Book Description
The coming energy crisis caused by a peak in global oil and natural gas production will profoundly affect the lives of all North Americans. As the price of these vital fuels rises, homeowners will scramble to cut their fuel bills. Two options for meeting the upcoming challenge are dramatic improvements in home energy efficiency and efforts to tap into clean, affordable, renewable energy resources to heat and cool homes, to provide hot water and electricity, and even to cook. These measures can result in huge savings and a level of energy independence.
The Homeowner's Guide to Renewable Energy tells you how. It starts by outlining the likely impacts of fossil fuel shortages and some basic facts about energy. It then discusses energy conservation to slash energy bills and prepare for renewable energy options. Focusing carefully on specific strategies needed to replace specific fuels, the book then examines each practical energy option available to homeowners:
• Solar hot water, cooking, and water purification
• Space heat: passive and active solar retrofits
• Wood heat
• Passive cooling
• Solar electricity
• Wind-generated electricity
• Electricity from microhydropower sources
• Emerging technologies-hydrogen, fuel cells, methane digesters, and biodiesel
The Homeowner's Guide to Renewable Energy gives readers sufficient knowledge to hire and communicate effectively with contractors and, for those wanting do installations themselves, it recommends more detailed manuals. With a complete resource listing, this well-illustrated and accessible guide is a perfect companion for illuminating the coming dark age.
Dan Chiras has studied renewable energy and energy efficiency for three decades and has installed several renewable energy systems. He lives in a self-designed passive solar/solar electric home. An award-winning author of over 20 books, he is a sustainability design consultant who teaches courses on renewable energy, green building, and sustainability at Colorado College.
Customer Reviews:
A decent overview; left me wanting more details........2007-09-05
I read this book cover-to-cover over the course of a couple of weeks. I'm new to the field of renewable energy, so you'll have to take my criticisms for what they are, a critique of the writing:
1) The author frequently repeats himself, and sometimes goes so far to state that he is repeating himself, and that the reader should refer back to a previous section.
2) Many of the references are "so and so claims such and such" or references to the Home Power magazine. It's great that the author cites his sources, but it often left me wondering if the author placed any stock in the claim being reported.
3) The author frequently refers to his own house, which was designed from the ground up to use renewable energy. While this is neat, it doesn't seem applicable to readers who already own houses (with a 99% chance that they're not nearly as efficient, and that it's not possible to convert them).
4) I would have enjoyed more information on solar power, since it seems to be the most applicable in urban and suburban areas. Instead, it received basically equal treatment alongside micro-hydroelectric and wind power.
Still, it's a good book - 3.5 stars - and contains a number of references to other sources of information on the topic.
Very informative book........2007-07-19
I found this book to be very informative. It provides a wealth of knowledge about being self-sufficient. I am particularly interested in solar and wind power and this book provided some very good information about each of these subjects. Would highly recommend this book to anyone who is thinking about living green.
The Homeowner's Guide to Renewable Energy: Achievi... .......2007-06-09
This is an excellent book, because it has much information in general, different green ideas for your home. And that is important for you and the Planet today and future.
Great Direction.......2007-05-12
My wife and I are in the process of designing our retirement home here in the Colorado foothills. We want to build one that is both energy efficient/independent and retain that "curb appeal". This book has provided us with a great many ideas that will help us achieve that goal.
renewable energy.......2007-05-10
I think this book was great, very informative but I wished there were more pics to go along with the techniques. Overall I love it!
Book Description
The decline of cheap oil is inspiring increasing numbers of North Americans to achieve some measure of backyard food self-sufficiency. In hard times, the family can be greatly helped by growing a highly productive food garden, requiring little cash outlay or watering.
Currently popular intensive vegetable gardening methods are largely inappropriate to this new circumstance. Crowded raised beds require high inputs of water, fertility and organic matter, and demand large amounts of human time and effort. But, except for labor, these inputs depend on the price of oil. Prior to the 1970s, North American home food growing used more land with less labor, with wider plant spacing, with less or no irrigation, and all done with sharp hand tools. But these sustainable systems have been largely forgotten. Gardening When It Counts helps readers rediscover traditional low-input gardening methods to produce healthy food.
Designed for readers with no experience and applicable to most areas in the English-speaking world except the tropics and hot deserts, this book shows that any family with access to 3-5,000 sq. ft. of garden land can halve their food costs using a growing system requiring just the odd bucketful of household waste water, perhaps two hundred dollars worth of hand tools, and about the same amount spent on supplies - working an average of two hours a day during the growing season.
Steve Solomon is a well-known west coast gardener and author of five previous books, including Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades which has appeared in five editions.
