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The term "guerrilla" may bring to mind a small band of armed soldiers, moving in the dead of night on a stealth mission. In the case of guerrilla gardening, the soldiers are planters, the weapons are shovels, and the mission is to transform an abandoned lot into a thing of beauty. Once an environmentalist's nonviolent direct action for inner-city renewal, this approach to urban beautification is spreading to all types of people in cities around the world.

These modern-day Johnny Appleseeds perform random acts of gardening, often without the property owner's prior knowledge or permission. Typical targets are vacant lots, railway land, underused public squares and back alleys. The concept is simple, whimsical and has the cheeky appeal of being a not-quite-legal call to action. Dig in some soil, plant a few seeds, or mend a sagging fence ... one good deed inspiring another, with win-win results all around.

Guerrilla Gardening outlines the power-to-the-people campaign for greening our cities. Tips for effective involvement cover:

• finding plants and seeds cheap (or free)
• handling city officials
• getting the dirt on soil
• planting to bring back the birds
• knowing when to ask permission and when to seek forgiveness.

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More than a dozen years ago, Ted Bernard travelled to nine communities across the United States to meet residents who were working collaboratively to solve natural resource conflicts. While there may have been different perspectives over process, their common goal was to achieve higher levels of sustainability as vibrant communities. He visited places as diverse as tiny one-square-mile Monhegan Island in Maine and cities as large as Chicago and Chattanooga, and with Jora Young, wrote about their findings in 1997 in The Ecology of Hope.

Now Bernard has caught up with these communities again to discover their progress, and see what a difference their collaborative conservation has made. Hope and Hard Times chronicles that journey; the successes, the speed bumps, and the remarkable tenacity and persistence of the partnerships and initiatives driving change during exceedingly hard times. Overall, community-based sustainability initiatives have proved resilient, despite the down-spiraling of the global economy and the looming problems of global climate change. Their quest points to the need for new perceptions of nature and of humankind, more guidance from nature, and less consumption and materialism. They offer advice on how to live on pieces of land without spoiling them.

Offering hopeful roadmaps for other communities working toward a sustainable future, this book will appeal to community activists, natural resource professionals, educators, and environmentalists.

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Social issues are, and need to be, a central part of environmental and economic sustainability efforts. Using stories of extraordinary communities across North America, Living Green showcases the social side of living green.

The book features communities that explicitly integrate social and human factors into their design and planning, and examines the impact living in these communities has on personal health, well-being and the capacity for pursuing sustainability. It includes interviews with developers, architects and residents, highlighting personal ideals and efforts to pursue a sustainable lifestyle.

The book's three parts explore:

• How community is central to sustainable living in everything from co-housing to communes.
• Communities that specifically integrate green building design components with social justice politics such as racism, poverty and urban alienation.
• Housing options geared toward mainstream living that offer individual choices to those who wish to live green.

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The 20th century saw unprecedented growth in population, energy consumption and food production. As the population shifted from rural to urban, human impacts on the environment increased dramatically.

The 21st century ushered in an era of declines, including:

• Oil, natural gas and coal extraction
• Yearly grain harvests
• Climate stability
• Economic growth
• Fresh water
• Minerals and ores, such as copper and platinum

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Concerns over climate change and energy depletion are increasing exponentially. Mainstream solutions still assume a panacea that will cure our climate ills without requiring any serious modification to our way of life.

Plan C explores the risks inherent in trying to continue our energy-intensive lifestyle. Using dirtier fossil fuels (Plan A) or switching to renewable energy sources (Plan B) allows people to remain complacent in the face of a potential global catastrophe. Dramatic lifestyle change is the only way to begin to create a sustainable, equitable world. The converging crises of Peak Oil, Climate Change and increasing inequity are presented in a clear, concise manner, as are the twin solutions of community (where cooperation replaces competition) and curtailment (deliberately reducing consumption of consumer goods).

Plan C shows how each person's individual choices can dramatically reduce CO2 emissions. It offers specific strategies in the areas of food, transportation and housing. One chapter analyzes the decimation of the Cuban economy when the USSR stopped oil exports in 1990 and provides an inspiring vision for a low energy way of living.

Plan C is an indispensable resource for anyone interested in living a lower-energy, saner and sustainable lifestyle.

