The Truth Behind the Data: A Librarian's Perspective on Global Warming
Room: Hampton Gardens
Speaker: Frederick W. Stoss, Associate Librarian, Arts & Sciences Libraries, SUNY Buffalo
Description: The presenter, trained by Al Gore and the Climate Project as one of the "1000 Climate Messengers" will discuss developments and solutions libraries are adopting to make their libraries more environmentally friendly and reducing their carbon footprints. Sustainable building designs, conservation of non-renewable energy and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, and more will be discussed.
Sponsor: Long Island Library Resources Council Government Information Committee
Arranger: Christina Rivera, LILRC
15. Fred Stoss, MS, MLS
Trained by Al Gore and The Climate Project
as “1,000 Climate Messengers”
Learned about
climate change at HarVARD
Learned about
climate change at HarTWICK
16.
17. An Inconvenient Truth
• 324 pages
• 132 pages of
photos
• 98 pages text
• 48 pages of
graphs
• 43 maps
• 0 tables
19. Nobel
IPCC
PE „00 PE „04
PE „96 ^
AIT
released
20.
21. Some energy is radiated back
into space by the earth in Some of this outgoing
the form of infrared waves infrared radiation is trapped
by the earth’s atmosphere
and warms it
Most of this radiation
is absorbed by the
Earth and warms it
24. 600 After 45 More Years of current energy use patterns
500
400
Today’s CO2 Concentration
300
280
260
240
CO2 [ppmv]
220
200
180
600,000 500,000 400,000 300,000 200,000 100,000 0
Age (yr BP)
29. The Debate Is Over
• Every prestigious scientific body agrees:
– Climate change is real and its happening
– It‟s caused by human activity
– The consequences are serious
– It is not too late to do something about it…
36. A new way of thinking:
How much CO2 in a
Potato Chip?
Carbon Footprint Calculation:
35.4g/1.2oz bag = 75g/2.6 oz CO2
(11 million bags/yr ~ 890 tons CO2 per year)
Energy Consumption in Key Processes
Converted to CO2:
1: Raw materials: Potatoes, sunflowers and seasoning
2: Manufacture: Producing crisps from potatoes
3: Packaging our crisps
4: Distribution: Bringing our crisps to you
5: Disposal of the empty packs
41. Why Green Libraries?
• Expand scope of mission statements
– working for the betterment of mankind
42. Why Green Libraries?
• Expand scope of mission statements
– working for the betterment of mankind
• Technology is no longer a barrier
43. Why Green Libraries?
• Expand scope of mission statements
– working for the betterment of mankind
• Technology is no longer a barrier
• Great for the image of the library
– AND those supporting the library
– An example for the community
44. Why Green Libraries?
• Expand scope of mission statements
– working for the betterment of mankind
• Technology is no longer a barrier
• Great for the image of the library
– AND those supporting the library
– An example for the community
• Sustainability offers independence
– Cost of maintenance goes down
– Reliance on the volatile fossil fuels decreases
– Protect expertise, collections, services
84. Greener AL
• 2008
– Sharin‟ of the Green
– Global Warming and Us
– Going for the Green
– How to Make Your
– Library Green 2008
– Library Showcase: The Green
Scene
– Architects‟ Showcase
• 2009
– Buildings You Can Count
On
– Library Design Showcase
– AIA/ALA Library Building
Awards
– A Greener Library, A
Greener You
– Building Science 101
104. • What does it mean to be a
green campus?
• Is it possible for educational
institutions to effectively
reduce their sizable
environmental footprints?
• How can individuals make a
difference and successfully
advocate more
environmentally sustainable
campus operations?
• Is the education community
poised to create solutions to
our most vexing environmental
problems?
105.
