Average customer rating:
- May A Republican Say Something?
- Required Reading
- Stories of Hope
- KERRY gETS IT RIGHT
- Encouragement for activism
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This Moment on Earth: Today's New Environmentalists and Their Vision for the Future
John Kerry , and
Teresa Heinz Kerry
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The Assault on Reason
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An Inconvenient Truth
ASIN: 1586484311 |
Book Description
An inspiring celebration of courageous American innovators who are transforming the way we protect and care for the world we live in.
The environment, and the movement that grew up to protect it, is under attack--concerted and purposeful. Yet the need for solutions to pressing environmental problems grows more urgent each day. Teresa Heinz Kerry and Senator John Kerry traveled across the country in a national campaign to see at first hand how these issues unite people across party and ideological lines. From the San Juan Basin to the Gulf of Mexico to the South Bronx, from mothers on Cape Cod to Colorado ranchers, they found a vibrant coalition of people and communities deploying ingenuity, technology, and sheer will power to save the world they know and love. Now, in this passionate and personal book, Senator John Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry shine the spotlight on an inspiring crosssection of these new environmental pioneers.
The book combines intensive research with keenly observed personal experiences to present a portrait of Americans devoted to the natural diversity and spectacular uniqueness of our country. It also includes an extensive guide on where and how readers can get involved.
Customer Reviews:
May A Republican Say Something?.......2007-10-06
Senator Kerry, this is one of the best books I've read in a long time, and I read a lot of books. As a Vietnam veteran who was shot down twice in Vietnam 1968-69, I hope you understand that the Swift Boat guys were exploited by sociopaths. The weak minded simply cannot refuse even the briefest moment in the limelight. They well forsake God and country without hesitation. Supporting you in 2004 has turned out to be one of the smartest things I have ever done. Believe me, it wasn't easy. It temporarily cost me the goodwill of friends and family. Another book, please.
Required Reading.......2007-08-08
The material in this book should be put in the public's face daily via media, billboards, etc. It should be required reading. Every mother should understand that a disposable diaper takes 500 years to biodegrade (and as those chemicals in the diaper biodegrade, they pollute and cause potential carcinogens).
I would not call the book "bipartisan" as per some of the other reviews, and I think its bashing of the Bush administration (even though I am not a fan) detracted from the overall book. However, it is important reading; it had an impact on my behavior.
Stories of Hope.......2007-08-02
I was a little skeptical with this book being written by John Kerry. I wasn't sure what to expect. It gives some really good stories of everyday people who just wanted to make a change for the better. They weren't any sort of extremists or hippies. Just people with common sense and the determination to stand up for their right to live in a clean world.
KERRY gETS IT RIGHT.......2007-06-18
Kerry analyzes today;s environmental experts and gets it right. The book is passionate, well researched, spot on and well written. I was pleasantly surprised.
I think Kerry was at his best early in the book when he evaluated some of the current plans for saving the Earth. He got a little off track as the book progressed, then veered back on track in the last 100 pages.
I highly recommend this book for anybody who cares about the planet. Also recommended: "Earth In The Balance" by Al Gore. Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit
Encouragement for activism.......2007-06-09
This book is both inspiring and upsetting. Inspiring for the stories of success in opposing pollution and degradation of the environment and restoration to a more healthy one. It is upsetting to read of the abuses and pollution creating dangerous places to live.
It is a call to action that we all need to consider. I got many good ideas about issues I hadn't thought about and it made me think about my local situation. It's good to know people have won battles and corrected abuses.
Average customer rating:
- Not terribly helpful
- Good book!!
- Great Idea Book
- Beautiful pictures, workable ideas
- Houses, er, too large
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Bungalow Style: Creating Classic Interiors in Your Arts and Crafts Home
Treena Crochet
Manufacturer: Taunton
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Bungalows: Design Ideas for Renovating, Remodeling, and Building New (Updating Classic America)
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Inside the Bungalow: America's Arts and Crafts Interior
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Shop Drawings for Craftsman Interiors: Cabinets, Moldings & Built-Ins for Every Room in the Home (Shop Drawings series)
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Bungalow Details: Exterior
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Bungalow Kitchens
ASIN: 1561586234
Release Date: 2005-02-01 |
Book Description
The classic American bungalow is as popular today as when introduced in the Victorian era. Bungalow Style pictures a wide variety of interior details and describes how to add or restore elements that suggest a historic flair while keeping the home comfortable and functional. Common problems such as integrating modern conveniences or gaining needed space are also addressed.
Customer Reviews:
Not terribly helpful.......2007-07-03
I was very excited to get this book as we plan to incorporate some craftsman style elements into the 1970s bungalo we're buying. The interiors in the photos were not terribly attractive and leaned towards kitschy. Unless you want to turn you house into a museum to 20th century cheasiness, don't buy this book.
Good book!!.......2007-03-12
This is a good book if you are looking at remodeling a craftman type home or if you are planning to build one. I did like some of the idea's and the pictures.
Great Idea Book.......2007-01-15
If you are planning any kind work where you are going using allot of wood this is a great book, it is full of ideas. The photos have great detail. One of best books I have on Craftsman/Arts& Crafts interiors.
Beautiful pictures, workable ideas.......2006-05-20
So you've bought a bungalow--now, what do you do with it? Maybe it's a fixer-upper; maybe it's too small, or doesn't have enough storage space; maybe you're just not sure what kind of furniture to get. This book is a great start toward deciding where to go next. Illustrated with hundreds of full-color photographs, it shows not only many of the features by which you can tell an Arts & Crafts house when you see it (I was surprised to learn that the big old foursquares such as my grandparents lived in for 40 years are included in this classification), but gives actual ideas carried out by other homeowners, even unto before-and-after floor plans. The author's advice is thoughtful and well suited to the houses she writes about, too. And if you just like to look at pictures of vintage American homes, this would be a good volume to add to your collection.
Houses, er, too large.......2005-07-06
There's a lot of good in this book, and it's given me a few ideas for my own arts-and-crafts vernacular house, but at the same time it's frustrating. Lots of the pictures feel (or explicitly state) that they're from houses much larger than the classic 900-2000 square foot bungalow.