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Imagine you are first in line at a potluck buffet. The spread includes not just food and water, but all the materials needed for shelter, clothing, healthcare and education. How do you know how much to take? How much is enough to leave for your neighbors behind you - not just the six billion people, but the wildlife, and the as-yet-unborn?

In the face of looming ecological disaster, many people feel the need to change their own lifestyles as a tangible way of transforming our unsustainable culture. Radical Simplicity is the first book that guides the reader to a personal sustainability goal, then offers a process to monitor progress to a lifestyle that is equitable amongst all people, species and generations.

It employs three tools to help readers begin their customized journey to simplicity. It builds on steps from Your Money or Your Life so readers can design their own personal economics to save money, get free of debt and align their work with their values. It uses refined tools from Our Ecological Footprint so readers can measure how much nature is needed to supply all they consume and absorb their waste. And, by advocating time alone in wild nature, it opens readers to another reality with humanity as one species among many on a complex and inter-related planet.

Combining lyrical narrative, compassionate advocacy and absorbing science, Radical Simplicity is a practical, personal answer to 21st century challenges that will appeal as much to Cultural Creatives and students as to spiritual seekers, policy makers and sustainability professionals.

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Water has been described as the 21st century oil. Water shortages, water quality and water rights are hot-button issues at the local, national and international levels. Climate change, population growth and contamination from industry, farms and human settlements have dramatically impacted water supplies and disrupted natural nutrient cycles. Strategic wastewater management will be a critical tool in protecting this valuable but threatened resource.

Reusing the Resource is a comprehensive guide to using plants to stabilize, clean, filter and reuse wastewater, while simultaneously eliminating expensive and polluting sewers and septic systems. The book profiles more than 30 successful ecological wastewater recycling systems that save money, protect public and environmental health, and provide plant-based fuel, fiber, construction materials, habitat and landscapes. It details the pros and cons of various systems, and provides tips for designers, regulators and builders. Case studies include:

• a greenhouse-enclosed wastewater aquaculture system
• a regional wastewater-recycling plant
• a city's wastewater-treatment wetland
• graywater planters.

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Making reductions in greenhouse gas emissions is a national focus in both the U.S. and Canada, and schools are well-placed to combine conservation strategies with an education program that makes links between lifestyle choices and the future of the planet.

This exciting resource provides educators at all grade levels with strategies to teach about global warming and engage students' interest in doing their part to help cool the planet. Compiled from the pages of North America's leading environmental education journal Green Teacher, Teaching About Climate Change is packed with lesson plans, activities, experiments and worksheets. From calculating your school's CO2 emissions and other greenhouse effect experiments, to strategies for reducing school energy consumption, and hands-on explorations of energy and transportation alternatives from solar cookers to bikeathons, this compendium provides the tools to get any classroom or community involved in making their school cool.

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Teaching Green - The Elementary Years is designed for anyone working with young people in grades kindergarten to fifth, whether in schools or non-formal education settings. It offers 50 kid-tested teaching strategies that promote interdisciplinary hands-on learning about natural systems and foster critical thinking about environmental issues, both local and global. The book includes background information and instructions for practical projects and activities on numerous topics. Rich illustrations and a curriculum index make this book of contributions from more than 60 educators from across North America appealing to a wide range of teachers, educators and parents seeking innovative ideas for incorporating green themes into their programs.

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This resource is ideal for anyone working with young people in grades 9-12, whether in schools or in non-formal educational settings. Richly illustrated, it offers 50 teaching strategies that promote learning about natural systems and foster critical thinking about environmental issues, both local and global. It contains new approaches to learning, strategies for living sustainably, and numerous activities that promote interdisciplinary learning. In addition, the book provides suggestions for how best to green individual subject areas, develop integrated learning programs or replicate exemplary programs created by innovative schools and communities.

Containing contributions from more than 60 educators from across North America, the book’s strength lies in its diverse content. Readers learn how best to apply systems, teach about controversial issues and use a step-by-step approach to creative problem-solving in environmental projects. Also provided are instructions for measuring the ecological footprint of a high school, creating an indoor “living system” that cleans water, monitoring air quality with lichens and using green technologies to help green school campuses. Many articles and activities engage teenagers in outdoor learning and community restoration projects. Suggestions are included for connecting students with special needs to the environment around them.

Readers will find accessible background information and suggestions for many practical projects and activities. It is sure to appeal to a wide range of teachers, educators and parents seeking innovative ideas for incorporating green themes into their programs.