106. WLA – SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ROUNDTABLE (SRRT)
2009 CONFERENCE PROGRAM:
Green Libraries: Top to Bottom, Inside Out
PATHFINDER
Here are a variety of resources we have encountered. Doubtless, there are many more out there…
Blogs
Best Green Blogs: http://www.bestgreenblogs.com/
Ecolibrarian: http://ecolibrarian.org/
Ecolibris: http://ecolibris.blogspot.com/
E. H. Butler Library, Buffalo State College: http://askehbl.wordpress.com/category/green-library-news/
Greening Your Library - http://greeningyourlibrary.wordpress.com/
Building Design and Construction
Built Green Washington: http://www.builtgreenwashington.org/
Green Libraries: http://www.greenlibraries.org/resources.html
Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance: Better Bricks: http://www.betterbricks.com/
Northwest EcoBuilding Guild: http://ecobuilding.org/
Pathfinders examples as resources:
King County Public Library: InfoGreen page: http://www.kcls.org/research/infogreen/
Spokane Public Library: Sustainability Resources Page: http://tiny.cc/r7pbu
Westlund Public Library: Green Corner: http://www.westland.lib.mi.us/green/greener.php
Utility Co resources
Avista Public Utility, Spokane: www.everylittlebit.com
Seattle City Light: http://www.seattle.gov/light/conserve/resident/
State Agency Resources:
Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability: http://www.portlandonline.com/osd/
Sustainable Washington: http://www.ofm.wa.gov/sustainability/resources/links.asp
WA Department of Energy: http://www.energy.gov/washington.htm
Educational Resources:
Imaginon: http://www.imaginon.org/Just_For_Fun/greenhunt.asp
Other Resources:
Climate Solutions: http://www.climatesolutions.org/
EcoSpeakers: http://www.ecospeakers.com/index.html
Green Living Bibliography, Oshkosh Public Library:
http://www.oshkoshpubliclibrary.org/research/greenlivingbibliography
107. Earth Day 40th Anniversary
April 22, 2010
What are your plans?
117. E-Literacy
Increase Understanding
Ecological Literacy:
Educating Our Children
for a Sustainable World
• Michael K. Stone
and Zenobia Barlow, Eds.
– Wendell Berry
– Alice Waters
– David W. Orr
– Fritjof Capra,
– Pamela Michael
– Donella Meadows
– Malcolm Margolin
119. Defining the Tasks
If we are going to save
environmentalism and the
environment, we must
also save an endangered
indicator species: the
child in nature.
– Last Child in the Woods - Saving
our Children from Nature-Deficit
Disorder
• Richard Louv
120. Nature Deficit Disorder
• 6 hours each day in front of the computer
and TV
• less than 4 minutes a day in unstructured
outdoor play
• “Nature Deficit Disorder”
– Negative psychological and physical effects
• Obesity
• Loneliness
• Depression
• Attention problems
• Greater social isolation
– Reduced time with friends and family
122. Do the Book!
• Librarian : Educator
– Nature Center
– School
– Science Museum
– Library
• GET ‘EM OUTSIDE
• Nature Journaling
– Discipline writing
– Record what is seen
– Record what is felt
• Inspiration
• Self-expression
– Imagination
Just having celebrated the 40th Earth Day (39th anniversary) this iconic poster tells it all—the plight of polar bears, shrinking ice flows, and wind energy.http://cash-make-money-online.com/earth-hour-and-earth-day-create-more-environment-issues/
The Environmental Movement of the 1970s had deep roots in the Conservation Movement of the late 1800’s that brought us our National Park System, the Adirondack Park and Forest Preserve and those iconic images of wildlife, nature literature and writing, and the artistic beauty of the Hudson School.
1970’s Earth Day might not have been if not for the important works of Aldo Leopold and Rachel Carson.The ear of social unrest with the Civil Rights Movement and later the Viet Nam War added to the climate of change for environmental activism to gain a foothold in American culture and beyond.
The Cayahuga River in Ohio catching on fire, Three Mile Island, Love Canal, The oil spills of the Torrey Canyon and Exxon-Valdez, were among the decades of assaults on the environment that demanded changes to laws governing the quality of air and water resources, and land use policies.