Customer Reviews:
Gardening When it Counts.......2007-09-24
This book is an exciting addition to books on vegetable growing- so much so, that many
others become unnecessary. The author covers in detail everything about the art- from seed buying,
his own complete organic fertilizer recipe, preparing the soil, simple tools, planting and watering etc
His long experience and total integrity and commitment shine through and make it a must for those
wanting to seriously feed themselves.
Mostly good - with attitude.......2007-09-14
This book was highly recommended to me and I bought it hoping to learn some techniques to help in growing food plants and vegetables for our home use. Since the author lives in a very distinct growing area, if I lived in a maritime New Zealand area it would probably be a perfect book. Many of his techniques would only work in his specific climate and for a full time gardener, which I am not. Sigh. The section on growing and storing each individual type of food is excellent if you can adapt it to your own climate. I was not too happy with the preachy, arrogant, "Everyone else is an idiot and only I know how to do it right" attitude which extends the lenght of the book by quite a bit. Overlooking that, there are a few helpful tidbits but there are other books that I think are more helpful.
best garden guide i've found.......2007-08-15
after looking through a lot of gardening books, i can confidently say that this book provides the best basis of knowledge for starting a garden. My garden is in only its first year, but with the info in this book, I'm already making money selling organic produce through two different coops.
Great for first time gardeners.......2007-05-10
I will be starting my first garden this summer and this was the first book on gardening I read. It makes for a great introduction. Solomon goes into detail about how plants grow and what they need from the gardener. He has a good formula for Organic Fertilizer. He has a good list of what tools you need and what to look for when buying them. He has a great section is the back of the book that goes vegetable by vegetable and explains how to grow and harvest them. He also has a great bibliography in the back that points you to a lot of additional reading.[...]
Great hands-on resource.......2007-03-25
I have a whole shelf of vegetable gardening books, but I turn to this one again and again. Solomon gives clear information on tools, making garden beds, mixing up your own fertilizer (this alone is worth the price of the book), selecting seeds, storing them (another great section), and growing individual crops.
I especially appreciate his perspective as an ex-seedsman, as well as his discussion on different types of brassicas (cabbage, kale, broccoli, and the like) and onions. I had no idea what the difference between long-day and short-day onions were until I read this book. While I garden intensively, I find his discussion on the differences between the intensive method (John Jeavons, Square Foot Gardening, and the like), and the row method.
This book is worth reading and rereading.
Book Description
More and more homeowners today want houses that are healthy to live in and cause minimal damage to the environment. That's what green building is all about.
Your Green Home is written for homeowners planning a new home-whether you are working with an architect or builder, or serving as your own general contractor. Intended to improve the overall environmental performance of new houses being built, the book sets out to answer some of the big-picture questions relating to having a home designed and built-and getting what you want.
Your Green Home covers:
• Home location and its relationship to the community
• Site design
• Construction systems
• Building design to optimize energy performance
• Renewable energy systems
• Material selection
• Indoor environmental quality
• Water efficiency
• Material selection
Written by the founder of BuildingGreen-North America's premier green building authority-this book will prove useful not only to future homeowners, but also to designers and builders seeking to meet this demand. Building professionals well-versed in green building may find this a useful book to give to potential clients to convey the scope and principles of green building.
Alex Wilson is president of BuildingGreen, Inc. and executive editor of Environmental Building News, the oldest and most respected publication serving North America's green building industry. A green building expert since the 1970s, he has authored countless articles on the topic and several books, including Green Building Products, the Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings, and Green Development: Integrating Ecology and Real Estate.
Customer Reviews:
not for architects or designers.......2007-05-14
I am an interior designer and work for an architectural firm. Because of the information I have learned thru my education and professional experience, I found very little new information in this book. If you have no knowledge of green building practices, this book would be beneficial.
Great overview of building a green home. .......2007-01-09
This book was a overview/introduction to building a green home. Should be a must read for builders and anyone planning on building a new home. Not all strategies will work for every situation, but there's lots here that would apply for any situation or budget.
Nice text, appeals to broad audience.......2007-01-09
The text is well-written and can appeal to a wide audience. It's simple enough to understand for those without a great deal of knowledge in sustainable design, yet interesting and usefull enough for the professional who's more trained in sustainability. The text covers sustainable homes in a logical order, first stressing the foundation concepts like siting, orientation, passive solar, and building envelope efficiency, BEFORE moving on to less critical (but more popular) topics such as green materials.
I am a professor of Environmental Design and am currently building a passive solar, zero-energy home, and if I were to write a text that comprises the whole of the process and goals in sustainable home building, the format and breadth of topics would be similar to this book.
