Sustainable Home

Imagine a world where you don't have to pay a fortune on energy bills, waste energy and water, and destroy the planet piece by piece only to make your living more comfortable. A world where you have access to the tools and techniques essential to facilitate your daily routine while living in harmony with the planet. This audiobook is your guide to this 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.

Tired of your sourdough starter staring at you from the fridge? Want to bake sustainably? Dream of mastering global bread-making? Dive into "Beginner’s Guide to Global Sourdough Discard Recipes." This isn't just a cookbook—it's your entry into artisanal baking from home, enriched with a colorful PDF and video tutorials by local chefs. Explore the world of sourdough, from classic loaves to exotic flatbreads like Indian Naan and French Baguette, all while learning zero-waste techniques and gaining culinary insights from around the globe.

You don’t need to be an experienced gardener to produce your own food. It all starts with a single step, and you’re about to take it right now. With the right guidance by your side, you can design a thriving vegetable garden unique to your own needs, and create a raised bed growing environment your whole neighborhood will envy. Ready to become the master of a beautiful and productive garden?

Bokashi is Japanese for "fermented organic matter". While bokashi has enjoyed great popularity in many parts of the world, it is still relatively unknown in North America. From scraps to soil, Bokashi Composting is the complete, step-by-step, do-it-yourself guide to this amazing process.

Even with time constraints or region-specific challenges, The DIY Permaculture Blueprint provides adaptable strategies and step-by-step guidance, ensuring any homesteader can succeed, regardless of past experiences.

Filled with catchall research, American Hemp examines what this new domestic crop can be used for, what makes it a superior product, and what made it illegal in the first place; the book also delves into the many health and medical benefits of the plant. Hobbs weighs in on how hemp can improve existing industries, from farming to energy to 3D printing, plus how it can make a serious impact on climate change by removing toxins from the soil and by decreasing our dependence on plastics and fossil fuels.

You’ve seen the videos, news features, blogs, and other content showing how many individuals and families around the world have been able to leave behind the daily grind of the urban jungle. Now, they are living in healthier, more mindful, and adventure-filled residences, far from the daily grind of the modern-day consumer-driven culture. They know how to source their own food, produce their own electricity, and live comfortably without harming the environment. Does this sound like something you want for yourself and your household as well? Then you’ve come to the right source!

Take advantage of clean energy today and make a difference in the world! Are you curious about solar energy? Have you ever considered deploying a solar panel system for your household? Is a lack of basic knowledge and hidden factors holding you back? Solar energy is often misunderstood because it is a peculiar subject, especially when enthusiastic homemakers take it up as a DIY project. Since solar energy has diverse applications and uses, you can embark on various solar energy projects at home, but you need the right tools and proper knowledge to complete them successfully.

Let It Shine is a fully revised and expanded edition of A Golden Thread, Perlin's classic history of solar technology, detailing the past forty years of technological developments driving today's solar renaissance. This unique and compelling compendium of humankind's solar ideas tells the fascinating story of how our predecessors throughout time, again and again, have applied the sun to better their lives-and how we can too.

Mastering the Art of Water Bath Canning Embrace sustainable practices, build community connections, and turn your passion for creative recipes into a source of income. Take your love of home canning to the next level with this inspiring and practical guide for experienced preservers and passionate foodies alike. Mastering the Art of Water Bath Canning goes beyond the basics to help you refine your techniques, elevate your flavors, and explore new possibilities—from bold ingredient pairings to launching your own small business.

Did you know you can eat dandelions? Have you thought about what plants, flowers, nuts, and berries around you are edible? You could save money by foraging for food—in the wild! Hunting and gathering were the way humans fed themselves before the age of farming and homesteads. The Earth can provide all you need, even in the wild and uncultivated areas of nature. I will teach you what to find and how to make a yummy meal from wild plants. Foraging is something that can connect you with the world around you—it is not hunting, and I believe it is more sustainable than farming.

From the bedroom mattress and pillows to daily cleaning products for the kitchen and bath, toothbrushes, and even furniture and clothing, toxins are embedded in many products and items used regularly in the home—and they are making us sick. Home Detox is a practical, accessible guide to understanding the problem and how we can address it in our own homes in a manageable and affordable way. Daniella Chace, a professional toxicologist and health writer, teaches listeners how to identify potential toxins, with an easy-to-follow, room-by-room evaluation.

Why would a successful American physician choose to live in a twelve-foot-by-twelve-foot cabin without running water or electricity? To find out, writer and activist William Powers visited Dr. Jackie Benton in rural North Carolina. No Name Creek gurgled through Benton’s permaculture farm, and she stroked honeybees’ wings as she shared her wildcrafter philosophy of living on a planet in crisis. Powers, just back from a decade of international aid work, then accepted Benton’s offer to stay at the cabin for a season while she traveled.

In light of concerns about food and human health, fraying social ties, economic uncertainty, and rampant consumerism, some people are foregoing a hurried, distracted existence and embracing a mindful way of living. Intentional residential communities across the United States are seeking the freedom to craft their own societies and live based on the values of nonviolence, self-sufficiency, equality, and voluntary simplicity.

If imagining a life of energy independence by harnessing the sun's power to light your home excites you, this book is for you! Discover how to achieve energy independence through off-grid solar power with this modern, updated guide. Learn how anyone, regardless of technical experience, can understand and implement off-grid solar power. Whether you’re a hands-on DIY enthusiast or an eager beginner, this book is tailored for you.

In the 1970s, Dolly Freed lived off the land dirt cheap and plum easy. Living in their own house on a half-acre lot outside of Philadelphia for almost five years, Dolly and her father produced their own food and drink and spent roughly $700 each per year. Thirty years later Dolly Freed's Possum Living is as fascinating and pertinent as it was in 1978. Tin House is reissuing the survivalist classic with a foreword by David Gates and an afterword by the author.

Discover the truth about self-sufficiently living off your backyard! In a world as highly dynamic as ours, independent living can be an invaluable trait. By employing intelligent tactics and technologies, you can feed your family, eliminate high utility bills, and minimize stress. However, starting your own garden and homesteading can be an overwhelming task—and you need to prepare and learn what it takes to start. This guide will wipe away all your doubts and help you build the life you’ve always wanted for yourself and your family.

In this homesteading book by best-selling author Norman J Stone, rabbits are in the spotlight. Perhaps one of the most underestimated and nutritional cheap food sources, rabbits have in recent years been on something of a comeback, and quite rightly so in this authors opinion. The humble rabbit is high in protein, low in calories, and only 4.5 percent fat - lower even than chicken! Not only that, it is easy, quick and cheap to rear; and produces meat and fur that can be used by the family or sold for profit - or both!

A natural history of the wilderness in our homes, from the microbes in our showers to the crickets in our basements Even when the floors are sparkling clean and the house seems silent, our domestic domain is wild beyond imagination. In Never Home Alone, biologist Rob Dunn introduces us to the nearly 200,000 species living with us in our own homes, from the Egyptian meal moths in our cupboards and camel crickets in our basements to the lactobacillus lounging on our kitchen counters. You are not alone.