Página Destacada: Better Times

La página que reflejamos aquí es el primer directorio de Better Times, una web dedicada a temas de simplicidad de vida, ahorro energético, medio ambiente, etc. La página de JustPeace, su hermana, está más dedicada a temas de justicia y moral social. No podemos traducir todos los contenidos, pero hemos traducido el índice inicial. Podéis navegar desde aquí a los enlaces sugeridos. En la página de Better Times encontraréis otros dos largos directorios con más páginas.

Enterprise TOP

Appalachia Science in the Public Interest, Fr. Fritsch, who's interview is linked in Crossroads, works here. A rural sustainable living program, has two appropriate technology demonstration projects with low cost buildings, composting toilets, alternative "home grown" energy research. Publishes excellent technical reports on how to build a solar cooker, compost heap, do recycling, farm forests, some of which are on the website (click on technical reports). Looks like they're doing excellent, practical work.

On-line seminars in sustainable economics, at the Communications for a Sustainable Future site. In particular, we note the Ownership Solution, which has some distributist roots.

Homesteading and other practical links, a personal page of links.

Farmer Direct Marketing, from the US Department of Agriculture.

Farmer Direct Marketing Publications.

Farmer Direct Marketing Newsletter, June-July 1999,

Experiments in Sustainable Urban Living, rooftop gardening, compost hot water heaters, rainwater harvesting, greywater, strawbale housing, tips.

How to build a wood fired oven and start a home bakery. Being a tried and true method of getting together our daily bread and having some loaves to sell.

Adobe Oven Page, how one family built an abode oven, step by step.

Earthovens.com, a one-woman enterprise teaching people how to build and bake in clay ovens.-

Alternative Technology Association, Australian site. Publishes booklets on how to build your own wind generator, low voltage appliances, and other subjects.

Institute for Local Self Reliance, from raising fish in a basement to organizing a community cooperative.

Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas, sustainable farming information center from the National Center for Appropriate Technology. Sustainable agriculture organizations and publications.

Economic Development Links, non-profits, sustainable living, many categories.

Farmer Direct Marketing online newsletter, from the US Department of Agriculture. http://www.ams.usda.gov/directmarketing/news_04_99.htm

Country Home Magazine simple living and homesteading. http://www.countryhomemag.com/

Self Help and Resource Exchange or SHARE, an international network of local community organizations engaged in self-help food distribution systems.

Cooperatives and Cooperation from the University of Colorado, an excellent selection of links to clearinghouses, essays, and food, community, housing, consumer, workers', agricultural and rural, health care, energy, internet cooperatives.

How to start a food buying club, from Natural Life magazine.

Community Development Links Bookmark this one for sure! Great collection of links relating to community development.

Virtual Library on Micro-credit. Find out the latest news on micro-enterprise and micro-credit activities that enable people to help themselves.

Justpeace Front Page about Co-ops many links, Catholic connections.

Co-op Month Home Page, from the National Cooperative Month Planning Committee, activities, history, and links.

Northeast Co-op, a nice site, can refer you to co-ops in the northeast and can help you start your own co-op.

Wedge Community Co-op, a Minnesota cooperation.

Frontier Natural Products Co-op, a co-op supplying co-ops

Breedlove Dehydrated Foods, a nonprofit organization in Lubbock, Texas that provides low cost food to charities for use in hunger relief projects (US and international). It owns its own state-of-the-art processing facility, that has provided over 28 million pounds of dehydrated vegetables (mostly potatoes and carrots) since 1994. It is the first full-scale, non-profit facility of its kind in the world. It processes 100,000 pounds of food per day, or enough dehydrated product for about 450,000 one cup servings. They can package 850,000 servings per day, and provide several blends including rice, TVP, onions, potatoes, carrots. One million servings can be provided at a cost of about 3.1 cents per one cup serving. This is a MUST SEE and TELL all your friends. Funds to operate the plant come from donations, processing fees for non-profit agencies, and some retail sales to the public. No government funds are involved. Individuals and families may purchase their product via the web at Harvest Ladle Foods, which is owned by Breedlove. Their prices are very reasonable for dehydrated food products.

Lehman's Non-electric Catalog, from the Kidron, Ohio company that supplies the Amish, everything you need to live without electricity.

Working at home, page of links about starting your own business, including how to avoid the various scams in this microenterprise area.

Ecomall, a gateway for businesses offering eco-friendly products via the internet.

New Pioneer Hardware private catalog company offering tools of interest for simple and frugal lifestyles.

Pike Place Market. What has 9 acres, 9 million annual visitors, 100 farmers, 150 craftspeople, 300 commercial businesspeople, and 50 performers? Pike Place Market in Seattle. It's also home to a number of senior citizens. Read this beautiful and informative site and find out about this important public market, and then ask yourself if your city doesn't need such a place of economic opportunity.

American Farmland Trust is working to stop the loss of productive farmland and to promote farming practices that lead to a healthier environment. In particular, see the Farmland Information Library, big piles of information, very big piles. Excellent online resource. See also Web resources for small farms.

Farmland Fund of PCC Natural Markets, an 8 store chain of markets in the Puget Sound, Washington area. Their Farmland Fund is a non-profit organization that raises money to buy threatened land and put it into organic food production.

A Guide to North American Fairs, dates, links, vendors, in particular see their History of Fairs, which notes an early fair, hosted by King Ahaseurus of Persia, as recorded in the book of Esther in the Bible.

Solar baking under the Sonoran Sun, a group of women in Sonora, Mexico, start a bakery using a solar oven.

The Mondragon Cooperatives of Spain, English home page. The Mondragon cooperatives consist of 120 different enterprises, more than 40,000 worker owners. See Mondragon: A better way to go to work? in the June 2000 Oklahoma City Catholic Worker.

Ithaca Hours Online, access to information on starting up a local currency system to support your local economy. Yes, it's legal, no it's not counterfeiting (you aren't issuing US dollars, you are creating a local alternative currency).

San Diego Women's Bean Project, a small business providing homeless and low-income women with economic opportunity.

Community Supported Agriculture Business Management Series, from Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas, extensive on-line manual.

TenThousand Villages, providing income to people in Third World villages by marketing their products, a Fair Trade project.

Commercial applications of mini-farming, micrenterprises and market gardens. Applications and target enterprises.

WWW Virtual Library on Microcredit, high quality access, links, data, via the Global Development Research Center

Small Farms and their economic and social importance. Plus piles of access to resources, info, and links.

Growing for Market, online presence of a hardcopy publication from Kansas, not much online info, but some interesting print publications and it looks like the publication itself is a keeper. Virtual Farm Tours, interesting link page to site offering tours of successful small farms. Followup has links relating to stories in the publication.

Economics of Transition from State-Capitalist to Cooperative Enterprises, academic paper considering the cooperative as a model for newly liberating economies.

National Cooperative Bank. Has information about coops, including a start-up guide to cooperative business enterprise.

1000 ways to sustainable farming, a project seeking and chronicling 1,000 successful examples of sustainable farms and ranches.

Mondragon & Antigonish, a study of the application of Catholic social justice teaching to business, profiling these two pioneering cooperative economic movements in Spain and Canada.

Environment TOP

Scorecard, enter your zip code, find out what pollutants are being released in your neighborhood and who is doing the polluting.

Ecological and Environmental Access, at Communications for a Sustainable Future, has a wide variety of resources, including the "list-servs of record" of the sustainable building movement (strawbale, earthship, cob, etc.)

The Battle of Seattle page at the Co-intelligence Institute's site. Probably the best collection of links and articles on the subject I've seen, plenty of information, but not so much that it isn't digestible. A must read is Hawken's take on the event.

Bio-democracy & the Organic Consumers Association, a clearinghouse for information and grassroots technical assistance in support of sustainable organic agriculture and the dangers of corporate control of agriculture.

Climate change and impact on US water supplies, extensive bibliography of peer reviewed literature.

US Global Climate Change Information Office, government site offering a lot of access to climate issues. In particular, see Consequences, their on-line publication on the effects of climate change on human populations.

Rachel's Environment and Health Weekly, subscribe or review the archives of a weekly email on environmental issues.

Unwelcome Neighbors: Civil Rights and the Environment, a series from the Times-Picayune (Louisiana) News. The plain truth is: poor neighborhoods tend to have polluting industrial neighbors, negatively impacting all who live there.

The Fraying Web of Life, on-line summary (in html and pdf formats) of a report to be released in September 2000 by the UN Development Program, the World Bank (!!!!), and the World Resources Institute. In the last century: + half of the worlds wetlands were lost, + forest habitat is being lost at the rate of 130 square kilometers per year, + soil degradation has affected 2/3rds of the world's agricultural lands (in the last 50 years!). World Resources 2000-2001

Earth Share, mega access site sponsored by a coalition of the US leading environmental and conservation organizations. Lots of practical info, networking, and news is here.

A paler shade of green, essay critiquing corporation-style "sustainability" pr tactics.

EcoLine, in Russian and English, online presence of the Socio-Ecological Union, a Russian environmentalist society.