One negative of the book is the absence of color images to illustrate some points. The simple line drawings get the point across, but photos might have a better impact - especailly in sections discussing more advanced systems such as renewable energy systems or rainwater catchment systems.
Book Description
Heating water with the sun is almost as old as humankind itself, and it is done all over the world. Yet there are strangely few resources on the topic in North America.
Solar Water Heating fills this gap. It reviews the history of solar water and space heating systems from prehistory to the present, then presents the basics of solar water heating, including an introduction to modern solar energy systems, energy conservation and energy economics. Drawing on the author's experience as an installer of these systems, the book goes on to cover:
- Types of solar collectors, solar water and space heating systems and solar pool heating systems, including their advantages and disadvantages
- System components, their installation, operation, and maintenance
- System sizing and siting
- Choosing the appropriate system.
Since people often get turned off by the up-front cost, the book focuses especially on the financial aspects of solar water or space heating systems, clearly showing that such systems can save significant costs in the long run. Well-illustrated, the book is designed for a wide readership from the curious to the student or professional.
Bob Ramlow is the solar thermal consultant for the Wisconsin Focus on Energy Program. The owner of a renewable energy company, he has over 30 years experience with solar energy systems and is a founder and director of the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA).
Benjamin Nusz currently works as a solar water heating consultant and site assessor in Wisconsin.
Customer Reviews:
solar hot water.......2007-05-19
This is a great collection of information on the subject of solar water heating. I love how the author doesn't pull any punches. There are definite reasons why we don't use more solar hot water in this country. Regan led by example in the 80's when he pulled the solar collectors off the white house roof. While the author spends a bit on the history of solar heating this is definitely a manual on how to design and install a system. The author obviously has had a lot of experience with these systems and he knows what works. read this book and get a high quality solar hot water system up and running in your home. Our planet depends on it.
In fact he dedicated the book for our earth.
Great support.......2007-05-16
I read the book fully with one breath. Basically it contains almost everything what need to know about solar systems and their application. But I gave 4 stars. The reason is simple: I am not sharing the view as vacuum tubes or heatpipes are having a same efficiency as normal flat collectors having. In our climate only heatpipes are able to supply enough heat for heating and support for heating. All others are excellent!
Homeowner's Guide to Solar Water Heating.......2007-04-04
Find out why your next home should be heated by a solar water system. This book will explain the ins and outs of various kinds of systems.
Comprehensive.......2007-03-29
Not being a plumber I can't say this book will be as much value to someone with those skills. He covers the systems so thoroughly that I would imagine if you had the plumbing ability this book would be all you need to get started.
I was a little frustrated having read the first chapter only to find out that several systems described in detail the author would never recommend using. I was thinking to myself why did I waste time reading about those. But that's where the comprehensive part comes in. And by knowing why the author doesn't recommend those systems you get to participate in the joy of knowing everything there is to know about solar water heating.
I especially enjoyed the cost analysis of the hot water systems vs. gas and electric, as well as the discussion of using solar heated water to provide whole house heating.
Excellent.......2007-03-04
Despite Federal tax credits (up to $2,000 at this writing) for solar water heating there's a lack of information on the subject.
For a handyman with good plumbing skills, or a homeowner wanting to learn about solar water heating, this is the best book available.
After a history of solar water heating in the US, the book describes various systems that use the sun to heat and store water. Climate, freeze conditions, water quality and amount of sunlight available are some of the factors considered in choosing a system, and the book describes them all. Individual components are detailed in a logical, straightforward way. It's obvious the authors have extensive practical knowledge. The writing style is informal and easy to read.
Besides all the solar water heating information, this book also has a good section on radiant floor heating, detailing the use of PEX tubing to heat a concrete slab.
The book uses a lot of drawings to demonstrate how things work. More actual photographs of systems and components would have been helpful. I also wish the authors would have included brand names and sources for equipment. The industry still suffers from the stigma of poorly designed systems of the 1970's and 80's. Some reassurances from the authors regarding which component manufacturers are good would have been nice.
For the past two years, I've lived with a solar water heating system I bought as a package and installed myself. I've been happy with all the "free" hot water it's provided. If this book had been available when planning my system I would have had a much better idea of what I was doing. Having all the components matched and sized with specific instructions gave me a lot of confidence during installation. In my opinion, for the neophyte, a component package is a good way to go.
For anyone planning a residential sized solar water heating system, this is the best book available. It's an excellent guide, whether you decide to choose the individual components yourself, buy a package, or hire a contractor to install a turnkey system.
If you're a contractor or someone wanting to get into the solar water heating business, "Solar Hot Water Systems - Lessons Learned 1977 to Today" (Tom Lane) is very good, but the amount of technical detail implies you already have a good working knowledge of plumbing and roofing. [...]
