Check out TreeHugger’s slideshow of cartoons with “Surprisingly Green Messages.”
That’s right Mom, I watch The Simpsons for the environmentalism, not for the many, many bacon references…
Cartoons with Green Messages
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Author Archives: Rebekkah
MHLS Green Team
So I took the plunge and called a meeting to start a Green Team at work.
Started by having the building manager, financial manager, interim executive director and my assistant meet to talk about the feasibility of moving forward to help our workplace be “greener.”
Luckily they were all on board and willing to play along with me!
We chatted for a bit about things we’ve already done or are doing and realized we needed to benchmark or at least measure where we are now so we can measure success. So the first action item out of the gate was split between the financial manager – Linda and our facilities manager – Chris. They are going to gather info on:
- how much electricity we use
- how much we paid for electricity last year
- how much gas we use
- how much paper we currently recycle
- how much solid waste we currently recycle
A few years ago we had a NYSERDA energy audit and since our funding situation has been so bad we couldn’t follow up on many of the suggestions so we decided to stop letting ourselves be limited by that so I’m going to dust that off and revisit the recommendations and start looking for incentives/reimbursements/grants or at least add these things to our facility plan.
Chris had heard about a new energy audit program through our electric company so he’s going to schedule that.
We decided we couldn’t just dictate ways to work and be greener so we decided to pool the collective wisdom of our coworkers. So I volunteered to poll the staff. I turned it into a competition. There are three floors to our building so it’s floor against floor. Prizes have been promised but really it’s the bragging rights that motivates!
I’m encouraging ideas related to energy efficiency, waste reduction/recycling, water efficiency, healthier choices. . . whatever they can think of.
I decided after the first submission I got to not pre-judge the ideas just yet. I’m just popping them all into a spreadsheet to count up which floor is in the lead (first floor is way ahead after the first week!)
The Green Team steering committee will meet again at the end of the month to check out the ideas submitted, review the energy audit info and checkout the data Linda and Chris collected.
I’m glad I finally took the plunge, it has been more well received than I expected and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Bottled Water Battle
At our April 2010 Greening Your Library workshop we tested supplying tap water instead of bottled water and guess what, no one said a word. We’re not even sure anyone noticed.
@MHLS our new interim director, Merribeth Advocate (a master at reducing costs), just declared we will no longer purchase bottled water to supply at our workshops. Good for the environment and good for our ever shrinking budget!
Facts about bottled water:
- Bottled water isn’t necessarily purer than tap water. An investigation by the Environmental Working Group, released in October 2008, found chemical contaminants in every brand tested — including disinfection byproducts, fertilizer residue, and pain medication. [1]
- 80 percent of plastic bottles end up in landfills or are burned in incinerators [2] that’s 3 billion pounds of waste annually. [3]
- 17 million barrels of oil are used in the production of water bottles annually…enough to fuel 1 million cars for a year. [3]
- See also, NYTimes article “The Battle Over Bottled Water” from their Green Blog
Knitting Green Challenge
Knitting programs are big in my libraries so I thought I’d share the Knitting Green Challenge from Knitting Daily.
See also: “Knitting Green: Conversations and Planet Friendly Projects” (book)
“Charge It”
The June 7-June 13, 2010 issue of Bloomberg Businessweek had an article called “A New Meaning for the Phrase “Charge It” alerting the business community to the demands electric cars will have for power:
“Two chargers are needed for each car” – one at home and one at work.”
There’s an iPhone app for drivers of electric cars to locate chargers.
People are reporting “range anxiety” – the fear of being stranded with drained batteries.
As President Obama and the car industry march forward with the push for lessening America’s reliance on foreign oil more and more drivers will be looking for a place to “charge it.”
What if public libraries across the country became known for having charging stations? Not a bad marketing idea eh?
If you are lucky enough to be planning a new building, major expansion or just redoing your parking lot consider integrating a charging station into your plans, your community may (eventually) thank you!
“Green Team Checklist”
Check out the “Spread the Word at Work” resources from ENERGY STAR. Includes a “Green Team Checklist”
Thin Clients
Learn about thin clients – they are a great solution for public access computing/networks in libraries as most patrons are not doing intensive computing, just surfing, typing, social networking, etc.
They are “green” because they:
- use less electricity
- require less equipment
- take up less space
- once set up, they are easier to administer
Just my opinion …
The future of cloud computing
The Pew Internet & American Life Project released a new report on June 11, 2010: “The future of cloud computing”
“By 2020, most people won’t do their work with software running on a general-purpose PC. Instead, they will work in Internet-based applications such as Google Docs, and in applications run from smartphones.”
What will this mean for libraries? Some possibilities:
- Less servers = smaller electric bill for the library
- PCs purchased for patron use will not be configured the way the PCs we are buying today are; may possibly be just a box and monitor connected to the internet = cheaper hardware, less manufacturing
- Size of PCs can diminish, taking up smaller footprint in library space
- the report predicts that “the desktop will not die out but it will be used in new, improved ways in tandem with remote computing“
- Apps for smartphones from the library (catalog, databases, library’s web site) = digital library will take on new and different forms, people using services and facilities in different ways
- Robust broadband connection = more, more, more
- More power outlets for charging laptops/smartphones = design considerations
- Software licensing a thing of the past? Open source options (Google Docs, Linux, etc.) meet the needs of patrons without costing the library = staff training issues, budget impact?
- More to come… I’m sure!
“Let Green Creep”
Check out two great articles that came out in May, one written by Louise Schaper, the other a Q&A with her:
- in the Spring issue of Library by Design, “Let Green Creep“
- in the 5.15.10 issue of Library Journal, “Lead with Green“
Louise is the former (now retired) director of the Fayetteville Public Library (AK). She spearheaded one of the first LEED libraries in the country and in recognition of her achievements Fayetteville was named LJ Library of the year in 2005.
In the Let Green Creep article Louise speaks to the issue of greening operations, not just a facility. It is an important lesson to be “green all over,” to not let greening end once your building gets its certificate of occupancy but to really live green in a green building.
“Solar Map” of New York City
The New York Times Green Blog is reporting that New York City is mapping the entire city for solar energy application potential… file this under ‘me too please’!