Sustainability: Articles & Books

The Solar Electricity Handbook is a practical and straightforward guide to using electric solar panels. Assuming no previous knowledge, the book explains how solar panels work, how they can be used and explains the steps you need to take to successfully design and install a solar photovoltaic system from scratch.

If capitalism is such an efficient system, why does 40 percent of all U.S. food production go to waste--while one in six people in the nation face hunger? This startling truth has stirred increasing interest and action of late, but none so radical as that of the freegans, who live on what capitalism throws away--including food culled from supermarket dumpsters. Freegans is a close look at the people in this movement, offering a broader perspective on ethical consumption and the changing nature of capitalism. Freegans object to the overconsumption and environmental degradation on which they claim our economic order depends, and they register that dissent by opting out of it, recovering, redistributing, and consuming wasted goods, from dumpster-dived food to cast-off clothes and furniture. Through several years of fieldwork and in-depth interviews with freegans in New York City, Alex Barnard has created a portrait of freegans that leads to questions about ethical consumption--like buying organic, fair trade, or vegan--and the search for effective forms of action in an era of political disillusionment. Barnard's analysis of this pressing concern reveals how waste is integrally bound up with our food system. At the same time, by showing that markets do not seamlessly translate preferences expressed at the cash register into changes in production, Freegans exposes the limits of consumer activism.

Water is the most important natural resource in your life you use it to drink, to water your lawn, to clean yourself, your dishes, and your clothes, and to cook. Nothing can be done in life without water, and yet if an emergency occurs, the Federal Emergency Management Agency estimates that nearly 4 in 5 Americans would be without access to clean water if a major disaster disrupted or contaminated their public water supply. It is for this reason that many individuals have looked into the possibility of utilising tanks, ponds, and other means of water storage to maintain a safe, viable source of drinking water for them and their families in the case of an emergency. This book will guide you through the process of learning more about these potential lifesaving water storage methods, the legal implications, and the financial aspects of storing your own water for future. There are numerous ways you can store water for emergency or future use; this book will help you learn everything you need to start taking advantage of those methods according to the space you have and the time and money you can invest. You will learn all of the basic design principles of water storage as well as how water quality is measured and maintained while in storage. You will learn the various ways to store water, from soil to direct to aquifers, ponds, open tanks, swimming pools, and tanks. You will learn the various types of water tank design for each method of storage and what each one involves and requires. Water purification and construction experts have been interviewed for this book and their insights have been added to provide you with every possible outlook and detail you might need to effectively store your water. You will learn the necessary aspects of tank roofs, the costs, footings, floorings, designs, and most importantly your local regulations regarding storage of water on your property. You will learn about the hazards involved in water storage and how to deal with inlets, outlets, service access, drains, bugs, and rodents. You will learn about the necessary optional features for safety and quality and how much water you need for emergency storage in different situations. For every possible water storage solution you might be considering, this book will cover every aspect.

The Business Guide to Sustainability is a practical introduction to implementing a comprehensive sustainability strategy in any organization. Written by top business consultants, this useful book can be applied in both large and small enterprises. This edition shifts away from a discussion of CSR to focus more squarely on sustainability. It explores strategies for implementing sustainability in each of the functional areas of the corporation (accounting, HR, operations, etc.), while providing examples from a range of sectors, including manufacturing, services, and government. The book also includes the authors' S-CORE assessment tool to help organizations determine whether they are on the right track, identify new opportunities, and assign accountability and responsibility. Brimming with interesting stories and examples, and covering new developments such as the emergence of BRICs and the effects of the Great Recession, this book will interest managers, business owners, and students for whom sustainability is a priority.