A classic is back in print! One of the favorite books of 1970s back-to-the-landers, The Toilet Papers is an informative, inspiring, and irreverent look at how people have dealt with their wastes through the centuries. In a historical survey, Van der Ryn provides the basic facts concerning human wastes, and describes safe designs for toilets that reduce water consumption and avert the necessity for expensive and unreliable treatment systems. The Toilet Papers provides do-it-yourself plans for a basic compost privy and a variety of graywater systems.

"Renewable energy expert Mark Diesendorf issues a powerful challenge in this clear and comprehensive guide to the technology and policies we need to adopt to ensure an ecologically sustainable energy future for the planet. Sustainable Energy Solutions for Climate Change brings together the science, technology, economics and policy issues to provide a unique and truly interdisciplinary approach. It details the enormous recent changes in the energy sector and profiles the renewable energy technologies that can transform our fossil-fuelled energy systems into ecologically sustainable ones. The book provides in-depth analysis of: scenarios for transitioning our polluting energy system to one based on the efficient use of renewable energy; sustainable transport and planning for better cities; why nuclear energy is not the answer; the politics and policies of climate change mitigation; myths about wind and solar energy and energy efficiency; what people can do to overcome vested interests and push reluctant governments to take effective action"--

A study of two bridges between science and society: governmental science policy and scientists' voluntary public-interest associations. According to a widespread stereotype, scientists occupy an ivory tower, isolated from other parts of society. To some extent this is true, and the resulting freedom to pursue curiosity-driven research has made possible extraordinary scientific advances. The spinoffs of "pure" science, however, have also had powerful impacts on society, and the potential for future impacts is even greater. The public and many policymakers, as well as many researchers, have paid insufficient attention to the mechanisms for interchange between science and society that have developed since World War II. Ivory Bridges examines two such mechanisms: governmental science policy (often involving the participation of "scientist administrators") and scientists' voluntary public-interest associations. The examination of science policy is guided by the notion of "Jeffersonian science"---defined as basic research on topics identified as being in the national interest. The book illustrates the concept with a historical case study of the Press-Carter Initiative of the late 1970s and proposes that a Jeffersonian approach would make a valuable addition to future science policy. The book also looks at the activities of citizen-scientists who have organized themselves to promote the welfare of society. It shows that their numerous and diverse organizations have made major contributions to the commonweal and that they have helped to prevent science from becoming either too subservient to government or too autonomous. An extensive appendix profiles a wide variety of these organizations.

2018 Reprint of 1962 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition software. Bookchin wrote Our Synthetic Environment under the pseudonym Lewis Herber. This was one of the first books of the modern period in which an author espoused an ecological and environmentalist worldview. It predates Silent Spring (1962) by Rachel Carson, a more widely known book on the same topic widely credited as starting the environmental movement. "At the time of its publication, Our Synthetic Environment was the most comprehensive and enlightened book on the environmental crisis. Many other books on this topic have been published since, but none, I believe, as comprehensive." --René Dubos

This volume contains material first presented at an international workshop on the 'Use of Microorganisms to Combat Pollution', held in Israel, May 10--18, 1992. The workshop was sponsored by the Bat-Sheva de Rothschild Foundation for the Advancement of Science and included microbiologists, biochemists and geneticists from universities, environmental agencies and the military. Each of the contributors to this volume is an ack nowledged expert on the treatment of one or more types of pollution using microorganisms or their enzymes. This book differs from most published symposia proceedings in the breadth of coverage of each subject. Most of the chapters are divided into three parts: (a) A general presentation of the source and toxicity of the pollutant, (b) a review of the current state-of-the-science on the biodegradation of that pollutant and (c) the authors' unique research experiences on the problem. In several examples, the authors have presented data from both laboratory studies and field trials. Thus, the book contains not only the theoretical background on the biodegradation of pollutants, but also practical experiences in applying this knowledge to solving significant pollution problems.

The Symposium on the Global Effects of Environmental Pollution has performed an important task; it has helped to determine the world-wide impact of certain types of local pollution and has uncovered certain unsuspected effects that might hold dan gerous implications for the future. This Symposium should help to make the world aware of a crisis that is becoming more ominous and that involves the developing as well as the developed countries - the crisis of the human environment. The causes of this crisis are not difficult to discern. There has been an unprecedented increase in the world's population, an ever-increasing rate of urbanization, and in many countries, a continuous process of industrialization. Essentially, advancing technology has made it possible for a minority of mankind to achieve affluence and holds out hope for improving the well-being of the great majority. But, because it has not been integrated into the natural environment, this very technology - in industry, in agriculture or in transport - is having many undesir able and potentially catastrophic consequences. Our air, our water and our soil are in grave danger. Many species of animal and plant life have become extinct or are facing extinction. The loss to mankind is grave and even the future oflife on earth may be in danger. The challenge is to find ways of repairing the harm already done and to prevent further harm.