Bing Thom Works
Green Architecture by
When is a house ecological? Does the use of natural materials and solar cells on the roof make a building an example of ""green"" architecture? Perhaps even Antoni Gaud? and Frank Lloyd Wright designed ""greener"" buildings than most contemporary architects, whose low-energy houses scarcely differ outwardly from traditional ones. James Wines puts up the various - and often irreconcilable - concepts of environmentally-friendly architecture for discussion, making a case for an architecture that not only focuses on technological solutions, but also tries to reconcile man and nature in its formal idiom. Among the examples of contemporary ecological architecture presented are works by Emilio Ambasz, Gustav Peichl, Arthur Quarmby, Jean Nouvel, Sim Van der Ryn, Jourda and Perraudin, Log ID, James Cutler, Stanley Saitowitz, Fran'ois Roche, Nigel Coates and Michael Sorkin.
Kick the Fossil Fuel Habit by
KICK is the first gift book on this subject. Richly illustrated and accessible, it addresses achievable solutions that will have a real and meaningful impact on the future for our children. It has been conceived to appeal to a broad range of readers on multiple levels. For those who skim read pull-quotes and captions, Kick provides an engaging glimpse of this fascinating subject. For those who seek deeper understanding, the lively factual text provides an easy-to-understand summary of the technologies and supports all claims with scientifically-verified endnotes -- from a politically neutral technology expert. KICK will, engage, entertain and educate the public about one the most important subjects of our time.
The Renaissance of Renewable Energy by
This book provides detailed yet easily understandable information about sustainable energy alternatives in the context of growing public concern about climate change, the impending fuel crisis and environmental degradation. It deals with the history of energy use and the factors that have led to the current interest in energy alternatives and assesses the chance of renewable energy replacing fossil fuels in the future. The authors manage to make a highly complex and often intimidating subject not only accessible but also engaging and entertaining. This book unpacks but never simplifies the science of energy, leavening the more technical passages with anecdotes, metaphors, examples and imagery. By also dealing with the history, politics and economics of energy use, it offers both scientific and non-scientific readers a deeper understanding of the most important issue of our age.
Renewable Energy by 
Sustainability by
A concise and accessible examination of sustainability in a range of contemporary contexts, from economic development to government policy. The word "sustainability" has been connected to everything from a certain kind of economic development to corporate promises about improved supply sourcing. But despite the apparent ubiquity of the term, the concept of sustainability has come to mean a number of specific things. In this accessible guide to the meanings of sustainability, Kent Portney describes the evolution of the idea and examines its application in a variety of contemporary contexts--from economic growth and consumption to government policy and urban planning. Portney takes as his starting point the 1987 definition by the World Commission on Environment and Development of sustainability as economic development activity that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." At its heart, Portney explains, sustainability focuses on the use and depletion of natural resources. It is not the same as environmental protection or natural resource conservation; it is more about finding some sort of steady state so that the earth can support both human population and economic growth. Portney looks at political opposition to the promotion of sustainability, which usually questions the need for sustainability or calls its costs unacceptable; collective and individual consumption of material goods and resources and to what extent they must be curtailed to achieve sustainability; the role of the private sector, and the co-opting of sustainability by corporations; government policy on sustainability at the international, national, and subnational levels; and how cities could become models for sustainability action.
Sustainability- Building Eco Friendly Communities by 
Cities by