Free Resources for a New Earth
Free online, start anytime at wellbeingeconomycourse.org. “Through an engaging mix of videos, deep dives, case studies and hands-on exercises, this course walks you through what a wellbeing economy is and how governments in cities, regions and countries around the world are working towards it.”
Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEALL) is the collaboration of changemakers working together to transform
the economic system…. A Wellbeing Economy is an economy designed to serve people and planet, not the other way around. In a Wellbeing Economy, the rules, norms and incentives are set up to deliver quality of life and flourishing for all people, in harmony with our environment, by default.
Read free. This Folkscanomy collection offers more than 20,000 unsorted books to read online or download in various formats, for free. Access the collection at archive.org/details/folkscanomy_miscellaneous. Here are direct links to some examples.
“Transition means change — a shift from one way of living to another. The Transition Movement, which began in Britain and Ireland in 2006, has since grown into an international network of communities spanning 67 countries. It envisions a world where every individual can become part of a supportive community, feeling safe, welcomed, and empowered to thrive.”
Read free. “This volume has been written primarily as a text for secondary schools of agriculture, and for colleges where only a general course can be offered. Claim is not made for much new material concerning the subjects discussed; but rather an attempt has been made to place under one cover a general discussion of agricultural engineering subjects, which hitherto could not be secured except in several volumes and hence impractical for text-book purposes.”
Read free. “First and last, public speaking is a practical art, a means, not an end. It is a purposive activity, not a mere vehicle for the exhibition of skill. The only excuse for studying the art is that we may fashion a tool that will help us turn a vision into a reality. But if we are to make it a useful tool, we must always speak with a definite purpose in mind. No speaker ever attained his goal without subordinating his art to his subject.”
Read free. “It is almost universally conceded that each one carries a certain atmosphere that may be felt by all who come in contact with him; but how that atmosphere is formed and held by each individual is an open question…. That the proposition may be clearly understood, it will be best to state it boldly. It is this: Man controls absolutely his own atmosphere.“
Read free. “If one compares any two plants of the same kind ever so closely, it will be found that they differ from each other. The difference is apparent in size, form, color, mode of branching, number of leaves, number of flowers, vigor, season of maturity, and the like; or, in other words, all plants and animals vary from an assumed or standard type. If one compares any two branches or twigs on a tree, it will be found that they differ in size, age, form, vigor, and in other ways.”
Read free. “There seem to the writer to be four great inferences from modern psychology, and each with suggestions for life and character—that is, with direct suggestion of the conditions of growth, of character, of happiness, and of influence. These four inferences are: Life is complex; man is a unity; will and action are of central importance; and the real is concrete.”
Read free. “The idea that the writer has tried to present, simply and practically, is that man’s responses and reactions to life are virtually within his own control; that the quality and number of his responses and reactions determine, to a large degree, his oldness or youngness.”
Read free. “The intimate relationship between the human and plant world is easily discerned, but the production of substances profoundly affecting the mind and spirit is often not so easily recognized. These are the plants that make up the substance of Plants of the Gods, focusing attention on the origin of their use and the effect that they have had on man’s development. Plants that alter the normal functions of the mind and body have always been considered by peoples in non- industrial societies as sacred, and the hallucinogens have been ‘plants of the gods’ par excellence.”
Read free. “The object of the present volume is: to indicate the character and, approximately, the extent of the changes produced by human action in the physical conditions of the globe we inhabit; to point out the dangers of imprudence and the necessity of caution in all operations which, on a large scale, interfere with the spontaneous arrangements of the organic or the inorganic world; to suggest the possibility and the importance of the restoration of disturbed harmonies and the material improvement of waste and exhausted regions; and, incidentally, to illustrate the doctrine, that man is, in both kind and degree, a power of a higher order than any of the other forms of animated life, which, like him, are nourished at the table of bounteous nature.”
Read free. “Do I ascribe to any one philosophy? Yes. It is the philosophy of eternal life to be lived by yourself, the realization that you yourself pave the road by which you reach this state of consciousness. All the philosophies of the world are merely signs to let you know of the many crossroads and side roads. But you create your path and set the pace by which you follow it.”
