‣ Whether we are nearing the end of oil or merely nearing the end of inexpensive oil, it is becoming increasingly clear that we need to find alternative ways to meet our energy needs. Biodiesel is one such alternative-and is one of the fastest growing sectors of the US economy.

Biodiesel in North America is in its infancy. As air quality ...

‣ The world is about to run out of cheap oil and change dramatically. Within the next few years, global production will peak. Thereafter, even if industrial societies begin to switch to alternative energy sources, they will have less net energy each year to do all the work essential to the survival of complex societies. We are entering ...

‣ Sustainability has become a buzzword in the last decade, but its full meaning is complex, emerging from a range of different sectors. In practice, it has become the springboard for millions of individuals throughout the world who are forging the fastest and most profound social transformation of our time-the Sustainability Revolution.

The ...

‣ To forge a sustainable future, we need citizens who care for the Earth. We need citizens who understand that planet care is the ultimate form of self-care. But we also need generations who live according to their values and convictions and who can effect positive change in their lives and the lives of others. Because public schools ...

‣ With rising energy costs, homeowners are beginning to examine the energy efficiency of their own homes, asking questions that range from where energy comes from and how much it costs, to how to choose new appliances and what options exist for renewable energy?

The Home Energy Diet answers all these questions and more, while helping ...

‣ The invasion of Iraq may well be remembered as the first oil currency war. Far from being a response to 9-11 terrorism or Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction, Petrodollar Warfare argues that the invasion was precipitated by two converging phenomena: the imminent peak in global oil production, and the ascendance of the euro ...

‣ In a world filled with stories of environmental devastation and social dysfunction, EcoVillage at Ithaca is a refreshing and hopeful look at a modern-day village that is taking an integrated approach to addressing these problems.

This book tells the story of life at EcoVillage at Ithaca, an internationally recognized example of sustainable ...

‣ The idea of sustainability has been embraced enthusiastically by some businesses and rejected by others. The first wave of corporate converts to sustainability was driven by a PR crisis perhaps, regulatory pressures, or the founder's personal passion. The next wave, however, requires different drivers if it is to build a critical ...

‣ Putting your body in the way of violence is a dramatic way of taking a stand. Taking a Stand describes the work done by peace teams and accompaniment projects-who runs them, what is involved in joining, and the social and emotional challenges and rewards from such experience. Accessible and conversational, the book describes who ...

‣ "Chiva" is street slang for heroin-and heroin is a hot topic.

Its use as a narcotic is on a precipitous rise. Worldwide heroin production has doubled in the last decade, and the United Nations estimates more than fifteen million users are addicted-up to three million in the United States. It's big business, too, with yearly global ...

‣ Media reports focus increasingly on the declining health of children in industrialized countries. Asthma, autism, learning and behavior problems, and cancer are all on the rise. At the same time there is consistent news about poor indoor air quality, mold, and how buildings can make people sick.

Homes that Heal addresses both of ...

‣ Critical world problems call for education that addresses the values and behaviors that perpetuate suffering, oppression, and destruction. Humane education does this, offering young people deeply meaningful education about the issues of our time, teaching them to be critical and creative thinkers, inspiring their reverence and respect, ...

‣ If the US continues with current policies, the next decades will be marked by war, economic collapse, and environmental catastrophe. Resource depletion and population pressures are about to catch up with us, and no one is prepared. The political élites, especially in the US, are incapable of dealing with the situation, and have ...

‣ The Joy of Conflict Resolution helps readers better understand their conflicts through the lens of the "drama triangle" of victims, villains and heroes. Accessible, engaging and light-hearted, it provides proven and practical skills for moving beyond confrontation to resolve conflicts collaboratively.

‣ In the '60s it was called the "back to the land" movement, and in Helen and Scott Nearings' day, it was "living the good life." Whatever the term, North Americans have always yearned for a simpler way. But how do you accomplish that today?

Blending inspiration with practical how-to's, Rural Renaissance captures the American dream ...

