Sustainable Living

Powells.com Staff Pick
After 25 years in the Arizona desert, in 2004, Kentucky-bred Barbara Kingsolver moved back to the Appalachians, to a Virginia farm just hours from her childhood home. Family called. "Returning," she explains in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, "would allow my... (read more)

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A healthy home is one that's free of toxins and stocked with natural materials that are as good for the body as they are soothing for the spirit. The Healthy Home Workbook leads the way to creating a space that is friendly to the environment, reflects... (read more)

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Volume 3 of this series covers animal care, banjos and dulcimers, wild plant foods, butter churns, ginseng and more.... (read more)

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The Urban Homesteadis the essential handbook for a fast-growing new movement: urbanites are becoming gardeners and farmers. Rejecting both end-times hand wringing and dewy-eyed faith that technology will save us from ourselves, urban homesteaders choose... (read more)

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"Timely and useful. This valuable benchmark is a substantial contribution to the rethinking of unlimited economic expansion." Recommended by Ted, Powells.com... (read more)

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Written to introduce readers to Permaculture concepts and design strategies. Topics include: energy efficient site analysis, planning and design methods, house placement, design for temperate, dry-land and tropical regions, urban Permaculture garden... (read more)

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A continuation of Lloyd Kahn's journeys into the creative processes of owner-built homes — their innovative techniques, use of sustainable materials, and essential dedication to the natural elements surrounding their designs — Builders of the... (read more)

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Interviews and essays describe the way of life and crafts of pioneer America still surviving in the Appalachian region.... (read more)

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Want a low-maintenance bathroom that takes 30 seconds a day to clean? Need whiter whites that get whiter for free? Learn to live in a clean, healthy, more economical -- and Earth-friendly -- way with Ellen Sandbeck's Green Housekeeping, the must-have... (read more)

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Create an Oasis with Greywater describes how to quickly and easily choose, build, and use a simple greywater system. Some can be completed in an afternoon for under $30. It also provides complete instructions for more complex installations, how to... (read more)

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As oil prices continue to rise, many people are starting to think about how to unhook from the electricity grid. The Renewable Energy Handbookfocuses completely on off-grid, sustainable living and rural energy independence. Author/engineer William H... (read more)

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Shelter is many things - a visually dynamic, oversized compendium of organic architecture past and present; a how-to book that includes over 1,250 illustrations; and a Whole Earth Catalog-type sourcebook for living in harmony with the earth by using... (read more)