Read free. “Most people would like to develop keener sensory response and expand their range of conscious awareness, but they think they don’t have the time. Once they realize that waiting time is really available time, that obstacle disappears. Other people are hesitant to explode their inner lives and perceptions because they believe it requires embracing some ideological or philosophical doctrine. Quite the contrary is true. Long periods of special training are not necessary, nor is involvement with an ideology or philosophy a requirement. Without drugs, without dogma, without magic or mysticism, we can discover and get in touch with a world of experience that will enrich our lives. The purpose of this book is to make that world accessible.”
Read free. “Even though fashion and beauty are now regularly prefixed with words like “green,” “natural,” “environmentally friendly,” “eco,” “healthy” and “sustainable,” the industry is not as healthy as it should be. There are still dark sides to both industries: dangerous chemicals in everyday personal care products, deadly pesticides used to grow cotton, child labor in gold mining and stone cutting, deforestation to make fashion, and toxic leather facilities. Consumers have the power to change these situations, if only they knew. Many of those issues could be easily avoided and then eradicated.”
Read free. “One of this book’s fundamental messages is the value and importance of nearby nature, for children’s play in particular and for human health and well-being in general. Therefore we need to ensure that our human environments allow the natural habitats of children to survive and thrive. Indeed, the very survival of natural spaces in the future may well depend on providing children with opportunities to play naturally today.”
www.stephensgospel.com “Gospel: from the Old English gōdspel, from gōd ‘good’ + spel ‘news, a story’. 1) a thing that is absolutely true 2) a set of principles or beliefs. The site is intended to share with the world the core of Stephen Gaskin’s teachings. It is a work in progress, and so far shows excerpts from his books Monday Night Class and (the first half of) Caravan.”
Read free. Folkscanomy Encyclopedias and Compendiums of Knowledge is a collection of around 4,000 books you can read online or download in various formats, for free. Access the collection at archive.org/details/folkscanomy_encyclopedia. Here are direct links to a few examples.
Read free. The Internet Archive’s collection of 1.7 million unsorted manuals, to read online or download in various formats, for free. Access the collection at archive.org/details/manuals_contributions. Here are direct links to a few examples.
Read free. Around 500 books about survival-related topics, from dumpster-diving to nuclear war. Read online or download for free. Access the collection at archive.org/details/folkscanomy_prepper. Here are direct links to a few examples.
Read free. “My hope is that this book encourages deeper understanding of the nature of local community, and helps to revitalize and legitimize the principles of neighbourhood planning as a means of achieving sustainable development.”
Read free. A history of the EcoVillage at Ithaca, by one of its founders. “Rather than pull apart in destructive conflict, the human community could choose to pull together in cooperation and work collaboratively to create a sustainable future. I am heartened by research that indicates public attitudes and behaviors seem to be shifting in favor of more sustainable ways of living.”
Read free. “A residential or land-based intentional community is a group of people who have chosen to live with or near enough to each other to carry out their shared lifestyle or common purpose together. Families living in a cohousing communities in the city, students living in student housing cooperatives near universities, and sustainability advocates living in rural back-to-the-land homesteads are all members of intentional communities. Community is not just about living together, but about the reasons for doing so. ‘A group of people who have chosen to live together with a common purpose, working cooperatively to create a lifestyle that reflects their shared core values,’ is one way the non-profit Fellowship for Intentional Community describes it.”
Read free. “In the first chapter the myths and facts about the consequences of a massive nuclear attack are discussed. As devastating as such an attack would be, with adequate civil defense preparations and timely warning much of the population could survive. The information and instructions given in subsequent chapters tell the average citizen how to improve his and his family’s chances of surviving a nuclear attack by working together to build expedient shelters and homemade life-support equipment. The reader is urged to make at least some of these low-cost preparations before a crisis arises. The main emphasis, however, is on survival preparations that could be made in the last few days of a worsening crisis.”
Read free. “The purpose of this paper is to outline a strategy for the use of a future weather modification system to achieve military objectives rather than to provide a detailed technical road map.”
Read free. “If our ancestors didn’t succeed at the task of surviving in the wilderness, we wouldn’t be here talking about it—but it’s never been easy. It takes knowledge, skill, and talent to live off the land. This is a book about that kind of survival, but it’s also a blend of history and philosophy. Here you’ll learn about primitive survival techniques for their historical value and as a set of last-ditch plans for survival when your gear is gone. And we’ll explore the philosophy of the bushcraft movement. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, don’t worry. It’s not witchcraft or “arts and crafts.” Bushcraft is all about thriving in your native environment: the great outdoors.”
