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"Building Natural Ponds is the first book to walk through the steps required to design and build a natural pond without the need of pumps, filters, and nasty chemicals. Coverage includes pond ecosystems and natural algae control, planning, design, aesthetics, and siting, plus highly illustrated step-by-step construction guidance, plants and fish, maintenance and troubleshooting, and large ponds and pools"-- Publisher.
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A guide to alternate water collection for green new developments, aimed at conserving water and reusing it wisely.
In an era of dwindling resources, water is poised to become the new oil as the entire world now faces the reality of a decreasing supply of clean water. To avert a devastating shortage, we must not only look at alternate water sources for existing structures, we must also plan our new developments differently.
Design for Water is an...
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Residential consumption represents nearly one quarter of North America's total energy use and the average homeowner spends thousands of dollars a year on power bills. To help alleviate this problem, Energy-Wise Landscape Design presents hundreds of practical ways everyone can save money, time, and effort while making their landscapes more environmentally healthy, ecologically rich, and energy efficient. Combining general guidelines with tips, techniques,...
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Urban Agriculture is packed with ideas and designs for anyone interested in joining the new food revolution. First-time farmers and green thumbs alike will find advice on growing healthy, delicious, affordable food in urban settings. From condo balconies to community orchards, cities are coming alive with crops. Get growing!
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"Green buildings" that slash energy use and carbon emissions are all the rage, but they aren't enough. The hidden culprit is embodied carbon-the carbon emitted when materials are mined, manufactured, and transported-comprising some ten percent of global emissions. With the built environment doubling by 2030, buildings are a carbon juggernaut threatening to overwhelm the climate. It doesn't have to be this way. Like never before in history, buildings...
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The popularity of natural building has grown by leaps and bounds, spurred by a grassroots desire for housing that is healthy, affordable, and environmentally responsible. While there are many books available on specific methods such as straw-bale construction, cob, or timber framing, there are few resources which introduce the reader to the entire scope of this burgeoning field. Fully revised and updated, The Art of Natural Building is the complete...
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Many natural building methods rely upon the use of post and beam frame structures that are then in-filled with straw, cob, cordwood, or more conventional wall materials. But traditional timber framing employs the use of finely crafted jointing and wooden pegs, requiring a high degree of craftsmanship and training, as well as much time and expense. However, there is another way . . .Timber Framing for the Rest of Us describes the timber framing methods...
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Much has been written about the individual components of sustainable building, but how do you bring it all together into a well-designed whole? Drawing on extensive hands-on experience, Making Better Buildings systematically describes the real-world implications of the most popular green and natural building materials and techniques, objectively presenting the pros, cons and overall viability of each. An indispensable resource.
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Buildings and their associated systems are the largest source of greenhouse gases in the world. The 2030 Challenge aims to produce zero-net energy from new North American construction by 2030 while achieving a 50 percent reduction in carbon emissions from existing buildings. With less than 4 percent of commercial and residential structures in the United States and Canada certified by 2015, we seem destined to fall catastrophically short of this target....
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Comprehensive coverage of passive solar greenhouse design including material selection, building methods and how to store thermal energy using a variety of simple and innovative strategies. Over a dozen case studies provide real-life inspiration, capped off with how-to guidance for building a durable, energy-efficient greenhouse. Variations include underground and aquaponic greenhouses and integrating solar panels to grow off-grid, year-round.
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Cordwood building-log-ends set in insulated mortar-is a versatile, economical, low-impact, and beautiful building method. Its durability and performance has been proven in beautiful, centuries-old buildings in North America and Europe. Yet until now, there has been no trusted, practical guide to cordwood construction using the material in a wide variety of construction projects. Distilling decades of experience and best practices, Essential Cordwood...
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An earth-sheltered, earth-roofed home has the least impact upon the land of all housing styles, leaving almost zero footprint on the planet. Earth-Sheltered Houses is a practical guide for those who want to build their own underground home at moderate cost. It describes the benefits of sheltering a home with earth, including the added comfort and energy efficiency from the moderating influence of the earth on the home's temperature (keeping it warm...
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Straw bale houses are easy to build, affordable, super energy efficient, environmentally friendly, attractive, and can be designed to match the builder's personal space needs, esthetics and budget. Despite mushrooming interest in the technique, however, most straw bale books focus on "selling" the dream of straw bale building, but don't adequately address the most critical issues faced by bale house builders. Moreover, since many developments in this...
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The Permaculture Earthworks Handbook covers the functions and appropriate siting, design, and construction of nine types of earthworks, including swales, dams, ponds, and hügelkultur beds, to maximize water availability in any climate. It's an essential practical guide for landscape designers, permaculturists, and landowners seeking to maximize food production and ecosystem resiliency at the lowest cost and impact.
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Based on the premise that we have 21 days before we lose our modern conveniences, Surviving the Apocalypse in the Suburbs is packed with practical solutions for becoming more self-reliant and transitioning to a lower energy lifestyle. From shelter to livestock to transportation to tools, this is the ultimate guide to simplifying your lifestyle while reducing your dependence on oil.
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The devil is in the details-the science and art of designing and building durable, efficient, straw bale buildings Straw bale buildings promise superior insulation and flexibility across a range of design aesthetics, while using a typically local and abundant low-embodied energy material that sequesters carbon-an important part of mitigating climate change. However, some early straw bale designs and construction methods resulted in buildings that...
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Housing is a fundamental human right. For most of human history, our homes were built by hand from whatever local materials were available. However, since the Industrial Revolution, most housing has become little more than quickly constructed, mass-produced, uniform boxes. At the same time, the invention and standardization of the thirty-year mortgage and our ever-increasing reliance on credit has come to mean that most of us never own our homes outright....
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Grow vegetables year-round in a greenhouse powered only by solar energy
Originally developed in China to feed millions, Chinese greenhouses are earth-sheltered, solar-heated, east-west oriented, intelligently glazed, and well-insulated. They have proven highly effective in growing warm-weather vegetables and fruits like green peppers and tomatoes in cold climates through fall, winter, and early spring using passive solar energy as the sole heat source.
The...
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Simple green roof design and installation for the do-it-yourself builder
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. Coverage includes:
• The benefits of...
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