Last week I heard a noteworthy piece on the podcast of the PBS News Hour about the increased production of Green Products. They note that many, many, many companies are putting eco-friendly products on shelves…some of these companies represent well-known brands that have debatable track records from the past. Two concerns that this story brings up are the differing meanings of “green” and whether or not this recent trend is just another consumer trend that will die away. Here’s a link to the transcript and audio from the PBS story Environmental Demand Drives Eco-friendly Products: As public demand for eco-friendly products increases, businesses rush to fill the gap with “green” products touting a lower carbon footprint.
I also wanted to share this video from CBS’ Sunday morning. This hints at some of the complexities with being green. If you HAVE to buy a new car, get a hybrid. BUT, if you can find a used car with good gas mileage, then buy it so that we don’t have to produce a new car at all. Of course, it is always better to buy a bike.
Fast Draw: Hybrid Cars
Watch CBS Videos Online
We have added a few research guides to the Educational page on the Garbage Land site including:
All of us in the library are gearing up for the fall semester. We are looking forward to getting back in the swing of things.
As we are getting ready, I wanted to send along links to these new books that have been added to the library collection. We are adding tons of new resources, but these stood out for me.
Click on the links to get the call number, and stop by the library to check them out. If you need help, just ask one of the super cool MVCC librarians.
Karen McGinnis, Green Team member, forwarded on this presentation about the direct links of plastic bags and wildlife. It is heart breaking! I have witnessed it first hand with quite a variety of animals when I was in grad school in Florida. I researched sea turtle hatchlings and spent most of my days and nights on the beach. Too often we came across a dead animal that was strangled by a 6-pack ring or by a bag handle or ones that had plastic bags coming out of the mouth and even other end. Check out this presentation and share with others. It is a concrete reminder of why you should bring your own canvass bags to stores.
http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080506/MULTIMEDIA02/80505016http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080506/MULTIMEDIA02/80505016
Are you worried about spending time out in the woods hiking or camping for hanging out in the yard at night because of those pesky mosquitoes? Because of climate change, we have seen shifts in where we find mosquito populations as well as the diseases they carry. You can go chemical free and avoid DEET by dressing from head to toe with lose clothing in light colors. And if you are really bothered by the bugs, you can even get a hat with a mosquito net to protect your head. Mosquitoes can easily bite through tight fitting clothes and are more attracted to dark colors. Wearing lighter colors will keep you cooler, which is great because mosquitoes love warmer bodies.
With the high heat these last few days, sitting in a movie theatre is nice to cool off. Tonight, for a mere $5, see the 11th Hour by hottie eco-actor Leonardo DeCaprio compliments of Insight Awareness - A Center for Healing & Self Discovery (18112 Martin Ave., Homewood, IL 60430, 708-957-1284) www.InsightAwareness.com. Arrive by 6:45pm because the show starts promptly at 7:00. Take a peek at the movie trailer.
Do you have a little eco-activist or want to educate your child about the environment. The Free Range Team and SustainLane, associates of the Meatrix and StoreWars, bring you this fun kid-friendly film short, Gorilla in the Greenhouse http://www.greengorilla.com/. There are interactive links too. And stay tuned - more episodes will follow.
Are you interested in brushing up on your knowledge of global warming this summer. A fun was to do so is to hit the Chicago museums. Here’s a list:
Cool Globes, Field Museum Campus, 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr. at Roosevelt Rd. Through Sep. 1. Free. http://www.coolglobes.com/chicago.php
’Nergy solar electric car, Adler Planetarium, 1300 S. Lake Shore Dr. at Roosevelt Rd. (312-922-7827). Admission, $8/adult. http://www.fieldmuseum.org/exhibits/envision_tempexhib.htm
Melting Ice - A Hot Topic, Field Museum (312-665-7683). Through Sep. 1. Admission, $12/adult. http://www.fieldmuseum.org/exhibits/envision_tempexhib.htm
Smart Home: Green + Wired, Museum of Science and Industry, 57th St. at Lake Shore Dr. (773-684-1414). Through Jan. 4. Admission, with exhibit entry, $22/adult. http://www.msichicago.org/whats-here/exhibits/smart-home/
The Museum of Science and Industry recently built a three-story state of the art green home on their campus down in Hyde Park. A free preview night complete with food, drinks and prizes will be sponsored by TimeOut Chicago magazine on Thursday, June 26th from 6:30 - 8:30 pm. Make sure you preregister for this event at: timeoutchicago.com/smarthome. See you there!
I wanted to pass along this story, Chemicals in Our Food, from Bill Moyer’s Journal about the story of Bisphenol A in our food and how several reporters uncovered the lack of testing and regulation at the EPA. This story is a great example of good journalism. Here’s a quote from the Moyer’s site about this story:
In a watchdog series for the MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, a trio of reporters focused on Bisphenol A, a chemical contained in many plastics that is also found in 93% of human beings. The problem at issue? Congress ordered the federal government in 1996 to begin testing and regulating certain chemicals suspected of causing cancer and a host of developmental problems. Eleven years later, not a single compound has been put to that test.
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