Following close on the heals of the environmental movement was development of a professional response from librarians addressing new challenges for data and information concerning environmental quality.1972 conference in Cincinnati, OH ~1,200 attendees to the first-every national environmental information conferencehttp://www.epa.gov/natlibra/
By 1989 the demand was so great that laws were amended to provide the public at-large with specific Right-to-Know legislation. The Toxic Release Inventory was released in June 1989 and highlighted legal, regulated releases of specific chemicals in specific industries and businesses.TRI is perhaps the most important consumer-oriented environmental database ever created.The Environmental Defense Fund (now Environmental Defense) created The Chemical Scorecard as a user-friendly, value-added, and enhanced TRI-based database.http://scorecard.org/
ALA created, through the efforts of Terry Link, Librarian at Michigan State University, in 1989 on the eve of Earth Day’s 20th Anniversary. TFOE held its first program at the 2000 ALA Annual Meeting in Atlanta on environmental policy and environmental law.http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/srrt/tfoe/taskforceenvironment.cfm
In 1988 I had the distinct honor of introducing the same resolution at the business meetings of the Special Libraries Association’s Environmental Information Division and Natural Resources Division to have them join forces and create a more comprehensive Environment and Resource Management Division. ERMD was officially recognized as a new SLA Division at the SLA Annual Meeting in New York.Incidentally, EID joined with several other SLA divisions to host a ½-day training workshop for the Toxic Release Inventory on the Friday before its national release (accompanied by BANNER HEADLINES OF CHEMICAL RELEASES AROUND THE COUNTRY) the following Monday morning.http://units.sla.org/division/derm/index.htm
In response to the SLA and lesser extent ALA efforts in creating new environmental divisions or sections, a group of Federal and state environmental and natural history and resources, that were staffed in many cases by non-MLS-credentialed information specialists and “librarians” to create NRIC.http://www.nric.info/
In 1999 ALA undertook a ground-breaking initiative introducing the concepts of sustainability and sustainable communities a decade before they began to appear in national and international headlines.LBSC was prepared as a recommendation for the 2002 United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development by Terry Link and Fred Stoss. The program was presented to IFLA by the (U.S.-based NGO) National Council for Science and the Environment.http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/srrt/tfoe/lbsc/librariesbuild.cfm
Architecture is the first thought that comes to MANY minds, when Green Libraries are mentioned.Some states, such as Connecticut, now require that any building constructed with funds from the state MUST be built to the Green Building Council’s LEED Silver Standard.LEED is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a grading system of bronze, silver, gold, and platinum for energy efficiencies and environmental integrity in design , construction, and operation of buildings.As we will see, Green Libraries are A LOT MORE than Architecture…
What brings us to thinking so much about Green Libraries, and Green Communities, and Green Life Styles and Green this and green that?It has a lot to do with former Vice President Al Gore and the attention he drew to the new concept or buzzword: CARBON FOOTPRINT or CO2 FOOTPRINTIt has a lot to do with global warming, and like Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, “The Carbon Footprint” may be ushering in a new Environmental Action Movement and Era
One of them went on to become a librarian, and well, the other one had his own distinguished career path…http://t-shirts.cafepress.com/librarians-and-global-warming_white-t-shirtsYes, Fred Stoss has one of these…
Al Gore brought the nation’s and the world’s attention to the topic of global warming as no one else before. His book and film, “An Inconvenient Truth” provided a readable and watchable description of the causes and consequences, the controversies and conflicts, the problems and some of their solutions about global warming and climate change.
The word consensus does not mean unanimous.There is a consensus among scientists that global warming, or an enhanced global warming effect is real and happening in the later half of the 20th Century and continuing though todayIt is not too late to do something about it and libraries of all types can help Inform, Communicate, and Educate individuals, organizations and institutions, agencies and offices, neighborhoods and communities, and states and countries about the cause and effects, implications and most important the solutions to solving the problems and issues revolving around global warming
The 1970’s Environmental movement effectively began to die in the 1990s, despite continued public interest in and importance given to environmental concerns.A cry of “Environmental Whackos” was heard across a country that was becoming more politically Conservative and individual consumptive behaviors defined the growing evidence of an environment growing in crisis more and more every year.It was not Mr. Gore’s book and film and the rapidly increasing costs of oil and gasoline at the pump did the collective conscious of America finally realize what most of the world had recognized a decade earlier, the time to act on fixing a world living in a greenhouse constrained environment.
We need to think not about MPG but MPG PER PERSONAnd build an infrastructure to make it happen
Every eat a potato Chip?Bet you didn’t eat just one…But did you ever think about how much CO@ is generated in making a potato chip?
Ten years ago a tried to coin a new concept.It didn’t work as I thought it might, but I’ll try again…As librarians we are well positioned to accomplish this because our careers are bent around the ideas of informing, communicating, and educating about a lot of different things, including the environment.
