EcoBrain Newest Items http://www.ecobrain.com./index.php?src=rss Green Books for Green Living en-us <![CDATA[GREEN BEGINNINGS The Story of How We Built Our Green & Sustainable Home]]> Mon, 15 Dec 2008 22:24:35 CST Publisher: Green Beginnings Publishing
Written for newcomers and professionals alike, GREEN BEGINNINGS: The Story of How We Built Our Green & Sustainable Home shares the husband and wife authors’ experience learning about, planning and building a USGBC LEED* Silver home in a refreshing approach to help others understand green homes and green homebuilding.

This book is the first of its’ kind to present the subject matter both experientially and from a homeowner’s perspective. Using non-technical, easy-to-understand, plain English, the authors identify and define green and sustainable concepts, materials and systems, and explain how these various components come together and relate to each other in today’s green homes. Their homespun narrative style of storytelling makes readers feel as though they are conversing with two old friends and simplifies learning and comprehension.
Following the projects timeline, the authors inject experiential advice at key planning and construction phases when applicable. Topics include selecting architects, builders and other professionals, the LEED For Homes program, and cite the benefits green homes avail homeowners. Construction activities are illustrated with 100 sequenced color photographs, and a glossary of green and sustainable terms and language provides the reader with a reference guide.  
This book explains green homebuilding more clearly than any other book on the market to date.  

•    United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Environmental and Energy      
Design program

AUTHOR BIO
Learning about and building a green and sustainable home was a life changing event for homeowner-authors Avrim and Vicki Topel. Today, the couple is committed to helping others understand the concepts behind green and sustainable living.  They reside in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.   ]]> 18.5000 <![CDATA[Five Ring Circus: Myths and Realities of the Olympic Games]]> Fri, 12 Dec 2008 17:15:59 CST Publisher: New Society

The shiny rings of the Olympic Games have grown tarnished over the years as doping, corruption and other scandals rise to the surface. Those scandals are the tip of the iceberg, according to author Christopher Shaw, the lead spokesperson for several anti-Games groups.

Five Ring Circus details the history of how Vancouver won the bid for the 2010 Games, who was involved, and what the real motives were. It describes the role of corporate media in promoting the Games, the machinations of government and business, and the opposition that emerged.

Disturbing questions come to light:

  • Why does the IOC pay no taxes?
  • Who are the real estate developers behind the Vancouver bid?
  • Why are mega projects paid for with tax dollars?
  • What are the true costs of the Games?

The Olympic Games, once considered the pinnacle of athleticism and fair play, have become a cesspool of greed, backroom deals and the wholesale trampling of civil liberties. In Vancouver, preparations for the 2010 Games have had a substantial negative impact on the environment and has resulted in the "economic cleansing" of the poor and homeless.

This book is a cautionary tale for future Olympic bid cities, and will appeal to those concerned about the effects of globalization on many aspects of life.

Christopher A. Shaw is a professor at the University of British Columbia. He is a founding member and lead spokesperson for the No Games 2010 Coalition and 2010 Watch.

]]> 14.9500 <![CDATA[12-Minute Total-Body Workout]]> Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:00:00 CST Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
by Joyce L. Vedral ~
The secret of this workout is "dynamic tension." By using only one set of three-pound dumbbells (hand-held weights) you create your own resistance by flexing and using dynamic tension. Thousands of women have written to me that they have achieved a tight, toned body with this 12-minute a day time investment. Perhaps the most important aspect of this book is its ability to force you to keep your workout and diet up on vacation, on business trips, and when visiting , any time you're away from home. It shows you how to eat around the most impossible home, hotel or business menu. You can do the workout with no weights while traveling by just doing the moves and using the tension.]]> 10.7910 <![CDATA[A Field Guide to Buying Organic]]> Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:00:00 CST Publisher: Bantam
by Luddene Perry ~
The definitive guide to healthful, affordable food shopping in the Organic Age¿from a pioneer in the organic movement What does it really mean when a food is labeled organic? While many of us believe there are good reasons to buy organic, what exactly are they? The authors of this indispensable handbook sift fact from fiction to help you make informed decisions that are right for you. Here is everything you need to know, including when paying more for organic is worth it¿and when it¿s not. A Field Guide to Buying Organic provides you with: ·Self-tests to determine your current organic-shopping habits¿and the type of organic shopper you want to become ·A primer on organic food standards, labels, and seals ·Health and quality comparisons of organically grown versus conventionally grown produce ·An aisle-by-aisle supermarket guide to information about the most popular organic produce, dairy, meat and poultry, baked goods, nuts, seeds, grains, convenience foods, and drinks ·The truth about pesticides, hormones, genetically modified foods (GMOs), toxins, and bacteria ¿Plus illustrations featuring product logos and contact information, and a fascinating overview of the evolution of organics]]> 6.2910 <![CDATA[Corporate Irresponsibility: America`s Newest Export]]> Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:00:00 CST Publisher: Yale University Press
by Lawrence E. Mitchell ~
Mitchell declares that managers should be freed from the legal and structural constraints that make it difficult for them to exercise ordinary moral judgment and be held accountable for their actions. He demonstrates the extent to which contemporary corporate behavior represents a corruption of our cherished liberal values of personal freedom and individuality.]]> 31.5000 <![CDATA[Healthy Aging]]> Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:00:00 CST Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
by Andrew Weil ~
Andrew Weil, M.D., a graduate of Harvard Medical School, is Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Arizona and director of the Program in Integrative Medicine at that institution. Dr. Weil produces a monthly newsletter, "Self-Healing," maintains a popular website, drweil.com, and writes a monthly column in Prevention magazine. He is a frequent guest on radio and television and lectures widely on nutrition and natural medicine. This is his tenth book.