Ecologia, Ecologists Linked for Organizing Grassroots Initiatives and Action, offices in the US and many of the former Soviet Empire countries, founded to assist environmentalists in the old Soviet Empire countries with information and technology transfer.

Calculate your ecological footprint, in 13 easy steps, discover how hard your lifestyle impacts the earth.

Ecology at About.com, with the usual thoroughness you expect from an About.com guide, a good place to get started with environmentalism on the web.

Earthsystems.org, advancing environmental education and information in the world community. Virtual library, 1,000 on-line sources.

Housing TOP

The Last Straw, a quarterly journal of straw bale construction and natural building.

Sustainable Building Sourcebook, from a to z, access and information.

Lighthook's strawbale house page. Information and links.

Surfin' Strawbale Links List, aptly described as "The List" to pursue straw bale building.

Cob Cottage, information about this low-tech building technology.

Down to earth building bee, building solutions for sustainable communities.

What is cob? Basic info, plus beautiful pictures, of hand sculpted homes.

Natural Building Photo Gallery, beautiful and unusual homes.

Strawbale Housing Photo Gallery, photos of historic and contemporary buildings.

Strawbale Construction Photo Gallery, from unloading the bales to the roof.

Skillful Means information about straw bale construction and sustainable building practices from an experienced architectural and construction firm. Check out their What's New? page for information about their "mission to Mongolia," where one of the firm's principles is teaching straw bale construction. If you think a strawbale house would look tacky, check out the photos on this page of beautiful strawbale homes.

Earthships are a low-tech, cost-effective, Earth-friendly, affordable housing option (at least, if you can get past the local building code commissars).

Earthfriendly and Self-Sufficient Architectures also from the U of Colorado.

Jan's COB and Natural Building website, access to do-it-yourself, alternative, and affordable building technologies.

Access to Straw Bale Housing great site with links about this alternative and affordable building technology.

Sustainable Architecture, Building, and Culture links and content for ecological building.

Sustainable Home Ownership Initiative of the National Consumer Law Center, one of the nation's leading experts on low-income consumer issues. The Home Ownership Initiative researches and exposes predatory lending practices typically found in low income areas, and helps people understand their rights and options.

Timber Framers Guild, timber framing is a centuries old construction technique using large beams (8" x 8" or larger).

National Affordable Housing Network, has plans for affordable houses suitable for construction by volunteers, homeowners, or contractors, featuring R-40 walls and R-60 insulation in the attic, high performance heating systems (annual heating cost of one of these homes in Duluth, Minnesota was only $128!) Construction is explained and sequenced so that it is easy for untrained people to be guided in the work.

Straw Locator, do you need 500 straw bales to build your dream house? Or do you have a field full of straw bales to sell? This is a clearinghouse for people looking to buy straw bales, people with bales to sell, and people who will haul them around.

The Eco Design Experience, 6 week course offered in Arizona in conjunction with the San Francisco Institute of Architecture on designing ecologically sound dwellings. Courses combine construction and class work for an effective presentation. Director is Dr. Phil Hawes, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright and the architect for Biosphere 2. The class syllabus seems very comprehensive.

The Co-housing Network, a type of collaborative housing featuring private dwellings surrounding one or more larger common buildings. A good on-line library of articles on the subject, access, connections, there may be one forming in your area. Adaptable to a variety of "intentions" in starting such a community.

Cob Web II, great access to cob building resources. Great pictures, look what you can make with mud, straw, and stones.

Cob Works, instruction, accommodation, construction. Visit this beautiful location on Mayne Island in British Columbia and discover the beauty of cob construction. Site has nice explanations with beautiful pictures of the many creative possibilities using cob construction.

Gypsy Farm, a natural building resource center. Follow the adventures of the Newberry family as they construct a "super-adobe" home in Georgia, a technique based on Nader Kalili's work at Cal-Earth.

New Zealand Ecovillages and Community Housing project, teaching low income people skills to construct affordable housing, providing land and resources for such projects, and initiating eco-villages.

Day Creek, access to cordwood building information, has on-line forums relating to alternative house building and construction techniques. Build a house for $12/square foot, a cord wood house in Wisconsin. Day Creek Journal, follow the Mason family as they build their own cordwood home.

Our Earthship, a family is building an "earthship" dwelling and are posting pictures of their progress, together with comments and information

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, green roofs help regulate the inside temperature of a building, clean up air pollution, provide beauty, sound insulation, and food production.

Eco House , from the St. Petersburg Sustainable Community Development project. Aims to convert apartment buildings into sustainable communities, with roof tops gardens, recycling and composting, energy savings, resident ownership of the building as a cooperative.

The Knead for Casas que Cantan! Telling the story of the building of strawbale houses in an impoverished village in Mexico. Projected is supported by the Knead Cafe in Kallispell, Montana. You'll also find an on-line cookbook here and free music you can download.

Yellow Mountain Institute, research and development on sustainable building technologies.

Project Echo, creating low cost, sustainable building technologies that are disaster resistant (particularly tornadoes and earthquakes).

Straw Bale Central, clearinghouse for information and techniques.

Robert Bolman's Natural Building and Social Justice Page, with a description of the strawbale/cob house his is building, plus information about his slide show presentations in the US Northwest.

California Institute of Earth Art and Architecture, a beautiful site with lots of information and pictures.

Hartworks, books and videos about alternative living.

50 strawbale house plans, interesting, innovative, beautiful.

Sustainable architecture, building, and culture, content and links, lots of resources here.

Earthship.org, access to all things earthship-ish, from the creators of the concept..

Earthship Landing: a pictorial history, chronicles an Earthship housing project near Durango, Colorado. Take the virtual tour for panoramic views. Lots of pictures, from all stages from the beginning of construction to the finished home. The site is very interesting.

Home Improvement, from Better Homes and Gardens, plumbing, carpentry, wiring, masonry and concrete, Energy Conservation in the Home.

Insulation Basics, from Nova Scotia Power (they should know up there!).

Home Solutions basic info about various housing/construction issues. Frequently Asked Questions about insulation and other home energy issues, from a South Carolina utility company.

Family TOP

16 rules about choosing which debt to pay first, many families are heavily indebted, and sometimes financial circumstances limit people's ability to pay such debts. These rules help to prioritize debt so that the most important bills are paid first.

La Leche League, world's foremost authorities on breast-feeding.

The NFP Files, get the facts, learn the biological truths about your own body, understand why tens of millions of families are using this practical and effective and non-invasive method of family planning.

What is Natural Family Planning? No pills, chemicals, or abortafacients. Calls for deep communication between married partners.

Homesteading on a 21^st century ark, a Christian family shares their beliefs on homesteading and simple living, plus some thoughts on the practicalities thereof.

Parenting Humor, family stress test, what planet are you from, name that famous mom quiz, great family humor.

The benefits of gardening with kids, teach the kids about life, science, and share quality time.

Frugal Baby Care, by Pat Veretto, About.com guide to Frugal Living. Discussion, suggestions, and links.

Winter ideas for kids, from the Frugal Mom's site. See also Rainy Day Fun.

50+ great websites for parents and kids, from the American Library Association.

Growing TOP

I Can Garden!, great resource with newsletter and discussion boards for gardening info.

City Gardening, information, pictures, on-line chat

Do it yourself garden site, sponsored by an on-line garden store, practical gardening information, nicely organized for easy access.

Land, Livestock, and Environment, lots of content and links, organic-oriented, includes information from and about developing countries.

Permaculture, agriculture, gardening link page

Resources for tropical agriculture, from a Christian research and missions organization, Amaranth to Zai Holes: Ideas for growing food under difficult conditions , online book text, in particular see Above Ground (container) gardening for models, techniques, tips.

Square foot gardening, tips and links.

Truman's garden page, how easy can watering and feeding a garden be? Check out this guys home-built setup. It's amazing what you can do with a few dictaphone parts and a trash can.

The hydroponic home(made) garden, sponsored by a commercial enterprise, information and design considerations, discusses components and has some diagrams.

Container Gardening in the City, promoting the "wading pool" system as the ultimate low-tech cheap container for city gardening. Step by step instructions, project initiated by people of faith to help the urban poor.

Chris' Hydroponics Home Page, by a University of Florida horticulture student, pictures and descriptions of his homemade hydroponics system.

Hydroponics Links, from a guy who seems to be working on growing a 75' long tomato plant.

Hydroponics - the Weedless Garden, from a home hydroponics gardener, pictures and info about growing without weeds.

My hydroponics diary, an Aussie takes us day by day through the development of his Down Under garden. Fair dinkum mate, it's a great site.

Irish-Eyes, a guide to growing potatoes and garlic, on a commercial site offering seed potatoes and other items of interest to those who would grow spuds in their backyards.

Organic food production in the slums of Mexico City

Grow your own yeast, the tiniest garden plants!

Farmer's Place, a cyber farm that "mirrors" a real working homestead.

Growing your own food, access, links, catalogs, publications.

