Shop & save on bulk holiday gifting
Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows.
Buy new:
$24.95
FREE delivery Thursday, October 23 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
$24.95
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime
FREE delivery Thursday, October 23 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or Prime members get FREE delivery Monday, October 20. Order within 4 hrs 55 mins.
Only 6 left in stock (more on the way).
$$24.95 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$24.95
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
FREE 30-day refund/replacement
FREE 30-day refund/replacement
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$7.99
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
Book shows signs of average reading/shelf wear. Book shows signs of average reading/shelf wear. See less
FREE delivery Friday, October 24 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or Prime members get FREE delivery Monday, October 20. Order within 4 hrs 55 mins.
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$24.95 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$24.95
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Added to

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Healing Earth: An Ecologist's Journey of Innovation and Environmental Stewardship Paperback – January 29, 2019

4.9 out of 5 stars 53 ratings

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$24.95","priceAmount":24.95,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"24","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"95","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"Zbxj0prwBtHnrvcxGcmJZuXsXUNHrFbUCOruyo0EiUbVIJbhRlKtAkkVinbFy5BZtnlKxJHoQgDUMh7P0BTky5UAE2I5aJ%2F6XCH7hB48iJR5U19yYJWj3PdYT8DhyQcWOyhYLTja0oC3Uk3dkzpPhg%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$7.99","priceAmount":7.99,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"7","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"99","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"Zbxj0prwBtHnrvcxGcmJZuXsXUNHrFbU3%2BXK%2FbCZXmbLWmDGd48Oi6zFnFYGc6sXr6vC%2BEdek%2F7FjmC581G59QhlyDhBCriLp4MF1Jky8%2BsG1QVzsJ03JkktvN4Y4r7PVdTy6VvC8sbk%2FoQvQnwqAinTgiaVTtoTNHwz0RC3UTGwTDcjE3b8PACdsqG8Y5%2Bz","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

A true pioneer and respected elder in ecological recovery and sustainability shares effective solutions he has designed and implemented.

A stand-out from the sea of despairing messages about climate change, well-known sustainability elder John Todd, who has taught, mentored, and inspired such well-known names in the field as Janine Benyus, Bill McKibben, and Paul Hawken, chronicles the different ecological interventions he has created over the course of his career. Each chapter offers a workable engineering solution to an existing environmental problem: healing the aftermath of mountain-top removal and valley-fill coal mining in Appalachia, using windmills and injections of bacteria to restore the health of a polluted New England pond, working with community members in a South African village to protect an important river. A mix of both success stories and concrete suggestions for solutions to tackle as yet unresolved issues, Todd's narrative provides an important addition to the conversation about specific ways we can address the planetary crisis. Eighty-five color photos and images illustrate Todd's concepts. This is a refreshingly hopeful, proactive book and also a personal story that covers a known practitioner's groundbreaking career.

Frequently bought together

This item: Healing Earth: An Ecologist's Journey of Innovation and Environmental Stewardship
$24.95
Get it as soon as Thursday, Oct 23
Only 6 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price: $00
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
One of these items ships sooner than the other.
Choose items to buy together.

Customers also bought or read

Loading...

Editorial Reviews

Review

“John Todd has a sixth sense for the Creation, a deep feeling for ecology, and the practical ingenuity of a brilliant inventor. This is the story of possibilities, healing, restoration, and redemption—about coming home to Earth as a partner and cocreator.”
—David W. Orr, Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics

“Healing Earth is a rare gem of a beautifully illustrated book and a valuable resource for anyone ready to engage in ecosystems restoration or regenerative development. The book can be regarded as John’s memoirs, distilling 50 years of professional practice in ecological design and engineering into a delightful and informative read. It offers a passionate testimony to humanity’s potential to create conditions conducive to life by healing the Earth and her people.”
— Dr. Daniel Christian Wahl, author of
Designing Regenerative Cultures

About the Author

A pioneer in ecological design, John Todd has been active in shaping the discipline for more than years. He has befriended and inspired such well-known figures in the field as Janine Benyus, Bill McKibben, Paul Hawken, David Orr, and Wes Jackson. Together with his wife, Nancy Jack Todd, Todd was named as a visionary of the twentieth century by the British organization Resurgence, and he has been featured in “The Genius Issue” of Esquire magazine. Dr. Todd was also named one of the twentieth century’s top thirty-five inventors by the Lemelson-MIT Program for Invention and Innovation. In 2010 the Smithsonian Institution recognized his eco-machine at the Center for Sustainable Living, part of the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York, as a significant design breakthrough. The drawings and film of the project were displayed in the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt Museum of Design in New York City.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ North Atlantic Books
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 29, 2019
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 200 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1623172985
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1623172985
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.01 x 0.47 x 8.98 inches
  • Best Sellers Rank: #906,149 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.9 out of 5 stars 53 ratings

