Happy 50th Anniversary, Earth Day!!
Climate Action is the theme for Earth Day 2020!
Most of us know about Earth Day/Earth Month, and many are concerned about the impact society has on our planet Earth. The Earth Day Network wants to”build the world’s largest environmental movement.” Their webpage says:
Earth Day Network’s mission is to diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement worldwide. Growing out of the first Earth Day in 1970, Earth Day Network is the world’s largest recruiter to the environmental movement, working with more than 75,000 partners in over 190 countries to drive positive action for our planet.
Dr. Hanna Reid is currently working with the Climate Change Group and the Biodiversity Team at the International Institute for Management. In the first chapter of her book, Climate Change and Human Development, she talks about what global impact we can expect from climate change over the coming years. Among other warnings, she says we should expect warming over land areas and at high northern latitudes, and less warming over the Southern Ocean and parts of the Atlantic Ocean. She warns of increases in the depths of thaw experienced over most permafrost regions and decreases in sea ice but also increases in heat waves and heavy precipitation. Reid also says we should expect changes in tropical cyclones. This book moves through theories, evidence, and effects on everything from oceans, fresh water, forests, and jungles. This title is also available online.
It is sometimes easy to forget that “Society can change climate, and climate can change society.” That is the first sentence in the 3rd chapter of The Future Is Not What It Used to Be : Climate Change and Energy Scarcity by Jörg Friedrichs (available online). Humans need food, drink, and shelter. Humans depend on fresh, clean water. Food depends on agriculture which relies on fresh water and fertile land. Shelters also rely on stable ground. Climate change has consequences for our fresh water, agriculture and fertile land, not to mention our oceans and the fish many rely on to survive. Rising sea levels affect lands and washing away shorelines and islands. In the final chapter, Friedrichs concludes that we tend to focus on mitigating damage caused by global warming caused by industrial society. We often don’t think our industrial society might be unsustainable. He goes on to discuss “resilience thinking” and “ontological securitization” as different ways to look at mitigating climate change.
There are so many ways we can help help make/keep the Earth green. Green technology includes innovations such as power supplies, solar power, wind power, and waste management. Living green includes using LED light bulbs, cutting down or eliminating plastic use, and energy-efficient and sustainable housing. Growing your own food – or buying from Farmer’s Market, reducing the use of pesticides, using bicycles or energy efficient cars are also ways to help the earth stay green.
Check out InfoHawk+, and see how many resources we have available! You can narrow your search to the Engineering Library if you wish. Additionally, you can choose to display only online results.
And remember we are here for you! We are available to Live Chat (link on our website) from 8:30 to 5:00 Monday through Friday. You may text us at 319.250.2176, during those same hours. We are available by email us at lib-engineering@uiowa.edu. If your question is more involved, our librarians are available to schedule a zoom session with you.
Explore the library resources! As we all take time to do spring-cleaning, we can add “spring-greening” to our list!
Happy 50th Planet Earth!
Resources:
Wong, Kaufui Vincent. 2016. Climate change. New York, New York : Momentum Press. Engineering Library QC903 .W653 2016. Full text also available online.
Reid, Hannah. 2014. Climate change and human development. London : Zed Books. Engineering Library QC903.2 D44 R45 2014 Full text also available online
Friedrichs, Jörg. 2013. The future is not what it used to be : climate change and energy scarcity. Cambridge, Mass : MIT Press. Engineering Library QF903 .F74 2013. Full text also available online.
Earth Day. 2020. The Earth Needs Us Now More Than Ever. EARTHDAY.ORG
Other Resources:
Smil, Vaclav. 2008. Energy in nature and society : general energetics of complex systems. Cambridge, Massachusetts : MIT Press. Engineering Library QH510 .S63 2008 Full text also available online.
Check InfoHawk+ for our many, many resources!!