Good luck getting into hot water!
Book Description
"A dear stream of practical knowledge with the mind change we need to save the life of our Mother Earth––and ourselves . . . This is a book for every person who loves this planet. Eagle Man shows us the joyful path home to our universal Mother."
埃ynthia Bend, Water Spirit Woman, co–author of Birth of a Modem Shaman
"A rich panorama of our native heritage which allows the seeker access to the heart of the Path of Beauty. Ed McGaa has walked this path so that all people may live in harmony."
埊amie Sams, Hancoka Olowanpi, author of Midnight Song: Quest for the Vanished Ones
"Ed McGaa is one of the first persons who can write about 0glala religion in the first person because he has lived it. For years anthropologists have hoped a Native American would portray that society from the inside out. Ed McGaa has. It's about time."
埗illiam K. Powers, author of 0glala Religion
"Fascinating as well as inspiring reading. Ed McGaa makes an excellent spiritual guide and intellectual teacher . . . The information stimulates the mind, the drawings delight the eye, and the ideas soothe the spirit."
埊ack Weatherford, author of Indian Givers
"Profound and insightful . . . Mother Earth Spirituality will be of great importance to those of us, both 'rainbow' and non–Indian people, who walk over land in search of a deeper spiritual life . . . For us, this book is an invaluable guide showing us how to do it."
埆red Alm Wolf, Ph.D., author of Taking the Quantum Leap
Customer Reviews:
The old Knowledge.......2007-05-15
If the human race could knoww the ancient knowledge it will be easy to live in peace, as a family between us as a real family and with respect to the Mother Nature, learning from Her EVERYTHING, specially, humility.
Native American Paths to Healing.......2006-07-08
Eagle Man (Ed McGaa) shares his knowledge of Lakota Sioux spiritual practices as a way to include everyone who wants to heal our world. He calls those who revere Mother Earth and want to ensure her continuation, Rainbow People. He writes in an intimate way, as if talking with friends. He describes the meaning of the various rituals and myths and shares helpful information about how non-Native people may or may not participate. In addition to his personal journey and the sacred practices, he details techniques for building a sweat lodge, making a peace pipe and more. A fascinating book which has earned a place in my personal library.
Mother Earth Spirituality : Native American Paths to Healing Ourselves and Our World (Religion and Spirituality).......2006-06-30
Easy to read and understand. Very "down to earth". A guide book to preparing the necessary items and tools of the Native culture. Very well written.
Interested in Native American Spirituality.......2006-06-27
If you're interested in Native American Spirituality then I would read most all of Eagle Man's books. He provides great insight into the Native American beliefs and customs.Personally I believe his books should be used in high school and colleges to allow others the opportunity to understand our Native American Indian brothers and sisters.
A true classic.......2005-11-17
I read this book while spending the summer backpacking around the Rocky Mountains. Anything that you carry around in a backpack for that long has to be worth the weight and this one definitely was.
Thanks Eagle Man! :)
Book Description
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 field are recent, few books are completely up to date with the latest techniques.
More Straw Bale Building is designed to fill this gap. A completely rewritten edition of the 20,000-copy best--selling original, it leads the potential builder through the entire process of building a bale structure, tackling all the practical issues: finding and choosing bales; developing sound building plans; roofing; electrical, plumbing, and heating systems; building code compliance; and special concerns for builders in northern climates. New material includes:
more extensive sections on electric wiring and plumbing
updated sections on bale finishes and finishing
a section on prefabricated straw bale walls
a wider selection of case studies, photographs and illustrations
a section on common mistakes
budgeting for low-, medium- and high-cost projects, and new testing data that is in no other straw bale book.
Down-to earth and complete, More Straw Bale Building makes the remarkable benefits of straw bale building available in the most comprehensive and practical book on the subject to date.
Chris Magwood and
Peter Mack are professional straw bale house builders and consultants who have constructed over 40 straw bale structures and have taught workshops and seminars in several countries. Chris is editor of The Last Straw Journal, an international quarterly devoted to straw-bale building, and the coauthor of Straw Bale Details: A Manual for Designers and Builders (New Society Publishers, 2003).
Customer Reviews:
Straw bale building is great!.......2007-06-10
I was very impressed with the level of detail and thoroughness in how the authors explained about building with straw bales, the details, etc. If you are considering alternative building materials with an eye on energy conservation and reducing your "footprint" on the planet, this is a must for your library and to use while planning your home design.
Good book.......2007-05-20
This was a pretty good book. But, I must admit, I am waiting for one book that says it ALL!! I haven't found that book yet.
