Month: April 2009

April 29, 2009

Compostable Library Cards?

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The San Francisco Public Library will soon be handing out compostable corn EcoCards (they still offer plastic as an option). Its not that landfills are not overflowing with plastic library cards, but models environmentally responsibility. Find out more in this article.

They also have a really cool green stacks section on their web site worth checking out, too!

April 27, 2009

ACRL OnPoint Chat this 4/29: Summary of Greening of ACRL

April 29, 2009: Seattle Green: Lessons learned from greening the ACRL 14th National Conference
(10:00 am. Pacific | 11:00 a.m. Mountain | 12:00 p.m. Central | 1:00 p.m. Eastern)
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/events/onpoint/index.cfm
The 14th ACRL National Conference in Seattle WA was the greenest ACRL conference ever, thanks to the hard work, good ideas, and contributions of ACRL members and staff.  Charles Forrest and Karen Munro, co-chairs of the ACRL Green Conference Component Committee, will join Tory Ondrla, ACRL staff member and Green Conference liaison, to chat with you about how they “greened” the conference.  They’ll discuss specific sustainability event strategies, lessons learned along the way, and their hopes and dreams for our next conference in 2011.  Bring your interest in greening your own conference, meeting, or event—and your own green experiences and insights!

More Details:

  • Free and open to the public.
  • Sessions are unmoderated.
  • 30-45 minutes in length.
  • Take place in a Meebo chat room.
  • Login 15 minutes before time to start – first come first serve!
April 27, 2009

Green Twitterers

10 Green Twitterers (from Shea Gunther of the Mother Nature Network who you can follow at — @sheagunther and @mothernaturenet):

  • @twilightearth – TwilightEarth is a great new green blog with a killer Twitter account. Blogger Adam Shake manages the tweets and shares tons of interesting eco links and RTs (retweets for you non-tweople).
  • @elephantjournal– Elephant Journal is a Boulder, Colorado based publication that focuses on living the “mindful life”. Run by my pal Waylon Lewis, their Twitter account is rich with green news and information.
  • @ecorazzi – If you dig gossip and the environment, you’ll love Ecorazzi, the premiere online destination for all things celebrity eco. They use their Twitter account to highlight great content found on their site and on the web in general.
  • @greensmith – Paul Smith is the brains behind @greensmith. He’s a West Coast green business consultant and prolific green blogger who can always be found at Ecopreneurist and Triple Pundit.
  • @greengirls – Eco hottie Apple Levy both runs @greengirls and founded The Green Girls, a great blog for covering green issues from a woman’s point of view. She tweets great green stuff.
  • @derekmarkham – Derek Markham is the other half of TwilightEarth’s founding duo (with Adam Shake, see above) and is a verifiable Twitter badass — his group of nearly 4,000 followers is chock full of powerful green influencers and trendsetters. He’s mastered the art of the tweet and and has a keen eye for green news.
  • @thegoodhuman – David runs The Good Human, a green blog that’s been around the blogosphere for nearly three years (a lifetime in this game). His site is a great resource for how to live a greener life and his Twitter account is an extension of his site’s mission.
  • @greenbiztweets – Hugh Byrne drives @greenbiztweets and works full time at GreenBiz.com. His Twitter account hoovers up all the green content on the web and spits out the best stuff for our enjoyment.
  • @treehugger – Treehugger is the granddaddy of the green blogosphere. They were one of the first green blogs on the web and is certainly the highest profile site, having been bought for a whole lotta dollars by the Discovery Channel last year. Their Twitter account blasts out great info from their site and from around the web.
  • @maxgladwell – Max Gladwell is a website that covers the world of green social media. They’re all over the web and have a great grasp on all the technology we use to get the good green word out. They want us to live green, but connected lives. Their Twitter account is awesome.
And I personally follow:

Also check out this past post I did on green twitterers!

April 22, 2009

10 easy things you can do for Earth Day

  1. Turn off the lights when you leave the room.
  2. Unplug rechargeable devices such as cell phone chargers, digital cameras, etc., even though these devices are in standby mode.
  3. Plug TVs, DVD players, electronics, and computer equipment into power strips and turn off at night or when you leave to avoid the phantom/vampire power that is constantly lost.    Also, screen savers fo NOT reduce energy use by monitors – switching to sleep mode or manually turning off monitors is always the better energy-saving strategy.
  4. Switch out incandescent light bulbs with energy-saving compact fluorescent (CFLs) which us 75% less energy or light emitting diodes (LEDs) which use 90% less energy.
  5. Open the windows for some fresh air when the weather is pleasant instead of running the mechanical heating or cooling system – better for your health too.
  6. Turn off the energy-hogging heated dry cycle on your dishwasher.
  7. Walk or bike to where you need to go. Or just to enjoy the outdoors. Pick up trash while you are at it.
  8. Do you really need to print that document? If so use back side of scratch paper or double side you printing.
  9. Bring that reusable coffee mug and water bottle instead of throwing away one each time.
  10. Celebrate green reads via a display of books or online web site of resources and sustainable information.