Back to Eden E-journal, on-line magazine devoted to all things sustainable, emphasis on the small homestead, animal husbandry, cooking, gardening.

Agropolis, from the Texas A&M University System Agriculture Program, "the place to go for information to help you grow gardens and crops; take care of your pets and livestock, become more environmentally responsible; prepare nutritious meals safely; and other information to help you and your family cope with the everyday happenings in your life.

Square Foot Gardening, less work, more harvest.

Heirloom Seeds, offers a selection of non-hybrid seeds.

Redwood City Seed Company, alternative seed company founded in 1971, offers old-fashioned open-pollinated vegetables, herb seeds, and medicinal plants, including many endangered species cultivars. Check out their hot pepper growing tips...

Urban Agriculture Notes, by City Farmer, Canada's Office of Urban Agriculture. Urban farming is a way that poor people can better their lives by making their own bootstraps to pull themselves up with. This page is full of articles and reports about them that's doin'. The world's urban population is growing at twice the rate of total population growth; by 2025 urban population will be 5.34 billion, half of whom will be living in Asian cities. 800 million people today practice urban agriculture, growing 10% of the world's food supply (UN figures). Urban and Periurban small and medium-sized enterprise development for sustainable vegetable production and marketing systems a study of experiences in Vietnam, Laos, and the Philippines.

GardenGuides, a great on-line source for all kinds of information about growing vegetables and flowers.

Community Supported Agriculture of North America, the University of Massachusetts Extension.

American Community Gardening Association, "greening America's communities". Has a database of questions and answers related to community gardening and horticulture.

Homeless Garden Project, located in Santa Cruz, California, founded in 1990, offers a 3 year job-training and transitional employment program for homeless and marginalized people. Operates a commercial organic garden cultivating at 3 sites in the area.

Center for Rural Affairs a non-profit organization serving and advocating for America's family farms and rural communities for 25 years. Emphasis is on sustainable agriculture. Community Alliance with Family Farmers, a California site helping put farmers directly in contact with people buying food for home consumption, has FAQS about sustainable agriculture. National Agricultural Library, of the US Department of Agriculture. Access to big piles of information.

Kazarie Worm Farm What's a compost heap without red worms? Not much. Recommended to me by a friend. Prices look good.

Ecology Action, if you buy or read only one book on organic gardening, it should be "How to grow more vegetables, fruits, nuts, berries and other crops than you ever thought possible on less land than you can imagine," published by Ecology Action. This explains the biointensive method of organic gardening, developed by John Jeavons, and is derived from the work of Alan Chadwick, whose work was based on the methods of the French market gardeners of a century ago (they managed to raise lettuce 9 months a year around Paris). What is the biointensive food-raising method? Double-dug raised beds, companion planting, intensive planting, composting, a whole gardening method. They have an on-going demonstration project in California where the methods are continually tested and data is collected. They anticipate raising an equivalent of 300 bushels of wheat per acre (they are closing in fast on this goal, note that most dry land wheat farmers in Oklahoma achieve annual yields of 30 to 40 bushels per acre).

Sustainable Agriculture, from the Virtual World Wide Web Library, one of the best directories on the web (not the largest or the most comprehensive, but the sites are high quality). 25 categories of info relating to sustainable agriculture.

Agriculture, from the Virtual WWW Library, access to all things agricultural.

Save money - grow your own herbs, a short but thorough essay on the cultivation of herbs.

Oklahoma Draft Horse and Mule Association, newsletters, links to breeders.

Wild Ones Natural Landscaping Handbook, subtitled, How to naturally landscape without aggravating neighbors and city officials. Creating a water garden, planting a prairie, creating a woodland.

Companion Planting, a great guide to companion planting as a way to control insect pests in the garden.

Vegetable Companion Chart, besides insect control, many vegetables benefit by growing "in company" with others. This is a guide to increasing yield and quality through companion planting. It also indicates which plants are "bad companions" and should not be planted in close proximity.

Home Gardening, on-line free encyclopedia.

Organic Farming and Marketing, from the USDA Economic Research Service, links, access, online documents, news.

Midwest Organic and Sustainable Educational Resources (MOSES), "Our mission is to help agriculture make the transition to a sustainable organic system of farming that is ecologically sound, economically viable, and socially just, through information, education, research, and integrating the broader community into this effort." Upper Midwest Organic Farming Conference, the largest organic ag meeting in the nation, March 16-17, 2001 at the University of Wisconsin in La Crosse.

Rapeseed: a new oilseed crop for the United States,

Crops for sustainable development, pdf 584k document on agriculture, from the European foundation for the improvement of living and working conditions.

All About Sprouts, from a professional organization of sprout growers, piles of information on growing and consuming edible sprouts. How to grow sprouts.

Practical Farmers of Iowa, promoting farming systems that are profitable, ecologically sound, and good for families and communities. Farming practices and on-farm research.

Edible Landscaping, online catalog of edible perennials and trees.

Oregon Tilth, a non-profit research and educational organization certifying organic growers, retailers, and processors. Lots of resources and links.

Urban Aquaculture, the basics. From the Web of Creation folks.

Cyndi's Catalog of Garden Catalogs, she may not have every garden-related catalog in the nation listed & linked if they have a website, but she is sure trying.

A thriving mini farm in the city, at the new Ecology Action biointensive growing site, home of John Jeavons and the How to Grow More Vegetables crowd. Bountiful Gardens, supplying non hybrid organically grown seeds, associated with the Ecology Action folks.

Intergarden, big site, lots of connections, networks, on all things sustainable farming and organic gardening.

Mini-farms, raised bed agriculture, market gardening, mini farming, mini ranching,

Square Foot Gardening Project, sponsored by Washington State Cooperative Extension in Pierce County, helping gardeners maximize the nutrition from their home gardens.

COMPOST ...TOP

The Compost Page, organic gardening begins with composting. Instructions, resources, what you need to know.

Making and using compost, from the University of Missouri Extension Department.

Garden Compost, from the extension department of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

Wood and Wire Three Bin Turning Compost Bin, from the Extension Department of the University of Arkansas, plans for making compost on the fast track.

Composting Resources, from Texas A&M Extension, including resources for larger scale composting in commercial operations.

Composting with worms, worm casings are a very high quality fertilizer, and adding compost worms (a/k/a red wigglers) to your compost pile makes a high quality end product. A very comprehensive on-line handbook.

Rot Web, lots of info, including a how-to page for beginners.

Worm Digest, everything you ever needed to know about vermicomposting (composting with worms).

Compost Resource Page, includes an on-line forum, and many articles. (Add some links from this page to the special focus section.)

Home Composting Forum, general info, troubleshooting, education, and archives.

Natural fertilizers for the home garden, suggestions from the government of Nova Scotia on boosting nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

Energy and Transportation TOP

Converting an engine to run on alternative fuel such as alcohol or vegetable oil, discussion thread from last year about some of the details and options.

Turning sewage into cheap power, 2 million watts, to be exact, report on a functioning plant in Ottawa, Canada; they estimate they can get its production up to 10 megawatts using methane gas from the city's sewage treatment system.

Green LA, Los Angeles residents can voluntarily agree to pay 6% extra on their electric bill, with the funds used to subsidize the purchase of electricity generated by renewable sources (solar, wind, geothermal, etc.) This electricity tends to cost a bit more than power generated by fossil fuel plants, but the price of the fossil fuel plant doesn't include the cost of the pollution. As of November 1999, 20,000 households had signed up for the program. This program is designed to allow consumers to encourage alternative non-polluting energy markets to create new productive enterprises to provide such renewable energy.

PV Power, from the Dept. Of Energy, a set of detailed pages about generating your own power with solar cells.

Green Cars, organized campaign encouraging automakers to make "green" cars (high full efficiency, low pollution/emissions, perhaps alternative non-fossil carbohydrate based fuels or electric hybrids.

How to make a solar water heater, an online VITA technical publication.

Grassroots Biodiesel Page, making fuel from vegetable oil, Recipes for home-made biodiesel.

Electricity-free Refrigeration, here are do-it-yourself plans for building an absorption refrigerator that does not use electricity.

Bio-energy List Archives, searchable, this is one of the lists I archive.

WIRE - the Worldwide Information System for Renewable Energy, sponsored by the German government (site is in English, however), tons of resources (click on "guest access" or do a free registration which allows more options (such as providing information to the database).

International information on renewal energy, Geothermal, Biomass, Waste, Hydro, Solar, Wind, PV

Atlas, reviewing and prioritizing Europe's future energy technologies, from the European Commission.

The evolving renewal energy market, from the International Energy Association, which is part of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Full text of report.

Energy Efficiency, collects, analyzes, and disseminates information on cost-effective energy efficiency projects. Many details found here.

A Homemade Portable Solar Panel Generator an excellent page that explains how its author built a homemade portable solar power system, lots of excellent links, completely explains each step.

Build a solar power generator for less than $300, enough power for a small TV, or radio, cassette player, small fan, blender.