MORE STRAW BALE BUILDING.......2007-04-08
A VERY HIGH QUALITY INFORMATIVE PUBLICATION. ANYONE INTERESTED IN STRAW BALE CONSTRUCTION SHOULD HAVE A COPY.
Happy with speed & quality..........2007-02-07
I received my item quickly and in good condition. Very satisfied.
More Straw Bale Building.......2006-03-03
I have been reading up on SB construction for quite some time now and this is by far the best book yet. It is a nice blend of the glossy pics that are nice and the technical info that we need. It is also nice to see Tina taking a bit of credit for a change. Congrats folks you have another great book out there.
Nick
Book Description
This classic companion to The World's Religions articulates the remarkable unity that underlies the world's religious traditions
Customer Reviews:
Greatest book ever.......2007-07-16
This is not just a book, it's an adventure in discovery- what matriarchy means, and meant for 200 millenia before the patriarchs came and wrecked everything. Why it is such a profound trip is the old religion, the spirituality that prevailed for all those long centuries is really beautiful- empowering and liberating. Before there was writing there was no "word of God" for preachers to scare children with. There was not a God. The cranky, punishing, vengeful being worshipped by the world's three "great" religions was a Jehova come lately who showed up 200,000 years too late. Before the patriarchs invented him, humankind had got along very well all that time without him. Without guilt, or being ashamed of our bodies, without sin. As "savages" we loved our sexuality, and thought sex was fun, a gift from Mother Nature for us to enjoy.
Also it's astonishing to discover how deeply enmeshed we are and have been in Western
Civ, and what a huge role has been played by patrirchal preaching. When people from the West first saw natural humans, who still knew they are part of nature, and loved her they were shocked. They had no way of understanding their sprituality. They totally believed if it did not happen in a church with a book and a preacher, it could not be religion.
These two amazing women are here to show us a whole new- and very old- way of looking religion, at the world, and Mother Earth and the Cosmos.
Great exploration of the Goddes with a bitter anti-male bent.......2007-05-13
I have been greatly conflicted on how to rate and what to write as a review of this 500+ page tome.
First the bad: I know my sex would be read the riot act throughout this book, when on the dedication page, it can be read: "To my son ... who was tragically killed ... by patriarchal technology ..." Circulation aside, the polarization Ms Mor espouses is just as damaging to gender harmony as any patriarchal "holy" book. Women as "good" and men as "evil" isn't helpful to the cause of trying to find gender balance in pagan spirituality and culture. There was very little to zero differentiation made between male oppressors and males who don't / didn't treat women as second class citizens or worse, chattel.
Now the good: I was inspired by "Cosmic Mother." I hadn't been previously inspired to add to my statue collection "The Venus of Laussel" or "Ngame" better known as the Cretan Snake Goddess, but this book made me want to get them. Entire chapters inspired and resonated with me, particularly all of the chapters that spoke of women's culture and religion in Neolithic times.
The most topical material for today (the dark Bush years) is the chapter entitled "The American Split" in which Ms Mor argues the founding fathers religion of Deism is really an early form of Secular Humanism. Deuteronomy or the Hebrew part of the "Bible" could not have been the inspiration of basic constitutional rights such as "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, " "innocent until proven guilty," "freedom of religion," the utter rejection of divine rights of kings, etc. Ms Mor successfully argues that the USA was not founded on "Christian" values but on "Secular Humanist" values.
She is the most prophetic when speaking of "free trade zones" which are code words for making the rich richer and the poor poorer. One of her most enduring and convincing themes is that patriarchal monotheist religion and culture legitimizes entire populations servitude to the ruling elite. She, more than any other author, opened my eyes to this fact about patriarchal "holy" books.
In my continuing path to find the Goddess and eventually balance of male/female principles in my life and spirituality, "Cosmic Mother" has greatly helped me along. I just wish there wasn't so much bitterness between the helpful parts of this book.
The Great Cosmic Mother.......2007-05-12
An intriguing exploration of the presence of the female sex throughout time. Sjoo is a strong, charismatic writer who presents all of her deepest convictions and bias in this book. Like most historical and cultural expositions, this book should be read with an awareness of the author's personal history and passions.
BECOME WOMAN.......2007-03-03
The Great Cosmic mother is my life's mission! The authors were guided by non other than SHE when they wrote this book! All women on the planet must read this masterpiece. Men will find Ma again and learn to cherish her. Change the world, change your life by reading this book. You need look no further!
