Green/Environment
Wanted: 20 Canton Families For Environmental Partnership Project
The Canton Public Library is looking for 20 families to become leaders in a local environmental stewardship effort by participating in Action for Earth, a partnership project between the library, the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum and Project S.N.A.P. (Share, Nurture, Act Preserve).
The families selected will participate in two workshops held at the Canton Public Library and led by the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum, one Project S.N.A.P. session creating art with a message for a community mural, and one community-wide environmental event. Families should be Canton residents, have children in K-8 classes and be willing to commit their time and energy to the Action for Earth project.
For details or to apply for the program, call the Canton Public Library at 734-397-0999 or read more on the CPL blog.
To see entire press release, download the attachment.
The Locavore Way
The Locavore Way: Discover and Enjoy the Pleasures of Locally Grown Food by Amy CotlerLocal eating has been in the news a lot the past few years, but how easy is it really? Easier than you'd think, and this book is chock full of ideas. It also outlines the many benefits, both personal and for the community and the world at large, of a locavore lifestyle. Looking for local food here in Canton? The Canton Farmers Market has fresh goods May through October and Calder Dairy delivers and is available along with other local goods at stores like Holiday Market. Are there other local options that you've discovered in Canton? Please share in the comments.
Take the No Impact Experiment
How Safe is Your Drinking Water?
New York Times reporter Charles Duhigg discovers that drinking water can be legal and still be unhealthy in his series Toxic Waters. In researching the series, he studied thousands of water pollution records, which he obtained via the Freedom of Information Act and discovered that an estimated one out of ten Americans is exposed to unsafe drinking water. Look at What's in Your Water? to find out what the contaminant level is in your drinking water system. Also be sure to check out CPL’s water quality resources to find out more on this important topic.[Photo courtesy of AP Images]
Don't forget to recycle your tree!
Just a friendly reminder, that Canton Waste Recycling (CWR) will offer curb-side pick-up of natural Christmas trees from January 4-14, 2010. CWR asks that you place your tree at the curb by 6:30AM on your regular trash day with all stands and ornaments removed. After January 14, trees will no longer be accepted at the curb. For more information on Christmas tree pick-ups, call CWR at (734) 397-5801.Holiday Handiwork
Wondering what gifts to buy for this gift-giving season? Well, why not make your own gifts like some celebrants of Kwanzaa do. You could make ornaments, dolls, treasure boxes or candle out of old jewelry, marbles, yarn, string or other small pieces you already have around. Here are some craft books to help you along.
All new crafts for Kwanzaa by Kathy Ross; illustrated by Sharon Lane Holm
Chinese New Year crafts by Karen E. Bledsoe
2009 Top Non-Fiction Picks
Because I Love Her: 34 Writers Reflect on the Mother-Daughter Bond edited by Andrea N. Richesin
The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America by Tim Egan
Homer's Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, Or How Learned about Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat by Gwen Cooper
Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free by Charles P. Fierce
- madame librarian
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Tweet-a-Watt Takes the Kill-a-Watt to the Next Level
Science in the Real World
Ever wondered how things like hybrid cars or solar panels actually work? How do they help to save ethe environment? What is ethanol? What is a solar cell? Find out the answer to these questions with a series of books called Science in the Real World. To learn about hybrid vehicles, check out How Do Hybrid Cars Work? For solar panels, check out How Do Solar Panels Work?Vampires in your home?
Did you see this morning's Today Show feature about using energy meters to suss out the energy vampires lurking in your home?
If those energy meters seem like a pricey investment, consider checking out one of the library's Kill-a-Watt meters free of charge.
- Anne Heidemann
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Going Green Builds Wealth
We all know that "Going Green" saves our planet Earth. But there's an added benefit, "Going Green" can also help you build personal wealth. In The Green Millionaire: A Practical Guide to Achieving Real Wealth While Helping to Save the Planet, author Nigel J. Williams explains how small changes like programming your thermostat or switching to rechargeable batteries can lead to savings. Then learn how to turn those green savings into wealth.What happened to the honeybees?
