Sustainable Home

Jeff Garlin has dedicated the filming of an entire season of Curb Your Enthusiasm to completely make over his lifestyle in two major ways—by lightening his physical and his ecological footprints. After many false starts, he believes that writing a book about the experiment is the only possible way to help him lose weight and go green.

Sound interesting? The author thinks so too! Listen to Raising Meat Rabbits and Ducks and learn about homesteading and sustainable farm practices.

Become a farmer without leaving your backyard! Have you ever dreamed of growing your own food? Between the fresh air, the exercise, and the savings on rising grocery prices, there are so many great reasons to garden. But you can go one big step further when you start your own mini-farm. With backyard farming, you use the land you already have to grow your own fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices. Some people even raise livestock at home! A mini-farm is easy to start and doesn’t have to be expensive. You’ll eat healthier, help the environment, and relieve stress.

The fundamentals of permaculture are simple: care for people and the Earth, and share what you have. With these in mind, practitioners promote a system with a sense of respect for all life on the planet. You may, however, be anxious about not knowing what to do. After all, not everybody knows about permaculture. But don’t worry–you don’t need to be an expert to start your own permaculture garden.

A Zero Waste Life is the ultimate guide to radically reducing your waste, without losing your lifestyle. In her 30-day challenge, Anita provides you with the rules, tips and tricks you need to eliminate plastic and live a cleaner, kinder life. This practical audiobook is a call to action with a fresh ‘can do’ approach. Over 30 days you will learn how to make sustainable, ethical choices when it comes to shopping, eating, travel, beauty and so much more. Small changes can make a big difference, and by following these easy, creative steps we can all do more to save our world.

Do you produce lots of organic waste? Are you tired of seeing all that waste go to...waste? Do you need something homemade to enrich your garden soil and make your plants healthier? Welcome to Composting - you’ve just found your ultimate guide to creating organic compost from kitchen scraps and backyard waste.

Since The Chicken Whisperer’s Guide to Keeping Chickens was first published in 2011, tens of thousands of people have discovered the joys and benefits of a backyard flock. Now Andy Schneider is back with The Chicken Whisperer’s Guide to Keeping Chickens, Expanded & Revised. Keeping backyard chickens is a fun, simple way to to reconnect with the earth, the community, and your food sources—and you can do it, even with limited space in your backyard. Let the Chicken Whisperer teach you everything he knows and everything you need to know about raising a backyard flock!

Eco-Citizens are actively taking the initiative to prevent environmental damage to the planet. People are demanding better of themselves and asking corporations to serve global ecology through minimizing destructive and unfair practices and creating sustainable products with people and the planet in mind. Why? Companies must adjust their ethical practices to meet the demand to stay relevant and profitable as the customer becomes more educated on consumer goods and their negative ecological impact.

Less Stuff is a guide for people who find it difficult to declutter and who don’t want to see things go to waste. Step by step, you’ll explore finding your ‘enough’, learn how to let go of your old possessions without sending them to landfill, and eventually break the cycle of stuff. The end result is a planet with less strain, a home with more peace and a life with more meaning.

Ducks are a great source of meat and eggs. You'll find that ducks are easier to take care of than chickens, and they're perfect for backyard homesteading. Duck eggs are even considered to be better than chicken eggs due to their size and nutritional value. Ducks are also less aggressive and noisy than chickens, making them perfect for your backyard.

Life on one-tenth the fossil fuels turns out to be awesome. We all want to be happy. Yet as we consume ever more in a frantic bid for happiness, global warming worsens. Being the Change explores the connections between our individual daily actions and our collective predicament. The core message is deeply optimistic: Living without fossil fuels is not only possible, it can be better.

Many of us want to increase our self-sufficiency, but few have access to the ideal five gently sloping acres of rich, loamy, well-drained soil. Jenni Blackmore presents a highly entertaining, personal account of how permaculture can be practiced in adverse conditions, allowing anyone to learn to live more sustainably in a less-than-perfect world.

Everything you've been told about being green is wrong. The quest for a breakthrough battery or a 100-mpg car is a dangerous fantasy. We are consumers, and we like to consume greenly and efficiently. But David Owen argues that our best intentions are still at cross-purposes to our true goal: living sustainably while caring for our environment and the future of the planet. Efficiency, once considered the holy grail of our environmental problems, turns out to be part of the problem - we have little trouble turning increases in efficiency into increases in consumption.

Growing up in an ex-mining town in Nottinghamshire, Arthur Parkinson never wanted a dog, or a cat, or a pony - just hens. As a kid, he was known as 'chicken boy', a taunt Arthur now proudly reclaims with his crested coterie that includes countless hens, from Sheila the white Silkie to Clarissa the champagne-coloured Buff Cochin. A personal and humorous memoir of Arthur's life amongst his hens, this is an invitation to discover the joy that is only possible in the company of these intriguing creatures.

For nearly two decades, Lana Stenner and her family have been living their version of the simple life on their small Midwest farmstead—following God, chasing goats, and tending gardens. Join Lana as she shares heartwarming stories, hearty recipes, and some of the valuable lessons she’s learned in her homesteading journey. Though you may not be ready to pack up and move into a 120-year-old farmhouse like Lana, you can experience more grace and authenticity right where you are when you learn to seek beauty in your surroundings and work hand in hand with God.

Have you ever thought of raising your own goats and taking one step closer to becoming self-sufficient? Even if you are a beginner with absolutely no prior knowledge about raising goats, this book will give you a complete A-to-Z breakdown to get you started! From topics ranging from choosing a goat breed to teaching you essential techniques to successfully raise healthy goats, you will be enjoying the fruits of your labor in no time: delicious and nutritious fresh goat milk. Hurry, your new adventure awaits!

If 20 percent of the population implemented half the solutions in this book, it would solve the biggest global problems. All without writing to politicians, joining protests, signing petitions, or being angry at the people that are causing the problems. Good solutions are often different from conventional environmental wisdom. The average American adult has a carbon footprint of 30 tons per year. Replacing a petroleum car with an electric car will cut 2 tons. But if you live in a cold climate and you switch from electric heat to a rocket mass heater, you will cut 27 tons!

Do you dream of leaving the “real world” behind and leading a simpler life? More and more people are choosing to live off-grid, grow their own food, and provide their electricity independently. No matter what your personal reason is, achieving this lifestyle means total independence and freedom. The options for living off-grid are endless - but it does take knowledge, skills, and planning. With detailed tips and information on everything from laws and taxes to hunting and fishing, this thorough book will take your off-grid life from a pleasant daydream to your blissful reality.

Do you sometimes feel like you're on the hamster wheel of modern life, spinning your wheels and getting nowhere? Would you like to say goodbye to that nagging feeling of something missing in your life, and find a way to rediscover the joys of relaxation, happiness and contentment? A realistic guide to using the power of Hygge in your daily life to bring more happiness, calmness and contentment. Learn how to fill your everyday life with joy, happiness, calm, companionship and meaning using the power of Hygge.

Learning Native Wisdom explains why achieving a sustainable culture is more important than any other challenge we face today. Although there are many measures of a society's progress, Holthaus warns that only a shift away from our current culture of short-term abundance, founded on a belief in infinite economic growth, will represent true advancement. In societies that value the longevity of people, culture, and the environment, subsistence and spirituality soon become closely allied with sustainability.