Given that Taunton is also the publisher of The Not So Big House and a few books on cottages, it's a little strange to see bungalows recast so large, either built bigger or with additions tastefully tucked out of view from the street.
While I like most of the details they show, their approach (perhaps necessary to include the new bungalows being built today) means that a lot of the coziness small bungalows naturally offered is missing, replaced by modern open plans and a lot of period trim and woodwork that can't quite make up the difference.
Average customer rating:
- Disappointing, partisan view of the climate change issue
- Alarming--because it's factual
- Wake Up Call
- Great informative book
- Highly recommended
|
Hell and High Water: Global Warming--the Solution and the Politics--and What We Should Do
Joseph Romm
Manufacturer: William Morrow
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When the Rivers Run Dry: Water--The Defining Crisis of the Twenty-first Century
ASIN: 006117212X
Release Date: 2006-12-26 |
Book Description
Global warming is the story of the twenty-first century. It is the most serious issue facing the future of humankind, and American energy and environmental policy is driving the whole world down the path of global catastrophe. Hell and High Water is nothing less than a wake-up call to the country. It is a searing critique of American environmental and energy policy and a passionate call to action by a writer with a unique command of the science and politics of climate change.
We have ten years, at most, to start making sharp cuts to our greenhouse gas emissions or we will face catastrophic consequences. The good news is that there is something we can do—but only if the leadership of the U.S. government acts immediately and asserts its influence on the rest of the world—in particular such emerging powers as China and India—to join an international effort to stop global warming.
Joseph Romm, an expert in the science, business, and politics of climate change, lays out a plan of action that involves:
- reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by midcentury
- adopting a California-style energy-efficiency effort nationwide
- embracing high-mileage, advanced "hybrid" cars that can run on both electricity and biofuels
Unfortunately, the required government policies and spending are strongly opposed by conservatives, who have blocked serious action on climate change and continue to publicly deny the dire warnings of scientists. Never before has there been such a sharp divergence between what top scientists know and what policymakers, the general public, and the media believe. And, sadly, never has so much been at stake.
Romm, who ran the largest program in the world that was concentrated on climate solutions, offers an authoritative dissection of this disastrous policy. Hell and High Water goes beyond ideological rhetoric to offer pragmatic solutions to avert the threat of global warming—solutions that must be taken seriously by every American.
Customer Reviews:
Disappointing, partisan view of the climate change issue.......2007-10-22
Romm's book Hell and High Water disappointed me. I expected better than this.
Not the basic premise. I agree with that. We should, I think, try to tread more lightly on the earth. In all of our billions, we make our marks on the earth ever deeper and more scarring. Who knows what damage we will do. Romm, and others, are right to be worried.
But I expected a better discussion of what to do about climate change. In the end, Romm tells people to "Get informed, get outraged, and then get political." That seems exactly wrong to me. We need less outrage, less politics, and more reasoned discussion. More science.
Because when it gets right down to it, this is not a political problem. Even if you agree that we should do something to cut down on greenhouse gases, the solution is not to berate and hate the "Delayers and Denyers (that's how he spells deniers)". That will not help. They are not the problem. The greenhouse gases are.
Romm is not alone in his approach to this kind of issue. Partisan screeds and attacks seem to sell in politics. Seems like all the Republicans do these days is blame the Democrats. And vice versa. Rational discussion of the political problems we face gets lost in bickering and vicious attacks. Does that help? It helps a candidate get elected. But it does not help solve any problem.
Unfortunately, climate change has become political and partisan. And Romm's book is nothing but that. It's full of italics and exaggeration. He mongers fear without shame. Many of the "facts" he uses to support his arguments are not factual. His book reads like something Ann Coulter or Al Franken might write. (And I don't mean that as a compliment.)
But maybe I'm being too critical. From the other reviews here about Romm's book, most readers were impressed. No one else seems to be disappointed.
Still, I was disappointed. I expected better than this.
Alarming--because it's factual.......2007-08-17
As an environmental policy grad student, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what we're in for with climate change. But after reading this book I've realized that, oh no, it's worse than I thought. The book starts out by describing the nasty potential futures facing us if we fail to take sufficient action, and soon. This bit comes across as somewhat sensational, but Romm quickly moves in a very well done review of the scientific literature backing up the scary part. The account of the unified effort to deny the validity of climate change and delay action is also well executed.
Highly recommended for anyone who needs a little motivation to start caring about climate change!
Wake Up Call.......2007-06-10
It's time to wake up to what's going on with our world and what we're doing to it. As a long time participant in the petroleum and related industries worldwide it has long been evident that we are exhausting the world's resources at an unsustainable rate detrimental to life as we know it and to a livable environment. Damon A. Peteron
Great informative book.......2007-05-19
If you want the facts about global warming and what we need to do about it straight from the experts' mouths, this is the book for you. It covers everything about global warming from the media's bias to the various policies we need to implement to avoid catastrophic climate change, to the consequences if we fail to avoid it. Absolutely fantastic book.
Highly recommended.......2007-05-10
I thought this book was really interesting in explaining the US politics behind global warming and the what has not been done in recent years by the US to curb global warming. It goes into great detail about the issues the planet faces if we do not reduce our CO2 output into the atmosphere.
Average customer rating:
- Wetlands is a very useful resource
- good wetland text
- Applauded by this Environmental Engineer PE!
- The Wetlands Textbook
- An Excellent Resource on Wetland Sciences!
