Today is the day all branches of the Libraries Environmental Action Force team must submit the Green Impact workbooks we have so diligently been working on over the past few months.
We have accomplished over 60 actions, ranging in difficulty from using environmentally friendly email footers (which you can find out more about from our previous blog post) to calculating the life cost of our office equipment. Did you know that over the lifecycle of a typical appliance, the total running costs are usually 15% procurement cost, 75% energy costs and 10% maintenance costs? Which means it can work out cheaper to invest more money when buying an item to save more in energy costs later on.
None of this would have been possible without the support provided by all of you. You have all been contributing to making the LRCs greener, be it turning off your computers when not in use, using the recycling bins or tucking in to a Fairtrade breakfast. So for all of your efforts, we would just like to say:
But it doesn’t end there. Today is also Earth Day, an annual worldwide event that celebrates building a sustainable environment, addressing climate change and protecting the Earth for future generations. Long term change takes more than just a single day, but today is a start. So let’s start now and let’s not stop.
There are a few simple things we can all do to play our part:
–Finally start carrying a bag for life. It’s not only annoying when you forget and have to pay 5p for the privilege, but it also saves single use bags becoming litter in landfill taking centuries to break down.
–Go veggie (or cut down your meat consumption). Vital ecosystems around the world are destroyed to make space for grazing cattle. It may be difficult, but even slightly reducing the amount of meat we eat will have dramatic effects. It might even make you feel better, too.
-Get a bike. Some of the major problems facing the Western world are pollution, climate change and obesity. This could all be lessened if we all start cycling a bit more.
-Start thinking more about our carbon footprints. Making small changes like switching off lights or appliances and insulating our homes can all help reduce the impact we have on the planet.
-Reusing plastic bottles. Plastic bottles are the new plastic bags. They’re everywhere, very rarely recycled, and they don’t biodegrade. Buying a re-useable bottle and filling it from the tap will not only save you money, it’ll help save the environment.
Google have been celebrating Earth Day annually via their Doodles. This year a range of Doodles have been designed by artist Sophie Diao. The one you get is random, so keep refreshing your page to see them all. Last year, the Doodle was a quiz to find out which animal you are. You can still find out via this link.
Let’s keep up the good work everyone!
Picture Credit: Thank you ants. Available at: http://bit.ly/1NFcGmy
Green Impact 