is your

Green LiViNg Book

Discover practical, empowering solutions to global challenges with Building a Better World in Your Backyard by Paul Wheaton and Shawn Klassen-Koop. This transformative guide introduces the concept of "luxuriant environmentalism," demonstrating how you can enhance your quality of life while making a positive environmental impact. From permaculture gardening to energy-efficient home heating, the book offers actionable steps that save money and reduce your ecological footprint. Whether you're new to sustainable living or seeking to deepen your practices, this book provides the tools to create meaningful change right from your own backyard.

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EXPLORE

Building a Better World

instead of being angry at bad guys

This book is a practical, often humorous, and deeply optimistic guide to making real change—starting at home. Instead of yelling at the news or waiting for the world to change, Building a Better World in Your Backyard shows you how to take meaningful action from the ground up (sometimes literally).

Summary

From the Introduction:

"For nearly every global problem, there are solutions we can implement in our backyard that also save us money and help us live more luxuriant lives. A few of us do these things and bask in the glow of the opulence and extra cash. Others observe and think "I want extra luxury and money too! Not fair!” and then they emulate. And on and on it goes. Then the global problems sorta just dry up and blow away. That’s what this book is all about.

I think the reason we see so many people angry is because they authentically care. But they seem to get stuck at being angry. Some people spend a hundred hours a week for 20 years being angry and not much changes. But I think that if you spend a tiny fraction of that time doing the things mentioned in this book, your global positive impact will be a thousand times greater."

Reviews

what people say

The Better World Book is an awesome book that distills the knowledge that Paul Wheaton has conveyed over many podcasts, videos, and articles into one short, sweet, and concise book!

The book's objective is to go through many of the problems currently faced in the world today, establish a scale to rate proposed solutions by, go through some of the solutions that exist, and then explore better solutions.

I like the book, because it is well-organized, well-thought out, has wonderful illustrations, and tons of links to discussions at permies.com, where I can learn more and ask questions about topics that come up in the book.

D. burton

This is a book I plan to buy in bulk and hand out to friends, family and strangers. I don't have a "little library" in front of my house, but I think I may be sticking them into other people's little libraries!

The world is burning, and it's hard to know what to do. Watching the news just makes you depressed and angry. Getting angry at bad guys doesn't accomplish much. This book is full of practical things you can do today to make a difference in your life and in the world.

We need to get the word out, and this book will be a tool in that process. Onward!

j. winter

...This book covers a wide range of entry points into the how-to of Building a Better World. This is not a book to leave sitting on your shelf: read it, pick ideas from it that you feel actionable in whatever situation you live in, and then encourage neighbors and relatives to read it and do the same. Together we can Build a Better World in your Backyard, and being angry with the bad guys just raises my blood pressure - growing edible plants lowers it! This book will give you ideas about how to do just that.

j. angler

Authors

Paul Wheaton, The Duke of Permaculture, is an author, producer, and certified advanced master gardener. He has created hundreds of youtube videos, hundreds of podcasts, multiple movies, and written dozens of articles and books. As the lead mad scientist at Wheaton Labs, he's conducted experiments resulting in rocket mass heaters and ovens, massive earthworks, solar dehydrators and much more.

paul wheaton

Shawn Klassen-Koop is a systems thinker with a background in computer engineering and a strong commitment to practical solutions for global challenges. His interest in building a better world took root during his time at a summer camp in Manitoba and evolved into a deeper exploration of design-driven problem solving. He eventually found a natural fit in permaculture, where he applies his technical knowledge and design skills to work with nature rather than against it, helping others take meaningful steps toward a more sustainable future.