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Wetlands
William J. Mitsch , and
James G. Gosselink
Manufacturer: Wiley
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ASIN: 047129232X |
Book Description
Praise for Wetlands, Second Edition
"This book is the wetlands bible . . . the most wide-ranging [book] on the subject."Carl Folke, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (Land Use Policy)
"The single best combination text and reference book on wetland ecology."Joseph S. Larson, University of Massachusetts (Journal of Environmental Quality)
"First on my list of references to recommend to someone new to wetland policy management or science."Jay A. Leitch, North Dakota State University (Water Resources Bulletin)
"The First Edition of Wetlands became the definitive work for educating wetland scientists and managers across the country. . . . The Second Edition . . . is a wonderful improvement . . . and provides a complete guide to wetland science, use, and utilization."P. M. Gale, University of Florida (Journal of Environmental Quality)
The book every wetland professional needs, now completely revised and updated
In many respects, this Third Edition of Wetlands is an entirely new book. While the authoritative coverage of its earlier editions has been retained, an enormous body of new material has been added, and every chapter has been revised to keep pace with rapid growth in scientific knowledge and important innovations in wetland ecology and management. Now in a larger, easier-to-read format, this wetland "bible" offers expanded coverage of everything from the role of crabs in mangrove swamps to the role of wetlands in global climate change. Important features of this new edition include:
- A greater emphasis (and a new chapter) on wetlands of the world
- Expanded coverage of Canadian wetlands
- A new chapter on wetland laws and protection
- Improved, easy-to-read illustrations, many of them covering new material
- New chapters on wetland creation and restoration, and treatment wetlands
- New information and expanded coverage in every chapter
- The latest information on gaseous emissions from wetlands
- Updated theories and classifications of salt marshes, peatlands, forested swamps, and riparian ecosystems
Customer Reviews:
Wetlands is a very useful resource.......2007-03-11
This book is very helpful in understanding the various aspects and dynamics relating to wetlands. It includes management, legal, and various other topics of importance to wetland biologists, wildlife students or researchers working in wetland delineation or consultation.
good wetland text.......2005-12-09
Overall, this is a very good text on wetlands (for students and professionals both). However, I personally feel that a entire chapter could be devoted to wetland soils and wish that this book gave a better presentation of wetland soils. Furthermore, a great deal of research has been performed in Boreal wetlands and Boreal Prairie wetlands of Canada yet the Canadian literature is somewhat lacking in this text. Its still the best option out there for professors.
Applauded by this Environmental Engineer PE!.......2004-12-19
There is no better book for learning about wetlands that I have found. Many students find hydrology difficult, but this book lays this critical process out clearly, with excellent illustrations and diagrams.
This book helps the biotic oriented student understand the abiotic processes in clear and simple language.
I will never part with my copy, and reference it often!
The Wetlands Textbook.......2002-10-03
I first picked this book up to consider a career as a wetland scientist (among other things) and instantly dove into the heaps of information provided. It is well written and easy to read with nicely labelled sections. I found that it had all sorts of information on the subject. It is highly useful.
To date, this is THE book to get in the field. If you get any book on the subject, this is it. I was only mildly surprised after reading through much of it to find that it's the only textbook in my graduate class on wetland ecology and management and there appears to be no competition as a textbook.
In short, it's very readable and immensely useful: A combination you can't go wrong with.
An Excellent Resource on Wetland Sciences!.......2000-12-06
This resource would be considered the "Bible" of wetland sciences. It is highly valuable for understanding the ecological systems involved in a wetland. A must for wetland regulators, scientists, and just interested people!
Average customer rating:
- 5 Stars Indeed
- A Breath of Fresh Air
- A sublime experience, but not for everyone
- The first of its kind, and still the best
- Wonderful
|
A Sand County Almanac
Aldo Leopold
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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Binding: Paperback
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Sand County Almanac (Outdoor Essays & Reflections)
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ASIN: 0195007778 |
Book Description
First published in 1949 and praised in The New York Times Book Review as "a trenchant book, full of vigor and bite," A Sand County Almanac combines some of the finest nature writing since Thoreau with an outspoken and highly ethical regard for America's relationship to the land. Written with an unparalleled understanding of the ways of nature, the book includes a section on the monthly changes of the Wisconsin countryside; another part that gathers informal pieces written by Leopold over a forty-year period as he traveled through the woodlands of Wisconsin, Iowa, Arizona, Sonora, Oregon, Manitoba, and elsewhere; and a final section in which Leopold addresses the philosophical issues involved in wildlife conservation. As the forerunner of such important books as Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire, and Robert Finch's The Primal Place, this classic work remains as relevant today as it was forty years ago.
Customer Reviews:
5 Stars Indeed.......2007-08-20
I knew I would enjoy this book right from the start, when I found the following passages in the Foreward: "There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot..." and "For us of the minority, the opportunity to see geese is more important than television..."
If you can relate to those statements, you will love this book. Guaranteed. Aldo Leopold was a conservationist, but he was so much more. He was a visionary. Read those statements again, and when you realize that he wrote them back in 1948, you might be amazed. But as you read the book, you will come to understand how special he was. Facts or knowledge that we take for granted today (e.g., predators play an important role in a healthy ecosystem), Leopold was talking about them over 50 years ago. Time and again I found myself checking the copyright because I could not believe someone was actually thinking this way so long ago.
However, it's not just the ideas of Leopold that made him special. The way he wrote was special, too. His talent drew you in, even though he was writing about something that, by the sound of it, might be kind of dry. For example, in a section called "Good Oak," he connects the passage of years to the rings of a fallen tree that he is cutting for firewood. Starting with the 1940s he relates one environmental tidbit after another for decades or years: "Now our saw bites into the 1890s...when the last passenger pigeon collided with a charge of shot near Babcock." By the time Leopold is done cutting the fallen tree, the reader has received a fascinating and sobering account of what had transpired to the environment in the area of this oak tree for the previous 80 years. The way he used the backdrop of cutting the tree rings as "markers" of environmental mishaps was masterful. It is Leopold at his best, but fortunately, the book is full of writing like this.
It is divided into three sections. The first one follows a calendar year on his farm in Wisconsin, with Leopold relating little vignettes about chickadees, skunks, flowers, or whatever else he comes across. It is probably the most charming part of the book. Part two ("Sketches Here and There") contains short remembrances of Leopold's travels to different parts of North America. Unfortunately, the story usually has a "bad" ending - at least, for the environment or for a species (like the now-extinct passenger pigeon). But Leopold had a reason for that. He moves to part three, "The Upshot," where he spells out his ideas for saving the land and the wild things that live there. It is too much to discuss here, but Leopold again hits the mark. His goal was to try and change how Americans think about the use (and abuse) of our environment. Pehaps his biggest lament then, and mine now, is that not enough people care about what we are doing to the land.