Veggie Van, OK, you take any kind of vegetable oil (used frying oil from restaurants is fine), mix it with a bit of methanol and lye, and you get glycerin soap and BIODIESEL. Pour the biodiesel into any diesel engine, and it will work fine (no modifications to the engine are necessary), and the exhaust smells like french fries. These people drove all over the country in a biodiesel powered van, and wrote a book about it. You can buy the book here, and or read for free about the wonderful world of bio-diesel.

The World of Biodiesel, links, discussion group, bio-diesel worldwide.

Carbohydrate Economy Clearing House, from the Institute for Local Self Reliance, making fuels (and other industrial projects) from veggies and other carbohydrates.

Phyllis, a database on the composition of biomass and waste. If you need the details, they are here.

Mr. Solar great access to information about living "off-the-electrical-grid". Has numerous articles about all facets of alternative energy.

Build your own generator using a lawnmower engine and an automobile alternator. No kidding, detailed plans, built it yourself.

Solstice, an on-line source for sustainable energy and development information from the Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology, accesses several interesting and useful email listservs.

Value Priced Inverters, an inverter is the gizmo that converts DC power (like you get from your car battery) into AC power (like runs your television, computer, or refrigerator). This is a commercial site, but their prices are really good, best I've found on the web.

Renewables for Sustainable Village Power Program access to information about local and village electrical power programs not dependent upon importing electricity from a grid.

Methane Production, detailed discussion by someone who's done it (that is, produced methane gas from manure and chopped plant matter. Can be a substitute for natural gas or propane (http://www.jrwhipple.com/sr/nf_methane.html).

Making your own fuel alcohol, hydrogen gas, and methane.

How to build a solar heater that fits into a standard window.

The full costs of the car, from Car-free Ottawa, an accounting of the real costs of auto ownership, including the externalities our economic system allows us to avoid.

Solar Energy International, renewable energy education and sustainable development. Among other activities, they offer on-line classes in designing a PV (photo-voltaic) energy system .Why choose renewables?

Do it yourself automotive LPG conversion, convert your car to run on propane or methane. Complete on-line text of the book.

Steve's Renewable Energy Musings, a discussion and educational resource for do-it-yourself home built off-grid energy production. Wood gas, bio diesel, hydro, steam, hydrogen, methane, wind, alcohol, photo-voltaics. Tutorial on off-grid and renewable energy, a quick overview of the basics.

Green Energy News, covering clean, renewable, and efficient energy for transportation, home, and business.

Internet Resources from sci.geo.petroleum, one of the most comprehensive link collections relating to the petroleum industry.

Solar Frost, a European start cooperative offering solar refrigeration and cooling technology.

Society for Renewable Energy, European cooperative supporting self-building of renewable energy devices such as solar water heaters, by small neighborhood groups.

Earth in Balance: Has energy capacity maxed out?, by Matthew Simmons, president of Simmons and Company International, a major player in the petroleum financial services industry, with ties to the incoming Bush Administration, pdf doc of presentation to Global Energy Symposium in London, November 2000. His conclusion: a major energy crisis is looming during the "00s", because demand is now exceeding supply. See their Research index for additional papers, speeches, and conference proceedings. This site requires a free registration to read the reports.

Carbohydrate Economy E-bulletin, December 2000, monthly publication chronicling developments in alternative economic development, from the Institute for Local Self Reliance. See also Healthy Building Network, safer & ecologically superior building materials, Waste to Wealth, community development through reuse and recycling,

Alternative Energy Links, from Frugal Living at About.com, lots of links to all aspects of alternative energy.

Earth Saving Tips, from Earth Share, lots of practical ideas for saving energy and living a green lifestyle.

Fuel Economy, from the US Department of Energy, on-line access to fuel economy statistics for vehicles sold in the US. See Driving More Efficiently for tips on fuel economy.

Energy in the 21^st Century: the return of Geopolitics?, "Experience in mature oil regions suggests that conventional oil production could peak between 2010 and 2020. Production outside OPEC Middle East would start to decline before OPEC Middle East production, implying a greater reliance on Middle East supply." Detailed report on the world petroleum supply, from the Organizationfor Economic Cooperation and Development, which is sponsored by 30 nations, mostly the developed West.

American Bioenergy Association, industrial strength, corporate bio-energy.

Biodiesel research and the University of Missouri, bibliography, some on-line academic papers.

National Biodiesel Board, all the news that fit to print about all things biodiesel.

Biodiesel, a do it yourselfer shows how he makes biodiesel from used fryer oil, lots of pictures.

International Solar Energy Society, membership society, global outreach. Double cropping corn and land, farmers leasing their fields for wind generation, but also continuing the farm the land underneath the turbines. $2,000/wind turbine to the farmer, per year. As the price of electricity increases, this will go up.

Central Vermont Solar & Wind, commercial site, but it offers a great overview of what is involved with getting off the grid. Easy to understand, which is something when we're talking about alternative energy. Their packages run $500 to $25,000, and all are "hybrid", featuring wind and solar generating capacity.

Renewable Energy Resources, a report for the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution Study on Energy and the Environment. Rather dense reading, but makes projections through 2050.

Utility Connection, links to nearly 4,000 electrical, gas, water, and waste water utilities.

Running On Empty, "convince sheet", discusses evidence that we are heading for petroleum depletion faster than the "conventional wisdom" believes.

Preserving and Processing TOP

Canning and preserving the harvest, on-line forum with extensive archives and links.

Vegetable seed savers handbook, from Seeds of Texas Seed Exchange. Lots of practical details.

The Complete Guide to Home Canning, from Mississippi Extension. Selection, use and care of canning equipment.

Beer and Brewing, from the Virtual World Wide Web Library, high quality access to home brewing. Thank God for yeast, without them we wouldn't have beer or cheese or bread, and how can we have civilization without beer, cheese and bread?

Anthony's Root Beer Barrel, make your own, information and links.

The Soda Fountain, history, links, recipes for making your own soft drinks and other soda fountain classics (syrups, ice cream, the original formula for Coca-cola.

Recipe for Root Beer, the All-American Classic.

Beer at Home, recipes, instructions, equipment, and supplies for making beer and soft drinks at home.

Ketel's Root Beer Worship Center, recipes and instructions on brewing your own root beer.

Beer and Home Brewing, from About.com, with its usual thoroughness, offers comprehensive access.

Online Forum on Canning and food preservation

Food Safety and Preservation, from two food and nutrition scientists. Much information about home preservation and food safety.

Food Preservation Pages, from Kansas State research and extension. Canning, freezing, pickling, drying, and sweet spreads. Modern science plus the taste of Grandma's table.

Jar Cakes, an old tradition. Better than junk food, you betcha.

USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, print it on your computer printer for free, learn to preserve your own foods.

Making your own cheese, from the publishers of Countryside Magazine (established 1917).

Home Canning Magazine is a great resource, good information, links, and an extensive discussion forum.

USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, on the web, in English and Spanish.

Homemade Soy Milk, save money, control quality, convert that 50 pound sack of soybeans in your pantry into something useful.

Master Mixes, make your own mixes at home from basic ingredients, save money and time, control quality.

Laurie's Veggie Burgers, make your own, save money and time, control quality, taste, and nutrition.

Prudent Food Storage. THE internet source for information about storing food (more than 300K, which is 102 pages in a print-friendly format!!!).

Save the pumpkins! Great and tasty ideas for eating and preserving pumpkins.

Home canning tips (www.home-canning.com/tips.html), lots of good information on home preservation.

Home Canning Forum networking, questions, answers, discussion forum.

Freezers & Freezing Food, from Pat Veretto at Frugal Living About.com. Buying and operating a freezer efficiently, and food freezing tips.

Making cheese from powdered milk, from Natural Meals in Minutes, on the Gentle Spirit site.

Stretching your food dollar with grains and beans, from Natural Meals in Minutes, make your own honey maple nut cereal.

Fast, Easy, 3 minute bean soups, from Natural Meals in Minutes, using bean flours to make creamy soups, plus tips on grinding beans.

Small scale oil seed processing, from Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas, a complete on-line manual. On-line publications, from ATTRA, much good accurate info can be found here.

Cooking and Eating TOP

Soup Recipe.com, it may not actually have all the world's recipes for soups, but this site is working on it. Searchable, soup of the day, resources and more.

Culinary Herb FAQ, everything you ever wanted to know about every culinary herb -- growing, harvesting, preserving, using.

In Season, all about using and cooking locally grown, seasonal produce.

International Dutch Oven Society, history, recipes, cookbooks.

Solar cooking and water pasteurization email listserv, has archives of messages.

Canned Food Recipes, from the industry "Canned Food Alliance", a selection of nutritional recipes using canned foods (this site will be useful to low income people and those running emergency food pantries.) Recipes are searchable, and an email newsletter is available.

Soyfoods.com access to information about and recipes using soybeans.

Searchable Online Archive of Recipes thousands and thousands.

The Vegetarian Kitchen, basics, staples, recipes, techniques, the Vegetarian Pantry.