There has been a lot of speculation about why honeybees have been disappearing, and now scientists have a new theory: it's because of us. Luckily there are many things you can do to help foster good environments for honeybees, such as planting a diverse garden with plants that are attractive to bees. And if you're looking for honey or info on how to raise your own bees, you can't get more local than Bobilin Honey from right here in Canton.- Anne Heidemann
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World Heritage Sites
The new book "World Heritage Sites", is a treasure trove of information. Readers will be impressed with this all encompassing testament to world culture. It describes 878 sites from 141 countries which the United Nations has designated as culturally or enviromentally important to the world. "World Heritage List", has proved to be a valuable tool in the battle to preserve much of the world's cultural and natural heritage. Its strict criteria results in only the world's most spectacular and extraordinary sites making it onto the list. The list has been publicly available online at http://whc.unesco.org but never in a book format like this.- chitra rout
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Simply Organic
OK, I admit it. I am obsessed with the topic of locally produced, organic foods. If you are too - and there are many reasons to be - you may want to check out "Simply Organic: A Cookbook for Sustainable, Seasonal, and Local Ingredients" by Jesse Ziff Cool. Perhaps what I like most about this cookbook is that it is organized according to the seasons and transitions between them with chapters like "Early Winter" and "Deep Winter." Plus, the ingredients are relatively simple and includes things that I actually eat (except perhaps the Raspberry Millet Pancakes). With 150 enticing recipes, "Simply Organic" may encourage you to embrace organic foods "as a lifestyle rather than a fad."It Pays to Recycle at Local Retailers
Beginning November 1st Target will give a 5¢ discount for every reusable bag customers use to pack their purchases. Over the next three weeks CVS will also roll out a similar program in its stores. Participating CVS customers will receive $1 cash bonus on their CVS card every four times they buy something but don't request plastic bags. Smaller retailers such as Trader Joe's, Hiller's and Whole Foods have been offering financial incentives to re-use bags for some time. With large retailers like Target and CVS following suit the two programs could keep billions of plastic bags out of the environment and nudge other big retailers to take similar steps.[Photo courtesy of AP Images]
Save money this Halloween
Take a stroll around the Children's Library and you'll find plenty of inspiration for your Halloween costume. To save money, wear everything you already have in your favorite color and be Purplicious, Pinkalicious or Goldilicious. Pull out a toy instrument for your little one and they could be a Jazz Baby. Celebrate recycling by making a robot or a race car out of a box like our bunny friend in Not A Box. Or, team up with some friends, grab a bunch of old boxes and make your own Freight Train.Clean Energy Makeover for Ford Plant in Wixom
The Ford plant in Wixom, Michigan will be converted into a renewable energy manufacturing facility. According to earth2tech.com, the 320-acre plant is getting its clean energy makeover through a partnership between Ford Motors and Govenor Jennifer Granholm, and greentech companies Xtreme Power, Clairvoyant Energy and Oerlikon Solar. The solar plant should be up and running by 2011. To find out more about "greentech", check out the green technology resources available from CPL. [Photo courtesy of AP Images].E, The Environmental Magazine
From heated discussions on coal and population growth to tips on skin care, cargo-ready bikes, green jobs and ecovilages, E, The Environmental Magazine has got it all. The current issue features an article on actress Daryl Hannah and her work in West Virgina and the work of ecologists to save California's giant green turtles (550 Ibs.!). The library carries last year's issues up the current or you can access their online edition.
Blowin' in the Wind: Clean Energy, Made in Michigan
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.
Green Reads Redux
Looking for more stories about kids working to protect our environment? You might find them in unexpected places. If you are a Fantasy Fiction fan try The Companions Quartet series by Julia Golding. If you like Realistic Fiction, try Night of the Spadefoot Toads by Bill Harley and Operation Redwood by Susannah T. French. If you like adventure, you might find Raining Sardines by Enrique Flores-Galbis exciting and full of suspense. You see, there are lots of possibilities when it comes to "green" reads. Enjoy!