- ISBN13: 9780896087804
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
The tools you need to create self-sufficient, ecologically sustainable cities “A surprisingly effective model for connecting people with dreams to the resources they need.” —Austin Chronicle With more than half the world’s population now residing—and struggling to survive—in cities, we can no longer afford to think of sustainability as something that applies only to forests and fields. We need sustainable living right where so many of us a… More >>
Toolbox for Sustainable City Living: A do-it-Ourselves Guide
Tags: austin chronicle, City, doitOurselves, dreams, forests, Guide, half the world, Living, population, product description, sustainability, Sustainable, sustainable cities, sustainable city, Toolbox
I’m an English teacher and this book annoys me. I’ve only read 10 pgs but the use of the English language is prohibiting me from getting the message. The layout is all over the place too. Perhaps I have a reject book. Here are some “choices of English” the author uses: p10 “o*f” the * represents the degree symbol written on the page.
All of these on pg xvi “po pulation”, “world*s”, and “doesn*t” the * here represents the letter “i” with a single quote instead of the dot in the place of an apostrophe. The words read like worldis and doesnit. Does anyone else have a copy like mine? Can I get some money back because of the author’s “choices”?
Rating: 3 / 5
Book is a huge enlightenment to the TRUE meaning of Green and self-sufficiency…
Making ourselves sustainable in today’s harsh environment is a true test of being a tree hugger or trend follower…
Thanks!
Rating: 4 / 5
Imagine an egalitarian, directly democratic, and autonomuous urban ecotopia where neighborhood microlivestock collectives raise their own free-range poultry, city buses run on waste vegetable oil, parking lots have been converted into organic orchards, and small-scale wind turbines provide household electricity. If such a vision of radical sustainability excites you, and it should given the frightening reality of peak oil, global warming, and fresh water scarcity, then you need to read this highly informative and inspiring book. Written by co-founders of the Rhizome Collective and beautifully illustrated with the amazing artwork of Juan Martinez of the Beehive Collective, this is a truly excellent introduction to the principles of urban permaculture, covering topics like aquaculture, bioshelters, vermicomposting, bioremediation, renewable energy, rainwater harvesting, and more. If you haven’t already done so, I’d also recommend reading some books by Murray Bookchin on social ecology. Clearly, the time to start relocalizing our food systems and supporting sustainable alternatives to car culture is now. So, let’s say goodbye to fossil fuels and begin creating a rational ecological society based on racial, economic, and gender equality!
Rating: 5 / 5
Astounding to find a book on sustainability that has a political philosophy (and I quote from the book) of “dual power anarchism: to be working for social change within today’s society while at the same time building functional alternatives to oppressive dominant institutions.” It seems the authors of the book want to tear down American society so that we will have to use their techniques of sustainability in order to survive the debacle. Yet they seem comfortable with receiving a $200,000 grant from the EPA (surely one of those oppressive dominant institutions) to support their collective. It’s especially frustrating to find authors who think that paved roads and parking lots are bad, yet maintain homes in two different states! Do they have to utilize existing roads and institutions in order to fly/drive between them? They see parks and golf courses as “begging to be mae into edible food forests.” Do you think that other people who own or use these properties might feel differently about having their properties confiscated?
This book promotes doomsday thinking extensively in order to promote the use of their ideas about how to have a sustainable life.
It is regrettable that the authors are so strongly political in promoting anarchism and collectivism, and not more positive about promoting a grassroots movement to become more self-supporting.
Overall: A very disappointing book.
Rating: 1 / 5
I ordered this book and poured myself into it reading and rereading it. The authors are very creative in the ideas of this book. Additionally they presented the social impact of revitalizing areas. I had never considered the effects of rehabbing an area only for it to be taken over by those who had avoided it in the first place.
I would be very interested in reading more from the authors or anything from the Rhizome Collective.
Rating: 5 / 5