Veggie Heaven, practical recipes and cooking tips for meatless dining.

Veggies Unite, more online information about meatless dining.

Saroj's Cookbook, opening up the diverse worlds of Indian cooking. Check out the "Bachelors' Dishes".

Southern Food at the Mining Company, although now I think it's calling itself About. Great links and resources for home cooking. More than 1000 crock pot recipes. (Crock pot recipes typically work well in solar cookers.

US Soyfoods Directory, lots of info and recipes about using the humble soybean. Is there joy in soy? More access to soybeans.

To cook a pot roast in 40 minutes, and save similar time and fuel with other foods, check out Cooking Under Pressure

The Quick and Easy Veggie Meals Under a $1.50 FAQ, piles of recipes, ideas, techniques.

www.accessone.com/~sbcn, numerous plans for solar cookers using cheap materials like cardboard boxes, black paint, and aluminum foil. \

Solar Chef, a commercially available option ... Solar Oven.

Solar Ovens are Wonderful, a nice page from a woman who has been cooking dinner with a solar oven for six years.

SunLightWorks, Inc. a commercial supplier of solar ovens and other such products.

Manual for Solar Box Cookers, a 26 page printable on-line manual on how to build and use solar cookers, published by Technology for Life, Finland.

Solar Cooking Archive, tons of information about solar cooking, including detailed step by step plans for making several different kinds of solar cookers.

Crockpot Cooking, a great way to save money on meals.

Crock Pot Recipes Index, huge collection of great recipes. Remember, most crockpot recipes can be adapted easily for solar cooking.

Christmas Recipes from one of those most useful places you find on the internet, the Southern US Cuisine pages at the Mining Company.

Real Food for Real People lots of recipes, practical stuff.

Poverty Cookbook, a great on-line cookbook for those who like good but frugal food. Similar in intent to my Better Times cookbook pages.

Top ten most requested recipes, from the About.com vegetarian page, non-crockpot recipes. Vegetable lasagna, stuffed portabello mushrooms, bello burgers, Thai noodles, who needs hamburger?

Top ten most requested crockpot recipes, also from the about.com vegetarian page. Vegetarian enchilada casserole, bean and cornbread casserole, all-day mac and cheese, rice/corn/spinach casserole (you could do these in a solar cooker!). Yum.

The Dinner Co-op Page. What's a dinner co-op? People who get together and cook and eat together. This page has recipes (including a downloadable cookbook), and over 3000 links. Cooking is rotated on a 3 week schedule, and costs are shared. This program was designed originally by grad students, but can be adapted for many different situations.

Sun ovens are wonderful!, the basics of solar cooking with pictures and links. With recipes.

Liven up your iced tea! Great ideas and recipes for something a little more creative than plain ice tea with white sugar.

Thrifty Meals, from the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, click on the link to download in adobe acrobat format.

Designing and building home made focusing solar cookers, from Finland, a parabolic reflector style oven. Has pictures and diagrams.

Dutch oven dinners, from Gentle Spirit magazine, can also be made in a crockpot.

OAMC 101: a fast course in once-a-month cooking, lots of very practical information. If you're thinking about using this household management tool, bookmark this site. Includes a sample menu and "All day cooking plan" to prepare a freezer full of meals, including recipes, shopping lists, and suggested method of preparing the dishes all at once, and then it has freezing instructions and how to rewarm it for eating later. Bon apetit! I'd give this site five stars if I was handing out stars.

Frozen Assets: cook for a day, eat for a month, links, recipes, cooking plans, comprehensive access to the OAMC world.

Scheffler's Community Solar Cooker, a description with diagrams of a large solar cooker suitable for use by an entire village. Community solar cookers using Scheffler reflectors, 24 of these cookers are the kitchen for a conference center in India which feeds 1500 people at a time. Pictures of the construction of such a cooker at the Baha'i Vocational Institute for Rural Women in India.

Community (whole systems) TOP

Center for a Sustainable Economy, research and advocacy concerning market and tax-incentive proposals supportive sustainable economics.

Natural Capitalism: creating the next industrial revolution, a conversation with Amory Lovins, transcript of a San Diego presentation. Amory Lovins is vice president of the Rocky Mountain Institute.

Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas, an information center operation by the National Center for Appropriate Technology. Provides technical assistance to farmers, Extension agents, market gardeners, and others with an interest in agriculture. Extensive online library of reports giving practical details of sustainable commercial agriculture.

American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy promotes energy efficiency as a way of bolstering the common good (including economic prosperity), lots of resources, including a home energy consumption guide, ratings of energy efficiency of appliances, legislative and tax alerts.

Positive Futures Network, working to build a more just and sustainable world. The Post-Corporate World

New Urban Agenda, highlighting progress along the road to sustainability, reports from them that's doin'.

Corporate Agriculture Research Project, monitors corporate agri-business and supports alternatives. Has a regular email newsletter, Agribusiness Examiner, and a new services, Agbiz Tiller. Dares to talk about justice and the small farmer and farm worker.

Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society, academic group studying the relationship between human values and agriculture systems.

Community Development Society, a professional organization, has on-line journal with abstracts of articles, other resources. Entrepreneurial community gardens (from 1999 conference proceedings).

Real Wealth, the Genuine Progress Indicator as an alternative to the GDP or GNP as measures of economic well being.

Center for a Sustainable Economy, resources, publications, links.

Food Circle, we've featured this site before, but it keeps getting better.

Communications for a Sustainable Future, a great page of links relating to all aspect of sustainable living.

Bread for the World, see their Action Alert for this month.

Community Food Security Coalition, information, action, networking.

Community Alliance with Family Farmers public policy, sustainable agriculture, community supported agriculture.

14 essays on food security, from the Food and Agriculture Organization

Consolidation in the Food & Agriculture System, a report to the National Farmer's Union. We've featured this report before, but it is important so here it is again. Details on how giant transnational corporations (six of them, to be exact) are gobbling up the food production system, "rationalizing" it into two large cartels. Sounds almost like a conspiracy theory, except this one has facts, figures, charts and data to support the hypothesis. PS. Cargill is owned by six people.

Food Research and Action Center New data show sharp increase in food insecurity in the US. Report

Sustainable Living link directory, access to food, shelter, community.

Eco-Village Information Service links to people and places of sustainable living.

The Knapps Favorite Links page, not sure who the Knapps are, but their links are great if you want to learn more about living lightly on the Earth.

Sources of Sustainability, access to permaculture, cooperative business, gardening and agriculture, community and architecture, discussion groups, projects, and some other minor themes including unusual vegetables, potluck, silviculture, and energy.

Community Food Security Coalition. Food security is where all people have nutritionally adequate, culturally acceptable diet at all times through local non-emergency sources. Has a number of publications, access to federal money for urban agriculture (community gardens and etc.)

The Agrarian Society decentralization, distributism, small farming, United Kingdom-based.

The Food Circle, a virtual cornucopia of food-relate information, links, ideas, and options for practical personal and planetary survival, prosperity, and transformation.

Institute for Food and Development Policy, working to eliminate the injustices that cause hunger. http://www.foodfirst.org

Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, some really good articles in its Resource section on globalization and agriculture. The institute is working to create environmentally and economically sustainable communities.

Visions for Rural Kentucky, by Wendell Berry, in Whole Earth Magazine (I have been reading this magazine since it was Co-evolution Quarterly in the 1970s).

The Farm, founded in 1971 on 1700 acres (a little more than 2.5 square miles, in Summertown, Tennessee. Now they have a school offering immersion experiences at their Eco-Village Training Center including natural building techniques (strawbale, cob, post and beam framing), solar electricity installation, permaculture. Students are a mix of people who pay tuition and people from disadvantaged populations attending via a social justice scholarship (most of whom come from the surrounding 8 state area). See also the Global Village/Institute for Appropriate Technology, chartered in 1974, to research environmentally friendly new technologies.

Global Ecovillage Network, linking ecovillages and related projects. Global Ecovillage Network Newsletter, downloadable in PDF, 44 pages, reporting news about sustainable communities throughout the world. What is an eco-village? With guided tour. Try their Community Sustainability Assessment Audit .

Colombia's Model City, established in the 1970s on Colombia's "llanos" (think plains), Gaviotas is a model eco-village that is working for its people and generating new ideas, and new applications of old ideas, to benefit the common good everywhere.

Utopia rises out of the Colombian plains, transcript of a 15 minute NPR story about Gaviotas. To get to Gaviotas takes a 16 hour journey over a rutted dirt road. It was deliberately built in a place where it was thought that nobody could live, and it is an attempt to fashion a new model of tropical living based on indigenous models, rather than those imported from the North. Check out their water pump which is also a kid's see saw, using the energy of children playing to pump water.

Sustainable community action network, a San Diego non-profit working towards a locally sustainable community through dialogue and education.

Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe, Egyptian site, organization building capacities in the direction of sustainable development. On-line newsletters.

Estonian Sustainable Development Database, On-line library of materials (in both English and Estonian), primarily targeted at non-profits and government planners.

