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Activists striving for any type of social change often find themselves operating on the fringes of legal and social norms. Many experience difficulties when their innovative ideas run afoul of antiquated laws and regulations that favor a big business energy- and material-intensive approach. Tales From the Sustainable Underground is packed with the stories of just some of these pioneers—who care more for the planet than the rules—whether they're engaged in natural building, permaculture, community development, or ecologically based art. Ride along and meet courageous and inspiring individuals such as:
*Solar guru Ed Eaton
*Radical urban permaculturists Scott Kellogg and Stacy Pettigrew
*Artist, eco-architect, and intuitive builder Matt Bua
Equally entertaining and informative, the profiles in this highly original book provide a unique lens through which to view deeper questions about the societal structures that are preventing us from attaining a more sustainable world. By examining such issues as the nature of property rights and the function of art in society, the author raises profound questions about how our social attitudes and mores have contributed to our current destructive paradigm.
Tales From the Sustainable Underground is a must-read for sustainability activists in any field, or for anyone who wants to learn about more radical forms of sustainability activities in an entertaining way.
Stephen Hren is a restoration carpenter, builder, and teacher who specializes in sustainable design and passive and active solar heating technologies. He is co-author of The Carbon-Free Home and A Solar Buyer's Guide for the Home and Office.
"Reading an account this zany and informative naturally opens up fresh avenues of thinking about the conumdrum that enfolds us all" - Chris Waters, Acres USA, October 2014
"Off-grid, offbeat, but right on target, Stephen Hren’s glimpse into the lives of those making viable choices at the fringes of society is a real revelation. Hren’s accounts of neo-primitivists, green anarchists, urban squatters and other pioneers working towards a sustainable future is consistently inspiring and informative."
---Richard Freudenberger, Publisher, BackHome Magazine
In Tales from the Sustainable Underground, Stephen Hren proves that plenty of Americans are ready to take back their country -- one plot of land at a time, if necessary. Through personal insight and engaging interviews with sustainable citizens, Hren masterfully spins a cross-country tale about the “doers” who are helping to bring sustainability out of the shadows and usher in a return of this country’s “can-do” attitude.
--- Roger Sipe, Editor, Urban Farm magazine
II. Raw Food/Small Scale Abattoir - Profile of a small-scale cheese-maker and/or livestock producer and their battles with the FDA.
III. Documentary Filmmaking - Look at the films and philosophy of Tim Bennett and Sally Erickson, makers of What a Way to Go: Life at the End of Empire, and upcoming Shut Up and Drum!
IV. Community/Ecovillage - Profile of Earthaven intentional community in the mountains of North Carolina and how they have evolved over the last 15 years.
V. Home Fuel Making - Girl Mark's journey making biodiesel on the fly, and teaching others about making their own fuel and powering diesels with waste vegetable oil. Combine with Piedmont Biofuels and their journey from backyard fuel-makers to industrial-sized biodiesel plant.
VI. Natural Building - A visit to Cob Cottage company in Oregon and how they helped found the budding natural building movement. Perhaps include another like Rob Roy and his cordwood buildings.
VII. Art and Architecture - A profile of Matt Bua's b-home project in the Catskills of New York, and other eco-art happening around the globe.
VIII. Alternative Medicine - A look at traditional and natural methods of healing, including a visit to a marijuana club in California or Colorado.
IX. Living with the Sun - A visit to Ed Eaton's solar bus. Ed is a solar pioneer and lives in a solar-powered bus in the mountains of southwest Colorado.
X. Bike Co-ops - Looking at the cooperative bike movement, who are fixing up bikes and giving them away in exchange for work-trade, and welding unusual bikes for parades and bike awareness rides like Critical Mass, and generally living a car-free lifestyle.
XI. Eco-Civil Disobedience - Profile of community organizers engaged in civil disobedience against coal power plants, such as the action this spring in Washington, DC.
XII. Permaculture - A visit to a permaculturist like Joe Jenkins in western Pennsylvania and how he has transformed a traditional residence into a food-producing, rainwater-catching, waste-processing Eden.