The Carbon Buster's Home Energy Handbook


Book Description

Most people are unaware that environmental problems such as climate change can be easily avoided, at a profit, through the intelligent application of appropriate technology. The Carbon Buster's Handbook describes how to achieve this goal in the residential field. The first book in North America to provide a detailed carbon accounting of a family's carbon emissions and how to reduce them, it systematically analyzes energy costs and evaluates which measures yield the highest returns for the environment and the pocketbook. It provides answers to questions such as: Which measure is more effective: putting solar panels on your roof, or buying a hybrid car? Where do I need to invest first: in high-efficiency shower-heads, or solar tubes? Is a $500 fridge that uses 800 kWh of power per year a good buy? The book allows individuals to quickly and accurately assess which products are a good deal and which aren't. It systematically analyzes residential carbon emissions and energy costs and prioritizes solutions based on highest carbon reductions and monetary returns, yielding results that are often surprising. The book enables readers to dramatically reduce their carbon emissions - far below the levels targeted under the Kyoto Protocol. At the same time, readers implementing the recommendations will save an average of US$15,000 in energy costs over the next five years.




When Technology Fails


Book Description

There’s never been a better time to be prepared. "This book is an indispensable basic manual for the real-life issues that await us in the decades to come. . . [A] treasure trove of practical wisdom."—James Howard Kunstler, author of The Geography of Nowhere Matthew Stein’s comprehensive primer on sustainable living skills—from food and water to shelter and energy to first-aid and crisis-management skills—prepares you to embark on the path toward sustainability. But unlike any other book, Stein not only shows you how to live green in seemingly stable times, but to live in the face of potential disasters, lasting days or years, coming in the form of social upheaval, economic meltdown, or environmental catastrophe. When Technology Fails covers the gamut. Inside, you’ll learn: The basics of installing a renewable energy system for your home or business How to find and sterilize water in the face of utility failure How to keep warm if you’ve been left temporarily homeless Practical information for dealing with water-quality issues Alternative health and first-aid techniques Each chapter describes skills for self-reliance in good times and bad. Chapters Include: A survey of the risks to the status quo Supplies and preparation for short- and long-term emergencies Emergency measures for survival Prepping water, food, shelter, and clothing First aid, low-tech medicine, and healing Securing energy, heat, and power Metalworking Utensils and storage Low-tech chemistry engineering, machines, and materials Fully revised and expanded, When Technology Fails ends on a positive, proactive note with a chapter on “Making the Shift to Sustainability,” which offers practical suggestions for changing our world on personal, community and global levels.




The Climate Challenge


Book Description

It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the urgency of global climate change. But when author Guy Dauncey assembles the world's best solutions in one place, as he does in The Climate Challenge, a vision emerges of a sustainable energy revolution. He opens the door to a century of exciting change, characterized by renewable energy, sustainable farming, carbon-rich forestry, green cities, electric vehicles, high-speed trains, a blossoming of innovation, and a host of new "green collar" jobs. The Climate Challenge draws on working solutions from around the world, and lays out the best actions for students and scientists, musicians and mayors, policy-makers and presidents, showing how it is possible to reduce our carbon footprint to almost zero by 2040. Each solution describes steps that are already being used in homes, schools, businesses, cities, and governments around the world - with full scientific references to help the reader dig deeper and push farther. If you worry about climate change, whether you are an enquiring teenager, a concerned householder, a farmer, forester, business leader, city mayor, or global policy-maker, this book will help you join the movement to help restore the planet's climate and build a new green economy.




The Permaculture Promise


Book Description

Permaculture is a sustainability buzzword, but many people wonder what it actually means and why it is relevant. Originally coined by combining the words permanent and agriculture, permaculture has evolved into an optimistic approach connecting all the systems of human life: gardening, housing, transportation, energy, and how we structure our communities. The Permaculture Promise explains in simple terms why permaculture may be the key to unlocking a livable future on our planet. Author Jono Neiger asserts that humans can thrive while simultaneously making Earth healthier and not destroying it. The book shows 22 ways that permaculture can create a better future for all living things. Profiles of people and communities — including an urban dweller who tore up her driveway to create a vegetable garden and a California housing development that dedicates a third of its land to parks, orchards, and gardens — will inspire you to incorporate permaculture principles into your life today.




