Helpful and up to date with useful contacts
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I am a great fan of the Green Building Bible and have seen it evolve over the years from one to two volumes with the latest incarnation being the recent fourth edition; Vols 1 and 2. Both of the volumes of the 3rd edition were runners up in the RIBA International Book Award in 2007. It has continued to grow in breadth and depth with the latest edition containing even more information to make this edition the best value and most detailed books on this subject available to date. In Vol 1 the numerous articles are written by a diverse array of authors but all come together in a way that brings a refreshing honesty which I greatly appreciate with all the current hype and "greenwash" that tends to increase when an issue, such as the environment, becomes mainstream. I have seen more and more books published on green building and the majority of these are little more than expensive coffee table offerings with colourful pictures, scant detail and promoting new technologies and materials that are not even appropriate for the majority of our buildings. The Green Building Bible is different. It offers masses of information on every conceivable aspect of eco building from the very low impact approach to the higher tech approaches but it does include any drawbacks of a system where appropriate. This honesty is not surprising though as the publisher has been involved with promoting sustainable building since the 1980's and only produces these books and a regular magazine on the same subject. I was also pleased to discover that the publisher too is genuinely committed to the sustainable approach in both business and lifestyle. Volume 1 is a general introduction to the subject with information on virtually all aspects of designing and constructing a sustainable and low energy building. Though this book includes adverts these compliment the content and are usefully bundled between Topics to ease finding contacts. As green building is still on the fringe, albeit becoming more mainstream, such contacts are very useful if embarking on a project. I is reassuring to see that the publisher has a strict advertising policy that is set out with the list of advertisers at the back of the book. The policy is clear and has gives confidence to know businesses in the books have been strictly scrutinised to ensure no one is conned into purchasing "greenwash"
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