That's why this book was published. The hope of this book was to change the hearts of the average American. It still is. Over fifty years later, it's still in print, and it's still relevant.
Five stars. Absolutely the best nature/environment book I've ever read.
A Breath of Fresh Air.......2007-02-20
Life got you down? Live in a big city? Take a refreshing break and escape to the Wisconsin countryside in this beautifully written little book about the land and the plants and animals that live and grow there. Aldo Leopold's writing is more compelling than John Muir's,and more knowledgeable than Thoreau's. In a series of short sketches you follow the cycle of the land from January to December. Along the way you learn about history, meet amazing plants and animals, and experience the drama of both the destruction and the rebirth of our land.
A sublime experience, but not for everyone.......2004-12-21
I keep this book on my nightstand and read an essay or two after my pj's are on and before going to bed. My bookmark is a pencil for making notes in the margin when particularly wonderful passages are encountered. The margins are very full.
Aldo opens our eyes to worlds in our own backyards which have always existed but which have remained undiscovered due to our own dull-sightedness. I considered myself an avid nature-watcher, but the extent to which Mr. Leopold carries this hobby is humbling. He inspires any true fan to learn the names and habits of every tree, shrub, weed, thistle, bird, insect, and critter native to one's home county, and to hone one's journaling skills and master the talent of imagery and metaphor.
But, this book is not for everyone. I've read favorite passages to friends only to watch their eyes glaze with disinterest. If you're the outgoing, life-of-the-party, must-always-be the-center-of-attention type, then perhaps The DaVinci Code would be of interest. But if you enjoy solitary walks in the woods, canoe paddles on distant foggy lakes, or reading prose with your pj's on, then this is required reading.
The first of its kind, and still the best.......2004-09-05
"Thus always does history, whether of marsh or market place, end in paradox. The ultimate value in these marshes is wildness, and the crane is wildness incarnate. But all conservation of wildness is self-defeating, for to cherish we must see and fondle, and when enough have seen and fondled, there is no wilderness left to cherish." (from "Marshland Elegy")
"It must be poor life that achieves freedom from fear." This, from reflections on being caught on horseback during a lightning storm, is a comment on the "civilized" mindset that wanted all to be safe, and so feared and destroyed wildness.
These essays were written mostly in the 1940's, although some of them are about earlier times in the author's life. In a way, reading Aldo Leopold is like watching Humphrey Bogart in those old movies, with his smoking and tough-guy sexism. We understand these as disreputable today, but can put them in context. Likewise, Aldo Leopold was in many ways a typical countryman of his time and place. He loved to hunt and fish, and even reflexively shot wolves, like everyone else. He came to regret that, and in fact to realize that in the new era, where hunting and fishing have become mass recreations, that the old ways just don't work anymore. But they did in his day, and he does not retrospectively apologize for having been, in a sense, just another predator.
But he was also a college professor, and an expert naturalist and ecologist. In this book he is a poetic writer about nature and a loving reporter of all things wild. No matter where I lived I would love this book, but having lived not too far from his sand counties and walked his restored prairies makes it the sweeter.
Wonderful.......2004-03-25
Read Walden, then read Sand County Almanac. They might just change the way you think about the world.
Average customer rating:
- Too Long and Overpriced
- la correcta dimension de la sostenibilidad
- not as good as i expected
- A must read for Landscape Architects
- Significant Book for Architects - Though a Little Slow
|
Design with Nature (Wiley Series in Sustainable Design)
Ian L. McHarg
Manufacturer: Wiley
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Site Planning - 3rd Edition
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The Image of the City
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Site Engineering for Landscape Architects
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Ecological Design
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Landscape Graphics
ASIN: 047111460X |
Book Description
"In presenting us with a vision of organic exuberance and human delight, which ecology and ecological design promise to open up for us, McHarg revives the hope for a better world." âLewis Mumford
". . . important to America and all the rest of the world in our struggle to design rational, wholesome, and productive landscapes." âLaurie Olin, Hanna Olin, Ltd.
"This century's most influential landscape architecture book." âLandscape Architecture
". . . an enduring contribution to the technical literature of landscape planning and to that unfortunately small collection of writings which speak with emotional eloquence of the importance of ecological principles in regional planning." âLandscape and Urban Planning
In the twenty-five years since it first took the academic world by storm, Design With Nature has done much to redefine the fields of landscape architecture, urban and regional planning, and ecological design. It has also left a permanent mark on the ongoing discussion of mankind's place in nature and nature's place in mankind within the physical sciences and humanities. Described by one enthusiastic reviewer as a "user's manual for our world," Design With Nature offers a practical blueprint for a new, healthier relationship between the built environment and nature. In so doing, it provides nothing less than the scientific, technical, and philosophical foundations for a mature civilization that will, as Lewis Mumford ecstatically put it in his Introduction to the 1969 edition, "replace the polluted, bulldozed, machine-dominated, dehumanized, explosion-threatened world that is even now disintegrating and disappearing before our eyes."
Customer Reviews:
Too Long and Overpriced.......2007-08-23
As a former colleague of McHarg's at the University of Pennsylvania during the 1960's, and currently working in a planned community he designed (The Woodlands, TX), I decided to buy this book to try to understand the strange idiosyncracies of The Woodlands, TX.
The book is very wordy, but it is well illustrated. McHarg successfully blended community design with natural boundary conditions (watershed management, geology, forestry, slope properties, etc) with the case histories he presented (some of which I remember when serving on an invited basis on jury's in McHarg's academic program). The book's strength is his advocacy of melding human planning needs with nature's boundary conditions.
BUT, does it really work? Only at the expense of the time of people working and living in such a planned community. The inconvenient practices that go with such a planned community require a lot of adjustment that asks a bit much of people who work in such places but don't live there.
