Save energy and cut your bills by Nick White — offers practical advice on how to cut your consumption and costs at home. From reducing your fuel and electricity use to generating your own energy it has solutions for the busy homeowner. As cold weather approaches you may also want to check out CPL's other home energy resources. CPL also has Kill A Watt energy meters available for check out. The Kill A Watt energy meter can help you find out how much energy your appliances are consuming. By connecting appliances to the meter it will assess how efficiently they are running.

Energy-wise landscape design : a new approach for your home and garden by Sue Reed ; illustrations by Kate Dana — Once upon a time, curb appeal was the driving force behind most residential landscape design, but the down economy and our increased awareness of environmental factors has changed our motivation. Now we can use the landscape to help shade the house from sun and cool the air and ground around the house, reduce the chilling effect of wind in winter, use water efficiently, and utilize a variety of technologies to generate energy. Whether you're planning a new landscape or revamping an existing one, this book has a wealth of information, tips, and ideas.

As the Canton Public Library continues to deal with a declining budget, patrons are reminded the "magazine express" program has been discontinued. The following titles remain as single shelf copies with back issues available for checkout — these titles include:

Former Vice President, best-selling author and Nobel Prize co-recipient Al Gore will be the plenary keynote speaker at the International Joint Commission (IJC) Great Lakes Water Quality Biennial Meeting in Detroit, Michigan at 1:15 pm on October 13, 2011. Vice President Gore will be discussing the climate crisis. Seating is limited, so the public is urged to register. Registration is free.
[Photo courtesy of AP Images]

Our Adult Fiction Committee has been doing a great job of reviewing their collection and making room for new titles. Last week the withdraw cart was full of great titles but the condition of the books were gently used. What to do? Never fear — one of our volunteers, Pam Gillis, came to the rescue. She has been sending books to our troops in Afghanistan for their enjoyment and took a look at the cart of books and pulled over 75% of the titles to send.

Not only is our withdrawn adult fiction finding a good home, but the children's is also. Last week we donated gently used children's fiction titles to Kids Corner, the after school drop in child care at the Summit. Jeanette William from Canton Leisure Services picked up approximately 100 books.

It is great to know our books are finding new homes and we are contributing to being green.

Your farm in the city : an urban dweller's guide to growing food and raising livestock by Lisa Taylor, and the gardeners of Seattle Tilth — Whether you're building a raised bed in the back yard or undertaking a larger garden project, this book has great information about all the things you'll need to consider when gardening in the city (or suburbs). Since municipalities and homeowners associations often have rules that relate to outdoor structures and vegetation, it's important to plan ahead and this book can help you figure out what you'll need to do. It also provides great details on helping your soil be fertile, creative bed design for small or restricted spaces, working with pests that live in urban areas, and much more.

Growing a garden city : how farmers, first graders, counselors, troubled teens, foodies, a homeless shelter chef, single mothers, and more are transforming themselves and their neighborhoods through the intersection of local agriculture and community--and how you can, too by Jeremy N. Smith ; foreword by Bill McKibben ; photographs by Chad Harder and Sepp Jannotta — This book tells the true story of a small group of people created a community garden and in doing so created a whole new experience for themselves and many others. Not only is the story heartwarming and inspiring, the book itself is gorgeous, with full-color photos that bring the text to life.

Hey Kids! Did you hear about the rare earthquake that shook the East Coast of the United States yesterday? It was a magnitude 5.8 earthquake with the epicenter located near the town of Mineral, VA. Lots of buildings suffered damage, even the Washington Monument cracked during the shaking. People reported feeling tremors as far north as Maine, as far south as South Carolina and as far west as Illinois. As you read this, if you are wondering what magnitude, epicenter, or tremor mean, check out some of our great Earthquake books. These books will tell you why earthquakes happen, how to be safe if you are in an earthquake, and even tell stories of major earthquakes in history.

As more folks look for alternatives to factory farmed foods, CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) are growing in popularity. Joining a CSA is a great way to eat healthy and support local farms. To find a CSA near you, you can visit CSAFarms.org. There is also an option for those interested in participating in a CSA this winter. One clever organization, Locavorious, has partnered with several small farms in the communities around Ann Arbor to offer frozen produce subscriptions, similar to shares offered by regular CSAs. During the peak harvest, they prepare and package local produce at its peak freshness, and preserve it in a community freezer. To learn more about the advantages of eating locally, check out what the library has on the topic of local foods.

The homesteading handbook : a back to basics guide to growing your own food, canning, keeping chickens, generating your own energy, crafting, herbal medicine, and more by Abigail R. Gehring — Are you interested in being more self-sufficient? This book is truly a one-stop resource for virtually all aspects of homesteading including herbal medicine, useful crafting, keeping animals like chickens and goats, building sheds and other small structures, canning, generating energy, growing edibles, and more. If all that sounds like a lot of work, it also includes fun things like how to make your own ice cream.