‣ Sustainability may seem like one more buzzword, and cities and towns like the last places to change, but The Natural Step for Communities provides inspiring examples of communities that have made dramatic changes toward sustainability, and explains how others can emulate their success.

Chronicled in the book are towns like Övertorneå, ...

‣ In the on-going attempts to overcome racism and sexism in North America today, we are overlooking another kind of discrimination that is no less damaging and equally unjustifiable. It is a form of injustice that everyone knows, but no one sees: discrimination based on rank. Low rank-signifying weakness, vulnerability, and the absence ...

‣ Hydroelectricity is the world's largest-and cleanest-source of renewable energy. But despite lively interest in renewables generally, there is an information vacuum about the smallest version of the technology dubbed "the simplest, most reliable and least expensive way to generate power off grid."

Highly illustrated and practical, ...

‣ Superbia! is a book of practical ideas for creating more socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable neighborhoods. It is about remaking suburban and urban neighborhoods to serve people better and to reduce human impact on the environment.

The authors first trace the history of the suburbs, showing how they fail to meet ...

‣ Thousands of small groups with few resources spend large amounts of time trying to influence decision-makers. For the most part, these groups are made up of ordinary citizens driven by a desire to make a difference beyond their own lives. Governments and corporations call these people "troublemakers." Those who study complex problems ...

‣ Imagine a educational retreat center nestled in the tall forest of an island paradise where the sea laps at the beach below. Now add the most delicious food imaginable, created by a host of talented artist-cooks using vegetables and flowers gathered from the center's lush gardens, and presented with delicate care. Then think of ...

‣ For builders of natural homes (straw bale, cob, adobe, rammed earth, and other natural materials), this unique step-by-step guide takes the confusion out of choosing, mixing, and applying natural plasters.

From principles to practicalities, and with every stage of the process illustrated, The Natural Plasters Book details the entire ...

‣ Increasingly, people working in teams face complex issues that need resolving in an efficient, participatory manner that honors the group's diverse perspectives and individual creativity. The Workshop Book outlines the best practices of the workshop method, based on the Institute for Cultural Affair's Technology of Participation^TM, ...

‣ Today's global economy is yesterday's empire. Imperialism in whatever guise is the same through time, penetrating every area of our lives, affecting whole cultures as well as the deep core of individuals. And maps have been the tools of empire, defining the territory to be exploited.

Off The Map is a unique exploration of globalization. ...

‣ Making social and ecological change happen is not easy. At both the planetary and organizational levels, it is a dance that is fraught with danger for both the change agents themselves and their organizations. It is like dancing with a tiger.

For corporations, communities and other organizations, the choreography of the dance toward ...

‣ The Natural Child makes a compelling case for a return to attachment parenting, a child-rearing approach that has come naturally for parents throughout most of human history. In this insightful guide, parenting specialist Jan Hunt links together attachment parenting principles with child advocacy and homeschooling philosophies, ...

‣ Communication within many organizations has been reduced to email, electronic file transfer, and hasty sound bytes at hurried meetings. The Art of Focused Conversation convincingly restores this most human of attributes to prime place within businesses and organizations, and demonstrates what can be accomplished with focused conversation.

‣ The Natural Step for Business examines how four very successful "evolutionary" corporations in Sweden and the United States-including IKEA and Scandic Hotels in Sweden, and Collins Pine and Interface in the U.S.-are positioning themselves for long-term competitiveness using The Natural Step as a central part of their corporate ...

‣ Acting on their conviction that to educate a child well is to enable her to find her destiny, David Albert and his partner Ellen listened carefully, with respect and with love, to how their children expressed their own learning needs. Leaving traditional homeschooling methods behind, they followed their daughters' unique knowledge ...

‣ After six years of economic development work in Africa, Ernesto Sirolli witnessed how little most foreign aid programs were actually doing for the people they hoped to help-from creating a communal tomato field on the banks of the Zambezi river (only to be demolished by the river's hippos at harvest time) to donating snow-plows ...