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Books > Arts & Architecture > Architecture
With energy costs continuing to rise 'zero energy homes' are latest
big green building trend. A Zero Energy Home (ZEH) - a home that
produces as much energy as it consumes - is an idea whose time has
come! Authors David Johnston and Scott Gibson explore the design
and construction of self-sufficient houses from start to finish.
They: make the case for a ZEH; cite climate and geographic
challenges; describe exactly how to go about building an
energy-efficient home; and, feature ten houses that were built for
zero energy living. With unequalled knowledge and a passion for the
subject, the authors walk readers through the process of building
and living in a truly green home.
Interest in the environment has never been greater and yet most of
us have little knowledge of the 4 billion years of history that
formed it. This book explains the principles of geology, geography
and geomorphology, and shows how a basic understanding of
geological timescales, plate tectonics and landforms can help you
'read' the great outdoors. This is a highly illustrated book with a
very accessible text that beautifully illuminates the landscape
around us.
In 1921 Blair Mountain in southern West Virginia was the site of
the country's bloodiest armed insurrection since the Civil War, a
battle pitting miners led by Frank Keeney against agents of the
coal barons intent on quashing organized labor. It was the largest
labor uprising in US history. Ninety years later, the site became
embroiled in a second struggle, as activists came together to fight
the coal industry, state government, and the military- industrial
complex in a successful effort to save the battlefield-sometimes
dubbed 'labor's Gettysburg'-from destruction by mountaintop removal
mining. The Road to Blair Mountain is the moving and sometimes
harrowing story of Charles Keeney's fight to save this
irreplaceable landscape. Beginning in 2011, Keeney-a historian and
great-grandson of Frank Keeney-led a nine-year legal battle to
secure the site's placement on the National Register of Historic
Places. His book tells a David-and-Goliath tale worthy of its own
place in West Virginia history. A success story for historic
preservation and environmentalism, it serves as an example of how
rural, grassroots organizations can defeat the fossil fuel
industry.
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