A Book I Wouldn't Have Missed Reading For ANYTHING!.......2005-11-04
I first read this book about 10 years ago and I haven't been the same since. I was shocked to learn that all human fetuses start out as female and only if an androgen kicks in will a fetus end up male. This was a major revelation to me...I had never heard that before. Since then I have found information that says the same thing. I am sure that men wish that wasn't the case, but apparently it is.
I suspect some people don't like the book because it comes flat out and says that the first deities were female. I have no problem with that It makes sense since the person people first interact with are their mothers. I have no problems with thatat all.
I would love everyone to read this book--it is definitely an eye-opener!
Book Description
With rising energy costs, homeowners are beginning to examine the energy efficiency of their own homes, asking questions about where energy comes from and how much it costs, how to choose new appliances and what options exist for renewable energy.
The Home Energy Diet answers all these questions and more while helping readers take control of their personal energy use and costs so they can save money, live more comfortably and help the environment. Energy auditor Paul Scheckel first explores energy literacy, and then describes how your home uses-and loses-energy you pay for via:
Electricity
Hot water
Heating and air conditioning
Windows, walls and insulation
The Home Energy Diet involves readers in learning about their own homes by: measuring, metering, investigating and considering habits related to household energy use; learning how to quantify energy consumption and cost and making informed decisions about cost-effective improvements and upgrades. The book explores the misunderstood concept of efficiency versus cost by comparing fuel costs and equipment choices, including the possibility of using renewable energy for meeting home energy needs. This authoritative guide makes efficiency fun through personal anecdotes and humorous "tales-from-the-basement" energy misadventures.
Since energy efficiency is an investment that offers returns greater than Wall Street, readers can earn several hundred dollars every year just by following the advice in this book. As a bonus, many of the energy-saving strategies described can make for improved indoor air quality and healthier, more comfortable homes.
Paul Scheckel is an energy auditor who has visited thousands of homes, educating people about energy efficiency, cost-effective improvements and indoor air quality. With a passion for efficiency and renewables, he walks the talk by living in a solar-powered house and driving a car powered by vegetable oil in his home state of Vermont.
Customer Reviews:
More than just an overview of ideas........2007-09-29
This is the best book I've read on the subject of improving household energy efficiency. Many of the books I've read in the past go through the basic things that homeowners can do to improve efficience, but this book explains the hows AND the whys.
The book surprised me when I first started reading it. I expected another "easy reader" on the subject. I was pleasantly surprised to find detailed explanations on why things should be done, situations where a particular improvement may not be the best, and how to approach the many different systems in a house - air heating and cooling, envelope, insulation, water heating, ventilation, etc. It was also refreshing to find different ways of examining the same system - for example, amount of fuel used for different heating systems, amount of heat generated for a particular type of fuel, and all the relationships between them.
As you start reading, you will find a lot of sidebars and short stories to highlight the discussion in the chapter. One thing I found slightly annoying is the number of Math Boxes that interrupt the flow of the book early on. These are sidebars that present sample calculations for the various topics, e.g. efficiency, fuel used for different heating systems, etc. I'd prefer the Math Boxes to be contained in an appendix with references in the main body of the book, but that's just me. Other readers may not find this annoying, and it's certainly not enough for me to reduce my rating of the book.
I highly recommend this book if you are serious about exploring ways to improve your house's efficiency. It's not an "easy reader", but it's well worth the time to read through it.
Great information that will save your money.......2007-09-18
The first third of the book is general information about energy, how it is made, how to count it, how to work the numbers. It should be a required class textbook for High School seniors. This background information is very well written and easy to understand. But, that is not why folks should buy this book.
The real meat starts at about page 93 with some very important electrical power safety tips, followed by an appliance-by-appliance list of items that use energy in a typical North American home. It is alphabetical and organized like an index.
Each item listed includes information about the amount of energy it uses and tips on how to save money using it. The "what to do" information is very specific and easy to put into practice. It starts with Air Cleaners and goes right through to Well Pumps.
Some items get just a sentence or two and others get a whole chapter. The biggest energy users get the most page space. Hot water, heating and air conditioning get their own chapters, as they should.
Like most grouchy old engineers, I read the book looking for details to disagree with. That approach was rewarded with frustration. In fact, there is so much good stuff in this book that I put it on the shelf next to my desk where it will be a handy reference.
I am forever getting questions from folks wanting to know how much they save when they shut off the item in question. The book has a handy chart, as appendix C, which does a good job answering that question.
More importantly, it provides focus for action by letting you identify the big energy users in your home. I get too many questions from people worried about the cost of running a computer when they should be focused on their heating, cooling and kitchen energy use.
The book is targeted at folks who own a house, but renters should read it too. If you pay the energy bill at your home this book will pay back the cover price many times over.