Read free. “Righting wrongs is inherently ennobling, and in the process, these restorationists are discovering how to live lives that are more connected and rewarding. Their stories display the sense of accomplishment that can come when we align our actions with forces larger than ourselves. I hope their examples serve as an invitation for you to join in and get your own hands dirty.”
Read free. Four Maker Projects books for kids by Megan Kopp. “A maker is someone who questions. Makers are creative. Makers are builders. They look for ways to improve existing things or develop totally new things. A makerspace is a place where makers can come together to share ideas, learn, and create. Many communities have makerspaces in libraries, schools, and museums.”
Read free. “‘Passive’ solar heating and cooling does not depend on pumps or fans or any other devices. Instead, it relies on the natural ebb and flow of the energy of the sun through a house. With a few facts from this book and a little common sense, you can combine passive solar design with energy conservation and reduce the heating and cooling bills for a new house to less than 15% of those for conventional houses. And many of the ideas can be adapted to existing houses as well.”
“Traditional buildings were designed according to the microclimate of the specific region because heat and cold control the thermal comfort in the houses and this different from one place to another. The natural technologies applied in these buildings have sustained human life for many decades and are purely for heating or cooling purpose. Examples of these techniques are fire chimneys, courtyards, wind towers and mashrabiya (Noble, 2007). In hot-dry and warm humid zones such as Middle East and North Africa where cooling is more important than heating, ventilation tunnel, wind tower, wind catcher, wind sail, maziara and courtyard are used to achieve thermal comfort.”
Read free. “Saving the World by Eating Great Food: The good news is that all you have to do to stop participating in the litany of horrors that is industrial agriculture is to eat the most delicious, healthiest food on the planet; the food that was harvested in its prime right before you brought it home and that was raised humanely and safely.”
“The vision of Open Source Ecology is a world of collaborative design – for a transparent and inclusive economy of abundance…. OSE is currently developing a set of open source blueprints for the Global Village Construction Set (GVCS) – a set of the 50 most important machines that it takes for modern life to exist – everything from a tractor, to an oven, to a circuit maker. In the process of creating the GVCS, OSE intends to develop a modular, scalable platform for documenting and developing open source, libre hardware – including blueprints for both physical artifacts and for related open enterprises.” Innovative Seed Eco Homes project.
A sustainability wiki started in 2006 as an encyclopedia of appropriate technology. Now it also documents over 3,000 projects. It also provides curated collections of some of its most notable content, such as The Future We Deserve.
Read free. “The significance of this book … lies in its ability to explain complex issues as simply as possible, so that everybody who uses money may understand what is at stake. Another significant difference from other books which have dealt with this issue in the past is that it shows how, at this particular point in time, the change to the proposed new monetary system could create a win-win situation for everyone. It could help to develop, finally, a sustainable economy.”
Read free. “As for the book’s title, ‘Soft Tech’ is a term we’ve used and defended since the late sixties. It first emerged in Great Britain but then dropped out of fashion to be replaced by Alternative Technology (AT) and Appropriate Technology (AT)…. ‘Soft’ signifies that something is alive, resilient, adaptive, maybe even lovable….”
Read free. “…[T]hemes got early notice in CQ before becoming prominent elsewhere. The Gaia hypothesis. Voluntary simplicity. Arguments against metric conversion. Personal computers. The resurgence of the antiwar movement. The flat tax. Critical evaluation of magazines. The effects of chemicals on the human gene pool. Most importantly, COEVOLUTION published a lot of material—essays, reporting, and story-telling—that will endure as “news that stays news,” to quote Ezra Pound’s definition of literature. Hence this book—a collection, in one place, of what we think is the most lasting work COEVOLUTION published.”
Permies.com is a popular gathering place for forums for the homesteading and permaculture communities.
Read free. “In the following chapters the reader will discover a unique perspective of the philosophy of the late Alan Watts, one of the foremost Western interpreters of Eastern thought. The selections included herein are of dual origin in that the first two chapters are essays by Watts, and the following chapters are based upon his spoken word. Starting with ‘Trickster Guru’ and ‘Speaking Personally’ (the essays), this book begins with an autobiographical flavor and continues on to reveal Watts’ insights in their final and most concise form.”
