Healing Appalachia: Sustainable Living Through Appropriate TechnologyHealing Appalachia is a practical guide for environmentally conscious residents of Appalachia and beyond. It is also the first book to apply "appropriate technology," or the most basic technology that can effectively achieve the desired result, to this specific region. Authors Al Fritsch and Paul Gallimore have performed over 200 environmental resource assessments in thirty-three states. They bring this knowledge to bear as they examine thirty low-cost, people-friendly, and environmentally benign appropriate technologies that can be put to work today in Appalachia. They discuss such issues as renewable energy and energy conservation, food preservation and gardening, forest management, land use, transportation, water conservation, proper waste disposal, and wildlife protection. They pay close attention to the practicality of each technique according to affordability, ease of use, and ecological soundness. Their subjects range from solar home heating to greenhouses, from aquaculture to compost toilets, from organic gardening to wildlife restoration and enhancement, and from solar cars to microhydropower facilities. Their discussions of each topic benefit from the knowledge gained from thirty years of practical experience at environmental demonstration centers and public interest and educational organizations. Each section of the book includes details on construction and maintenance, as well as resources for locating further information, making this an essential volume for everyone who cares about the future of Appalachia. |
Contents
Solar Photovoltaics | 27 |
Domestic Electricity | 29 |
Energy Conservation through Lighting | 31 |
PV Appliances | 33 |
Net Metering | 35 |
Microhydropower | 38 |
Microhydropower Potential | 40 |
System Descriptions | 41 |
Exotic Species | 209 |
Past and Current Reclamation Practices | 212 |
Further Reclamation | 214 |
Retreat Cabin Sites | 217 |
An Ideal Retreat | 218 |
Selection of Place | 219 |
Construction Suggestions | 223 |
Using Sacred Space | 226 |
Civil Works | 43 |
Advantages and Concerns | 45 |
Wind Power | 48 |
US Wind Power | 50 |
Appalachia and Wind Power | 51 |
Residential Wind Power Decisions | 57 |
Wood Heating | 59 |
Government Efficiency Standards | 65 |
Fuel and Heater Use and Maintenance | 66 |
Limitations of Wood | 68 |
Solar Heating Applications | 70 |
Solar Water Heating | 71 |
Solar Cookers and Ovens | 75 |
Solar Clothes Drying | 77 |
Shade Trees and Windbreaks | 79 |
Sitting | 80 |
Shade Trees | 81 |
Wind Barriers | 85 |
Multipurpose Landscaping | 87 |
Food Preservation | 89 |
Root Cellars | 90 |
Canning Picking and Smoking | 92 |
Solar Food Drying | 94 |
Freezing the Surplus | 95 |
Protecting with Mulch and Temporary Cold Frames | 97 |
Edible Landscaping | 100 |
Edible Landscape Options | 101 |
Domestic Wildscape | 107 |
Beekeeping | 109 |
Green Lawn Moving | 110 |
Intensive and Organic Gardening and Orcharding | 113 |
Intensive Gardening and Orcharding | 114 |
Organic Produce | 118 |
Regional Heritage Plants | 124 |
American Chestnuts | 126 |
Heirloom Apples | 128 |
Heritage Herbs | 129 |
SeedSaving Techniques | 131 |
Solar Greenhouses and Season Extenders | 134 |
Siting and Placement | 138 |
Construction | 140 |
Proper Maintenance | 142 |
Produce Choice | 145 |
Wildlife Habitat Restoration | 148 |
Sharing a Limited Habitat | 149 |
Minimizing Habitat Disturbances | 152 |
Creating Habitats | 155 |
Nontimber Forest Products | 160 |
Native Foods | 161 |
Fuel | 162 |
Handcraft and Home Products | 163 |
Chips and Other Nontimber Tree Products | 164 |
A Pledge to Sustain Forest Ecosystems | 168 |
Silvicultural Practices | 170 |
Tree Selection for Planting and Harvesting | 172 |
Replacement Planting | 174 |
Thinning and Management | 175 |
Harvesting | 177 |
Wildcrafting | 180 |
Wildcrafting for Food | 181 |
Ginseng and Other Medicinals | 191 |
Ornamental and Other Uses of Wild Plants | 194 |
Constructed or Artificial Wetlands | 196 |
Highlights of Construction | 201 |
Wetland Plants | 203 |
Land Reclamation with Native Species | 207 |
EnergyEfficient Passive Solar Design | 228 |
Solar Sitting | 229 |
Solar Construction | 230 |
Solar Glazing | 232 |
Heat Retention Systems | 233 |
Insulation and Energy Conservation | 234 |
Natural Cooling | 238 |
Cooling by Blocking the Sun | 242 |
Ventilation | 246 |
Reducing Heat Sources | 248 |
Heat Pumps and Geothermal Energy | 249 |
Native Building Materials | 252 |
Stone | 257 |
Earth Materials | 261 |
Pressed Earth | 267 |
Cordwood Structures | 276 |
Advantages of Cordwood Buildings | 277 |
Construction | 279 |
Maintenance | 283 |
Spreading the Word | 284 |
Yurts in Appalachia | 286 |
Advantages and Disadvantages | 288 |
Variety and Utility of Yurts | 292 |
Construction Tips | 293 |
Simple Modes of Transportation | 296 |
General Travel Modes | 297 |
Guidelines for Appropriate Automobile Use | 298 |
The ASPI Solar Electric Car | 303 |
Composting and Vermicomposting | 308 |
Advantages of Composting | 309 |
The Art of Composting | 310 |
Vermicomposting | 315 |
Composting Toilets | 319 |
How the Composting Toilet Works | 321 |
Maintenance | 322 |
Types of Composters | 323 |
Road to Acceptance | 327 |
Recycled Salvaged and Deconstructed Materials | 331 |
Recycling Materials | 332 |
Salvaged and Deconstructed Materials | 334 |
Domestic Source Reduction | 337 |
Ponds and Aquaculture | 340 |
Rural Farm Ponds | 341 |
Aquaculture | 343 |
Planning for Ponds and Aquaculture | 347 |
Cisterns and Water Catchments | 350 |
Cistern Sitting and Size | 352 |
Construction Methods and Materials | 354 |
Cistern Maintenance | 357 |
Popularity of Cisterns | 359 |
Irrigation and Water Conservation | 361 |
Simple Irrigation | 362 |
Drip Irrigation Systems | 365 |
Water Conservation | 366 |
Reflections on Water Use | 369 |
An Appalachian Appropriate Technology | 371 |
Implementation | 373 |
Two Scenarios | 383 |
Appalachia with a New Vision | 389 |
Communications | 391 |
History of Communication | 392 |
Cell Phones | 393 |
Personal Computers and the Internet | 395 |
Resources | 399 |
423 | |
Other editions - View all
Healing Appalachia: Sustainable Living through Appropriate Technology Al Fritsch Limited preview - 2007 |
Healing Appalachia: Sustainable Living through Appropriate Technology Al Fritsch No preview available - 2007 |