Across the nation, farmers are returning to an age-old technology that’s at the cutting edge of sustainable agriculture: horse-power.

Why? Simple. It’s better for the land, and better for the soul.

Author of The New Horse-Powered Farm Stephen Leslie, says it best in his The New York Times profile: “From an ecological standpoint, it’s just so clean, versus burning fossil fuel, and the compaction you get with a tractor,” he said. “But on that other level, there is just this unending learning curve that keeps you engaged. It’s a window into an instinctual world that is also entirely present. When I’m with the horses they are entirely present to me and to the task at hand. ‘Here we are, this is it, this is what we’re doing.’ And if I’m not grounded, things go off in the wrong direction.”

Last month, while Leslie was just getting started with spring chores, Anne Raver of The New York Times paid him a visit. Make sure to see Leslie and his Fjord’s in action in the NYT’s slideshow.

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Farm Equipment That Runs on Oats

By ANNE RAVER
Photo Credit: Stacey Cramp for The New York Times

HARTLAND, Vt. — It was a perfect day for plowing, a little overcast with a cool breeze. You could hear the sound of the birds, the chink-chink-chink of the harness.

Stephen Leslie, an artist and former Benedictine monk, guided two Norwegian Fjords down the field. The walking moldboard plow, a 300-pound curving steel blade, cut through the soil and sent it curling over itself in dark, crumbly waves. He stepped quickly, leaning back into the lines he kept looped around his shoulders so his hands were free to guide the plow.

“Stay haw, stay haw,” Mr. Leslie said in a low, calm voice, reminding the dun-colored horses to bear right as they neared the end of the field. Full grown at 14 hands high and 950 pounds, these powerful animals can be dangerous if they are startled. But compared with Clydesdales or Percherons, which are twice as big and can weigh as much as 2,500 pounds, they look like big, muscular ponies.

“Gee now, gee,” he said, urging them left as they stepped onto the unplowed grass at the edge of the field. “Easy now, easy.”

Farming with horses is a complicated dance in which timing is all. But Cassima, 19, and Tristan, 14, have been with Mr. Leslie for most of their lives (Fjords can live as long as three decades), so years of trust bind them. And theirs is a breed that wants to work.

“These guys are really easygoing compared to a thoroughbred, or even a Morgan horse,” he said. “But they’re lively, and they can be willful.”

Mr. Leslie, 52, and his wife, Kerry Gawalt, 38, use a tractor to haul manure and do other heavy jobs here on Cedar Mountain Farm. But when it comes to working the land, they use four Norwegian Fjords. Their farm is one of some 400,000 operations in North American that use draft horses in some capacity, estimates Lynn Miller, the editor of the Small Farmer’s Journal, in Sisters, Ore., who has farmed with horses for more than 40 years.

After World War II, when farmers traded in tens of millions of horses for tractors — “There was no place for the horses except the glue factory,” Mr. Miller said — the use of draft horses plummeted. By the 1970s, some of the breeds that had been the most popular were down to the thousands.

But “since then, the number of work horses and draft mules has steadily climbed,” said Mr. Miller, who has written more than a dozen books on the subject. “People are attracted to the way of working with animals, of being back in touch with nature, of regaining a kind of rhythmic elegance to our lives.”

Keep reading…

During the month of May, join thousands of people across the country taking action to rise to the challenge of food, water, and energy independence through the Transition Challenge.

Organized by our friends at Transition US, the Transition Challenge is an opportunity to get your hands dirty, create something beautiful, and be counted as part of a bigger movement toward community resilience in the face of climate change and peak oil.

Last year Transition US registered over 4,000 actions in communities across the country, and halfway through May there are already 3,000 actions registered. Folks picked up their shovels and tools, helped construct rainwater harvesting systems, and installed solar panels. Abandoned lots were converted into green oases and school children pulled weeds and planted tomato starts. When these individual actions occur on a large scale, we energize and engage our communities and show the world what is possible.

