Furthermore: Where the Headlines Take You
So as you know, the economy is a bit dodgy right now. Money is tight and folks want to find ways to economize. At the same time, public concern for the well-being of our natural environment is rising, and many people are looking for ways to live lighter on the land. This combination of influences is encouraging people to spend more time and effort making things they once would have bought, repairing things they would once have paid to replace, and repurposing things they would once have thrown away.
Crafts! DIY! Homekeeping skills! I'm here to tell you, there are a lot of swell books, zines, and magazines about how to make, do, maintain, repair, and repurpose things! Here are just a few that I especially like:
If your chief interests in do-it-yourself are saving money, learning how things work, and making neat stuff, sometimes it's best to cast an eye back to the past. Practical Projects for the Handy Man is a reprint of a book originally published in 1913 by the editors of Popular Mechanics Press, and with it in hand, you can learn to make furniture, toys and household objects, how to build the apparatus for magic tricks and science projects, and a dizzying array of other tips and tricks. The how-tos are interesting and helpful, but part of the charm of the book is the way it reflects the energy and, dare I say it, vim of an idealized active boy of 100 years ago. This imaginary boy is fun loving, nimble with tools, curious about science and the natural world, and above all interested in creating things that will make life more interesting and amusing, save laborious work, and build his skills. Being something of an optimist, I think there's a little bit of that idealized boy in all of us, and Practical Projects might help set yours to work!
But modern-day crafters and creators are all about sharing their how-to's also. The Best of Instructables collects more than 100 super awesome projects from the web community of the same name, where people around the world share how-to instructions for everything from soup to nuts. With The Best of Instructables, you can learn how to: eat a banana like a monkey, build a teeny greenhouse inside a light bulb, take the case off of your flash drive and stick the guts into a Lego brick, or make a frighteningly realistic werewolf costume, among other things.
Enough with the amusements, bring on the ideas and instructions for serious work! Formulas, Methods, Tips and Data for Home and Workshop, by Kenneth M. Swezey and Robert Scharff is a compendium of information you might need if, for example, you wanted to determine what color a particular species of wood will turn when weathered outdoors, figure out what materials you'll need to build a brick wall of a certain size, or find a recipe for making homemade hand lotion. The sheer quantity of data, recipes, explanations, and project instructions in this 600+ page book is amazing, but it's readable, clearly organized, and incredibly down-to-earth.
If you'd like to try a few projects that are a bit more unusual, try browsing through Making Stuff and Doing Things, edited by Kyle Bravo and Jenny LeBlanc. How-tos from dozens of zines are reprinted in facsimile form, which means you'll get all the pleasure of the cute little drawings and diagrams illustrating how to do and make whatever it is. Some of my favorites explain how to make your own soymilk, unstink your socks, re-use typewriter ribbons, and do basic electrical wiring. The book also has a nice little essay on some of the philosophical underpinnings of the DIY ethic.
If these particular books don't make your inner do-it-yourselfer jump up and down with excitement, try taking a look at the books on specific kinds of projects. Whether you want to learn about knitting, woodwork or upholstery, do a little appliance repair, plan some garden crafts, study furniture making, fix your bike, learn how to bind a book, build a fence or brush up on your jewelry-making skills, I promise you the library can help you get started.
And if you don't spot what you're looking for right away, there's always someone to help you out. If you're in the library, stop by the reference desk and we can help you find books, magazine articles or websites about your project. Or, if it's not convenient for you to visit the library immediately, a friendly librarian is only an email or a phone call away!
Seriously, if you’re ready to make stuff, the library is a great place to start.
Posted by Emily-Jane
Who knew that the world of building demolition was rife with fraud, criminal activity, and Mafia connections? Maybe you did, but I just assumed it was a clean business, aside from all the rubble and dust, of course. A profile of one of the legends of the wrecking business, Philip B. Schwab, caught my eye the other day. Along with tales of his multiple bankruptcies and jail time--he took up tennis in federal prison--were stories about the unregulated piratical industry of building demolition. In some places, you don't even need a license to take down a building.
Oh, the glory of massive destruction! With before, during, and after pictures! In full color! If this sounds like your idea of a fun book, don't miss Demolition : the art of demolishing, dismantling, imploding, toppling & razing. Author Helene Liss worked with the firm Controlled Demolition to chronicle some of their many building takedowns, including Pennsylvania Station, the Kingdome and several Las Vegas hotels. She also includes information about the tools and techniques of demolition, but the focus here is really on the explosions.
