Sustainable Building

The green-building movement has produced hundreds of "how-to" books and websites that are filled with tips about green building and what homeowners should do to go green. While helpful and informative, when it comes to making actual purchasing and installation decisions, these books do not make it any easier for a homeowner to prioritize against a budget. Here, Melisssa Rappaport Schifman shares her knowledge and experience for others to use in their journey toward a greener way of living. 

Information is power. It drives commerce, protects nations, and forms the backbone of systems that range from health care to high finance. Yet despite the avalanche of data available in today's information age, neither institutions nor individuals get the information they truly need to make well-informed decisions. Faulty information and sub-optimal decision-making create an imbalance of power that is exaggerated as governments and corporations amass enormous databases on each of us.

Essential Rainwater Harvesting is a comprehensive manual for designing, building, and maintaining water-harvesting systems for the warm and cold climates of the world. Presenting design considerations and approaches for the most common household rainwater supply scenarios.

Root cellars are making a comeback! Do you often wonder what to do with your harvest? How are you going to store it all? Or do you only grow small amounts because you lack sufficient storage space? Why not build a root cellar? Root cellars are an ancient tradition. Together with curing meats and pickling, root cellars have long been a food storage method, particularly root vegetables. Fortunately, root cellars are starting to make a noticeable comeback, enabling people to store more produce for longer without the need for electricity.

What if you could build a garden that not only cuts back on these costs and eliminates harmful pesticides from your family’s diet, but also helps restore the planet in the process? The time is now to stop the waste of resources and consumption of contaminated foods and turn back to permaculture–this book is here to help you every step of the way.

Creating Startup Junkies focuses on the unique proposition of building sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems in Unexpected Places. Arkansas and many other states and communities, are well-positioned to inspire and empower entrepreneurs and innovators through the intentional cultivation of talent, a collaborative culture, engagement of their local community, and the capitalization of early-stage venture.

In 2014, Elizabeth and Nate Thames were conventional 9-5 young urban professionals. But the couple had a dream to become modern-day homesteaders in rural Vermont. Determined to retire as early as possible in order to start living each day - as opposed to wishing time away working for the weekends - they enacted a plan to save an enormous amount of money: well over 70 percent of their joint take-home pay. Dubbing themselves the Frugalwoods, Elizabeth began documenting their unconventional frugality and the resulting wholesale lifestyle transformation on their eponymous blog.

While discussing the context in which certain capital costs effectively create an obstacle to the implementation of sustainable building and design practices, Mr. Kobacker discusses many of the misconceptions and erroneous beliefs that must first be dispelled before any other steps can be taken. The internationally renowned sustainability expert then addresses the specific strategic vision he employs in maximizing a project's value while also minimizing its cost.

Most people who are considering off grid living, are those who are wanting to escape the stress and busyness of city life, and enjoy the peace and tranquility of country living. Owning your own property, and providing for your needs with self-sufficiency projects sounds wonderful and fun, but what are the most important self-sufficiency/survival projects, and how do you accomplish them? That is where this book will help.

Are you encountering resistance when trying to identify and recruit extraordinary but elusive, passive candidates that your competitors ultimately attract? Do your executive searches close with marginal candidates? It's time to transform your approach and results with a proven action plan. In the richly rewarding executive search business, it's not just about filling vacant positions but finding the perfect match between executive and company.

Essential Green Roof Construction is a comprehensive, in-depth guide to building simple green roofs for houses and small buildings. Packed with detailed photos, illustrations, case studies, and code compliance advice, it offers clear step-by-step instructions necessary to create your own living roof on a new build or as a retrofit. Where common sense meets beauty—a green roof is a system of layers that work together to support plant life, insulate homes, and make the world a greener place. 

Leave the chaos of city life for a true feeling of independence and self-sufficiency. Are you getting increasingly dissatisfied and disillusioned with the nonstop daily grind? If these are your realities, even while being surrounded by the comforts of modern living, you just might be cut out for a wonderful life off the grid! Home Power Magazine says there are close to 200,000 families living off the grid in the United States. Worldwide, the figure is estimated to be around two billion.

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!

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.

You don't have to be an expert to start a thriving, bountiful garden. Any basic guide can show you how. But if you want to figure out how to maximize your crop yield…know how to stretch your growing season beyond traditional limits…and even grow summer crops all year long…basic beginner’s guides won’t be of much help. After all, they’re only meant to cover the basics.

Why do so many farm businesses struggle to survive, let alone thrive? It’s because they don’t make clear strategic choices that reward them with a competitive advantage. Instead, most entrepreneurs start with a boilerplate business because they think they're supposed to. Boilerplate business plans offer little help in guiding strategic choices that determine if your business thrives or dies. 

Get off-the-grid and become self-sufficient without leaving your backyard! Cultivating a sustainable homestead off the grid has become more and more popular as many people are searching for alternatives to the trappings of modern society. Off-Grid Living and the Self-Sufficient Backyard is your complete guide to transitioning off the grid. It doesn't matter if you are just getting started or are already an experienced homesteader. This audiobook will serve as your guide for creating your backyard mini-farm and planning for your off-grid life.

Master the art of raising rabbits for flavorful meat! Have you ever dreamed of self-sufficiency and having the freshest, healthiest meat on your table? Are you curious about the rewards of raising your own rabbits? Are you eager to master the craft of raising rabbits for meat but are unsure of where to begin? Step into the world of homesteading and discover the art of raising rabbits for mouthwatering meat.

The Bridge to Excellence is not just a means of getting your organization from the beginning to the end of a particular journey. It is the organization and every organization has a Bridge, whether utilized or not. Does your Bridge take your organization across the roiling rivers of competition, technological change, evolving customer preferences, workforce changes, supply chain disruptions, pandemics, regulation, and more? Does it carry you over all of this to the goal of Sustainable Excellence, or does it take you somewhere else?

Building Your Permaculture Property offers a revolutionary holistic method to overcome overwhelm in the complex process of resilient land design. It distills the authors' decades of experience as engineers, farmers, educators, and consultants into a five-step process complete with principles, practices, templates, and workflow tools.