Healing Appalachia: Sustainable Living through Appropriate Technology

Contents

List of Illustrations xi0 Acknowledgments xv0 Introduction 10 The Global Situation 5 Challenges Ahead 7 Criteria for Selecting Appropriate Technologies 10 Examples 17 Structure of This Book 26 01 Solar Photovoltaics 270 Domestic Electricity 29 Energy Conservation through Lighting 31 PV Appliances 33 Net Metering 35 2 Microhydropower 380 Microhydropower Potential 40 System Descriptions 41 Civil Works 43 Advantages and Concerns 45 3 Wind Power 480 U.S. Wind Power 50 Appalachia and Wind Power 51 Residential Wind Power Decisions 57 Contents 4 Wood Heating 590 Types of Wood Heaters 59 Government Efficiency Standards 65 Fuel and Heater Use and Maintenance 66 Limitations of Wood 68 5 Solar Heating Applications 700 Solar Water Heating 71 Solar Cookers and Ovens 75 “Solar” Clothes Drying 77 6 Shade Trees and Windbreaks 790 Siting 80 Shade Trees 81 Wind Barriers 85 Multipurpose Landscaping 87 7 Food Preservation 890 Root Cellars 90 Canning, Pickling, and Smoking 92 Solar Food Drying 94 Freezing the Surplus 95 Protecting with Mulch and Temporary Cold Frames 97 8 Edible Landscaping 100 Landscape as Decoration 100 Edible Landscape Options 101 Domestic Wildscape 107 Beekeeping 109 Green Lawn Mowing 110 9 Intensive and Organic Gardening and Orcharding 113 Intensive Gardening and Orcharding 114 Organic Produce 118 10 Regional Heritage Plants 124 American Chestnuts 126 Heirloom Apples 128 vi ❖ Contents Heritage Herbs 129 Seed-Saving Techniques 131 11 Solar Greenhouses and Season Extenders 134 Siting and Placement 138 Construction 140 Proper Maintenance 142 Produce Choice 145 12 Wildlife Habitat Restoration 148 Sharing a Limited Habitat 149 Minimizing Habitat Disturbances 152 Creating Habitats 155 13 Nontimber Forest Products 160 Tourism 160 Native Foods 161 Fuel 162 Medicinals 162 Handcraft and Home Products 163 Seeds and Plants 163 Chips and Other Nontimber Tree Products 164 A Nontimber Forest Product Ethic 164 A Pledge to Sustain Forest Ecosystems 168 14 Silvicultural Practices 170 Tree Selection for Planting and Harvesting 172 Replacement Planting 174 Thinning and Management 175 Harvesting 177 15 Wildcrafting 180 Wildcrafting for Food 181 Ginseng and Other Medicinals 191 Ornamental and Other Uses of Wild Plants 194 16 Constructed or Artificial Wetlands 196 Highlights of Construction 201 Wetland Plants 203 Contents ❖ vii viii ❖ Contents 17 Land Reclamation with Native Species 207 Exotic Species 209 Past and Current Reclamation Practices 212 Future Reclamation 214 18 Retreat Cabin Sites 217 Appalachia: An Ideal Retreat 218 Selection of Place 219 Construction Suggestions 223 Using Sacred Space 226 19 Energy-Efficient Passive Solar Design 228 Solar Siting 229 Solar Construction 230 Solar Glazing 232 Thermal Mass: Heat Retention Systems 233 Ventilation 233 Insulation and Energy Conservation 234 20 Natural Cooling 238 Cooling by Blocking the Sun 242 Ventilation 246 Reducing Heat Sources 248 Heat Pumps and Geothermal Energy 249 21 Native Building Materials 252 Wood 252 Stone 257 Earth Materials 261 Pressed Earth 267 22 Cordwood Structures 276 Advantages of Cordwood Buildings 277 Construction 279 Maintenance 283 Spreading the Word 284 23 Yurts in Appalachia 286 Advantages and Disadvantages 288 Variety and Utility of Yurts 292 Construction Tips 293 24 Simple Modes of Transportation 296 General Travel Modes 297 Guidelines for Appropriate Automobile Use 298 The ASPI Solar Electric Car 303 25 Composting and Vermicomposting 308 Advantages of Composting 309 The Art of Composting 310 Vermicomposting 315 26 Composting Toilets 319 How the Composting Toilet Works 321 Maintenance 322 Types of Composters 323 Road to Acceptance 327 27 Recycled, Salvaged, and Deconstructed Materials 331 Recycling Materials 332 Salvaged and Deconstructed Materials 334 Domestic Source Reduction 337 28 Ponds and Aquaculture 340 Rural Farm Ponds 341 Aquaculture 343 Planning for Ponds and Aquaculture 347 29 Cisterns and Water Catchments 350 Cistern Siting and Size 352 Construction Methods and Materials 354 Cistern Maintenance 357 Popularity of Cisterns 359 Contents ❖ ix x ❖ Contents 30 Irrigation and Water Conservation 361 Simple Irrigation 362 Drip Irrigation Systems 365 Water Conservation 366 Reflections on Water Use 369 Conclusion: An Appalachian Appropriate Technology 371 Implementation 373 Two Scenarios 383 Appalachia with a New Vision 389 Postscript: Communications 391 History of Communication 392 Cell Phones 393 Personal Computers and the Internet 395 Resources 399 Index 423 ...