Retiring The Green Shelf in Order to Redirect Our Efforts

When we started this sustainability blog on behalf of Western Libraries back in 2013, it was partly because we wanted to make the connection between libraries and sustainability education & resources more explicit. Two years later, we feel we have been able to do just that, but we also see the value in trying to integrate this same objective more holistically into our our existing communication channels.

True to our mission (Western libraries connects--people to people, people to place, people to learning), we still want to help facilitate and strengthen all of these connections, including those related to sustainability, and we plan on doing so every chance we get. However, rather than continue to post on this stand-alone site, we have decided to utilize our other institutional communication channels, including our library "news" and "features" options, to share updates and stories about Western Libraries and sustainability. We also hope to better utilize our other social media channels, such as Facebook and Twitter, (where we have a larger built-in audience) to inform people about available sustainability resources.

This means that as much as we have enjoyed producing this blog and as much as we have valued the opportunities to share information with you all on this particular platform, we have decided to retire The Green Shelf so we can be more effective in redirecting our energies, still mindful of and committed to the same motivation and sense of purpose  that inspired us to create this blog.

We will leave The Green Shelf up for now but will no longer be posting any updates to this site. We thank everyone who has supported and read this blog these past two years, and we hope you will continue to engage with us, both online and in person here at Western Libraries.

My Environment, c/o the EPA

Here's a neat website from the EPA.  Go to MyEnvironment and you can get a heap of environmental data about your city, your county, even your zip code!

Accessible information for sustainable cities

Here is a topic that is right up the Green Shelf's alley.  Or in our wheelhouse.  Or whatever metaphor you prefer.

How to make cities sustainable through accessible information.

Natural Hazards Observer

We don't usually blog here over the summer unless something timely comes up.  I wanted to point out the latest issue of one of my favorite newsletters: The Natural Hazards Observer.  This month it is all about using art to recover from disasters.

Until the fall

Have a great and sustainable summer!  And remember: "A book has low carbon impact, if you don’t drive while you read.” - Carol Berry

Eva Gonzalès [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Move Out Madness!

From Western's Office of Sustainability:

Move-Out Madness, June 12^th from 12-5pm! Bring your unwanted items including landfill, recyclables, donation items, and non-perishable food to these neighborhood locations:

• York- Franklin Park; 400 Block of Whatcom St.
• Sehome- Laurel Park; Laurel & Indian St.
• Happy Valley- Gravel Parking lot; 26^th & Douglas

Open to all WWU Students, ID required.

Responsible resources for the madness of moving out.

Please respond if you are interested in volunteering to help students sort.

Can academia help the environment?

Interesting new ebook, available for free.  

Abstract : Twenty-first-century conservationists are contending with biodiversity loss on an unprecedented scale, compounded by the interrelated threat of climate change. These global challenges call for first-rate talent, highly sophisticated technology, and advanced financial and organizational tools that can be used across jurisdictional boundaries and professional disciplines. Academic institutions—from colleges and universities to research institutes and field stations—are surprisingly powerful and effective catalysts for integrating all these elements into strategically significant and enduring large landscape conservation initiatives. This edited volume gathers more than a dozen first-hand accounts of the long-term impacts academics are making on the ground, from the University of Nairobi to Harvard. With measurable results, their efforts are protecting wildlife habitat, improving water quality, building sustainable economies, and bettering public amenities around the world now and for centuries to come.