Customer reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars
53 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2019
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    As a biomimicry specialist, I adore the natural world - and this book is just what we need to be reading at this time to get good solid ideas for real-world implementation.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2020
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    one of the most inspiring but also most frustating book i ever read. i want to know more …. iam an engineer and scientist i love details
    2 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2021
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Fantastic and Inspiring
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2020
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    nice copy promptly delivered
  • Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2019
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Wonderful book by one of my favorite mentors.
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2023
    Format: Paperback
    A foundation of concepts every person should know about
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2019
    Format: Paperback
    John Todd, author of Healing Earth: An Ecologist’s Journey of Innovation and Environmental Stewardship (Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2019 ISBN 9781623172985), has spent his professional life building living technologies, eco-machines and eco-restorers, biological systems which "contain representative species from all the kingdoms of life ranging from bacteria and viruses at the lower end of the size scale to fungi, animals, and woody plants at the macro scale. Working together as a biological team, these assemblages of organisms help us transform polluted water into clean water. In return, we provide them with extra air and water circulation as well as appropriate substrates to live on or in.” He works on the basis of “that which has been damaged can be healed” and “do good things in bad places,” showing that the field of applied ecology is practical and can solve problems, exploring the myriad ways that informed stewardship can help heal and transform the Earth.

    He started with a greenhouse full of transparent water tanks for the treatment of septage in Harwich, MA in the 1980s and, “more by accident than design,” included representative species of all the kingdoms of life in the system. Over years of experimentation, he learned "that a diversity of organisms from a variety of parent ecosystems could produce systems with a meta-intelligence that had a highly specific ability to self-organize, self-design, and self-replicate. They were capable, in fact, of surviving through long periods of times, possibly centuries, with minimal human support.”

    His installations are ecologically engineered, "they are designed with the attributes of natural ecosystems like marshes, ponds, and streams,” borrowing their designs, life forms, and progressions from natural ecosystems. For John Todd "natural history is not an old-fashioned form of knowing; it comprises the narratives of living entities that provide the alphabet of the design vocabulary.”

    In this book, he provides a pattern language, the human grammar for that design vocabulary, a baker’s dozen of design principles for constructing living technologies and eco-machines based upon his decades of experience with projects that treat sewage, septage, petroleum wastes and other toxics, producing improved water quality at both household and community scales.

    Todd considers such individual projects as First Order Ecological Design, techniques and technologies applied to the landscape. Second Order Design is the linking together of processes and practices into new associations and entities, industrial ecologies and agricultural eco-parks for example. Third Order Ecological Design addresses larger economic and social structures and their evolution over time. He writes, "It is my belief that durable and sustainable economies, in an age of resource limits and information richness, can replace the extractive and environmentally destructive technologies and infrastructures of today.” For an example of a Third Order Ecological Design see John Todd’s ecological plan for Appalachia, the winner of the first Buckminster Fuller Challenge Award.

    In Healing Earth, John Todd has given us practical, working examples of how to think like nature itself, in ever expanding systems which repair the damage we homo sap sap (the sap) have already done. We must learn to live in our ecological niche or risk extinction. John Todd’s report of his lifetime of observation and experimentation teaches us not only how to live within that niche but expand it.
    4 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2019
    Format: Paperback
    This remarkable book embodies The Great Work. Inspirational, uplifting and wise, John Todd’s richly illustrated memoir reviews the life lessons of a specialist adept at identifying and harnessing the functionality in nature’s designs. An eco-designer extraordinaire, Todd taps into a hidden meta-intelligence with engineered systems that cleanse water, create soil, stabilize climate, sequester carbon and nourish those who build his living machines. At long last¬, we have operating instructions for how to heal our imperiled habitat by “connecting life to life”.

    Featuring numerous examples of still-evolving best practices, marvel here at the dedication, creativity and applied genius reflected in a life devoted to crafting bio-linked catalysts and field-tested recipes for repairing the world. This seasoned guide shows a practical path forward to become stewards, teachers and catalysts for change. Replicable, often scalable applications feature the ultimate in Cool Tool technologies: lake restorers, bio-digesters, oasis eco-machines and other micro solutions to address our macro problems and reverse today’s troubling trends.

    Like the Elders of a bygone era, John and his collaborator wife, Nancy Jack Todd, point to the possibilities of what can be achieved by learning from and working with the ancient wisdom of nature. Buy multiple copies of this helpful and hopeful book to present as gifts to friends, colleagues and anyone daunted by the scale of the challenge we face.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • mark
    5.0 out of 5 stars An inspiring book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 5, 2024
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Using real life examples of putting theory into action Todd demonstrates that environmental recovery is not only desirable but possible: cheaper, faster with more economic generation than the techno-industrial options that are usually presented as our only option.
  • A. Hammond
    5.0 out of 5 stars Your next gift book.
    Reviewed in Canada on March 2, 2019
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    An outstanding and hopeful book on the environment.