But it works fine for the affluent and the unhurried who can afford it.
la correcta dimension de la sostenibilidad.......2007-06-15
No has estudiado arquitectura si este libro no ha caido en tus manos. Sin Ian Mcharg la arquitectura sostenible no seria posible. Por lo menos la arquitectura sostenible pensada a escala regional."
not as good as i expected.......2003-11-02
this highly recommended book started out as a compelling read, but became something i had to force myself to finish. it seems to be a series of lectures strung together, which may have been interesting as lectures, but is not cohesive enough to be a book. the good information is lost amidst the rambling style.
A must read for Landscape Architects.......2002-08-08
Anyone studying environmental planning or LA should read this book.
Significant Book for Architects - Though a Little Slow.......2002-01-30
While it's not the kind of book you want to lounge around the fireplace reading, it is a book that is frequently referred to by architects. It is significant in designing and ecologially friendly building in today's built-up environment. Summary: Not a great book, but a useful resource for architects.
Average customer rating:
- great
- This is an enhanced catalog
- Best Of The Bunch
- Great book
- Essential Information
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Real Goods Solar Living Sourcebook: Your Complete Guide To Renewable Energy Technologies And Sustainable Living (Real Goods Solar Living Sourcebook)
Manufacturer: New Society Publishers
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The Renewable Energy Handbook: A Guide to Rural Energy Independence, Off-grid And Sustainable Living
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The Solar House: Passive Heating and Cooling
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The Homeowner's Guide to Renewable Energy: Achieving Energy Independence Through Solar, Wind, Biomass And Hydropower (Mother Earth News Wiser Living)
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Photovoltaics Design And Installation Manual: Renewable Energy Education for a Sustainable Future
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The Complete Idiot's Guide to Solar Power for Your Home
ASIN: 091657105X |
Book Description
Do you want to harvest sunlight, wind or falling water to power your home? Or sell that renewable energy back to your utility company? Are you looking to build your dream eco-home? Or to convert to biodiesel and minimize your fossil fuel use?
This fully-updated classic of sustainable living technology tells how and gives you access to the world's most extensive selection of hardware to make it all happen. The Solar Living Sourcebook - 12th Edition is the ultimate resource on renewable energy, sustainable living, alternative construction, green building, homesteading, off-the-grid living, and alternative transportation, written by experts with decades of personal experience and a passion for sharing their knowledge. In print and regularly updated since 1982, the Sourcebook has sold over 600,000 copies in 44 countries. This 12th edition includes brand new sections on Solar Utility Intertie, Alternative Sources of Fuel (including biodiesel and hydrogen fuel cells) and Hybrid Vehicles, and completely rewritten sections on Land & Shelter, Emergency Preparedness, and Energy Conservation, as well as in-depth sections on:
- Sunshine to Electricity
- From Panel to Plug
- Water Systems
- Water Heating
- Water & Air Purification
- Composting Toilets & Graywater Systems
- Off-the-Grid Living & Homesteading Tools
- Mobility
- plus over 150 pages of maps, wiring diagrams, formulae, charts, electrical code, solar sizing worksheets and much more.
Whether you're a layperson or a professional, novice or longtime aficionado, the Sourcebook puts the latest research and newest products at your fingertips - all the information you need to make sustainable living a reality.
Customer Reviews:
great.......2007-05-18
My husband who has an avid interest in sustainable energy really enjoyed this book. He liked it so much he bought one for a realator friend of ours who is also into sustainable energy.
This is an enhanced catalog.......2007-05-12
This book does have much useful information, but it still a catalog.
Best Of The Bunch.......2007-02-06
This book is the absolute best for covering renewable energy on a residential-sized scale. It covers all things solar/renewable energy: converting solar energy to electricity, wind generators, solar water heating, solar water pumping, energy conservation, off-the-electrical grid and grid intertie applications. There's an appendix with charts, maps and worksheets that help you design your own solar home and energy system. It is well written, with the information easy to follow. There is just enough theory included so you can follow the technical descriptions of the system components. It's got 564 pages and there's not much wasted space.
I have lived off-grid for six years and teach a renewable energy class at a nearby community college. I tell my students that if they are going to buy just one book on renewable energy, to buy this, the latest edition of the Solar Living Sourcebook.
Keep in mind, this is a catalog for Giam/Real Goods. Products and services are described and prices are listed. They would like you to do business with them. I have found that many of the products listed can be found cheaper elsewhere, but having the prices listed is a plus...you can put together a system and get a ball-park figure on how much the system will cost you. In my opinion, Real Goods is a reputable company, very service oriented, and very knowledgeable.
If you want more information on residential sized renewable energy systems, the magazine Home Power (www.homepower.com) is superb. They publish six issues a year, with a hands-on type format that makes you want to get out there and build something!
If you are interested in using solar energy to make electricity, but want the advantages of being tied to the grid, the book Got Sun? Go Solar by Rex Ewing and Doug Pratt is excellent. If living off-the-grid is your interest, The Renewable Energy Handbook by William Kemp is very good.
Great book.......2007-01-11
Boy, if you want to know not only the theory of alternative energy, but how to implement it in your home, this is the book. Each chapter tells you the pros and cons of each type (solar, wind, microhydroelectric, geothermal...) and then gives you real products available today to buy and install. One tip: You may be able to get the products cheaper somewhere else, though. Shop around. Well done.
Essential Information .......2007-01-06
Essential catalog of energy related items punctuated with non commercial advice and information.
Average customer rating:
- Environmental Policymaking inn Congress
|
Environmental Policymaking in Congress: The Role of Issue Definitions in Wetlands, Great Lakes and Wildlife Policies (Garland Reference Library of Social Science)
Kelly Tzoumis
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0815336462 |
Book Description
Utilizing current natural resource policies, this work effectively shows how the wetlands fit a dominance model, the Great Lakes is a bounded model, and wildlife is labeled as a valence model. A must read for all interested in congressional policymaking, this book breaks new ground in our understanding of legislative policymaking.
