Chelsea Green Publishing

Chelsea Green Publishing is one of my favourite publishing houses. They're based in New England and focus on sustainable living with books covering these vast topics: Green Building (sample books are "Timber Framer's Workshop" or "The Passive Solar House" ), Renewable Energy (sample books are "the New Independent Home" or "Wind Power"), Gardening & Agriculture (sample book is "Edible Forest Gardens" with a lot of other books covering permaculture, organics, and composting in depth), Food & Health (books on farmstead cheese, the slow food movement, and food politics), Nature & Ecology, Politics and Social Justice, and Sustainable Living.

This is their own blurb from their site outlining their philosophy: "Chelsea Green sees publishing as a tool for effecting cultural change. While continuing our twenty-year commitment to green building, organic growing, and renewable energy—the practical aspects of sustainability—we are also publishing for a new politics of sustainability. Our aim is to publish hard-hitting works by major writers, thinkers, and activists exposing the global governmental and corporate assault on life. We seek to promote better understanding of natural systems as a global commons. We seek to empower citizens to participate in reclaiming the commons, to serve as its effective stewards, and to help mitigate worldwide social and environmental disruptions." It's admirable, I think. And the books are very inspiring especially with our current oil and gas global issues not to mention environmental concerns. Even if you don't have a country property or plan to build anything extraordinary, there are opportunities to implement small but important changes in your own home without huge structural work. Or why not put up a yurt or a tepee in the backyard?