(from Greenstrides and 100 Ways to Make Your Library a Little Greener)

April 22, 2009

Green @ the library

Our Green Library Group came up with a list of ways to be green @the library to tell students (& promote the library) in honor Earth Day. We created a bookmark with the ideas (which also promotes our sustainable film series):

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Save Gas. Talk to your librarian online.
Buy Local—Borrow Local. Why pay for your books when they are available for free?
Do the Commute Challenge. Bike lanes and buses end right in front of the library.
Unplug. (and visit the library.) We’re open 24 hours and paying the heat and electricity anyway. Ditch your utility bills for ours.
Want a cheap night out? Come see a (free) sustainable film.
Save a Tree. Ask your professor about emailing your paper or uploading it to blackboard.
Don’t pay for entertainment. Borrow movies from the TLC (5,000+ popular DVDs for free)
Get exercise. Climb up nine floors of Jackson Library.
Stop your junk mail, catalogs and magazines. The library has them in the Reading Room.

April 21, 2009

Upcoming Green Online Events (college)

April 23, 2-3:30 (ET) Webinar on the Role of Community Colleges in Preparing a Greener Workforce – Topics covered: What are the most innovative models for summer youth workforce programs? What is the unique role of community colleges as summer youth employment partners? Where are funds available?

April 30, 1-2pm (ET) Webinar on Building our Nation’s Green Collar Workforce –  [COST] Topics covered: how an institution can establish itself as a leader of the “green movement” within its community, state and region; what to consider when developing financially sound “road maps” to address energy management and conservation needs – regardless of your institution’s status as a signatory of the President’s Climate Commitment; when and where to focus “green collar” workforce training programs – considering four key elements in a curricular framework.

May 5, 1-2pm (MT) Webinar: Organizational Leadership and Climate Change – participants will learn how universities and colleges can create buy-in for their climate neutral goals and generate community involvement and support and discuss strategies for inspiring active engagement in a campus’ climate neutral journey.

June 24 10:30am – 6pm(ET) Green School & University Virtual Conference and Expo [FREE] Topics covered: Green Design & Planning, Green Buildings,Green Cleaning/Operation.

From AASHE Newsletter

April 17, 2009

Earth Day Activities in Libraries

What is your library doing for Earth Day next week?

Whatever your plans, add them to the Earth Day Network site so it can be searched by keyword, location or date. A keyword search on “library” showed numerous posting of events such as:

  • presentations by local groups on climate change/initiatives/etc,
  • eco-storytellers,
  • screening and discussion of Story of Stuff documentary,
  • plant a tree(s),
  • a “Wait-Wait-Don’t-Toss-That” event (how to reuse items),
  • collection of recyclable materials/shred-a-ton/sneakers-for-turf collection,
  • quiz/contest with prizes from local eco-friendly companies,
  • community expo of local green organizations,
  • potted flower and herb giveaway/fundraiser,
  • Recycling Our Reads” or book swamp,
  • howto/DIY workshops,
  • farmers market, games/crafts/stories for kids,
  • geocaching for teens,
  • create recycled jewelry,
  • ArtCan! (sculpture building competition of canned/boxed goods – then donated to local food bank)
  • reading of The Lorax by Seuss & plant a sunflower seed to take home,
  • trash clean up, invasive weed clean up,
  • composting workshop,
  • solar energy generated stage for local music
  • .. and much more!!

YALSA also has some suggestions too.

April 14, 2009

Top 10 Affordable Green Retrofits

From Green Strides Blog Post:

The Environmental Building News just issued it’s top 10 affordable green retrofit strategies that are useful even if your building doesn’t undergo a professional energy audit or major operational changes:

  1. Fluid applied roofing products that can be applied over existing roofing to extend its life, increase reflectivity and reduce cooling loads.
  2. Solar-Control Window Films (like those used on the headquarters building for the American Institute of Architects, pictured here) which filter out the sun’s heat without blocking visible light.
  3. Entryway Track-Off Systems that will extend the life of indoor flooring, as well as help maintain good indoor air quality.
  4. Low-Flow Showerheads can save as much as 6.4 gallons of water per minute in older shower facilities.
  5. Dual-Flush Flushometer Valves will cut water usage and utility savings associated with toilet flushing (the largest single use of water in most buildings).
  6. Duct Sealants will help you stop throwing money out the window with those energy-wasting, leaky ducts.
  7. Condensing Boilers (okay, this one isn’t that cheap, but neither is the waste from conventional atmospheric-combustion boilers).  The GreenSpec directory can help you find a high-efficiency condensing boiler when replacement is needed.
  8. Lighting and Plug Load Occupancy Sensors will reduce lighting energy use.
  9. Energy Dashboards are great energy-saving devices.
  10. Use of LED Exit Signs is another way to reduce energy consumption.