Customer Reviews:
Environmental Policymaking inn Congress.......2001-06-26
This is a great book if you are interested in how environmental policy is made in Congress. It is a sholarly book that also provides practitioners useful information about their impact on the Great Lakes, wetlands and wildlife. It is the most comprehensive piece of well researched and clearly written literature on environmental policymaking to date. The author is thorough in providing description with the book beginning in 1789-current. Certainly a must read for anyone who is a policymaker, student, scholar or has a serious interest in the environment.
Average customer rating:
- Blames far too much on Bush
- Which pill would you like to take the blue pill or the red pill(CAN)
- My Eyes Were Opened To The Truth
- Eating your own words
- impeach bush
|
Crimes Against Nature: How George W. Bush and His Corporate Pals Are Plundering the Country and Hijacking Our Democracy
Jr., Robert F. Kennedy
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
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An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It
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Strategic Ignorance: Why the Bush Administration Is Recklessly Destroying a Century of Environmental Progress
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You Are What You Say: The Proven Program that Uses the Power of Language to Combat Stress, Anger, and Depression
ASIN: 0060746882
Release Date: 2005-07-05 |
Book Description
In this powerful indictment of George W. Bush's White House, environmental attorney Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., charges that the administration has taken corporate favoritism to unprecedented heights -- threatening our health, our national security, and our democracy.
Kennedy lifts the veil on how the administration, in order to enrich its corporate paymasters, has eviscerated the laws that protect our nation's air, water, public lands, and wildlife. He describes the White House doling out lavish subsidies and tax breaks to energy barons while allowing the corporations to profit by poisoning the public and eliminating security at the more than 15,000 nuclear and chemical facilities that are prime targets for terrorist attacks. He shows how right-wing White House ideologues have taken the "conserve" out of conservatism and trampled the free-market democracy in favor of a kind of corporate-crony capitalism that is as antithetical to democracy, efficiency, and prosperity in America as it is in Nigeria.
Crimes Against Nature is a book for both Democrats and Republicans, people like the traditionally conservative farmers and fishermen whom Kennedy represents in lawsuits against polluters. "Without exception," he writes, "these people see the current administration as the greatest threat not just to their livelihoods but to their values, their sense of community, and their idea of what it means to be American."
Download Description
"
In this powerful and far-reaching indictment of George W. Bush's White House, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the country's most prominent environmental attorney, charges that this administration has taken corporate cronyism to such unprecedented heights that it now threatens our health, our national security, and democracy as we know it. In a headlong pursuit of private profit and personal power, Kennedy writes, George Bush and his administration have eviscerated the laws that have protected our nation's air,water, public lands, and wildlife for the past thirty years, enriching the president's political contributors whilelowering the quality of life for the rest of us.
Kennedy lifts the veil on how the administration has orchestrated these rollbacks almost entirely outside of public scrutiny -- and in tandem with the very industries that our laws are meant to regulate, the country's most notorious polluters. He writes of how it has deceived the public by manipulating and suppressing scientific data, intimidated enforcement officials and other civil servants, and masked its agenda with Orwellian doublespeak. He reports on how the White House doles out lavish subsidies and tax breaks to the energy barons while excusing industry from providing adequate security at the more than 15,000 chemical and nuclear facilities that are prime targets for terrorist attacks. Kennedy reveals an administration whose policies have ""squandered our Treasury, entangled us in foreign wars, diminished our international prestige, made us a target for terrorist attacks, and increased our reliance on petty Middle Eastern dictators who despise democracy and are hated by their own people.""
Crimes Against Nature is ultimately about the corrosive effect of corporate corruption on our core American values -- free-market capitalism and democracy. It is about an administration, the author argues, that has sacrificed respect for the law, public health, scientific integrity, and long-term economic vitality on the altar of corporate greed. It is a book for both Democrats and Republicans, people like the traditionally conservative farmers and fishermen Kennedy represents in lawsuits against polluters. ""Without exception,"" he writes, ""these people see the current administration as the greatest threat not just to their livelihoods but to their values, their sense of community, and their idea of what it means to be American.""
"
Customer Reviews:
Blames far too much on Bush.......2007-10-13
I can only spot one glaring error:
On page 2, the author states, "I want to be very clear here: This book is not about a Democrat attacking a Republican administration."
If I had a dime every time he used the phrase "right wing," the book would be free.
Nothing's "left wing" just right wing. He seems to lay all blame for all time at the hands of George, Jr. Hey, the guy's made some terrible environmental blunders but I don't recall any radical environmental improvements during Bill Clinton's eight (8) years. In fact, I'll go record saying that the Clean Air Amendments of 1990 (signed by George, Sr.) have been the most significant air regulations in the last 17 years. Why didn't Clinton mandate and phase in all the CAFE standards during his tenure? Probably, because both parties of Congress have to address the economy first, the environment second.
Kennedy takes his environmental stance too far when he quotes a constitutent on page 85, "With a president who doesn't believe in evolution, it's hard to imagine what kind of scientific evidence would suffice..." By making the environment his religion, his arguments start sounding like fanatical ramblings.
Is Bush really responsible for Hurricane Katrina? For the polluted Hudson River? For all of America's pollution problems? Was all the environmental degradation done only on his watch? What about the failures of past president's and their lack of environmental leadership?
True, Bush has passed on his chance to wean us off foreign oil while improving the environment (primarily by addressing auto pollution and alternative technologies) but so has every president up to now.
Which pill would you like to take the blue pill or the red pill(CAN).......2007-08-19
Metaphorically speaking, Do you live on in ignorance (The blue pill) or do you lead what Aristotle called 'the examined life'(Red Pill). Do you read CAN or do you live in ignorance?
One really big point that Mr. Kennedy makes in the first chapter of the book, is that his book has nothing to do with Republican versus Democrat. He states that the environment belongs to all of us. Not just one political affilitation.
Crimes Against Nature was a real eye opener for me. You have to read this book. So much of the truth that should be available to the American public is squashed by various laws and phony junk science produced by special interest groups who want to control what we think. This book is filled with the facts.
After reading this book I felt betrayed by the Bush administration. This administration is responsible for over 400 environmental rollbacks.
