Taking care of the earth is more important than ever, but the problems we're facing can seem overwhelming. Living Green: The Missing Manual helps make earth-friendly decisions more manageable by narrowing them down to a few simple choices. This all-in-one resource is packed with practical advice on ways you can help the environment by making simple changes in your home routine, work habits, and the way you shop and get around town. You don't have to embark on a radical new lifestyle to make a difference. Living Green: The Missing Manual shows you how small changes can have a big impact.
With this book, you will:
Learn how to make your home energy efficient and free of toxic chemicals
Discover how to reduce waste, repurpose and recycle, and do more with less
Build and remodel earth-friendly homes with new techniques and materials
Learn tips for buying organic food and what it takes to grow your own
Get helpful information on fuel-efficient cars, including hybrid and electric models
Make your workplace greener and more cost-effective -- from changes at your desk to suggestions for company-wide policies
Explore how to choose renewable energies, such as wind and solar power
The book also provides you with ways to connect with like-minded people and offers a survey of exciting new green technologies. Learn how you can help the planet with Living Green: The Missing Manual.
Living Green Begins at Home
Chapter 1 Home Green Home: Creating a Safe, Earth-Friendly Place to Live
The Chemicals You Live With
How Household Chemicals Can Affect Your Health
Clean and Green: Environmentally Friendly Cleaning
Nontoxic Furnishings
A Greener Lawn
Chapter 2 Save Energy, Money, and the Earth
How Efficient Is Your Home?
Should You Downsize?
Heating and Cooling Efficiently
Getting More out of Your Appliances
Water-Saving Strategies
Let There Be (Compact Fluorescent) Light
Chapter 3 Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
A Trashy Odyssey
How Low Can You Go? Aiming for Zero Waste
Reducing: Doing More with Less
Reusing: Use It Again, Sam
Recycling: What Goes Around Comes Around
So Hard to Say Goodbye: Special Problems in Recycling
Chapter 4 Building and Remodeling
LEEDing the Way to Green Buildings
Principles of Green Building Design
Special Problems in Remodeling
Finding a Builder
Financing Green Construction
Greening Your Lifestyle
Chapter 5 Raising a Green Family
Babies
Kids
Teens
Pets
Chapter 6 Eating Green: It's Not Just Spinach Anymore
Nancy Conner holds a Ph.D. from Brown University and is the author of numerous books, including QuickBase: The Missing Manual and Google Apps: The Missing Manual. She lives in Ithaca, NY, recently named one of the greenest U.S. cities, where she shops for organic produce at the local farmers market and browses second-hand stores. Each day, she commutes up the stairs to her home office, where she works as an author, editor, and distance educator. Read Nancy's Living Green blog at missingmanuals.com.