Green Power Hong Kong, hundreds of articles about green power issues in Hong Kong, China, and throughout the world, in Chinese, has a summary page in English.

Findhorn Ecovillage Page, the Findhorn intentional community was founded in 1962 in Scotland. This is one of the better ecovillage sites, and does a good job explaining the basics of renewable energy, sustainable economics, local food production (they farm 25 acres which supplies about half the food of the 312 residents).

People Centered Development Forum, an international alliance of individuals and organizations dedicated to creating just and sustainable human societies through voluntary action. Life After Capitalism. See also When corporations rule the world, which shows how our corporate economy betrays the free market and violates freedom.

Sustainable Living News, online publication, information about hands-on workshops, Worms eat my underwear, delightful story about worm composting. Very interesting articles, published 3 times each year.

Center for the New American Dream, in the last 50 years, Americans have used more resources than all of the people who have ever lived on this planet since God created us. Comprehensive access to information helping people and organizations reduce consumption.

Journey to Forever, this link was hard to categorize. It's got piles of practical info on just about all things sustainable, yet it also chronicles a journey by LAND from Hong Kong to Capetown, South Africa (talk about an adventure!) The journey hasn't started yet, apparently, but in the meantime they have created a really great site that I am only beginning to scratch the surfaces of. I may have to start handing out stars so I can give five big ones to this site.

Consolidation in food retailing and dairy, Implications for farmers and consumers in a global food system, a National Farmers Union report, by Dr. William Heffernan and Dr. Mary Hendrickson of the University of Missouri at Columbia's Department of Rural Sociology, pdf file. NFU Home ... Press release on the report.

The Last Farm Crisis, from the Nation Magazine, chronicling the demise of the family farmer.

The E.F. Schumacher Society, the "small is beautiful" folks. On-line publications, in particular, see Wes Jackson's Call for a revolution in agriculture.

The Mad Farmer Liberation Front Manifesto, a poem by Wendell Berry.

Home Economics, by Wendell Berry, a review on a bookstore site with some extensive quotes from the book.

The Heifer Project, provides small livestock (bees, chickens, goats, rabbits, ducks, buffalo, llamas, pigs, geese, sheep, heifers, plus trees) to third world villages. The people receiving the livestock agree to give some of the offspring to their neighbors. Catalog ,

Redefining Progress, community indicators movement, working to redefine the measuring of progress. Measure Ecological Footprint and see the impact of your lifestyle on nature. See also Indicators for measuring progress towards sustainability.

Dancing Rabbit Eco-village, a work in progress in northeast Missouri, has lots of nice details about what they are doing and where they are going, How to build a rainwater catchment cistern,

Intentional Communities, a website serving the growing communities movement -- ecovillages, co-housing, community land trusts, communes, urban housing cooperatives and etc. What's true about intentional communities: dispelling the myths, publishes a hardcopy Communities Directory with listings for over 600 intentional communities, has an on-line directory of ICs with websites. Excellent links page, comprehensive resources pages from their 1995 directory.

European foundation for the improvement of living and working conditions, providing information and support for implementing sustainable development and business practices. Sustainable Development Online, databases and access to online SD material..

Hutterite Society, a review of the book, has some basic info about Hutterite history and lifestyle.

Ashgrove Community Farm and Center for Sustainable Living, intentional community in Corning, NY, take their virtual farm tour,

Spirituality TOP

View an icon of Dorothy Day ... View an icon of Archbishop Oscar Romero

Pope Affirms Right to Food, a Vatican Information Service story.

Bethlehem Farm, a Catholic Worker community,

The Chesterton Page , a cyberplace for counter-cultural Catholics (and others with similar interests). Essays and Prose, flowing from an on-going conversation among readers of the Caelum et Terra magazine (1991-96), those participating are generally interested in low-tech, agrarian culture, and the apostolate of beauty.

Promote Real Economic Democracy, Pope John Paul II to the Central Institute of Co-operative Banks, June 1998

We Cannot Be Resigned to World Poverty, Pope John Paul II, full text of the Angelus homily of the feast of St. Vincent de Paul, Sept. 27, 1998. "Where are we with our commitment?. . . In the stark contrast between insensitive rich and the poor in need of everything, God is on the latter's side. We cannot resign ourselves to the immoral spectacle of a world in which there are still people who die of hunger, who are homeless, who lack the most elementary education, who cannot find work an who are unable to receive the necessary treatment when they are ill."

Prayer of the Holy Father for the Jubilee Year

Farming Communes, article by Dorothy Day from the February 1944 Catholic Worker,

Defines personalism as the realization that one "cannot find satisfaction in this life unless he reckons that there is only God and himself." Discusses the difficulties of farming communes and the need to establish the communal aspects of Christianity. Dorothy Day writes, asking a question of Peter Maurin: " 'Do you ever become discouraged when you see our failures?' I asked Peter. 'No, because I know how deep-rooted the evil is. I am a radical and know that we must get down to the roots of the evil.' And the gentle smile he turned on me was as though he said, 'Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight steps and follow peace with all men.' "

The Story of the Lettuce Workers, article by Dorothy Day from the May 1940 Catholic Worker about a speaking/organizing tour of the west coast. Tells of many meetings and talks around San Francisco. Recalls the union busting and violence against lettuce workers near Salinas. Laments the lack of leaders to bring Catholic social teaching to the workers. Wants "fellow travelers with the poor and dispossessed," who will spread the Gospel, recognizing that the poor are "creatures of body and soul."

On Pilgrimage, Dorothy Day's column from the February 1974 Catholic Worker. Reflects on a number of economic themes: the building of churches; problems with the IRS; why they are not tax-exempt; personalist/anarchist writers and projects; Ade Bethune's Community Corporation in Rhode Island. Extols all forms of mutual aid.

Letter on Hospices, by Dorothy Day from the January 1948 Catholic Worker. Describes how Catholic Worker houses are run and the struggles with living the ideal of Christian love. Reflects on reconciling freedom and order. Maintains the primacy of the spiritual. Gives her positions on cooperation, house leadership, handling money, and the relation of the Catholic Worker to the hierarchy. Concludes by emphasizing the little way and voluntary poverty. YES, you too could start a Catholic Worker House. We did.

Ecumenical Rosary, a new devotion that uses Rosary beads, the miracles of Christ, and prayers that both Protestants and Catholics can be comfortable praying.

A Vision of Peace and Worship, from the Society of St. John, a "narrative of a Catholic City for our times." The Catholic City: One body in Christ, by Tom Storck, from their on-line library. This article discusses the challenges that the traditional American attitudes of individualism and Puritanism pose for such a community.

Freedom from the love of money, a short but thought provoking essay based on Hebrews 13:5, "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have."

Web of Creation, transforming faith-based communities for a sustainable world. Lots of online resources for spirituality and ecology, including advocacy, solidarity, lifestyle, liturgy, prayer, and worship.

What do the simple folk do? , Dorothy Day tries to answer the question " How can we believe in a Transcendent God when the Immanent God seems so powerless within time, when demonic forces seem to be let loose?" Points to examples of transcendence in human experience: hope for happiness in intentional communities and love of neighbor, the word of God, miracles, bearing the suffering of others, martyrdom, and delight in loving God.

Poverty is to care and not to care, Dorothy Day reflects on the struggle to achieve voluntary poverty in small steps and for a lifetime. Notes that even honorable work involves taxes used for war. Condemns advertising for increasing desires often leading people to poverty.

Crafting and Making TOP

How a chain saw works, from the How Stuff Works website, a comprehensive look at chain saws.

The Texas Guide to Rainwater Harvesting, from the Texas Water Development Board, downloadable in Adobe Acrobat pdf format. Just about everything you need to know.

Harvesting rainwater, access, sources, building code/public health issues.

The Brick Oven Page, from the Masonry Heater Association, domestic, commercial, sourdough,

Adobe Bakeoven.

Nicaraguan Outdoor Masonry ovens. Ovencrafters, some basics and instructions for baking in masonry ovens.

Village Bakery on the Web recipes, sourdough, questions and answers.

Haybox cooking, how to make a crockpot that doesn't require electricity. From the Center for Alternative Technology in the United Kingdom. Great info here, more tip sheets, access.

Ian Purdie's Amateur Radio Pages great source for beginners exploring amateur radio.

Herbal Salve Recipes, make them yourself in your own kitchen, grow your own herbs.

Plastic bags, a long list -- and getting longer -- of recycling uses for plastic bags, a plentiful resource in modern society.

Recycling links from them that's doin about how to do it.

Alternative Technology Internet Links, lots of information.

Homemade with love -- gifts from the kitchen, from the southern food pages at the Mining Company.

Mason Jar Craft Ideas a 101 things to do with mason jars.

Jar cakes, cakes and breads to make in mason jars.

Holiday Gift Ideas from your kitchen for those you love.

Holiday decorations, attractive, inexpensive, homemade.

Nativity Scene, print these diagrams/patterns and make your own.

