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On May 4, 2007, an EF5 tornado destroyed the town of Greensburg in south central Kansas. In the desperate days immediately after the catastrophe, town leaders-including the ex-cop mayor, the city manager, and an environmentalist from Colorado - launched a program to rebuild Greensburg green. Just like the name of the town. Before the tornado, Greensburg was slowly dying, a village about to be buried in the Great Plains. Now it is a mecca for eco-tourists. Author Robert Fraga taught math for 20 years in Egypt, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia. Later he taught at Ripon College in Wisconsin and Baker University in Kansas. His two books on mathematics are entitled Calculus Problems for a New Century and War Stories from Applied Math. He and his wife Jean Grant, parents of two grown children, live in Lawrence, Kan., and the Dordogne region of France.

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Don’t hide that patch, make it a bold, beautiful embellishment! Repair holes with bright thread and a creative darning stitch; revive a stained shirt with fun embroidery! In Mend It Better, popular craft blogger Kristin M. Roach puts a new spin on mending by adapting traditional techniques for today’s crafty sewers. With detailed photography to show each step, she teaches a wide range of patching, darning, and repair stitches using both hand and machine sewing. The how-to text is accompanied by dozens of inspiring examples from Kristin’s own work and that of other craft bloggers and artisans. You'll love the innovative solutions using appliqués, patches, brightly colored accents, and intricate lace details. With Mend It Better, every garment and fabric repair is a chance for self-expression and fabulous creations.

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PlyDesign presents 73 ideas for sleek, smart home furnishings that you can make from off-the-shelf sheet materials using only basic hand and power tools. With designs contributed by more than 50 creative builders across North America, the projects include tables, stools, workstations, benches, laptop stands, shelves, art panels, organizers, headboards, doghouses, dollhouses, and more. A photo of each finished project is accompanied by a list of needed tools and materials, cutting and assembly diagrams, and clear step-by-step instructions.

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The chemical pollution that irrevocably damages today's environment is, although many would like us to believe otherwise, the legacy of conscious choices made long ago. During the years before and just after World War II, discoveries like leaded gasoline and DDT came to market, creating new hazards even as the expansion and mechanization of industry exacerbated old ones. Dangers still felt today--smog, pesticides, lead, chromium, chlorinated solvents, asbestos, even global warming--were already recognized by chemists, engineers, doctors, and business managers of that era. A few courageous individuals spoke out without compromise, but still more ignored scientific truth in pursuit of money and prestige.

The Polluters reveals at last the crucial decisions that allowed environmental issues to be trumped by political agendas. It spotlights the leaders of the chemical industry and describes how they applied their economic and political power to prevent the creation of an effective system of environmental regulation. Research was slanted, unwelcome discoveries were suppressed, and friendly experts were placed in positions of influence, as science was subverted to serve the interests of business. The story of The Polluters is one that needs to be told, an unflinching depiction of the onslaught of chemical pollution and the chemical industry's unwillingness to face up to its devastating effects.

Features

• Traces back the roots of current environmental problems and shows they were understood far earlier than most people believe and industry will admit
• Demonstrates that many crucial decisions that allowed pollution were not caused by lack of knowledge or mistakes, but were the outcome of political conflicts in which economic interests prevailed
• Reveals new documents showing that industries knew of toxic hazards long before the public

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The Integral Urban House: Self Reliant Living in the City is a comprehensive guide to achieving a completely sustainable urban lifestyle by creating a mini-ecosystem where residents grow their own fruits and vegetables, raise chickens, rabbits, and fish, recycle 90% of their waste, solar heat their hot water, and use a variety of other alternative technologies—all on a 1/8-acre city lot. Long considered the bible of urban homesteading, this book is the result of four years of living with and refining the systems of the Integral Urban House in Berkeley, California — a collaborative project which combined the collective skills of the members of the Farallones Institute to develop a center for creating and testing experimental, ecologically stable and resource-conserving living systems. With its vision of an intimate connection between the urban habitat and ecological principles The Integral Urban House will inspire and empower people to act within their own communities to create places where they can live more sustainably.