Good book.......2007-05-14
Good read, I got a lot out of this book. The author really knows his stuff.
Read before you remodel or upgrade your home.......2006-11-04
This author goes into detailed explanations that are easy to understand. I learned MANY reasons why my 1950's brick house was still air leaky after replacing HVAC system, windows, exterior steel doors, roof and adding insulation-the "professional" installers (Temp-A-Tech, Window World, Lowes, roof installer, and the handyman)-simply I bought good products but they were improperly/inadequately installed. Needless to say after paying the rather pricey installation charges, I'm not too happy. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone purchasing a home or having remodeling done. If I had only known about this book before I had the costly replacements done I would have a much better energy efficient home.
Heat and What Can Be Done With It.......2006-07-25
I skimmed this book very rapidly so this is not a comprehensive review. I bought it looking for "how to" information on solar energy. I didn't find it, at least in an easy to assimilate and put to use form. What I did find was almost a dissertation about heat at the level of a physics class: what heat is, what its innate properties are, where it comes from, where it goes, etc. It actually is fascinating reading and probably makes an extremely good foundation for the most efficient use of all the forms of energy that we use in our daily rounds. But it wasn't what I needed, super-fast. I may contact the author from his blurb on the inside back cover of the book for help.
Book Description
Adults have a wide array of books to help explore earth-based spirituality. But what if they want to include their children? Here is a handbook to help parents, caregivers, teachers, and counselors create meaningful spiritual experiences that will inspire children of all ages. The ideas, suggestions, and activities collected here show how to bring children into rituals that celebrate seasonal cycles and help reclaim the spiritual roots of today's modern holidays. With surprisingly little effort, earth-centered activities and rituals can be incorporated into simple daily routines.
Part 1, "Handbook for Earth-Connected Parenting," gives techniques for developing a child's inner wisdom and sense of the sacred: dream journals, visualization, Tarot play, talismans, and interactions with the natural world
Part 2 is a guide to the specific seasonal festivals, and offers a comprehensive collection of practical and enjoyable ways to celebrate the sacred days of our ancestors. Make a bean rune divination system, gather smudge sticks, grow grass pots, assemble a "dream pillow," create altars the authors offer easy-to-follow suggestions.
Includes suggested reading and resource sections for locating additional information and materials for creative projects.
Customer Reviews:
Beautiful.......2007-09-01
I was very pleased with this book on how it is detailed and easy to follow. Beautifully written and supportive in nature's path religions. I finally feel like I can get my two little children involved in Pagan holidays without confusing them or labeling our path. A must for Pagan parents!
This is perfect for beginners and beyond.......2007-07-31
I have been looking for a good book to begin the explaniations for my children. This is the one. It is very simple, not draining. Very easy to understand and communicate without complication. Activities are wonderful and great for all ages/faiths. Very good references for further use and research. Great to start with! My children will love the adventures the book proposes!
Wonderful Family Resource!.......2007-06-16
As I was paging through looking for ideas to celebrate the summer solstice, I was prompted to finally write a review of this wonderful book! This book is a wonderful family resource. It is ripe with good ideas and lots of them--I find there is such a wealth of ideas that it is easy to pick and choose just a couple to use for each holiday and when you refer to the book again it is like it is brand new (because you didn't use up all the ideas the first time). I like how it lays out a family guide to each holiday, complete with food suggestions, activities, etc. When I first bought this book, I tried to incorporate everything at once and then realized that selecting a few elements works the best for our family and we enjoy the activities more when we take plenty of time for them.
I have noticed with other "alternative" celebration books, a heavy focus on Wicca. We are not Wiccan and so there was a lack of "click" with the other books. I appreciate the Earth centered spirituality of this book, without the assumption that the readers are Wiccan. Also, the activities are all very reasonable and child friendly (though I would recommend the book to those without children as well)--I get very turned off by the long rituals and invocations of other celebration books (the whole not-clicking-with-the-Wicca-perspective thing, I guess).
Anyway, I strongly recommend this book. I expect to use it as a resource for our family for many years to come (I bought it about two years ago, I think).
Gorgeous!.......2007-03-13
I love the concepts in this book. It explains the history of why we humans celebrate the things we do. It gives ideas for fun rituals and celebrations that actually have soul and meaning.
Not as good..........2006-04-19
as Circle Round. I've always used Circle Round, so I thought I'd give Celebrating the Great Mother a try. I'd read the great reviews. This is just my opinion, but I'm really disappointed! The crafts given for Sabbats are vague. I will say though, that it did give me some ideas, but I honestly didn't think when purchasing this book that all I'd be getting is a bare bones guideline that I'd have to fill in the blanks every time. Is it really that difficult to give some instruction on the crafts the book suggests? They do have some cute dances that I'll be able to use, but beyond that, I had to put it away & pick up Circle Round. For me personally, it wasn't something I should have purchased.
