Teaching Green Resources February 24, 2010

Online Degree Programs has a great blog post called: Teaching Green: 100 Tips, Tools & Resources for Every Kind of Classroom. They offer lists of online resources by category and here are some examples:

• K12 Educators: TeachingGreen, Classroom Earth,or Project WILD
• K12 Students: Kids Links Teaching Green, A Walk in the Woods or EcoKids
• College Resources:Second Nature or Teaching Sustainable Product Design
• Green Organizations: National Wildlife Federation, Fuel Economy, or Earth Day Network
• Tips for K12 Educators: create school garden or worm bin
• Tips for College Educators: virtual speakers or green challenges.
• Online Games & Tools:WolfQuest, ElectroCity, or Global Warming Interactive.
• Green Lectures: Michael Pollen gives a plant’s-eye view
• Online Courseware Classes: Tropical Ecology and Conservation or Seminar in Environmental Science

Plastic vs Paper vs neither

The Green Guy blog post, though not a recent post, summarizes the issues, background, and stats of paper vs plastic bag debate, including how they are made, the waste, the energy, and including links for more information .  Worth a read or a post to share with others wondering which is better … for when you forget to bring your canvas reusable bag.

Reference on the Web: e-waste February 18, 2010

Booklist Online offers a nice annotated list of e-waste websites complied by Mary Ellen Quinn, such as the EPA’s eCyling Greenpeace’s annual Guide to Greener Electronics, and and Earth911. Visit the page for more details especially if you are looking for ways to get rid of old electronics in your library but don’t forget to share these links with your patrons and staff too.

another library’s green pages February 14, 2010

Here is just one of many examples popping up these days as libraries are creating their own ‘green pages’ or green blogs or environmental resources Web sites.  The Burbank Public Library offers these Green Pages to blog about their green ideas offer resource links and share news -  also including a calendar of So Cal green events and a display the twitter feed for their city’s water and power company.

I know lots of other libraries are creating such pages, blogs or twitter accounts but please comment and share your information! I gathering links to  libraries’ green pages for libraries to create a resources for everyone to use.  FYI – for resource listing specifically on green library buildings visit Green Libraries site.

Top 10 Books on Environment 2010 February 11, 2010

Check out Booklist Online’s list of top 10 environmental books for 2010 (by Donna Seaman)

• Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet. By Bill McKibben. 2010. Times, $24 (9780805090567).
• Ecological Intelligence: How Knowing the Hidden Impacts of What We Buy Can Change Everything. By Daniel Goleman. 2009. Broadway, $26 (9780385527828).
• Eating Animals. By Jonathan Safran Foer. 2009. Little, Brown, $25.99 (9780316069908).
• Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis. By Al Gore. 2009. Rodale, paper, $26.99 (9781594867347).
• A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster. By Rebecca Solnit. 2009. Viking, $27.95 (9780670021079).
• Slow Death by Rubber Duck: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things. By Rick Smith and others. 2010. Counterpoint, $25 (9781582435671).
• Storms of My Grandchildren: The Truth about the Coming Climate Catastrophe and Our Last Chance to Save Humanity. By James Hansen. 2009. Bloomsbury, $25 (9781608192007).
• Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization. By Steven Solomon. 2010. Harper, $27.99 (9780060548308).
• The Wild Marsh: Four Seasons at Home in Montana. By Rick Bass. 2009. Houghton, $26 (9780547055169).
• The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America. By Douglas Brinkley. 2009. Harper, $34.99 (9780060565282).

50 Big Ways that Schools Are Going Green February 8, 2010

Check out real examples of schools taking strides in the categories of Green Energy, Green Education, Green Eating, Green Building, Green Transport, and Conservation on this site 50 Big Ways that Schools Are Going Green

Design Competition for Book Industry February 3, 2010

The Book Industry Environmental Council (BIEC), which includes publishers, retailers, printers and more, has been promoting environmental practices for the book industry, setting goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and looking into creating a label to indicate greener publishers. Enter their contest to create 3 progressive levels indicating  environmental achievement in publishing and win $500. Entries due March 1 2010. Read the details and guidelines. Download the poster (PDF).

Hungry for Green: Feeding the World Sustainably February 2, 2010

Last week, my university (UNCG)  hosted the North Carolina premier of  “Hungry for Green: Feeding the World Sustainably,” a film written and directed by UNCG Professor Matt Barr and narrated by George McGovern about the interconnections between feeding the world’s hungry and making agriculture more organic and sustainable. It was shown as part of our Sustainable Film & Discussion Series but on  special night in collaboration with others on campus and in the local community.   Before the film began, various tables were set up outside the auditorium with local sustainable folks showcasing their wears or promoting their services – demonstrating how sustainability is a collaborative effort. The film includes interviews and shots from the Dakota Wesleyan University (Mitchell SD) hosted 2008 McGovern Conference of the same name. Former presidential nominee and Senator George McGovern was at our event and spoke and participated in a post film discussion to a packed audience. McGovern eloquently, with honesty and humor, discussed his past experiences of seeing hunger around the globe that lead him to become a leader of feeding the world’s hungry. For more information on the UNCG event, read the notes from the event (PDF) or listen to the podcast interview with director Matt Barr. I highly recommend this film to be a part of any film and discussion series at your library. It can be purchased through the Unheard Voices Project (along with other great documentaries from Barr like Wild Caught)  and community screenings welcomed.