Read free. “We are as gods and might as well get used to it. So far, remotely done power and glory-as via government, big business, formal education, church has succeeded to the point where gross obscure actual gains. In response to this dilemma and to these gains a realm of intimate, personal power is developing-power of the individual to conduct his own education, find his own inspiration, shape his own environment, and share his adventure with whoever is interested. Tools that aid this process are sought and promoted by the WHOLE EARTH CATALOG.”
Read free. “A Learning to Learn Catalog… Everything we learn is only real to the degree that it contributes to what we are. Direct knowledge of ourselves, the reality of the world we live in, and the facilitation of our inner growth and change are the ultimate goals of education.”
Read free. “To start growing your own food without delay, put down this book, go out in the garden and select a spot in the sun. Dig over one square metre with a garden fork and remove all the weeds by hand. If digging up lawn, cut out the sods with a spade, roots and all, and stack them upside down under a tree as mulch. Come inside again and thoroughly wash your hands and clean your nails, as you must always do after working with soil. Pick up this book and in Part One select what you want to grow in your first Salad Plot….”
Read free. “Sound is created as the vibratory motion of particles and objects. The vibrations that produce sound represent an energy that is found throughout nature, not only within ourselves and our world, but far beyond, into the realms of moons, stars, and the Universe. Due to the limitations of human physiology, our own ears can detect only a tiny fraction of this vast vibratory spectrum. On the cosmic scale, sound is a universal, unseen power, able to bring about profound changes on many levels-physical, emotional, and spiritual. This book explains how you can harness and direct the power of sound-as the vibratory energies of your own voice, and as sounds from the world around, making them resonate through your body and mind, to heal and cure.”
Read free. “If you are an adult with ADHD, this book is your prescription to play. Other experts in the field may tell you to take a pill, get more rest, exercise, train your brain, or whatever else it takes to manage impulsivity, inattention, poor time management, lack of motivation, memory struggles, and other symptoms related to ADHD. But they might not talk much about how fun and play can have a substantial effect on how you manage your ADHD symptoms.”
Read free. “Self-sufficiency does not mean “going back” to the acceptance of a lower standard of living. On the contrary, it is the striving for a higher standard of living, for food which is fresh and organically-grown and good, for the good life in pleasant surroundings, for the health of body and peace of mind which come with hard varied work in the open air, and for the satisfaction that comes from doing difficult and intricate jobs well and successfully.”
Read free. “Today, many people dream of community, beautiful surroundings, and meaningful jobs. These people have an inner craving for a more balanced and spiritual life, a loving place for their children to grow up, and a lifestyle which does not force them to leave their children all day as a price for being full members of society. A place full of life, joy and sharing, of living close to nature with plants and animals around them, where love is more possible. All the necessary wisdom, knowledge and technology are available to help this dream come true for everybody on this planet. Ecovillages are emerging attempts at realizing it, or at the very least parts of it. They are paintings in progress, of an envisioned Paradise on Earth.”
Read free. “Representing every major natural building technique, and written by some of the most prominent innovators and advocates in the field, this collection … this book is far more than just a survey of techniques. It provides a philosophical framework for the entire natural building movement, as well as a set of design principles broadly applicable to ecological design projects everywhere. Our goal is a whole systems approach to natural building.”
Read free. “This book is designed to enable the amateur plant hunter to make accurate and certain identifications of edible plants. The 85 plants that are covered were selected because they can be easily recognized, can supply a wide range of food products throughout the year (although the pickings are necessarily somewhat leaner in the winter months), and can be found over broad sections of the U.S. and southern Canada. These 85 plants alone provide 28 different salad greens, 18 cooked vegetables, 8 substitutes for potatoes, 18 sources of flour, 5 cooking oils and butters, 21 cold beverages, 23 substitutes for coffee and tea, and 7 sources of sugar as well as numerous potherbs, fruits, confections, jams and jellies, pies, vinegars, and even salt.”
Read free. “What do the facts of precognition mean? Do they point to any particular view regarding the nature of the universe? How can the Future exist Now? In the light of these facts, how must we regard the law of cause and effect? What significance has precognition for living? Are our lives predestined or free? These and many other questions crowd upon the mind, for it is clear that we are face to face with data of crucial importance. I have tried not to shirk the issues, and have drawn certain conclusions regarding the nature of Reality and what they involve for our personal daily living.”
Read free. This guide explores strategies to create resilient, self-directed local economies. Greco challenges the centralized, debt-based monetary system and promotes community-controlled alternatives such as mutual credit systems and local currencies.
