forests, particularly in ... read more

"Timber uncovers the dark world of commodity chains that link the wood in our lives to global deforestation, and offers rays of hope for promising change. It elicits not simply intellectual engagement but deep gratitude toward the authors for their penetrating research, political insights and clarity of expression. The book should be required reading for everyone." Paul Wapner, American University, Washington DC

"A deep and incisive expose of the roles that timber and retail interests play in driving deforestation, the enormous economic power they wield in the..read more

Since the industrial revolution, the economies of developed nations have grown at the expense of the natural world. But the earth's resources are finite, climate change threatens to dramatically transform how and where we live, and the global economic system is in disarray. One way or another we will have to change. The longer we delay, the more our societies will be at the mercy of events and the harsher the eventual adjustments. Fortunately, as this book shows, there is an alternative. Zac Goldsmith argues for the creation... read more

An expose on the fashion industry written by the Observer's 'Ethical Living' columnist, examining the inhumane and environmentally devastating story behind the clothes we so casually buy and wear. Coming at a time when the global financial crisis and contracting of consumer spending is ushering in a new epoch for the fashion industry, To Die For offers a very plausible vision of how green could really be the new black. Taking particular issue with our current mania for both big-name labels and cheap fashion, To Die For sets an ag... read more

Fashion consciousness interpreted as modern, ethical living - Eco Design considers every project a life-cycle that has to be well thought out, from production to disposal. This new "green" approach reflects a dynamic lifestyle that imaginatively brings together design, innovation, and the responsible use of resources. The objects and products featured in this book provide attractive solutions for the demands of contemporary life. A wide, fascinating range of unusual possibilities is presented on 352 richly-illustrated pages: ... read more

Drawing on the wisdom of an eclectic range of thinkers and writers, on medieval calendars and manorial records and, as ever, on Tom's own honestly recounted and frequently imperfect attempts to travel the road to self-sufficiency, Brave Old World is designed to give us all hope. Why, he asks, shouldn't we return to the ideals of a pre-capitalist, pre-Puritan, pre-consumerist world of feasting, dancing, horse-riding, wood-chopping, fire-laying, poultry-rearing, bartering, bread-baking and bee-keeping? From January to December, Brave... read more

On April 20, 2010, the gigantic drilling rig "Deepwater Horizon" blew up in the Gulf of Mexico, killing eleven crew members and causing a massive eruption of oil from BP's Macondo well. For months, oil gushed into the Gulf, spreading death and destruction. Americans watched real-time video of the huge column of oil and gas spewing from the obviously failed "blowout preventer." The evening news showed heart-rending images of pelicans, dolphins, and other Gulf wildlife covered in oil. What has been missing until now, though, is a boo... read more

We've become an overly successful species hugely dependant on cheap energy, and for the first time in our evolution we've arrived at global limits. The nature of masculine leadership underlies our history of expansionism, competition and risk taking, but to prosper in the 22nd century humanity needs to change direction now. Can we learn moderation, cooperation and responsibilty for our biosphere in time to secure a sustainable future for our grandchildren?How can we change?Why haven't we made great strides already?What will happen ... read more

Thomas L. Friedman's No.1 bestseller "The World Is Flat" has helped millions of readers to see globalization in a new way. Now Friedman brings a fresh outlook to the crises of destabilizing climate change and rising competition for energy - both of which could poison our world if we do not act quickly and collectively. His argument speaks to all who are concerned about the state of the world in the global future. Friedman proposes that an ambitious national strategy - which he calls 'Geo-Greenism' - is not only what we need to save... read more

For thousands of years, humanity has considered itself the earth's custodian. With our vast potential we are capable of preserving the earth for future generations or causing irreparable harm. For the first time here, environmental lawyer and activist Robert Emmet Hernan provides a comprehensive, up-to-date treatment of what happened at fifteen environmental disasters in ten countries across the globe. This Borrowed Earth is a remarkable collection of stories that cover nuclear explosions, oil spills and fires, chemical spills, po... read more

Neoliberals often point to improvements in public health and nutrition as examples of globalisation's success, but this book argues that the corporate food and medicine industries are destroying environments and ruining living conditions across the world. Scientist Stan Cox expertly draws out the strong link between Western big business and environmental destruction. This is a shocking account of the huge damage that drug manufacturers and large food corporations are inflicting on the health of people and crops worldwide.Companies ... read more

For years, Derrick Jensen has asked his audiences, "Do you think this culture will undergo a voluntary transformation to a sane and sustainable way of life?" No one ever says yes."Deep Green Resistance" starts where the environmental movement leaves off: industrial civilization is incompatible with life. Technology can't fix it, and shopping--no matter how green--won't stop it. To save this planet, we need a serious resistance movement that can bring down the industrial economy. "Deep Green Resistance" evaluates strategic options f... read more

This book focuses on inspiring the reader to examine alternatives to expensive chemical-based products. Discover how our common weeds are power-packed full of nutritional and medicinal healing. Learn to match the herb with the dish: which herbs to use in cooking. Learn how to make medicinal tinctures, poultices and herbal infusions. Have fun making natural and alternative health, beauty and body products. Learn how to make mascarpone, sour cream, and ricotta. Have fun with these home recipes: You'll discover a new way to wellbeing.

A challenging, controversial, and highly readable look at our lives, our world, and our future. In this remarkable challenge to conventional thinking about the environment, David Owen argues that the greenest community in the United States is not Portland, Oregon, or Snowmass, Colorado, but New York, New York. Most Americans think of crowded cities as ecological nightmares, as wastelands of concrete and garbage and diesel fumes and traffic jams. Yet residents of compact urban centers, Owen shows, individually consume less oil, el... read more

Global Warming has already commenced. The proof is here and we are all suddenly aware that the earth has changed. Extreme climate changes, unusual atmospheric events and the horror of natural disasters is now with us. <i>Our Earth</i> explores the recent phenomenon experienced in every corner of the globe. Global warming is the observed increase in the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere and oceans in recent decades. The Earth's average near-surface atmospheric temperature rose 0.6 plus or minus 0.2 degrees Ce... read more

What once lived in the global ocean? What is living there now? What will live there in the future? The answers to these questions are at the heart of World Ocean Census, which also explores the great adventures experienced during the books research. An insiders description of the comprehensive Census of Marine Life and what it reveals about a seriously threatened ecosystem.

"We stand at a crossroads, where comprehension of our place in nature - of our true abilities and of our history - is supremely important. We have formed a global civilisation of unprecedented might, driven forward by the power of our minds - a civilisation which is transforming our Earth. We are masters of technology, and of comprehension, but it's what we believe that may, from now on, determine our fate." Tim Flannery's first major book since The Weather Makers charts the history of life on our planet. Here on Earth, which draws... read more

"This is a wonderful book. It is a letter from perhaps the world's most thoughtful, and certainly most eloquent, environmental scientist on how we as a species might survive as chief stewards of planet Earth... Flannery's erudite, engaging text is a worthy successor to his acclaimed The Weather Makers... Here on Earth is a must for optimists and pessimists alike." - New Scientist. "Tim Flannery shows us what is special about humans here on Earth; we are the first organisms in over three billion years who have changed their planet simply by taking thought." - James Lovelock