So we come back to that question:“Is there a green library in your future?”Half Moon Library in clifton Park, NYBronx Public LibraryB. Thomas Golisano Library, North Chile (Rochester), NY
Wikipedia even gives us an entry!
There are LOTS of ways to “think green” in your libraries
So, I will modify my original concept
How many of you come from communities or campuses that have pledged to reduce your CO2 or Carbon Footprint, or become a better environmental community?How many of you have been asked to be active participants in the efforts to achieve these lofty goals?How many of you have gone to your administration or government agencies to tell how your library can help and how your librarians can be active members of decision-making committee, boards, and sit at the tables where sound environmental policies are made?http://www.coolcities.us/
Exhibits and kiosks are a great way to teach…But there are many more ways to educate, as we will see.
Your library can serve as a hub for public discussion and information sharing through lecture series, workshops, and other such exchanges by members of your local government, public and private utilities, environmental or energy conservation organizations, and business leadershttp://www.getenergysmart.org/EnergyEducation/Default.aspxEXPLORE THE NYSERDA SITE IT’S RICH!!
Building a Green Economy is a current concept gaining favor as economic stimulus packages are being revealed. The Apollo Alliance is working within states and cities to promote such green jobs, especially in the green energy sectors. These are business executives with a vision for rebuilding America’s economy through Wise Energy Decisions.Our library can help them in many ways from introducing the needs to providing space for informational kiosks, publication displays, postings, Website compilations and linkshttp://apolloalliance.org/state-local/new-york-city/The Apollo Alliance is a coalition of labor, business, environmental, and community leaders working to catalyze a clean energy revolution that will put millions of Americans to work in a new generation of high-quality, green-collar jobs. Inspired by the Apollo space program, we promote investments in energy efficiency, clean power, mass transit, next-generation vehicles, and emerging technology, as well as in education and training.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=kids.kids_indexBecome aware of resources for children such and the Energy Star program and the educational portals of Federal and State Agencies. They have a wealth of information to provide:EPA, NOAA, NASA, USDA, DOENYS DECYour county and municipal governments—they may NEED YOUR HELP!!!
What can you and your colleagues do to help others build greener homes and life styles?Your collections, reference services, library instruction programs, community outreach and awareness, lecture series, town forums They all have a place!NYSERDA
Bring in experts from a variety of sources where people can learn about consumer products and how to invest the money in things that work and safe energy and dollars…
My local utility, Rochester Gas & Electric has specialized programs for homeowners, teachers, community groups. Work with your utilities to bring useful and informational programming to your library.http://www.rge.com/GivingBack/intheschools/default.html
I do not think there are any bounds to the creativity librarians can show when it comes to being passionate about ICE:Informing!Communicating!Educating!ESPECIALLY, when it is on a topic from which we have an deep and profound understanding, respect, and “mission.”Mission to some is an “agenda,” like a secret plot
Have you ever thought of bringing a local hardware store to do a workshop on how to caulk a window, or door, install energy saving devices, how to program one of those programmable thermostats?This I a great opportunity for urban branch libraries to assist the people in the communities they serve gain a bit of independence from the costs of energizing their homes.
Keeping track of things in the library literature is not difficult!Start at the core of the library literature and work your way through the network of resources. I have provided a few Library Journal articles here
This is the site for the 2007 Design institute, with a photo gallery, and downloads of PPT presentations.http://www.libraryjournal.com/info/CA6482954.html
The American Library Association is continuing to take great strides in its Green Endeavorshttp://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/srrt/tfoe/taskforceenvironment.cfm
http://www.aashe.org/Institutions outside of the U.S. are able to join AASHEIf not, there are some resources available for non-membersB. International Affiliate Membership - for Colleges and Universities Outside the U.S., Canada, MexicoInternational affiliate members are colleges and universities in countries other than the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. A growing number of higher education institutions around the world are joining AASHE and benefiting from access to member-only resources. Recognizing that international members are not able to take full advantage of all member benefits, dues for international affiliates are adjusted accordingly.
For those of you from college and university campuses, the opportunities are there for you also.www.aashe.orgBuilding sustainable campuses across the country
Even national magazines are contributing to the call for actions.