Here are some of this year’s exciting actions:

• A new home owner in High Point N. Caroline signed up 10 actions to do at their new home, with lots of fun ideas including converting lawn to grow food, setting up composting system and rainwater harvesting system, hanging a clothes line, mailing vegetable seeds to his/her 7 nieces and nephews, stopping using electricity for 24 hours once a month on a full moon night, etc.
• Transition Town Charlotte in Vermont: last year they planted a potato garden on the Library lawn, had a public harvest, followed by a “Spud Fest”. The excess potatoes were given to the local food shelf. This year they are expanding the project to include pole beans and tomatoes as well as potatoes. They will again have a Spud Fest again, inviting all townspeople to share favorite recipes, and celebrating the harvest. Also they are removing some invasive ornamentals and replacing them with blueberries, other to-be-decided edibles, and some plants that attract wildlife.
• Bellingham, WA: is accepting proposals for 3 grants up to $350 to support neighborhood Transition projects. Previous projects they’ve supported include: a community orchard on Lummi Island; a neighborhood garden and orchard specifically to support people in a supported living situation; food bank gardens. They have a work day in May to gather together to implement the projects selected.

To participate in this year’s challenge, you can create your own project or volunteer on a community project in one of four areas: food, water, energy, and community. Transition US has plenty of ideas and how-to guides listed on their website, but the sky is the limit. Whether your “something beautiful” takes the form of a community garden, a compost pile, or even a graywater system, it brings us one step closer to the world we want to live in.

Make sure to register your project to be counted, and feel free to send updates and photos to the TUS team to share and inspire others with your ideas!

Want to learn more about the global Transition Towns movement? Check out the founder’s books:

The Transition Handbook: We live in an oil-dependent world, arriving at this level of dependency in a very short space of time by treating petroleum as if it were in infinite supply. Most of us avoid thinking about what happens when oil runs out (or becomes prohibitively expensive), but The Transition Handbook shows how the inevitable and profound changes ahead can have a positive outcome. These changes can lead to the rebirth of local communities that will grow more of their own food, generate their own power, and build their own houses using local materials. They can also encourage the development of local currencies to keep money in the local area.

The Transition Timeline: The Transition Timeline lightens the fear of our uncertain future, providing a map of what we are facing and the different pathways available to us. It describes four possible scenarios for the UK and world over the next twenty years, ranging from Denial, in which we reap the consequences of failing to acknowledge and respond to our environmental challenges, to the Transition Vision, in which we shift our cultural assumptions to fit our circumstances and move into a more fulfilling, lower energy world.

The Transition Companion: The global Transition Towns movement has come a long way since its unleashing in 2008. The Transition Companion picks up the story today, drawing on the experience of one of the most fascinating experiments under way in the world. It tells inspiring tales of communities working for a future where local economies are valued and nurtured; where lower energy use is seen as a benefit; and where enterprise, creativity, and the building of resilience have become cornerstones of a new economy.

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Want to cook your food for free? By building a simple and affordable solar oven, you can use the power of the sun to slow-cook beans and stews and more.

Spring is the perfect time to build your oven, which will work best during the long days and intense sun of the summer. By my calendar we’re just a month and a week away from the solstice so you better get to work! This step-by-step guide will show you how to build the oven plus some tips on how to use it.

Happy solar cooking!

The following is an excerpt from The Carbon-Free Home: 36 Remodeling Projects to Help Kick the Fossil-Fuel Habit by Stephen and Rebekah Hren. It has been adapted for the Web. (All drawings are by Rebekah Hren, adapted with permission from Solar Cookers International.)

Simple Box Cooker

Renter friendly.

Project Time: Afternoon.

Cost: Inexpensive ($5–20).

Energy Saved: Low. Cooking’s relatively low energy requirements (4 percent of average energy budget) and solar cooking’s intermittent availability make dependence on at least one other cooking system all but certain.

Ease of Use: Moderate. Cooking can be done only on relatively sunny days and works better in summer than in winter.

Maintenance Level: Medium. How long this solar oven lasts depends on how well you take care of it. If it gets wet repeatedly, it will eventually turn to mush, so bring it inside when it’s not in use.

Skill Levels: Carpentry: Basic.

Materials: Two large, shallow cardboard boxes—the inner box should be at least 18 x 22 inches, preferably just a little bit taller than your pots; the outer box should be a little larger in all dimensions so there is at least 1–2 inches of space between the two boxes when they are nested. You’ll also need corrugated cardboard at least 6 inches longer and wider than the outer box to make the lid; window glass (or Plexiglas) at least 20 x 24 inches and longer and wider than the inner box by 2 to 3 inches; a thin, black metal sheet, sized equal to or slightly smaller than the inner box; 50 feet of aluminum foil; dry plant fibers such as leaves or straw or at least 50 sheets of newspaper, quartered and crumbled; glue silicone caulk; and rigid wire (hanger wire, for instance).

