Practical Tools

A Small Farm Future

Small Farm Future

By Chris Smaje, Chelsea Green

A modern classic of the new agrarianism “Chris Smaje…shows that the choice is clear. Either we have a small farm future, or we face collapse and extinction.”—Vandana Shiva “Every young person should read this book.”—Richard Heinberg In a groundbreaking debut, farmer and social scientist Chris Smaje argues that organising society around small-scale farming offers the soundest, sanest and most reasonable response to climate change and other crises of civilisation—and will yield humanity’s best chance at survival. Drawing on a vast range of sources from across a multitude of disciplines, A Small Farm Future analyses the complex forces that make societal change inevitable; explains how low-carbon, locally self-reliant agrarian communities can empower us to successfully confront these changes head on; and explores the pathways for delivering this vision politically. Challenging both conventional wisdom and utopian blueprints, A Small Farm Future offers rigorous original analysis of wicked problems and hidden opportunities in a way that illuminates...

  • December 10, 2020
sitopia

Sitopia

By Carolyn Steel, Penguin Press

We live in a world shaped by food, a Sitopia (sitos - food; topos - place). Food, and how we search for and consume it, has defined our human journey. From our foraging hunter-gatherer ancestors to the enormous appetites of modern cities, food has shaped our bodies and homes, our politics and trade, and our climate. Whether it's the daily decision of what to eat, or the monopoly of industrial food production, food touches every part of our world. But by forgetting its value, we have drifted into a way of life that threatens our planet and ourselves. Yet food remains central to addressing the predicaments and opportunities of our urban, digital age. Drawing on insights from philosophy, history, architecture, literature, politics and science, as well as stories of the farmers, designers and economists who are remaking our relationship with food, Sitopia is a provocative and exhilarating vision for change, and how to thrive on...

  • October 15, 2020
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Trees and lake with distant rocket launch

Energy and Human Ambitions on a Finite Planet (Textbook)

By Tom Murphy, eScholarship

Where is humanity going? How realistic is a future of fusion and space colonies? What constraints are imposed by physics, by resource availability, and by human psychology?  Are default expectations grounded in reality?

  • May 26, 2021
report cover

Enabling sustainable food systems. Innovators’ handbook

By FAO, FAO

This handbook is written for “sustainable food systems innovators” by a group of innovators from Asia, Africa, the Americas and Europe who are leading initiatives to grow, share, sell and consume more sustainable foods in their local contexts.

  • January 7, 2021
Harvesting perennial grains

The Perennial Turn: Contemporary Essays from the Field

By New Perennials Publishing

This anthology is the first project in the New Perennials Publishing venture. Our goal is to provide thoughtful analyses on crucial social/ecological questions, all at no cost to readers.

  • January 7, 2021
bookcover

The Regenerative Grower’s Guide to Garden Amendments

By Nigel Palmer

Revitalize your garden—and go beyond compost—by making your own biologically diverse inoculants and mineral-rich amendments using leaf mold, weeds, eggshells, bones, and other materials available for little or no cost!

  • August 11, 2020
Mesquite

Mesquite

By Gary Paul Nabhan, Chelsea Green Publishing

In his latest book, Mesquite, Gary Paul Nabhan employs humor and contemplative reflection to convince readers that they have never really glimpsed the essence of what he calls “arboreality.”

  • July 9, 2020
book cover

Grassroots Rising

By Ronnie Cummins, Chelsea Green

Grassroots Rising is a passionate call to action for the global body politic, providing practical solutions for how to survive—and thrive—in catastrophic times. Author Ronnie Cummins aims to educate and inspire citizens worldwide to organize and become active participants in preventing ecological collapse.

  • February 12, 2020
Climate Justice march in Mexico

Climate Futures: Re-imagining Global Climate Justice

By John Foran, Kum-Kum Bhavnani, Priya Anna Kurian, Debashish Munshi, Zed Books

Approaching the issues of climate change and climate justice from a range of diverse perspectives including those of culture, gender, indigeneity, race, and sexuality, as well as challenging colonial histories and capitalist presents, Climate Futures boldly addresses the apparent inevitability of climate chaos.

  • January 3, 2020
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