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In today's world, when making home improvements, there is more to consider than simply changing the way your home looks or functions. Environmental issues should be part of every decision you make, from selecting fabric for soft furnishings to designing and siting a home extension. Eco House Book provides all the information you need to reduce your home's carbon footprint and directly improve your quality of life.

Most homes are not decorated, designed, constructed or serviced with eco-friendliness in mind. But you don't have to start again from scratch to make a huge difference in the impact your home has on the environment. We can do a great deal to convert our existing homes into greener, healthier places to live. Eco House Book explains how relatively small changes can be made (e.g., simple energy efficiency improvements, water saving tips) as well as more dramatic overhauls (such as redesigning room use, converting basements and extending your home).

Reducing the vast amounts of energy and water that homes consume on a daily basis receives special attention. You'll find advice on low-energy lighting strategies and decorative choices, improving insulation, the latest green heating systems, alternative ways of generating power, and electricity-reducing appliances.

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Other books tell us how to live the good life … but you might have to win the lottery to do it. Making Home is about improving life with the real people around us and the resources we already have. While encouraging us to be more resilient in the face of hard times, author Sharon Astyk also points out the beauty, grace and elegance that result, because getting the most out of everything we use is a way of transforming our lives into something much more fulfilling.

Written from the perspective of a family who has already made this transition, Making Home shows readers how to turn the challenge of living with less into settling for more: more happiness, more security and more peace of mind. Learn simple but effective strategies to:

• Save money on everything from heating and cooling to refrigeration, laundry, water, sanitation, cooking and cleaning
• Create a stronger, more resilient family
• Preserve more for future generations

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A guide to raising chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys, with 27 recipes

Backyard poultry have gained popularity in recent years as some municipalities loosen regulations to allow homeowners to keep coops. Raising poultry is a sustainable activity, which in relatively little space produces fresh eggs and meat.

Eggs and Poultry is organized in five sections. The first four cover everything needed to successfully keep the most popular types of poultry: chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys. It discusses the pros and cons of each and provides all the information needed to start out, including building a shelter, planning runs and ponds, dealing with pests and problems, laying and breeding, incubating and hatching, slaughter, and plucking and drawing. Butcher skills are also illustrated.

The 80-page recipe section features 27 delicious dishes and explains the essentials of cooking with eggs and poultry, from deboning a chicken and other butcher skills to cooking methods such as coddling eggs. Recipes include Eggs Benedict, Smoked Eggs with Halloumi, Turkey Pie, Crispy Duck with Pancakes, Southwestern Fried Chicken, Confit Duck with Caramelized Orange and Fennel Salad, Lemon Pepper Chicken Nuggets, The Ultimate Turkey Burger and Goose Livers with Cider.

Eggs and Poultry is aimed directly at an audience who dream of, or are actually enjoying, the authors' made-at-home lifestyle. It is a beautiful and practical addition to the cookbook shelf.

About the Made at Home book series

A new series for living the good life!

Father-and-son team Dick and James Strawbridge have long lived the good life on their small acreage, and now they’re sharing their years of knowledge and experience with readers via their Made at Home series of books. This exciting collection draws on the invaluable wisdom they’ve gleaned while producing an abundance of good things to eat and drink: organic fruits and vegetables grown, juiced, fermented, and preserved; pigs smoked for ham, sausages, salamis, and bacon; a mixed flock of birds used for eggs and eating; and bees raised for honey. It's an enviable lifestyle driven by a desire to eat well every day.

And it doesn’t require a lot of space. Made at Home contains numerous adaptations to urban and suburban life. Plants are grown in small lots and pots, chickens are kept in backyard pens, and meat items are smoked in the backyard. It’s proof positive that anyone can live the good life.

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Country Living magazine knows that beautiful handcrafted accents are as essential a part of a home, sweet home as a comfy cushion to sink into at the end of a long day. Whether it's richly indulgent herbal soaps, vintage-inspired woven pillows, a keepsake family album, or beeswax tapers to illuminate a dinner party, the 75 projects in this varied collection will warm your heart … and give a personal touch to every room in the house.