Tools: Paintbrush, utility or other knife, pencil, straightedge.

Caution: Solar cookers, especially parabolic varieties like the CooKit (described next), have the potential to cause retinal damage from the concentrated solar rays. Be careful to avoid looking at the bright reflections from any of these solar cookers.

Construction Steps

Cut the window opening in the outer box. See figure 4.3. Turn the outer box upside down. On its bottom, center the inner box and draw a line around it. Cut out this piece to make a window opening the same size as the inner box. There should be a small rim on all four sides, 2–3 inches wide. On the lid piece— the extra piece of cardboard—center the outer box and trace around it (these are the fold lines). Extend these lines out to the edges of the lid piece. Center the inner box between the fold lines on the lid (that you just drew) and trace around this box as well. Cut only three sides of the inner line, two short sides and one long one. Fold up the resulting flap for the reflector, creating a window frame opening the same size as the inner box.

Adjust the height of boxes, if needed. See figure 4.4 Set a cooking pot next to both boxes. The inner box needs to be just a little taller than your pot. The outer box needs to be just a little taller than the inner box. If the boxes are too tall:

On the inner box make a mark about 1 inch above the top of the pot and draw a fold line at this height straight around the four box walls. Score the fold lines with a blunt edge such as a spoon handle.

On the outer box make a mark about 2 inches above the top of the pot and draw a fold line at this height straight around the four box walls. Score the fold lines with a blunt edge such as a spoon handle.

Cut the corners of both boxes down to the fold lines. Fold the sides outward along the creases.

Trim the inner box flaps. When the walls of the inner box are folded down to the right height (or if you didn’t need any adjustments), trim the flaps to make them as narrow as the small rim around the window opening on the outer box (refer to the first step if necessary).

Join the boxes. See figure 4.5. Turn the outer box right side up, so the window opening and rim are down. Spread glue on the inside of the rim. Turn the inner box upside down and lower it into the outer box, onto the glue. Press the small flaps against the inside of the rim around the window opening to join the two boxes into one double-walled box, now open at the bottom (which should be facing up at this point).

Insulate and seal. Without disturbing the drying glue, carefully spot-glue aluminum foil on all four walls and the underside of the inner box, covering all surfaces between the two boxes. This layer of foil helps insulate the cooker. Lightly fill the gaps between the two boxes with crumpled newspaper, plant fiber, or other insulation. Add a few strips of cardboard and more crumpled newspaper or other insulation on the underside of the inner box (which should be facing up at this point). Close and glue the flaps of the outer box to seal the bottom of the cooker.

Glue foil inside the box and lid. Turn the box right side up. Dilute glue 1:1 with water and, using a paintbrush, spread it thinly on the dull side of sheets of aluminum foil. Press the glued sheets of aluminum foil tightly and smoothly like wallpaper to the inside and rim of the box. A few wrinkles won’t hurt. Set the box aside to dry. Repeating the procedure, glue foil to the underside of the lid flap (the folded-up center part only).

Cut, fold, and glue the corners of the new lid. See figure 4.6. With the lid upside down (foil facing up), make one cut at each of the four lid corners, just to the first fold lines. (The cuts should be parallel to the long side of the lid.) Score all fold lines with a blunt edge and fold along the creases with a straightedge such as a board. Overlap and glue the corners, and secure them with clothespins or clamps until the glue is dry. To make quick clamps, cut cardboard-width slits in a small stack of cardboard pieces.

Insert the window. Spread silicone caulk along the underside edge of the window opening rim (outside the cut edge of the foiled reflector piece), then press the glass in firmly but carefully to make a good seal with the caulk. Let the box and lid dry overnight.

Make an adjustable prop. See figure 4.7. Make small holes in a corner of the lid reflector and the side of lid. Loop string through the holes. Make several notches in a stick and tie the stick at both ends to hold up the reflector and allow angle adjustments.

OR

Bend a sturdy wire at both ends and glue corrugated cardboard strips to the lid and reflector as shown. The wire can be inserted into any of the corrugations for angle adjustment.

Add the black tray and “cook” the cooker. Put the black metal sheet inside the box. (The pots will sit on this light-absorbing sheet.) Put on the lid, with the lid reflector propped open, and aim the cooker toward the sun for several hours to drive out the last bit of moisture and any paint or glue fumes.