Read free. “This is a book about people doing things, and doing them better; about the conditions under which we may be able to do things better; about some of the ways in which, given those conditions, other people may be able to help us (or we them) to do things better; and about the reasons why these conditions do not exist and cannot be made to exist within compulsory, coercive, competitive schools.”
Read free. “It is my hope that your child will find these ‘wonders’ simple, uncomplicated, and ‘ordinary.’ I refer to such things as playing with pots and pans, sorting knives, forks, and spoons, or just picking up a knife and looking at it.”
Read free. “Where There Is No Dentist is a book about what people can do for themselves and each other to care for their gums and teeth. Just as with the rest of health care, there is a strong need to ‘deprofessionalize’ dentistry—to provide ordinary people and community workers with more skills to prevent and cure problems in the mouth.”
Read free. “Where There Is No Doctor was first written in Spanish for farm people in the mountains of Mexico where, 27 years ago, the author helped form a health care network now run by the villagers themselves. Where There Is No Doctor has been translated into more than 50 languages and is used by village health workers in over 100 countries.”
Read free. The Secret of Light is Walter Russell’s seminal work in which he lays out a unified theory of the universe, based on the concept that light—not matter or energy—is the fundamental substance of reality. He presents a vision of the cosmos as a spiritual, rhythmic, and electrical phenomenon, governed by divine intelligence rather than mechanistic forces. Russell asserts that light is the source and substance of all things. Everything we perceive as matter, energy, motion, and form is a manifestation of light, which is divided into pairs of opposites (such as light/dark, male/female, heat/cold) through rhythmic processes.
Read free. “Conditions for Establishing Interpersonal Relationship that Builds Up Community: To build up a community one must be (1) sensitive, (2) open, (3) sharing (receiving and giving), (4) one must call others into existence, and (5) love, (6) in an atmosphere of freedom, confidence and understanding.”
Read free. “According to this hypothesis, systems are organized in the way they are because similar systems were organized that way in the past. For example, the molecules of a complex organic chemical crystallize in a characteristic pattern because the same substance crystallized that way before; a plant takes up the form characteristic of its species because past members of the species took up that form; and an animal acts instinctively in a particular manner because similar animals behaved like that previously.”
The Foundation for Intentional Community offers a free online directory of over 1000 intentional communities. Also courses and info about joining, starting, and growing an intentional community.
Read free. “This compilation of essays represents a wide variety of perspectives of what it will take to renew one of our most depleted resources—a sense of community with each other. In our modern quest for the ‘perfect part’ we have lost touch with the ‘interconnectedness of the whole’—a byproduct of our fixation with the Industrial Age and its requisite mechanistic thinking.”
Read free. “In this book, we present one possible pattern language, of the kind called for in The Timeless Way. This language is extremely practical. It is a language that we have distilled from our own building and planning efforts over the last eight years. You can use it to work with your neighbors, to improve your town and neighborhood. You can use it to design a house for yourself, with your family; or to work with other people to design an office or a workshop or a public building like a school. And you can use it to guide you in the actual process of construction.”
Read free. Environmental Design Science Primer, by Howard Brown, Robert Cook, and Medard Gabel, undated. From the Foreword: “In order to have a significant effect on vital environmental and social issues, people need to acquire the skills that will allow them to act as planners and participants, rather than as spectators in the defining and solving of problems….”
Stephen Gaskin was a spiritual teacher and author, and founder of The Farm community in Summertown, Tennessee. The website stephensgospel.com shares quotes from his early books, Monday Night Class and Caravan. As the leader of a community built from scratch, his sayings can have a lot of relevance to people working together on challenging projects.
These are the quotes in the scrolling slidehow in this website’s home page header: An eclectic collection of worthwhile sayings, food for thought, wisdom, humor.
Read free. Designing Earth Anew Together is a proposal for creating large-scale social and ecological change through collaborative global planning. Jan Hearthstone argues that humanity must move beyond isolated efforts and develop tools for co-designing solutions to today’s crises — including climate change, war, inequality, and environmental degradation.
Read free. Farmers of Forty Centuries; or, Permanent Agriculture in China, Korea, and Japan is an early 20th-century work by American agronomist F.H. King. It documents his 1909 journey through East Asia, where he studied how densely populated nations managed to sustain agricultural fertility for over 4,000 years.