Book Description
Trees are the ultimate sunlight-harvesting machines. The care and nurturing of trees has been a recurring theme in Chelsea Green's publishing program, from The Man Who Planted Trees to Julia Alvarez's A Cafecito Story. Here is a book that foregoes romance in favor of straightforward, practical knowledge. Twenty-five years ago, when Hans Morsbach became interested in cultivating trees and managing small woodlands, he searched for a good how-to manual. He never found one, so he decided to write his own someday. Based on his subsequent experience, combining deep research into the academic literature on forestry with his successes and failures as a small-scale commercial tree farmer, the result is Common Sense Forestry, an indispensable reference for anyone who owns or wants to own wooded property. Morsbach is an unabashed nature lover as well as a businessman, and well understands the essential importance of a long-term approach to sustainable forest management. In this highly readable and entertaining text, the author offers a comprehensive look at managing existing woodlands by creating, and later maintaining, forests that promote biodiversity while providing an income stream. This comprehensive examination of sustainable forestry includes everything from choosing land to beginning a forest through seeding and transplanting, from pruning and thinning to harvesting trees, from debates over herbicides and clearcutting to working with professional foresters, from business strategies to tax planning. While Morsbach's personal experience is in the Midwest, the information in this book is applicable to a wide range of trees and is relevant to all regions of North America.
Customer Reviews:
The Tree That Made My Copy.......2007-05-06
. . . gave its life for a good cause.
This is the most important book on my shelves as I "manage" my 75 Virginia woodland acres.
I like Morsbach's maverick approach to forestry, in particular the emphasis he places on aesthetic and environmental considerations. Once again, the committed, thoughtful individual trumps a whole barrel full of clipboard-carrying "experts."
The book contains multiple grammatical errors that are slightly distracting to me, a former editor, but otherwise entirely trivial.
Common Sense Forestry.......2007-03-09
Anyone with a desire to manage a small timber parcel would do well to buy this book. I manage a small woodlot and took a 30 hour forestry management class from my state's forestry department. The knowledge gained from reading this book complements that course as well as anything I've come across so far. Both add practical insight into effective silviculture practices. This book gives the reader a practical approach to managing a woodlot or timber parcel profitably. Recommended.
Highly readable - a pleasure to read.......2006-03-27
This is a highly readable book. The author generously shares his considerable knowledge in language that makes the text easy to understand. Everything about it is well done: the book is well-organized and well written, with beautiful illustrations.
It's a pleasure to read, even for someone who will never grow a forest.
Handbook for the new forester and a delight for anyone else.......2004-10-26
This is a book for anyone who likes to read about someone's interesting life or observations, for anyone who likes to get a glimpse of a good man's mind and heart, for anyone who enjoys seeing things in a new way, and--of course--for anyone who owns or may buy wooded property. For the latter, it is an indispensable guide. For the rest of us, it is both delightful reading and consciousness-raising.
Hans Morsbach, a Chicago businessman and (for the past 30 years) also a Wisconsin forester, provides all the practical advice to amateur foresters he would have liked to have had 30 years ago. The book is full of practical suggestions and insights; however, it is anything but a dry how-to book. Morsbach is often funny, particularly when he shares his early naivete and many false starts, or, say, when he notes under a picture of a hawk perch that the hawks express their admiration by never perching on it.
He is also deadly serious, offering many insights and suggestions based upon his own intensive research, such as the use of hedgerows to enhance the success of any crop. A new insight for me (with no intention of ever starting a forest or growing any crops) was that lone individuals can do something worthwhile for the environment by buying and cultivating even small wooded properties.
But what is so remarkable is that Morsbach writes with such humility, honesty, and love--of humanity, of nature, and of his own learning experiences. He writes in clear simple candid language with an uncanny ability to let the reader see into the heart and mind of a savvy businessman who loves nature and cares about our environment. He has clearly raised the bar for practical guide books.
Awesome.......2004-08-20
If you are interested in the subject, this book is an easy read and will be as hard to put down as your favorite novel.
I'm about half way through and I'm not looking forward to being done. I will definitely use it for future reference.
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Books Index
Books Home
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General
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The Solar House: Passive Heating and Cooling
Solar Water Heating: A Comprehensive Guide to Solar Water And Space Heating Systems (Mother Earth News Wiser Living Series)
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Real Goods Solar Living Sourcebook: Your Complete Guide To Renewable Energy Technologies And Sustainable Living (Real Goods Solar Living Sourcebook)