Cooking Directions

Put food in dark pots. Use with dark, tight-fitting lids.

Choose a cooking location. Set the cooker on a dry, level surface in direct sunshine away from potential shadows. For best results, solar cooking requires continuous, direct sunshine throughout the cooking period.

Put the pots in the cooker and replace the lid. Put the pots in cooker. If you’re cooking multiple dishes, quicker-cooking items should be placed toward the front of the cooker (opposite the reflector) and slower-cooking items toward the back, where access to sunlight is best. Place the lid on cooker.

Orient the cooker. Orient the cooker according to the details below. Once oriented, the cooker doesn’t need to be moved again during three to four hours of cooking. For longer cooking, or for large quantities of food, reorienting the cooker every couple of hours speeds cooking a little. Food cooks fastest when the shadow created by the cooker is directly behind it.

To cook a noontime meal orient the cooker so that the front side (opposite the reflector) faces easterly, or approximately where the sun will be midmorning. In general, it is good to get the food in early and not worry about it until mealtime. For most dishes you should start cooking by 9 or 10 am.

To cook an evening meal orient the cooker so that the front side faces westerly, or approximately where the sun will be midafternoon. For most dishes, it’s best to start cooking by 1 or 2 pm.

For all-day cooking orient the cooker toward where sun will be at noon or early afternoon. The food will be ready and waiting for the evening meal.

Adjust the reflector. With the adjustable prop, angle the reflector so that maximum sunlight shines on the pots.

Leave the food to cook for several hours or until done. There is no need to stir the food while it is cooking.

Remove the pots. Using pot holders, remove the pots from the cooker. (CAUTION: Pots get very hot.) If you won’t be eating for a couple of hours, you may want to leave the pots in the cooker and close the lid. The insulative properties of the cooker will keep the food warm for a

while.

Enjoy!

Care and Storage

Store your cooker away from rain and animals, preferably indoors. Keep the glass clean.

In New York City, one and a half million people (out of 9 million) are food insecure, meaning they do not have access to healthy, good quality affordable food.

While many of the city’s residents can afford to dine out in expensive restaurants or shop at upscale markets, there are neighbors, many of them children, who go to sleep hungry. Organizations have stepped up to deal with this crisis in food insecurity. One of those is BLK ProjeK in the South Bronx, headed by Tanya Fields.

Tanya is Executive Director of The BLK ProjeK. Inspired by her experiences as a single working mother in a marginalized community Executive Director Tanya Fields created and founded the BLK ProjeK in 2009. Tanya will be both an instructor and speaker at the University of Vermont Food Systems Summit in Burlington, Vermont, in June. UVM interviewed her about the successes and challenges of building a sustainable food system in the biggest city in the US.

Chelsea Green is a sponsor of the UVM Food Systems Summit, a month-long meeting of minds where you can take course, attend lectures, weigh in on roundtable discussions and participate in the Necessary (r)Evolution conference. Find out more about the summit here.

University of Vermont: How did you get involved in BLK ProjeK?

Tanya Fields: I was born and raised in Harlem, a community that I love, but that I could no longer live in due to gentrification. I moved to the South Bronx several years ago. It was an eye opener. I became much more aware of food insecurity, particularly among children. When my own child became ill, I realized that the quality, quantity and affordability of healthy food was a key determinant of health.

I also realized that social activism had a major role to play in the solution. We can complain about a perceived problem, but unless we do something, take action, the problem will persist. BLK ProjeK has two intertwined missions: to make healthy food accessible, and to develop leadership skills in local youth, particularly females.

UVM: In a city as big as New York is that an insurmountable task?

TF: No. If I thought that way, I would not be able to do my work. We are very small as an organization and it is difficult to get the funding that we need to sustain our work, but we are making changes everyday. Next month, we launch our Mobile Market, which will bring the needed healthy food to the people who need it most in this community.

UVM: There are several organizations, some big and some small, that do work similar to yours. How do you differ?

TF: Sadly, the organizations that have been around for many years and some newly formed organizations, have more than a million people to serve. That’s important work for all of us. We spend all of our money on food and delivery to the most in need. We don’t spend money on brochures and t-shirts because we just don’t have it to waste. We invest our money in solutions that increase access and create opportunities for people to feed themselves and their families.