For a more considered take on deconstruction, follow Bob Falk and Brad Guy through the process of Unbuilding : salvaging the architectural treasures of unwanted houses. Falk and Guy lay out to benefits of unbuilding as opposed to straight demolition--reducing waste to landfills, preserving period architectural details, and reusing or selling construction materials. This comprehensive guide will take you through the process of deconstructing a house, from how to organize the site, to selling what you've recovered, in detail that extends even to "denailing."
If you had the choice, wouldn't you make something that didn't need to be demolished and sent to the landfill? And you would make sure it was safe for humans and animals, right? Even in carefully deconstructed homes and buildings, toxins and pollutants left in walls, carpets or furniture can potentially harm workers or contaminate the environment. William McDonough and Michael Braungart provide a road map and a manifesto for using industrial design to completely remake the way we manufacture and dispose of goods. In Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make hings they propose that contemporary environmental design and facilities for recycling don't go nearly far enough. Rather than create objects and materials that then become waste that we might be able to recycle (or "downcycle" into lower-grade uses), we should begin our designs with the end in mind. Designers should have a cradle to cradle mentality, only creating goods that can be fully reused or that nourish the environment as they biodegrade.
Portland being Portland, we have a few resources for reusing or donating construction waste. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but these organizations have sorted through the rubble for you and they all have resources should you decide to do your own deconstruction and salvage project: The Building Materials Reuse Association, Habitat for Humanity ReStores, and The ReBuilding Center.
Posted by Kate
Old Black Water, Keep on Rollin'
Being a native to California, I can remember the water conservation programs growing up and the panic I would feel whenever I'd see water flowing unused. When I moved to Oregon, I was overwhelmed by the lush, green landscape and the sheer amount of rain falling from the sky. I felt the panic melt away figuring that with so much rain, we could never run out of water, right? But clean, potable water is like every other resource on this planet, finite. So super smart people are working out ways to do more with what we have. For instance, this recent story from the Daily Journal of Commerce on how PDX is building an office building that will include a "lush, vibrant ecosystem thriving off human waste." Before you say "ew" and close this window, this is some very important work being done. Some say we are experiencing a global water emergency considering the fact that a billion people currently live without a safe water supply.* And as the article states "black water", or sewage, is "one of the last frontiers in sustainability." And this trailblazing is all happening here in Portland (I'm so proud!).
Want to know more about the complex issues around water? Julian Caldecott has written a clear, easy-to-understand tome on the different scientific and sociocultural aspects around water resources and the problems we face. Looking globally, Water: Life in Every Drop does an excellent job of explaining the science and interconnectivity of water - constantly reminding us of its importance. At times, it is gut-wrenchingly painful as Caldecott describes the way water is being abused. But as I require with all books that discuss a problem, he brings up ways we can restore balance. 
So now that you know more, what can you do in your own life to help reuse water? How about becoming a water steward? David Gershon writes a number of books on empowering yourself to live a greener life. Water Stewardship focuses on water preservation and conservation, and gives concrete tools to making a meaningful difference. It also gives tips on how to broaden the scope beyond your household and into your community. 
The article talks about black water, which is something you don't want to be messing with, but there is another form of wastewater called "gray water" that can be reused.** Gray water comes from things like laundry and bathing, and the Guerrilla Graywater Girls want to tell you more about how to work with it in their zine Guide to Water. This group of pioneering woman took their home in a "noisy crack infested corner of Oakland" and turned it into a "beautiful oasis" using water from their shower. Their guide includes some history of water infrastructure and easy-to-understand illustrated guides to the drinking water treatment process, waste water treatment centers and water treatment via nature. There is also a nice section on plumbing basics.
Personally, I can't wait to view the airport's new adminstrative building, with its "lush, vibrant ecosystem". I know it's just one more way we are leading the way and making a difference out here in the Pacific Northwest!
* Per the Natural Resources Defense Council
** The Oregon Revised Statutes regulate gray water in Chapter 454: Sewage Treatment and Disposal Systems, Subchapter 454.610 Regulation of gray water discharge. And Oregon's Building Codes Division recently put out a Oregon smart guide to Water Conservation systems that discusses the reuse of "gray water" for flushing toilets.
Posted by Jennifer
