Would you like to live in a comfortable, well-insulated sustainable home that costs no more to build than a conventional home? Would you like this home to be capable of providing its own heating and cooling systems with utilities bills of less than 10 % per month compared to what they would cost in a conventional home? Would you like the energy used for heating, cooling, lighting, and cooking to be from renewable sources such as the sun and/or wind that are available right on your property? Would you like to be able to sell your unused power back to the electric grid? Would you like to know that the comfortable, sustainable home in which you are living is sustaining your pocketbook? And, finally, would you like to know that your home is also helping to sustain the Earth by using non-polluting renewable energy sources and building materials? If you answer “yes” to even one of these questions, you should read this book. I know this sounds too good to be true. That is exactly how I felt when I first became interested in sustainable homes. As a scientist, I am by no means a person with the skills necessary to build such a home. But as I discovered more about sustainable homes and their advantages, I decided I had to try having a sustainable home built for myself. I also learned you can build sustainably no matter whether you are in town, in suburbia, or in a rural area. I am writing this book for several audiences. First, if you are interested in any or all of the benefits of sustainable homes, this book is definitely for you. It will give you information on available sustainable technologies; how to select an appropriate area in which to build and a site in that area that would be good for building; how to select a good architect, a knowledgeable engineer, a reliable sustainable builder and crew; how to obtain financing; how to work with inspectors; and how to integrate different sustainable technologies and equipment into the home. This book will also be helpful to people who are considering joining the growing sustainability infrastructure of architects, loan officers, engineers, builders, building suppliers, computer engineers, and natural landscape experts. These experts are creating the foundation for a sustainable construction industry. This is a new, exciting, and expanding cooperative of experts who enjoy innovative and challenging opportunities. The sustainability approach allows us to integrate and balance environmental, economic, and societal considerations.

Unlock the Secrets to a Longer, Healthier Life with "The Blue Zones" Imagine a life where vibrant health, relentless energy, and remarkable longevity are part of your daily reality. Dive into "The Blue Zones," an extraordinary exploration of the world's most remarkable longevity hot spots, and discover their powerful secrets to a long, fulfilling life. Start your journey by uncovering the mysteries of the Blue Zones. What makes these unique communities, spanning from Okinawa to Loma Linda, so special? Delve into the underlying science and uncover common traits that set them apart in Chapter 1. Experience the Okinawan way of life in Chapter 2 by immersing yourself in the power of "Ikigai" – a sense of purpose that invigorates everyday living. Learn about the health benefits of a plant-based diet, traditional foods, and the importance of tight-knit community bonds. Chapter 3 takes you to Sardinia, where family ties and daily physical activity foster unparalleled longevity. Uncover the Mediterranean diet practices that contribute to a heart-healthy lifestyle. You'll then visit Ikaria, an island where people practically forget to die. Chapter 4 reveals their stress reduction techniques, nutrient-rich diet, and leisurely daily routines that contribute to their exceptional lifespans. Travel to Costa Rica's Nicoya Peninsula in Chapter 5 and discover the secret of a strong sense of purpose, pristine water, and a profound connection to nature. Chapter 6 transports you to Loma Linda, USA, where faith, community, and preventive health practices converge to create a unique American Blue Zone. Explore the collective wisdom of these incredible regions across dedicated chapters. Learn about the role of diet, social connectedness, natural movement, and mental well-being in promoting longevity. Chapters 7-12 provide a comprehensive guide to incorporating these habits into your own life, from adopting plant-based nutrition to fostering meaningful connections. Finally, Chapters 13-15 empower you to adopt Blue Zone habits in practical, accessible ways. Transform your daily routine, learn from centenarians, and craft a personalized longevity plan that suits your lifestyle. "The Blue Zones" offers you a blueprint to lasting health and happiness. Embrace the legacy of these timeless regions and make every day a step toward a longer, richer life. Your journey to optimal well-being starts now.

US cities are faced with the joint challenge of our climate crisis and the lack of housing that is affordable and healthy. Our housing stock contributes significantly to the changing climate, with residential buildings accounting for 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. US housing is not only unhealthy for the planet, it is putting the physical and financial health of residents at risk. Our housing system means that a renter working 40 hours a week and earning minimum wage cannot afford a two-bedroom apartment in any US county. In Gray to Green Communities, green affordable housing expert Dana Bourland argues that we need to move away from a gray housing model to a green model, which considers the health and well-being of residents, their communities, and the planet. She demonstrates that we do not have to choose between protecting our planet and providing housing affordable to all. Bourland draws from her experience leading the Green Communities Program at Enterprise Community Partners, a national community development intermediary. Her work resulted in the first standard for green affordable housing which was designed to deliver measurable health, economic, and environmental benefits. The book opens with the potential of green affordable housing, followed by the problems that it is helping to solve, challenges in the approach that need to be overcome, and recommendations for the future of green affordable housing. Gray to Green Communities brings together the stories of those who benefit from living in green affordable housing and examples of Green Communities’ developments from across the country. Bourland posits that over the next decade we can deliver on the human right to housing while reaching a level of carbon emissions reductions agreed upon by scientists and demanded by youth. Gray to Green Communities will empower and inspire anyone interested in the future of housing and our planet.

The world has changed dramatically. We no longer live in a world relatively empty of humans and their artifacts. We now live in the “Anthropocene,” era in a full world where humans are dramatically altering our ecological life-support system. Our traditional economic concepts and models were developed in an empty world. If we are to create sustainable prosperity, if we seek “improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities,” we are going to need a new vision of the economy and its relationship to the rest of the world that is better adapted to the new conditions we face. We are going to need an economics that respects planetary boundaries, that recognizes the dependence of human well-being on social relations and fairness, and that recognizes that the ultimate goal is real, sustainable human well-being, not merely growth of material consumption. This new economics recognizes that the economy is embedded in a society and culture that are themselves embedded in an ecological life-support system, and that the economy cannot grow forever on this finite planet. In this report, we discuss the need to focus more directly on the goal of sustainable human well-being rather than merely GDP growth. This includes protecting and restoring nature, achieving social and intergenerational fairness (including poverty alleviation), stabilizing population, and recognizing the significant nonmarket contributions to human well-being from natural and social capital. To do this, we need to develop better measures of progress that go well beyond GDP and begin to measure human well-being and its sustainability more directly.

The essential guide to energy independence – fully revised and updated

Values information from AI is a collection of information and images of values generated from an AI tool as part of The Values We Share Project to promote values. All information in this book can be used to promote values and can be used as material in values formation programs. All information in this book will also be used in The Values We Share Project videos, materials and courses in the future. Visit The Values We Share Project at http://thevaluesweshare.info.

Completely updated, the eighth edition of 'Environmental Science' enlightens students on the fundamental causes of the current environmental crisis and offers ideas on how we, as a global community, can create a sustainable future.