UVM: What do you see as most important agenda in fixing the broken food system?

TF: Leadership. Particularly among the people who know these underserved communities first hand. I grew up seeing the dynamics in my neighborhood, in the schools, in social networks. I understand the issues because I lived them. But that is not enough. We need to develop leadership so that change is achieved though policy, though concrete solutions. A delivery of food to someone hungry is vital. Even more important is being an instrument of change, so that the system of food insecurity does not perpetuate itself.

Want a great garden? Take a page out of Nature’s book and you’ll find growing food is easier than you ever imagined.

Permaculture is a system of ecological design that you can apply to gardens, farms, and even entire homesteads. By teaching you how to mimic natural processes, recycle nutrients, use animals wisely, and use energy efficiently, permaculture paves the way for you to live lightly on the earth, in harmony with the plants and creatures that feed you.

Learn more about this simple but revolutionary system with these groundbreaking books—35% off for a limited time. 

Happy reading from the folks at Chelsea Green Publishing!

Desert or Paradise: Restoring Endangered Landscapes Using Water Management, Including Lake and Pond Construction Retail: $29.95 Discount: $19.47 Rebel farmer Sepp Holzer explains his revolutionary methods of water landscaping in Desert or Paradise. Drawn from his work around the world, Desert or Paradise shows the dramatic restoration of arid lands using little more than careful planning and simple earth dams to store water in the soil.

Paradise Lot: Two Plant Geeks, One-Tenth of an Acre, and the Making of an Edible Garden Oasis in the City Retail: $19.95 Discount: $12.97   Paradise Lot  tells the story of how two permaculture geeks transformed a barren urban lot—and found love along the way. Eric Toensmeier’s story will inspire you to see the potential in any neglected place, and show you what’s possible if you listen to nature and never give up.

Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture Retail: $29.95 Discount: $19.47   Gaia’s Garden  was the first book to bring permaculture to the home-garden scale, and has become a trusted gardening classic. Learn how to design an ecological garden for your yard, with information on plant guilds, herb spirals, interplanting, composting and more.     The Resilient Farm and Homestead: An Innovative Permaculture and Whole Systems Design Approach Available May 31stRetail: $40.00Discount: $26.00 With practical information on landshaping, water security, perennial crops, soil fertility, nutrient-dense food, and more, The Resilient Farm and Homestead is a manual for developing durable, beautiful, and highly functional human habitat systems fit to handle an age of rapid transition. ‘The mix of resources, practical advice, and land design offered here is a strong starting point for anyone interested in regenerative agriculture and modern homesteading.’—ForeWord Reviews

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Discount codes do not combine with other offers—our books already on

Congratulations are in order to Sandor Ellix Katz, aka Sandorkraut. His groundbreaking book The Art of Fermentation has just won a James Beard Foundation Book Award!

Covering all aspects of the industry—from chefs and restaurateurs to cookbook authors and food journalists to restaurant designers and architects and more—the Beard Awards are the highest honor for food and beverage professionals working in North America. Think of them as the Oscars of the food world.

The Art of Fermentation won in the Reference and Scholarship category, making it Chelsea Green’s first ever James Beard award winner. We’ve had only one prior nominee, which was The Bread Builders in 2000.

The beautiful book reflects Katz’s years of research, teaching, and passionate proselytizing of the wonders of homemade ferments, and welcomes both new and seasoned fermentos alike into the simple magic of this ancient food processing technique.

The Art of Fermentation spent two weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list when it was first published, and we are close to printing our 50,000th copy—remarkable for a 500-plus page hardcover book about fermentation. In addition, Sandor’s work is featured prominently in Michael Pollan’s new best-selling book Cooked.

We’re proud to be Sandor Katz’s publisher, and to help spread the word about the joys of microbial coexistence. Ferment on, everyone!

Chelsea Green - an employee-owned, mission-driven book publisher — is looking for a creative, book-loving, savvy Web Editor to join our growing marketing and publicity team in the company’s Burlington, VT office.

If you’re interested, please send resume and cover letter to Communications Director Shay Totten: stotten@chelseagreen.com. No phone calls, please.

General Description

The Web Editor is responsible for ensuring that our consumer and media websites are up to date, and is responsible for drafting and then implementing the creative content for our social media channels, as well as our consumer email program.

