Details grassroots bioremediation techniques and strategies for transforming environmental despair into action, including the use of plants to extract toxins and fungi to clean contaminated water and soil.

Just as the restoration of Michelangelo’s Last Judgment sparked enormous controversy in the art world, so are environmental restorationists intensely divided when it comes to finding ways to rehabilitate damaged ecosystems. Although environmental restoration is quickly becoming a widespread pursuit, debate over the methods and goals of this endeavor often halts progress. The same question confronts artistic and environmental restorationists: Which systems need restoring, and to what states should they be restored? In Earth Repair: A Transatlantic History of Environmental Restoration, Marcus Hall explores the answer to this question while offering an alternative to the usual narrative of humans disrupting and spoiling the earth. Hall’s purpose is not to deny that humans have done lasting damage but to show that those who believed in restoration did not always agree on what they wanted to restore, or how, or to what form. With guidance from the pioneer conservationist George Perkins Marsh, the reader travels between the United States and Italy to see that restoration has taken many forms over the past two hundred years, from maintaining and repairing, to gardening and naturalizing. By contrasting land management in these two countries and elsewhere, Earth Repair clarifies different meanings of restoration, shows how such meanings have changed through time and place, and suggests how restorationists can apply these insights to their own practices.

Before you spend top dollar on pool maintenance, check out the self-help guide Pool Repair and Service Manual That Can Save You Hundreds of Dollars. This do-it yourself guide shows you everything you need to know about swimming pool repairs, regular maintenance, and winterizing. Have you ever gotten frustrated with your pool when something breaks and you don't know what's wrong with it? You make a call to the pool company and then have to wait for a serviceman to diagnose and fix the problem. Next thing you know, two weeks have passed by before you can finally use your pool again. This book discusses all sorts of problems along with the solutions and detailed instructions, including images of equipment, parts, and diagrams. It will assist you in diagnosing and fixing the pool yourself. Everything you can imagine that may go wrong with your pool is in this easy-to-follow guide. The manual also aids in regular maintenance, and includes instructions on how to open your pool for the season and prepare it for the winter. A special troubleshooting section will help you figure out just what the problem may be.