A World without Oil online reality game was  actually done live with 1900 participants in spring 2007  but the site is archived and preserved to be used by anyone today.  Players live through a simulation of a world with out oil and  have to change their lifestyle to adjust to the alternate reality. They follow interdisciplinary lessons plans (which meet state and national standards) and communicate using CMS, blogs, nings, podcasts, and video. Wanta play? The offer some ideas on participating:

(1) you can get into the game and use the WWO “Time Machine” to call up any of these weeks. The official story for that week will be headlined in the upper center right; the stack of blocks to the left, under the dark blue panel, link to the player stories for that week. (The stories that the WWO team judged to be best will be at the top of the stack.) Clicking on a story block will take you to that story, usually posted by the player somewhere on the web.

(2) everyone is welcome to sign up as a Netizen Hero and to participate in “WWO Lives,” our ongoing blog about all matters WWO. We will definitely link to good in-game stories from the WWO Lives blog.

Winners of 2009 Recyclemania have been announced. This year over 510 schools from all 50 states, DC and Canada participated and collectively recycled or composted over 69.4 million pounds of waste during the 10 week period. The top winners:

• Grand Champion: California State University, San Marcos
• Waste Minimization: North Lake College
• Stephen K Gaski Per Capita Classic: McNeese State University
• Gorilla Prize: Rutgers University
• Paper: Stephens College
• Corrugated Cardboard: McNeese State University
• Bottles & Cans: Kalamazoo College
• Food Service Organics:Bard College

What is recyclemania? A 10 week competition for schools and colleges ranking  the largest amount of recyclables per capita, the largest amount of total recyclables, the least amount of trash per capita, or have the highest recycling rate.

Interested in joining for 2010? email alecc@nrc-recycle.org and type this in your subject heading: “2010 RecycleMania Updates – {your institution or organization name}”.  more information on planning, tools, ideas, etc can be found on their Web site.

Collaboration and sustainability:  this web site called Sustainability Marketplace (from CalPoly/San Luis Obispo) is  great example of a portal  that others could create for users of all types (students, nonprofits, business, academics, librarians, etc) to post research-based projects that they working on, want to collaborate on, or to find an existing projects. Academic libraries could think about creating this sort of portal for their campus? Are there any out there already?

Sustainability Marketplace: Connecting People and Projects is “meant to function as a marketplace for students, staff, faculty and community members who are looking to get involved…join an existing project, submit projects that need teams, or enter an online discussion with others interested in our sustainable community.” It was created for people on campus at Cal Poly and San Luis Obispo community work together on projects for sustainability.

Check out Greenopia - an easy to navigate, full of information, web site to find  green businesses, products or brand ratings, news & information, and community events. A few dozen cities (unfortunately not mine!)  are listed so far with portal of local information catered to that specific city.  Love the green tips box on the left side too.You can also buy a green guide for several cities – consumer guide filled with local listings for green retailers, service providers, and organizations.  Sign up for FREE and become a members to join the online community, write reviews, rate businesses, submit tips, and get 20% off your purchase of a green guide.

What they do:

Greenopia provides consumers with high quality information to help them reduce their impact on the environment through their daily purchasing decisions. Greenopia publishes extensive green business directories, product directories, and brand directories, as well as offering a growing community, news articles, blogs, and tips to help everyone eat, shop, and live green.

A three part article from Treehugger:

• Part 1: Greener Flying: Not All Flights are Created Equal – if you have to fly, think about more fuel efficient (newer) airplanes, as fuel efficiency has improved dramatically since the ’50s -  though having a plane full of people is the best bet all around (of which you have little control). You can also  find out if efficient turboprop planes are available on your route and check out Greener airlines to discover least environmentally harmful companies.
• Part 2: Greener Flying: Top 20 Most Popular Airline Routes – check out the 20 most popular airlines routes and see who offers the best and the worst options for low CO2 emissions.  Also try an airline that offers economy only – more dense, more people, thus reduces carbon emissions.
• Part 3: Greener Flying: Alternatives to Flying - Or try an alternative to flying such as video or teleconferences, high speed rails, bus, rent a fuel efficient car, or purchase carbon offsets.
  

NRDC’s map – Renewable Energy for America: harvesting the benefits of  homegrown renewable energy -  can be viewed by renewable energy type (biogas, cellulosic biomass, solar, and wind)  The gradient shade will show potential for this type of energy down to county level. You can zoom in or zoom by state & zipcode. Icons depict locations or future locations of biodigesters, biofuels, and wind power.  Clicking on the by state tab you can read summaries of various state’s profiles. Libraries can find out and inform their public as to potential renewable energy projects is in their area.

Alfred University (NY) will check out bicycles to students, faculty and staff starting fall 2009 “just as they would a book at Herrick Library.”   For a nominal fee ($3 for two days and $5 for a week)  users can borrow and return one of the 20 Fuji hybrid bikes, after filling out a usage and liability form – and can take a bike lock and helmet as well. Money raised will be used to sustain the program by covering repair and maintenance costs. The program -  started by a student Ian Cramer who loves biking and hopes to provide access to others to enjoy riding as well as be green -  received  $10,000 in funding from the AU Student Senate to purchase the bikes. Space at campus gym (no, not the library!) will serve as the rental and maintenance shop, where the fleet of bicycles will be stored

Free Webinar: Become a Carbon Zero Hero: Vanquish the Phantom Load Villain
Wednesday, July 15, 2009 2:00 – 3:30 PM EDT
Registration: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/621236970

Discussion on how to vanquish the phantom-load villains  that lurk in every location; summarize power-management strategies for reducing phantom-loads based on comprehensive on-site audits of more than 15 college campuses; analyze specific phantom-load usage by key higher education constituents and programs, such as staff, faculty, dormitories, and computer labs and libraries; feature examples of student-led energy conservation campaigns, including the University at Buffalo’s creative and successful “Do It In the Dark” campaign.

Accepted for publication, by College and Research Libraries, to be published probably March 2010, by  Maria A. Jankowska & James Marcum entitled “Sustainability Challenge for Academic Libraries: Planning for the Future College and Research Libraries.” Read the pre-print now (PDF). Stay tuned for the publication next spring. More C&RL pre-prints.  Abstract:

There is growing concern that a variety of factors threaten the sustainability of academic libraries: developing and preserving print and digital collections, supplying and supporting rapidly changing technological and networking infrastructure, providing free services, maintaining growing costs of library buildings and lowering libraries‘ ecological footprint. This paper discusses the multi-dimensional issues of sustainability in academic libraries and identifies needs for designing an integrated framework for sustainable strategies in academic libraries. Additionally, the paper presents a synthesis of existing literature on the increasingly popular topic of ‘green libraries’ and prepares a background towards developing a framework for sustainable strategies in academic libraries.

From Library Juice Press:

Greening Libraries, edited by Monika Antonelli and Mark McCullough and published by Library Juice Press, is a collection of essays, papers and articles on various aspects of the green library movement. The editors are seeking articles from a variety of perspectives on a wide range of topics related to green practices, sustainability and the library profession. Greening Libraries will offer an overview of important aspects of the growing green library movement, including, but not limited to, green buildings, alternative energy resources, conservation, green library services and practices, operations, programming, and outreach.

Deadline for Summaries: October 1, 2009 – Submit a brief summary of your proposed article (250 words or less) to Monika Antonelli or Mark McCullough