Responsibilities

Manage our ecommerce site (ChelseaGreen.com), keeping book data up to date and highlighting major media hits.

Plan and compose postings for the ChelseaGreen.com front page.

• Report website problems promptly, assist Online Marketing Manager and developers to resolve quickly
• Manage special media site for sales (Media.ChelseaGreen.com), updating book data and marketing information as needed.
• Conduct research on new authors to provide publicity background information on Media.ChelseaGreen.com.

Manage postings and interaction on Chelsea Green’s social media platforms.

• Track and respond to social media statistics to ensure high quality, and high levels of interaction on all platforms.
• Provide monthly reports to key staff and managers.
• Manage Chelsea Green content on other platforms as needed, such as Scribd.

Draft Chelsea Green’s consumer and specialty email newsletters under direction of Communications Director and Online Marketing Manager.

• Draft the list of books to promote, collect links and image URLs, as needed.
• Re-code email html as needed to convert for ChelseaGreen.com web posting.
• Draft promotional test subject lines, and marketing copy, for each consumer and specialty email.
• Complete simple graphic design in support of social media marketing and publicity efforts, including press releases, staff business cards, and consumer ads.
• Assist Online Marketing Manager with maintaining a list of potential online outlets for targeted promotion campaigns along with management of the ShareSale program.

Research and draft content topics posted to the company’s blog, social media, and multimedia channels for maximum SEO, reach, branding, and effectiveness.

Monitor emerging, and existing, trends and best practices in SEO, social media and other online marketing strategies.

Work with the Online Marketing Manager to develop strategies to grow our online marketing outreach through our direct email program, website, social media, and more.

Position Details: Full-time salaried position, based in Burlington, Vermont. Spends one day a week in the White River Junction, Vermont office.

Reports to: Communications Director

Qualifications: This is a position for someone with a demonstrated interest in online publishing and marketing and an interest in our company mission. The qualified candidate will be able to work within a team environment as well as work independently, and be responsible for tracking and monitoring their goals and objectives. One to two years experience multimedia publishing helpful. Must have: strong communication, writing, and interpersonal skills; ability to work in fast-paced, deadline-driven environment; Bachelor’s degree; strong computer skills and proficiency in Word and Excel; comfort with using Google Analytics and other online tracking software; proficiency in social media, and comfortable with administrative tasks. HTML and other multimedia experience is helpful, as is being familiar with Adobe Creative Suite – PhotoShop Dreamweaver, InDesign and Acrobat.

About Us: For almost 30 years, Chelsea Green has been the go-to publisher for people seeking foundational books on the politics and practice of sustainable living, including organic gardening and agriculture, renewable energy, green building, eco-cuisine, and ethical business. In 2012, we decided to practice what we publish and became employee-owned. We are a founding member of the Green Press Initiative and have been printing books on recycled paper since 1985, when our first list of books went on sale. We print our books on paper that consists of a minimum of 30 percent post-consumer waste and aim for 100 percent whenever possible. We also don’t print our books overseas, but rather use domestic printers to keep our shipping costs (and impact on the environment) at a minimum.

Many of us have been taught that overgrazing, methane-emitting livestock turn green pastures into arid deserts and are responsible for the widespread desertification that threatens precious biodiversity, soil quality, and more.

Not so, as Allan Savory explains in his TED Talk, “We were once just as certain that the world was flat. We were wrong then, and we are wrong again.” You can see in the photograph below the difference between properly managed land on the right, and overgrazed, eroded and degraded land on the left:

In the aptly-titled Cows Save the Planet, journalist Judith D. Schwartz debunks the myth that cows and livestock pose threats to our land. You may think it unlikely that these pastured grazers are the soil saviors we need, but it’s true. Through holistic management and planned grazing, cows can help rebuild soil and restore land to its rightful state—improving carbon sequestration, natural water cycles, and soil fertility and nutrient density.

The solution to climate change, and a host of other environmental ills, is right under our feet, Schwartz explains. And what better time than the week of Earth Day to join Schwartz and the many scientists, ecologists, farmers, and experts (including Savory) featured in Cows Save the Planet and uncover all the reasons why we should be celebrating cattle as a way to improve our soils.