The Complete Idiot's Guide to Renewable Energy for Your Home


Book Description

An essential how-to on powering your home with sun, wind, water, and more. For readers wanting to save money-and the planet-by using alternative energy, this book provides everything they need to know. The five basic sources are fully covered: sun, wind, water, earth, and bio. The benefits, what is needed, and whether it will work for a particular home are all carefully laid out in this comprehensive overview: ? Solar energy for home heating, water heating, and electricity ? Wind power, hydrogen, and micro hydro power ? Heat pumps-air, geothermal, and water source ? Heating with wood and going bio




Sustainable Networks in Smart Grid


Book Description

Sustainable Networks in Smart Grid presents global challenges in smart metering with renewable energy resources, micro-grid design, communication technologies, big data, privacy and security in the smart grid. Providing an overview of different available PLC technologies and configurations and their applications in different sectors, this book provides case studies and practical implementation details of smart grid technology, paying special attention to Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) scenarios with the presence of Distribution Grid (DG) and Electric Vehicles (EV). Covering regulatory policies for energy storage, management strategies for microgrid operation, and key performance indicators for smart grid development, this reference compiles up-to-date information on different aspects of the Internet of Smart Metering. In addition, innovative contributions on Data Analytics, Energy Theft Detection, Data-Driven Framework, Blockchain–IoT-enabled Sensor Networks, and Smart Contacts in the Blockchain are also included. - Includes case studies and practical implementation examples of different smart grid applications, their benefits, characteristics and requirements - Provides a SWOT analysis of the impact of recent regulatory changes on the business case for energy storage (ES) - Presents a comprehensive survey of privacy-preserving schemes for smart grid communications




Home Sweet Zero Energy Home


Book Description

This practical guidebook to zero energy homes focuses on real costs and savings, exploring such topics as site selection and passive design, heating and cooling, and financial resources and incentives. Original.




Optimistic Environmentalist, The


Book Description

A hopeful, inspiring, and honest take on the environment Yes, the world faces substantial environmental challenges — climate change, pollution, and extinction. But the surprisingly good news is that we have solutions to these problems. In the past 50 years, a remarkable number of environmental problems have been solved, while substantial progress is ongoing on others. The Optimistic Environmentalist chronicles these remarkable success stories. Endangered species — from bald eagles to gray whales — pulled back from the precipice of extinction. Thousands of new parks, protecting billions of hectares of land and water. The salvation of the ozone layer, vital to life on Earth. The exponential growth of renewable energy powered by wind, water, and sun. The race to be the greenest city in the world. Remarkable strides in cleaning up the air we breathe and the water we drink. The banning of dozens of the world's most toxic chemicals. A circular economy where waste is a thing of the past. Past successes pave the way for even greater achievements in the future. Providing a powerful antidote to environmental despair, this book inspires optimism, leading readers to take action and exemplifying how change can happen. A bright green future is not only possible, it's within our grasp.




The Climate Diet


Book Description

The atmosphere is getting fat on our carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions and it needs our help. We live in a world of excess, consuming too much of everything-food, clothes, cars, toys, shoes, bricks, and mortar. Our bingeing is often so extreme that it threatens our own health and wellbeing. And we are not the only ones who are getting sick. The Earth, which provides the food, air, water, and land that sustains us, is also under severe pressure. We either take steps to put our personal and planetary systems back into balance or we suffer the consequences. So, what does any unhealthy overweight person do when the doctor tells him or her that they are eating themselves into an early grave? Go on a diet! This is the must-have guide to the most important diet ever, explaining climate change concepts, problems, and solutions in ways that anyone can easily understand. Following a six-step climate diet plan, families will be able to count their carbon calories and learn how to reduce them, leaving us with a slim healthy planet now and for the future.




David Suzuki's Green Guide


Book Description

Everyone knows that the planet is in trouble, but is there a solution? This timely book identifies the most effective ways individuals can be more green in four key areas: home, travel, food, and consumerism. It also describes how citizens can ensure that governments take the actions necessary to make sustainable lifestyles the norm instead of the exception. Environmental lawyer David Boyd and celebrated ecologist David Suzuki provide vital tips for choosing a home, creating a healthy indoor environment, and decreasing energy and water use — and utility bills. They discuss what readers can do to drive and fly less, profile the most environmentally friendly transportation choices, and explain how to purchase carbon credits, among other suggestions. In addition, they offer simple changes individuals can make in their diet to eat fresher, tastier, healthier food. Included too is invaluable advice about how to buy fewer things and avoid toxic consumer products.