This administration has accepted over 100 million dollars from the utility industry, and has in turn rewarded them by putting polluters in key government positions that were meant to protect our natural resources.
If I were to have named this book, I would have named it "Organized Crimes against Nature". I strongly recommend reading this book.
If you care about the future of this earth and what we will bequeth to future generations with our natural resources, then I recommend that you read this book.
God Bless Mr. Kennedy, as he has dedicated his life to a great cause.
Not only is Mr. Kennedy an excellent writer, but he is a great Orator as well. You can check out his speaches on YouTube:
[...]
My Eyes Were Opened To The Truth.......2007-08-11
I gave this book 5 stars, because this book opened by eyes to things that I had no idea were happening. I knew some of the things that were happening, but not to the extent that it is happening. I know in my heart that Robert Kennedy Jr is telling the truth about the true condition of this country.
I would encourage all people who are interested in the truth to read this book. I know that many people will feel that Republicans are being attacked, but I don't think that is the intent at all, but RFK jr is exposing the reasons why we as Americans are being mislead to voting for people who lie to us. When is the last time Americans were encouraged to be the best they could be and put what was best for this Country first and make a positive change? Now we have Americans who are being scared and out of fear approve of policies that have led to America being hated across the world. For those who would think I am a die hard liberal Democrat I am an Independent. I just believe in shining the light on the darkness and believe that America is fighting for her very soul and I want to see America saved for future generations. So yes, I agree with RFK jr on his accessment and encourage this book to be read and passed on so that more people will be awaken to the truth.
My Nephew is in Law School and will be an Enviromental Attorney in Hawaii and that is just one reason I have started to really look into the issues of global warming, the enviroment, etc. I wanted to be informed so I could with knowledge encourage my nephew to choose a path that makes a difference for good. I hope that when my nephew is graduated that he will follow in the footsteps of Robert Kennedy Jr who is fighting for the American people. I do not want my nephew join the energy companies or others who have no concern about the future of this country. Anyway, I plan to give this book to my nephew which I hope will inspire him to choose the right direction when he graduates next June.
This book also answered questions about the Media. I know in my heart he is telling the truth about that as well. With the end of the free press we are in danger of loosing our Democratic Republic. We no longer have an informed citizentry who votes from knowledge of the facts, but bases their decision on misinformation and sound bites.
It takes great courage to be willing to shine the light on the darkness. Robert Kennedy is doing that, not only with this book but with his life long work.
I look forward to reading more books on this issue and passing them on to my nephew while he is in Law School as he is making up his mind as to what direction he will go when he graduates this June.
Eating your own words.......2007-08-03
I loved this book when I read it. "Yes! Finally a real expose!"
But then I read Cape Wind: Money, Celebrity, Class, Politics, and the Battle for Our Energy Future on Nantucket Sound, which tells about how the Cape Cod elite, which of course includes the environmentally enlightened Kennedy family, and was appalled once again how NIMBYism could blind even the most devoted people.
Certainly read this book, because it is very much worth your time, but read Cape Wind afterwards, for even more insight into the politics of the environment!
impeach bush.......2007-07-03
If the allegations about corruption and lying described in this book are true, which they probably are because there where no denials from the white house, why is Bush still in office ? Why are the Democrats such toothless whiners, not taking action to rid the US of Bush and restore the values America was once respected and admired for? This Administration is kicking your values with their feet and is destroying your country and your kids heritage. Look at libby, why isnt there a huge Uproar in the US ? Be a patriot, impeach Bush !
Average customer rating:
- Excellent overview...
- Weak; Verbose on non-thesis topics; Disappointing
- My eyes will never be the same.
- Visionary
- PowerDown is a powerful book
|
PowerDown: Options And Actions For A Post-Carbon World
Richard Heinberg
Manufacturer: New Society Publishers
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Similar Items:
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The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century
-
The Party's Over: Oil, War And The Fate Of Industrial Societies
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Beyond Oil: The View from Hubbert's Peak
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Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy
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The Coming Economic Collapse: How You Can Thrive When Oil Costs $200 a Barrel
ASIN: 0865715106 |
Book Description
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 in mind a punishing game of "Last One Standing."
The alternative is "Powerdown," a strategy that will require tremendous effort and economic sacrifice in order to reduce per-capita resource usage in wealthy countries, develop alternative energy sources, distribute resources more equitably, and reduce the human population humanely but systematically over time. While civil society organizations push for a mild version of this, the vast majority of the world's people are in the dark, not understanding the challenges ahead, nor the options realistically available.
Powerdown speaks frankly to these dilemmas. Avoiding cynicism and despair, it begins with an overview of the likely impacts of oil and natural gas depletion and then outlines four options for industrial societies during the next decades:
- Last One Standing: the path of competition for remaining resources;
- Powerdown: the path of cooperation, conservation, and sharing;
- Waiting for a Magic Elixir: wishful thinking, false hopes, and denial;
- Building Lifeboats: the path of community solidarity and preservation.
Finally, the book explores how three important groups within global society - the power élites, the opposition to the élites (the antiwar and anti-globalization movements, et al: the "Other Superpower"), and ordinary people - are likely to respond to these four options. Timely, accessible and eloquent, Powerdown is crucial reading for our times.
Listen to an interview with Richard Heinberg from WRPI.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent overview..........2007-10-11
As with "The Long Emergency" I won't go into too much detail since there are already many excellent reviews of this book. However, I do feel it is important to add my voice since all the evidence points to the fact that what Heinberg and the other "peak oil" folks are saying is reality...
Heinberg has done a remarkable job of presenting the overall picture of the main issue: our reliance on cheap oil as the basis for civilization and how we are now at the time when cheap oil is about to disappear. He presents the facts in a very quick way since his other book, "The Party's Over" goes into much more detail on the subject.
He then presents the reader with four possible scenarios to deal with the problem. Unfortunately, the first one ("last man standing") is basically a great die-off due to resource wars and appears to be our present choice. The second one, "power down", involves massive global reductions in consumption. It makes the most sense but, of course, is beyond any political level to implement. The next one is some sort of new-age "technology will save us" way to sleepwalk into a die-off. And finally there is the individual and, potentially, community-level life-boat building solution.