When managed properly, soils can help reverse the effects of:

• climate change
• desertification
• biodiversity loss
• droughts, floods
• wildfires
• rural poverty
• malnutrition
• and obesity

In the foreword, Gretel Ehrlich puts it best: “Judith Schwartz’s book gives us not just hope but also a sense that we humans—serial destroyers that we are—can actually turn the climate crisis around. This amazing book, wide-reaching in its research, offers nothing less than solutions for healing the planet.”

Cows Save the Planet is available now and on sale for 35% off. Read the introduction below.

Cows Save the Planet: Introduction

It’s time to reclaim Earth Day’s original spirit and celebrate in a new way: get dirty!

It turns out that the cure for what ails our planet is right at our feet. This Earth Day, learn about the importance of soil, the danger of encroaching desertification, and how you can help stop climate change — starting right in your own backyard.

Happy reading from the folks at Chelsea Green Publishing!

Cows Save the Planet: And Other Improbable Ways of Restoring Soil to Heal the Earth Retail: $17.95 Discount: $11.67 “Judith Schwartz’s book gives us not just hope but also a sense that we humans—serial destroyers that we are—can actually turn the climate crisis around. This amazing book, wide-reaching in its research, offers nothing less than solutions for healing the planet.” —Gretel Ehrlich, from the foreword

Rebuilding the Foodshed: How to Create Local, Sustainable, and Secure Food Systems Retail: $19.95 Discount: $12.97     “The future of food is local. But how do we transition from our current globalized, supermarket-centered food world to one that’s human-scaled and ecosystem-friendly? This book shows us how. If you eat, you really should read it.” —Richard Heinberg, author of The End of Growth and Peak Everything

The Resilient Gardener: Food Production and Self-Reliance in Uncertain Times Retail: $29.95 Discount: $19.47     “Growing food is among the most positive changes anyone can make in the face of uncertainty about the future. The Resilient Gardener is an information-packed resource for people starting or expanding a garden practice.” —Sandor Ellix Katz, author, The Art of Fermentation and Wild Fermentation       . Earth Day Sale: 35% Off   Retail: $29.95 Sale: $19.47    Retail: $22.50 Sale: $14.63     Retail: $17.95 Sale: $11.67       Retail: $14.95 Sale: $9.72     Retail: $12.95 Sale: $8.42   Retail: $25.00 Sale: $16.25   Retail: $90.25 Sale: $58.66     Retail: $19.95 Sale: $12.97     Retail: $22.50 Sale $14.63       Retail: $17.95 Sale: $11.67     Retail: $19.95 Sale: $12.97     Retail: $25.00 Sale: $16.25     Retail: $24.95 Sale: $16.22     Retail: $19.95 Sale: $12.97       Retail: $15.00 Sale: $9.75

Want a new economy, one that cares for people and the planet over pure profit? These books will teach you how — and they’re all on sale until April 30th.

Be a part of the “next American revolution”, one where green jobs and worker-owned companies make wealth democratic! What Then Must We Do? is a must-read book for anyone who cares about the future.

Are you a entrepreneur working to make your community better? You’re not alone! Judy Wicks is the woman who invented local economies, and her memoir Good Morning, Beautiful Business will show you how a cooperative business can bring prosperity to you and your community.  

Happy Reading from the folks at Chelsea Green Publishing!

Retail Price: $27.95 Sale Price: $18.17 Retail Price: $27.95 Sale Price: $18.17   Retail Price: $17.95 Sale Price: $11.67    Retail Price: $19.95 Sale Price: $12.97    Retail Price: $19.95 Sale Price: $12.97      Retail Price: $49.95 Sale Price: $32.47    Retail Price: $34.95 Sale Price: $22.72    Retail Price: $19.95 Sale Price: $12.97    Retail Price: $34.95 Sale Price: $22.72    Retail Price: $19.95 Sale Price: $12.97    Retail Price: $26.95 Sale Price: $17.52    Retail Price: $19.95 Sale Price: $12.97    Retail Price: $19.95 Sale Price: $12.97    Retail Price: $15.95 Sale Price: $10.37    Retail Price: $23.95 Sale Price: $15.57  Retail Price: $19.95 Sale Price: $12.72  Retail Price: $22.95 Sale Price: $14.92  Retail Price: $21.95 Sale Price: $14.27    Retail Price: $19.95 Sale Price: $12.72    Retail Price: $30.00 Sale Price: $19.50    Retail Price: $19.95 Sale Price: $12.72    Retail Price: $14.95 Sale Price: $9.72

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