How Stuff Works hundreds of reports describing how out technology works.

Industry Profiles, from Volunteers in Technical Assistance, detailed explanations of various manufacturing operations. If you need to know how to manufacture 15,000 dozen dress shirts a year, or how to extract oil and meal from sorghum, it's online here, as are several other such descriptions.

Development Publications CD, 150 of Volunteers in Technology Assistance technical publications and books conveniently on a CD for browsing or printing on your home computer. It's only $95, give one as a gift to your favorite library in a poor neighborhood or to a community development organization. Village Technology Handbook, the classic reference work from VITA on appropriate technologies that increase the security and the quality of life for many poor people worldwide.

Understanding Technology Series, more riches from the VITA folks, a series of technical papers summarizing, from hydroponics to making paint and many points between. A rich information source on making and doing. Volunteers in Technical Assistance, home page, their mission is to empower the impoverished in developing countries to manage their own development.

Bizarre stuff you can make in your kitchen, a compendium of home science experiments from the 1930s to the 60s. Great educational fun.,

Centre for Alternative Technology, "Europe's foremost eco-centre." Educational group, offers publications and research (some online at the site), demonstration projects. Features, practical solutions, and tip sheets

Natural homemade cleaners, recipes made from common ingredients.

Singer Sewing Machines, lots of information about the various models over the decades, online access to the operating manuals for many of them.

Aprovecho Research Center, in the foothills of the Cascade Range of Oregon, "aprovecho" is Spanish for "I make best use of". Develops, tests, applies appropriate technology concepts, sustainable forestry, organic gardening, sustainable energy and housing ideas..

Lindsay Books, a great publisher of incredible how-to books, need to know how to build a machine shop from scratch? It's here, as is detailed information about running vehicles on producer gas. Good fast service, we've ordered several of their titles.

The Bag Bed, this project was awarded a price from the American Plastics Council as the most unusual recycling idea for plastic grocery bags. This site shows you have to weave the bags into a fabric and then turn the fabric into a warm sleeping bag/bed for homeless people. It takes about 1,000 used plastic bags to make a bed/sleeping bag, but it is warm and comfortable. Or so the site says. Lots of pictures, easy instructions.

EcoGenics, research & development in alternative energy and building systems, has manuals (not online, for sale) on alternative fuels production (methane, alcohol, producer), solar energy, and other alternative building subjects, including building closed loop ecosystems, based on their actual experiences..

Soap-making FAQs, recipes and procedures.

How Things Work, a very big pile of information explaining how things work. Many things.

Keeping your home clean and safe, recipes for home-made ecologically safe cleaning materials. Located at the Green Living Center, where there are many more such tips and ideas.

Solar homepower do-it-yourself projects, lots of ideas with pictures and explanations, chronicles the development of a homeowner's alternative energy system.

Crafts & Hobbies, from Pat Veretto, About.com Frugal Living guide, great collection of fun and useful things to do.

Recycling Crafts, several cute and useful things you can make from stuff that people typically throw away.

A solar windowbox air heater, make it yourself to fit your own windows. We are interested in any feedback from readers who have built something like this, as it is on our list of projects to do.

The Staff, not people, but wood, also known as the basic tool of the walking traveller.

WINDMILLS TOP

The Penren Windmill Book, should be subtitled, "Everything you need to know to build your own windmill to pump water or generate electricity from off-the-shelf parts." It is well recommended in the non-profit windmill enthusiast community. It costs $35, I haven't actually bought it yet, but during some recent cyberspace research on windmills, it was mentioned everywhere.

Windmills, there is a lot of information here about historic and modern windmills and their uses. I got sidetracked by this site for more than an hour when I stumbled across it. Did you know that windmills were a primary energy source for flour milling during the colonial era of the US? Every farm neighborhood had one or more.

Windmills and how they work, nice little page explaining windmills, has diagrams and pictures.

Windmill design and construction, "windmills were works of art, no two were ever alike," history, design, milling.

Mills of the 18^th & 19^th centuries in Camden County, North Carolina, nice site describing early windmills in this area of the US.

Wind Energy Link Page, at the Sandia National Laboratories renewable and wind energy pages.

Ben Sluder's Wind Energy page, a personal page devoted to wind energy information and links.

Simple Living TOP

Simple Living, from Inner Explorations, a Catholic contemplative spirituality site profiled above in Spirituality.

Use Less Stuff Report, bi-monthly on-line webzine, lots of details, practicalities.

Seeds of Simplicity, organizing and educating for voluntary simplicity, tools for children, adults, and community.

10 ways to create meaningful, yet relaxed holidays, from the just released edition of the Simple Living November-December 1998 on-line newsletter.

Domestic Church, click on the Stewardship link for information about the prudent and frugal lifestyle.

All Consuming Passion, waking up from the American Dream.

Alternatives for Simple Living, equips people of faith to live justly, challenge consumerism, and celebrate responsibly.

Simple Living, the Journal of Voluntary Simplicity,

Alternatives for Simple Living, sponsors a "Whose birthday is it anyway" campaign at Christmas, provides bulk brochures at cheap prices, customized for various religious groups, regarding this theme; will mail you a nice and informative Resource Guide via the post office.

Voluntary Simplicity, a page from Duane Elgin, author, Toward a way of life that is outwardly simple, inwardly rich, excerpts from the book..

Living Gently Quarterly, a magazine promoting voluntary simple and frugal lifestyles.

The Front Page, a simple living newsletter.

Simplicity Circles finding help and support for simple living.

Simple Living Network Tools and living examples, more than 3000 pages of information.

Full of Grace, a simple living newsletter with a Catholic perspective.

Simple Living big page with piles of links on simplicity, frugal living, environmental issues.

Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, in Occidental, California, an intentional community offering courses in (among other things) sustainable living.

Alternatives for Simple Living, non-profit organization that equips people of faith to challenge consumerism, live justly, and celebrate responsibly. Whose birthday is it anyway? Christmas 2000 campaign.

Affluenza, test your consumption quotient and find out if you have affluenza. Tips for simplifying your life, ten ideas. This is a delightful site from PBS based on their show of the same name.

Houston Simplicity Circles, brief explanation of the Simplicity Circle concept, offers networking and access for local Houston area efforts: " What is a simplicity circle? Simplicity circles are support and study groups where we help each other live deliberately. We discuss what is most important to us and what steps we must take to fit it into our lives. It's called a circle because there's no boss." Plus simplicity movement links.

Life with the plain people, the story of a family's conversion to the Old Order Amish church and way of life.

Disaster Response TOP

They ask their mothers, "Where is the cereal?" -- in vain, as they faint away like the wounded in the streets of the city, and breathe their last in their mothers' arms. Lamentations 2:12

Church World Service Disaster & Emergency Response the relief arm of the National Council of Church of Christ (USA).

Situation Reports, from Volunteers in Technological Assistance, an announce-only listserv with daily reports on crisis/emergency/disaster situations worldwide. This is the easiest way I have found to access detailed information about world emergencies (no web site to check, the emails come automatically, every day). Includes both natural disasters and complex emergencies caused by social crises/war/politics, etc.

Relief Web, from the UN, access to complete humanitarian crises.

Federal Emergency Management Agency, bottom line, natural disasters have caused increasing amounts of damage and loss of human life during the 1990s. The prognosis is: things are going to get worse. Access to disaster mitigation and response information.

Kosovo Regional Emergency, from Catholic Relief Services; the organization is currently assisting 200,000 refugees in the Balkans, their April 2^nd estimate is that 1 million people are now displaced in and around Yugoslavia.

Red Cross World Disaster Report, summaries and highlights from the just-released 1999 report. Last year was the worst disaster year on record, tens of thousands of deaths, hundreds of millions of people uprooted and displaced by disasters. They expect a decade of increasing deaths and damage from disasters.

Kosovo Humanitarian Aid and Discussion links

ReliefWeb from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Complex Emergencies, information about on-going emergencies and various countries of concern to the humanitarian community. There isn't very much good news here.

ReliefNet Home Page non-profit helping humanitarian organizations raise global awareness and encourage support for relief efforts via the Internet.

AlertNet, a news and communications service from the Reuter Foundation for the emergency relief community, has press releases from leading relief agencies, expert analyses, reviews of key issues and events, jobs noticeboard. Has a focus page on Kosovo.

Direct from the Field, reports from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the world's largest humanitarian network.

DisasterRelief.Org, worldwide disaster aid and information via the internet. Some very sad and tragic stories here.

American Radio Relay League, access to all things amateur/ham radio. During emergencies and disasters, ham radio operators serve the common good by providing free communications networks to assist in recovery.

Emergency Settlement Project, a study of refugee camps.

Natural Disasters information from the Clorox company about using bleach as for emergency cleanup/sanitation during disasters, has excellent information on general preparedness for disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, tornados, and floods.

Millennium Salons an on-line library of practical information concerning what to do about this problem. Non-crazy, creating resilient communities.

Center for international disaster information, from Volunteers in Technical Assistance, information and guidance in support of appropriate disaster relief.