To be honest, the prospects even for the last solution are daunting. However, I must say that Heinberg gives all possibilities equal presentation and stays remarkably calm and neutral as he develops all possibilities. The choice is up to the reader...
The writing style is engaging and his sidebar "stories" are excellent. This is a quick and interesting read.
This book is really just a simplistic view of "Limits to Growth" and Jantsch's seminal "The Self-Organizing Universe: Scientific and Human Implications of the Emerging Paradigm of Evolution" where these projections were made a long time ago. Too bad the baby-boomers didn't read and learn back then...
Weak; Verbose on non-thesis topics; Disappointing.......2007-07-15
The first 85 pages (of a 186 page book) are dedicated to verbosely enumerating the arguments from his previous book (without effectively arguing his reasoning). He also spends quite a bit of space to describing his opinions of the current U.S. administration. While I might agree with his political opinions, I believe that he undermines the thesis of this book in the minds of a lot more people. It is this reason why I would categorize this book is really nothing more than a "preaching to the choir" book.
The heart of the book is a 28 page chapter named "Powerdown" which provides some suggestions, but is mostly fluff. Probably the most important page in the chapter is the list of books that actually do discuss the powerdown scenario.
The third chapter is about how technology is unlikely to save us from dwindling energy.
The fourth chapter is about how people would react to the coming situation. He spends quite a while rehashing Gibbon's arguments on Rome and Diamond's arguments about ecological collapse. If you've read those two books you'll quickly notice that Heinberg and these two authors are on completely different planes of scholarship.
I was excited that he discussed, however briefly, how we might save information from the coming Dark Ages. Though, it was for only two pages.
Overall I thought that the author's arguments were weak and there really wasn't much that I got out of this book. I hope that other (and future) books in this genre will describe and defend the thesis better, and they should give more suggestions of what to do.
My eyes will never be the same........2007-04-29
From the article titled "Document Says Oil Chiefs Met With Cheney Task Force", in the Washington Post, "The White House went to great lengths to keep these meetings secret, and now oil executives may be lying to Congress about their role in the Cheney task force," Lautenberg said.
You might find the answer for why we are in Iraq, if you were to read "Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World". This book is not a fiction based peak oil theory written by some fanatic. If the CIA were to have read this book, I think their internal book review would be a shocking confirmation. With the connection in the recent news of Cheney's secret energy meeting with oil execs, the CIA to Cheney, Cheney to the oil industry, the unprecedented preemptive war in Iraq, the facts in this book about how horrible the prospect, limited the options are and awful I feel to contemplate it all, all point to the fact that we, the American people don't want to know the truth, but read it or not, we will know that truth soon as we are forced to deal with it. How bad is the situation? On a scale from 0 to 10, it is off the scale.
Nostalgia for the good ol' days will seem sad and silly, for these days are the last of the good ol' days. you will not have any problem believing it unless you do not finish it or choose to live in denial. All good things must end and concidering the way the world has squandered a non-renewable resource like oil, it is a soon to be obvious and logical eventuality.
How much can you afford to pay for a gallon of gas in today's economy? How much will gas cost in a collapsed economy where your money isn't worth 10 cents on a dollar?
Who could ever have imagined 9/11? Or even what possible reasons there could be for a 9/11 conspiracy? Or presidential election fraud 2 elections in a row? A democratic government that does not have to tell you anything except that, "that information is secret" or "that information would jeopardize the security of" what or who? I can't really say I want to know either.
What I see now when I go about my days are people of all ages enjoying a good life that they do not know is about to come to an end, objects I use like monofilament fishing line, my toothbrush, anything plastic or that comes in plastic or in part is plastic, clothes, shoes, carpet and more all made from oil. Things I do and once enjoyed without a thought, drive to the store, watch a movie, listen to music, to the radio, and the variety of food available to me, may all be unaffordable even if available in my lifetime, what is left of it anyway. Do I want to feel this way? No. Do I want you to? No.
In the sci-fi movie "They Live" an economic crisis brings unemployed Nada (Roddy Piper) to L.A. in search of work. What he finds instead is that the ruling elite of the world are aliens in disguise, their aim being to keep humans in a state of mindless consumerism. His discovery comes when he dons a pair of special sunglasses made by a resistance group and sees for the first time reality unadorned. Billboards, store signs, magazine covers--all bear subliminal messages to OBEY, to CONSUME, to have NO INDEPENDENT THOUGHT. Money itself says THIS IS YOUR GOD. But worst of all, with these glasses you see which of us are really hideous, bug-eyed aliens.
Reading "Powerdown" is like putting on a pair of special sunglasses but you can only wish you could take them off. My eyes will never be the same.
Visionary.......2007-03-09
A must read for anyone concerned about the future. Heinberg understands the factors that will shape our world in the years to come as well as anyone.
PowerDown is a powerful book.......2007-01-11
Although the concept of Peak Oil and the implications it brings is growing in awareness amongst the general public, most people still don't understand what we will be facing in our lifetimes. This is an excellent primer for those who want to learn about peak oil, it's ramifications and what you can do to cope with this very real eventuality. Share it with those you love.
Books:
- Time Is Of The Essence (Indigo: Sensuous Love Stories)
- Water and Power: The Conflict over Los Angeles' Water Supply in the Owens Valley
- What Every Manager Should Know About Training: An Insider's Guide to Getting Your Money's Worth From Training.
- What Government Can Do: Dealing With Poverty and Inequality (American Politics and Political Economy)
- White Ghost Girls
- Advertising Secrets of the Written Word: The Ultimate Resource on How to Write Powerful Advertising Copy from One of America's Top Copywriters and Mail Order Entrepreneurs
- Alice Waters and Chez Panisse: The Romantic, Impractical, Often Eccentric, Ultimately Brilliant Making of a Food Revolution
- America's Great Depression
- American Environmentalism: Readings In Conservation History
- Basic College Mathematics (7th Edition) (Lial Developmental Mathematics Series)
Books Index
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