From the Paperback edition.]]> 13.4550 <![CDATA[Hyperfitness]]> Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:00:00 CST Publisher: Avery
by Sean Burch ~
WORLD-record holder and training expert Sean Burch, who has been hailed as ""one of the fittest men on earth,"" (CNN International) is dedicated to reaching the greatest heights of fitness. Now Sean shares the secrets of his own success and shows you how to use his revolutionary training techniques to get yourself in better shape than you ever imagined possible. What does Hyperfitness mean? It means setting goals and attaining them. It means discovering that you are stronger and tougher than you knew. And, it means taking your workout to a whole new level. The program focuses on three important, linked components: - Hyperstrength: Innovative exercises and drills give you the strength, quickness, and endurance of a world-class athlete. With names like ""aerial spins"" and ""ski-mogul master jumps,"" the exercises are fun and varied, and encompass three fitness levels. - Hyperfare: Essential guidelines include meal plans and recipes to help your body get the nutrition needed to power through the challenging workouts. - Hypermind: Mental-conditioning techniques, such as meditation and visualization, combine with the workouts so you can achieve all your physical and mental goals. In addition to the training program, Sean recounts the story of his incredible summit of Mount Everest. Encouraging and inspiring, Hyperfitness offers readers the motivation to conquer their own ""inner Everest""-be it a marathon, triathlon, long hike, 5K run, or any other fitness goal.]]> 7.1910 <![CDATA[Lower Your Blood Pressure in Eight Weeks]]> Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:00:00 CST Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
by Stephen T. Sinatra ~
Hypertension 101

Maybe you’re picking up this book because you’ve just been told you have high blood pressure and you’re looking for some answers. Or maybe you were diagnosed a long time ago and you’re just tired of taking all that medication. Or perhaps traditional medicine has failed to keep your blood pressure under control, and you’re searching for a new approach.

Well, my friend, whatever your reason for opening this book, I’m just glad you’re here. High blood pressure is something you need to know about, and something you need to take seriously. I hope this book informs you and provides you with some new options. I’ve learned a lot about treating hypertension these last thirty years, and I’ve found some really novel approaches that have turned my patients’ lives around, so I think I can help.

It’s hard to overstate the impact of high blood pressure on our health, but let’s just start with the cold, hard facts:

•Fifty million Americans (one out of five) have high blood pressure.

•Hypertension is more common in men and in folks over sixty-five years of age.

•More than half of people over sixty-five are hypertensive.

•High blood pressure is more common in African Americans than in white Americans.

•Hypertension is serious because it places you at increased risk for blindness, kidney damage, heart disease, an enlarged heart, heart attack, and stroke.

•We spend more than $3 billion on antihypertensive prescription drugs, more than for medications for any other diagnosis.

•According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 26 percent of people on medication for hypertension still have unacceptably high blood pressure.

•Despite new drugs and diagnostic techniques, the death rate from hypertension has risen 36 percent in the past decade.

Clearly, traditional drug and diet therapies for hypertension are falling far short of their intended goals. I believe that part of the problem is that, as physicians, we’re taught to refer to the step-by-step process of a one-size-fits-all algorithm in designing a program of care for our hypertensive patients. What’s an algorithm? Basically, it’s a step-by-step protocol to be followed. In treating hypertension, the algorithm goes something like this: Step one is that we are to prescribe drug A. After a month or so, if treatment A doesn’t work, then we are to prescribe drug B. If B worked somewhat but we didn’t get the results we were seeking, then we add in drug C, possibly juggling the dose of A or B. A typical algorithm doctors follow for treating blood pressure includes the following: a diuretic first, followed by a beta blocker or calcium channel blocker, then an ACE inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB). This is a very structured, precise system . . . but that’s just not how the human body functions.

Now don’t get me wrong. There is an appropriate place for algorithms. They work best in an emergency situation such as a hypertensive crisis or a heart attack, when time is critical and the physician may have just met the patient and knows little about him or her. Algorithms establish the standard of care that you receive, and that’s a good thing. But once the crisis is ov]]> 14.4000 <![CDATA[Rooted in the Land: Essays on Community and Place]]> Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:00:00 CST Publisher: Yale University Press
by William Vitek (ed.)\, Wes Jackson (ed.) ~
This book is a collection of new and previously published essays that take as their central theme the importance of 'placed' human beings, but each of us is enriched to the extent that we can belong to, and participate in, a well-ordered human community integrated into the natural landscape of a particular place.]]> 49.5000 <![CDATA[Salud total en ocho semanas]]> Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:00:00 CST Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
by Andrew Weil ~
Andrew Weil, M.D. is the author of eleven books, the last five of which have all been #1 bestsellers. A graduate of Harvard Medical School, he is clinical professor of medicine and director of the Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona. He writes Self-Healing, a monthly newsletter, and maintains the Web site DrWeil.com.


From the Trade Paperback edition.]]> 13.4550