Updated 08/03/20: The giveaway has now ended. But you can still join the Zoom discussion of the book on 08/10/20.
Earlier this month, Paul Wheaton’s people contacted me about doing a giveaway on my site for the book Building a Better World in Your Backyard, Instead of Being Angry at Bad Guys, written by Wheaton and Shawn Klassen-Koop. The authors believe their message is so important that they asked if I’d like to give away 200 digital copies of their book to my audience.
I had to read the book first. I just finished it. I loved it.
We have reason to be angry. If you don’t believe me, go read any reputable news site for five minutes and try to stay calm (10 if you have a fuse longer than mine). Read for an hour and you may feel we are doomed. Spend a few minutes reading this book chock full of solutions and you’ll feel inspired to roll up your sleeves and get to work.
Why I think many of you will also love this book
We need to change every aspect of how we live and this book covers those aspects—from the type of home we live in, to how we heat and clean that home, to where our food comes from, to how we wash our hair, to what happens to the ensuing grey water running down our drains after we’ve washed our hair and so on.
A few pages in and I knew I was the target audience for the book. For example, the authors tell us to use a clothesline rather than waste money on “energy-saving” appliances. As for buying a new hybrid car, they write, “rather than focus so much on what you are driving” focus on “sharing a car, getting a job that doesn’t require a car, or living in a place where you don’t need (or want) a car.” In other words, they provide the antidotes to consumer culture rather than a greenwashed version of that culture.
One of the many things I’m excited to try in this book is hugelkultur (think the ultimate raised bed that contains wood and requires no irrigation). I am probably disproportionately excited by hugelkultur. I haven’t been this excited to try something since the day I received two banneton baskets for baking sourdough bread (I couldn’t sleep that night, I was so excited…).
Book description from Indiebound:
Luxuriant Environmentalism
Make a huge, positive, global difference from your own home. Prioritize comfort over sacrifice while saving thousands of dollars. Explore dozens of solutions and their impacts on carbon footprint, petroleum footprint, toxic footprint, and other environmental issues.
If 20% of the population implemented half the solutions in this book, it would solve the biggest global problems. All without writing to politicians, joining protests, signing petitions, or being angry at the people that are causing the problems.
Good solutions are often different from conventional environmental wisdom. The average American adult has a carbon footprint of 30 tons per year. Replacing a petroleum car with an electric car will cut 2 tons. But if you live in a cold climate and you switch from electric heat to a rocket mass heater, you will cut 27 tons.
Join Paul and Shawn on a journey featuring simple alternatives that you may have never heard of—alternatives which are about building a more symbiotic relationship with nature so we can all be even lazier.
How to get one of the 200 free ebooks
Update: the giveaway has now ended!
To get the ebook, go here. In 24 hours—or when all 200 copies have been spoken for—the link will expire. I think the 200 books will go quickly so if you want one, I recommend you move fast. If you no longer see the download link on the download page, the books are gone.
If you like the book, please say nice things about it on Goodreads.
I’m not getting paid to post about this book (in case you were wondering…). I’ve posted about it because I agree with the authors that their message needs to get out.
But wait, there’s more! You’re invited…
I’m very excited to have Paul Wheaton himself join me on Zoom to discuss his book and work! Whether you snag a free copy of the book or not, please join us and bring your questions.
- Date: Monday, August 10
- Time: 1pm PT, 4pm ET
- Where: Zoom
- Tickets: Get your free ticket here. (So much free stuff today!)
About Paul Wheaton
Paul Wheaton, dubbed The Duke of Permaculture by Sepp Holzer and Geoff Lawton, is an author, producer, certified advanced master gardener, and tyrannical ruler of two on-line empires. After a successful career as a software engineer in aerospace, Paul became obsessed with everything permaculture. He has created hundreds of youtube videos, hundreds of podcasts and written dozens of articles. You can find all of it at permies.com.
I hope to see a lot of you on the 10th 🙂