Tag Archives: sustainability

Whole Earth Disicpline

Posted on November 8, 2020 by smellincoffee

Whole Earth Disicpline: An Ecopragmatist Approach © 2010 Stewart Brand344 pages Sustainability is context, not a gadget or a single technology. From Stewart Brand, a lifelong environmentalist and creator-editor of the Whole Earth Catalog, comes this fascinating argument that the … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Affluenza

Posted on February 13, 2017 by smellincoffee

Affluenza: the All-Consuming Epidemic© 2001, 2004, 2014  John de Graaf, David Wann, Thomas Naylor288 pages In getting and spending, we lay waste to all our powers — so sayeth the poet. Originally published in 2001, Affluenza is a critique of consumerism, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, Society and Culture | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

On Bikes

Posted on January 26, 2017 by smellincoffee

On Bicycles: 50 Ways the New Bike Culture Can Change Your Life© 2011 ed. Amy Walker384 pages On Bicycles collects fifty cycling pieces, collecting in categories on why biking is awesome, how gear can make it better, how biking can … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

dirt

Posted on March 7, 2014 by smellincoffee

dirt: the erosion of civilizations© 2007 Peter R. Montgomery295 pages             Civilizations rise or crumble on the soundness of their dirt, says David Montgomery. The life of a people is tied to the life of its soil, in its ability … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Gift of Good Land

Posted on February 18, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Gift of Good Land© 1981 Wendell Berry281 pages Wendell Berry is a philosopher, poet, and more, but before all else he is a farmer. He is a faithful son of Kentucky devoted to the land, to the stewardship of … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

small is beautiful

Posted on January 14, 2014 by smellincoffee

small is beautiful: economics as if people mattered© 1973 E.F. Schumacher288 pages Get big or get out, said the Secretary of Agriculture to American farmers in the 1970s. But as the consequences of widespread industrialism and general upheaval began to … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Flushed

Posted on October 27, 2012 by smellincoffee

Flushed: How the Plumber Saved Civilization© 2006 W. Hodding Carter241 pages So, plumbing.  You use it.  Chances are you wouldn’t be alive without it, because civilizations without plumbing tend to be miserable places rife with disease. Despite its importance, not much fuss … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Thoughts on Building Strong Towns

Posted on October 20, 2012 by smellincoffee

Thoughts on Building Strong Towns, Volume I© 2012 Chuck Marohn174 pages$9.95  In California, school districts are being forced to suspend their bus routes. In Alabama,  Jefferson County – home to the state’s largest city, Birmingham – has gone bankrupt. Basic … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Suburban Nation

Posted on June 2, 2012 by smellincoffee

Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream© 2000, 2010 Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck294 pages Compare a modern American city to its European counterparts, or even an older American city, and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment