Give us your tired, your poor, your worn out magazines, newspapers, and catalogs; your huddled masses of school and office papers; the wretched refuse of your teeming junk mail yearning to be recycled! Place your recyclable papers in our large bright yellow and green bins (in the southwest corner of the library parking lot), and the library will receive money from Paper Retriever Recycling. You'll not only help the library, but you'll also make a positive impact on the environment.

Libraries are the ultimate practitioners of the three Rs of the green lifestyle. Just think of the trees and money you'll save by checking out books from your local library instead of purchasing them, thereby reducing your consumption. And talk about reuse! You can read a book or watch a DVD over and over, then return it to the library for someone else to use. When it comes to recycling, you can donate your old materials to libraries for used book sales.

Looking for fun and educational events for the whole family? You don't want to miss the free Ann Arbor area Earth Day Festival that will be held on Sunday, April 25, at Washtenaw Community College. From Noon to 4:00PM, there are exhibits, hands-on activities and entertainment for all.

In honor of Earth Day, read a book about recycling. Here are a few easy-to-read choices:

• Recycled! — a beginning reader story about recycling in the classroom
• Choose To Reuse — a board book to teach even the very youngest about recycling
• Reusing and Recycling — an easy-to-read nonfiction title about recycling household materials

Happy Earth Day! Be sure to recycle something today!

The wind turbine pictured here is one of 32 harnessing clean electricity on Harvest Wind Farm in Elkton, MI. (I took this photo during a summer trip to the Thumb Area.) Michigan Wind 1, with 46 turbines, is another wind farm located just north of Elkton in Ubly, MI. Major energy companies like DTE and Consumers Energy are tapping into these and other wind farms in Michigan to supply electric power to their customers. Combined, both wind farms generate about 122 megawatts of electricity — enough to power roughly 35,000 homes.

Wind, solar and geothermal are among the most promising methods to generate clean, renewable energy. You can learn more about a clean energy future by reading Hot, Flat and Crowded, by Thomas Friedman, best-selling author and Pulitzer-prize winning columnist from The New York Times.

Even children's television is getting their green on.   Familiar characters like Handy Manny,  Elmo, and the Schoolhouse Rock gang are helping kids learn to be environmentally conscious.  Check one out today!

Are you getting ready to celebrate Earth Day?

Yes, I know it’s over a month away. But if you’re looking for some great environmental reads in the meantime, try checking out a book by Carl Hiaasen in honor of his birthday today!

If you want to learn even more about the environment, take a look at our April programming for upcoming earth day activities, or look in our collection for more stories and information about protecting the environment!