Frugality TOP

The Frugal Life, asks the question: are we living to work or working to live? Lots of resources, offers an email newsletter.

Frugal Moms, "live better for less," free email newsletters and discussion lists, book reviews holiday idea base, "the frugal kitchen", kids information, stuff for beginners.

The 20^th century homemaker, conservative Christian site with a lot of practical details on frugal and simple household management.

Wacky Uses, alternative uses for common household products. Did you know you could use jello to style your hair? Mostly mentions brand names, but generics could be used, saving even more money.

How to feed your family and thriving on thrift stores, advice from a person who has been helping families feed themselves for less since the early 1990s.

Create a picnic kit and you'll be ready for affordable fun on the spur of the moment!

Beginning Frugality, where to start? This is a good place. A page at the Frugal Mom's site featured last month. 15 ideas for cutting your grocery bill. I like them all, but I really like the first one: Cultivate an attitude of gratitude.

The Great Change: Becoming a One Income Family, learn from the experiences of others, avoid pitfalls, ideas about what works and what doesn't, how to avoid stress.

Counting the Cost: Your guide to abundant living without abundant spending, site of a print newsletter, but it also has an on-line library of articles from the newsletter.

Frugal Living at About.com, we've featured this link before, but it is so good we're mentioning it again. Lots of resources, great articles and links. I can't believe it's a plastic bag! It's amazing what you can do with a plastic bag and a crochet hook. One Income Living, resources for families living on one income.

Frugal Living at About.com, formerly the Mining Company. Excellent access, and a weekly email report.

Running around in circles, life in debt, and the importance of getting out of debt. http://pages.ivillage.com/re/gennica/index.html

The Underground Railroad to Financial Freedom, discusses the hidden costs of "two income living".

Frugal Living Newsletter weekly email, has good stuff.

One Income Living index page of links from the frugal living pages at the mining company.

The Household Cyclopedia on-line reprint of an 1881 compendium of useful information, "10,000 recipes in all the useful and domestic arts, constituting a complete and practical library" for use in the city, on the farm, and in the home.

The Frugal Connection, a page of information geared towards urban renters, also at this cyberplace

Thoughts on Frugality. "Crumbs of lost material add up to a feast of waste at the end of our lives, to help avoid this fate, view this site,

Some hands-on techniques to save resources and money. For families ready to abandon the culture of death values of consumerism and materialism,

One Income Living in a Two Income World has good ideas for avoiding affluenza. Step by step instructions for frugality and simple living,

Living Within Your Means, class outline.

Cutting Your Grocery Bill, a collection of strategies and tips.

Frugal Family Network information, a newsletter, some good links.

Frugal Living On-Line, on-line monthly e-zine.

The Frugal Life, are you working to live or living to work? Has on-line newsletter.

My Frugal Page interesting links.

The Underground Railroad to Financial Freedom 19 page report on frugal living as a substitute for "double income" families.

The Dollar Stretcher, "living better for less", a weekly resource for simple living.

Message Forum at the Frugal Living corner of the Mining Company internet community. Post a question, find an answer (http://frugalliving.miningco.com/mpboards.htm).

Three Quarters of a Gallon, from Pat Veretto, About.com guide to Frugal Living, about the recent trend of decreasing the amount of product in packaged goods while keeping the price the same. Pat maintains one of the internet's best resources on frugal living, I have learned a lot from her and the links and articles at her pages.

Myths that keep Americans in the hole, discusses the common messages of modern society that encourage consumer addiction, overspending, and debt.

George Washington Carver, father of thrift and conservation. A quote: "Throw nothing away, everything can be used again."

Free Tips for Do It Yourself Thrifty Living, site also sells a publication, but these are free.

TOP

Miscellaneous TOP

Oklahoma Cooperative Extension, one of the fundamental influences in my life via 4-H. Lots of access to resources, publications. See Pete's Electronic Archive and Resource Library, for on-line publications.

The Dead Media Project, no it's not an archive for fans of the Grateful Dead, rather, it is a compendium of information (and a project to collect more) about "dead media" -- such as that mimeograph machine in the back closet, or the old thermo-fax copiers, or the written ideographs of the Mayans and the quipu knotted cords of the Incas. A fascinating page I stumbled on while searching for information on a "gelatin hectographic duplicator".

Service Learning, information on integrating curriculum with community/volunteer service, that contributes to the common good while helping the student learn important lessons.

Pioneer life in days gone by, a personal page with reports on what life was like in pioneer days.

Environmental Resource Guide, from Earth Share, a very big pile of information and access.

The Old Farmer's Almanac, online access to traditional wisdom and weather forecasts, gardening tips and other almanack-ish stuff.

Gentle Spirit, online presence of a hardcopy magazine that is kind of like Mother Earth News used to be, with a spiritual component (Christian). Has quite a bit of on-line material, including how-to stuff

ELF links, large collection of sustainable living links.

Solar Haven, two people in Arizona pursue their sustainable living homestead, only to be hassled and harassed at every turn by local zoning and code enforcement folks.

WWW Virtual Library Project, access to 310 high quality on-line libraries of info.

Food Security TOP

Factory Farm Project, comprehensive access to the issues involved with factory farms and CAFO (confined animal feeding operations). Facts and Data, 30% of agriculture subsidies go to the largest 2% of farms, and 80% of US agriculture subsidies go to the largest 30% of farms.

City Seeds, educates the public regarding the advantages of sustainable energy and food production systems in cities.

Building partnership to achieve food security: an NGO consultation held in Washington DC, June 1999, report and proceedings.

Cities of the developing world learn to feed themselves, a Scientific American article, the urban poor in the developing countries spend 60 to 90% of their income on food. As a result, governments and NGO's are encouraging urban agriculture. In China, cities grow most of their own vegetables, 67% of the families in Dar es Salaam are raising food. Yields from urban agriculture tend to be several times that of conventional crop land. Women in a cooperative in Bogota, Colombia that grows hydroponic vegetables earn three times as much as their husbands.

Agriculture in a Megalopolis, a report on farming in Los Angeles.

Sustainable Farming Connection, very comprehensive site, lots of info and links

Food First, from the Institute for Food and Development Policy, tracking food security issues around the world. Ten reasons why biotechnology will not ensure food security, protect the environment, or reduce poverty in the developing world. On the benefits of small farms. See also 12 myths about hunger. Bottom line: there's enough food produced under current conditions to provide everybody with 4.3 pounds of food a day -- 2.5 pounds of grains/beans/nuts, a pound of fruits and vegetables, and a pound of milk, meat, and eggs, enough food to make most of us fat.

World Food Program, of the United Nations Organization, on line access to a lot of hunger data -- one in seven people in this world are malnourished and at risk of starvation. Hunger map

Food Security: no room for complacency, from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, five million children in poor nations die every year from malnutrition.

America's Second Harvest, the nation's premier food security organization.

Garbage and Waste TOP

The state of garbage in America, from Biocycle magazine, part 1 of a two part report on municipal solid waste. Last year the US produced 1.47 TONS of municipal garbage per person, up from 1.41 TONS the previous year.

The Living Water Garden, located in Chengdu, Sichuan, China, this is a six acre water park that includes a natural water purification system, recreation facilities, and an environmental education center. The Fu-Nan river flows through the city, 30 years ago, 56 different kinds of fish lived in its waters, now it is so polluted nothing lives there. This park is a prototype that can help cleanse the river.

Home use of gray water, article discusses pros and cons of recycling your own gray water (wash water) for uses such as toilet flushing and plant irrigation.

Waste-Line, local Ottawa (Canada) site promoting the 3 R's -- reduce, reuse, recycle.

The internet consumer recycling guide, good links, plus the world's shortest recycling guide, easy to understand, basic, covers all the bases. Remember, if you don't buy recycled products, you aren't recycling.

Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation, keeping nicad batteries out of the waste stream.

Directory of computer recycling organizations, facilitating donations of computers to schools and community groups.

Recycle City, fun and informative site from the EPA

Recyclers World, a world wide trading site for information related to secondary or recyclable commodities, by-products, used & surplus items or materials. Has a very comprehensive Global Recycling Directory.

Reduce Garbage, Eliminate Landfills, a very nice personal page with lots of ideas about how to "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Compost, Sell, Donate, Collect... Just don't throw it out! Saving our earth starts with YOU!!!" Has an interesting "boot camp" section to help newbies get up to speed and analyze their trash habits.

Email Listservs ...TOP

Living off the grid, alternative energy, alternative shelter, aquaculture, closed loop systems.

Intentional Communities Mailing Lists, directory of lists at the Intentional Communities site.

Square Foot Gardening, discussion of this classic method and the book of the same name.

Homesteading, nice friendly informative hangout for back to the landers.

Third World Energy, off grid, low tech situations.

Grassroots Information Coordinating Center, one stop shopping for breaking news on infrastructure issues worldwide. I read here regularly. Not actually a mailing list, rather a bulletin board, but you can enable the system to send you each posting in email.