Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Earth Hour Gets Darker Every Year


Library patrons may have noticed the slide promoting Earth Hour on the monitors inside the library. While we're not sure what kind of action was taken locally, there was an immense response worldwide.

Follow this link to see Las Vegas and other international landmarks go dark.

According to sustainablebusiness.com:

"From an Antarctic research base and the Great Pyramids of Egypt to the Empire State Building in New York, illuminated patches of the globe in eighty-eight countries and nearly 4,000 cities and towns joined in Earth Hour Saturday night from 8:30-9:30 p.m. , turning off lights in homes, businesses and public spaces to highlight the threat of climate change and its link to energy usage.

Earth Hour began in Australia two years ago and went global for the first time last year. According to organizers, enthusiasm for the event grew this year.

According to msn.com:

"Crowds in Times Square watched as many of the massive billboards, including the giant Coca-Cola display, darkened. Steps away, the Majestic Theater marquee at the home of "The Phantom of the Opera" went dark, along with the marquees at other Broadway shows.
In Chicago, one of 10 U.S. Earth Hour flagship cities, more than 200 buildings pledged to go dark in the city, including shops along the Magnificent Mile.

In the Chilean capital of Santiago, lights were turned off at banks, the city's communications tower and several government buildings, including the Presidential Palace where President Michelle Bachelet hosted a dinner for U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.

The two leaders and dozens of guests dined by candlelight.
In Mexico City, the city government and business owners turned off all "nonessential" lights at more than 100 buildings, including 31 city buildings and monuments and 17 hotels.

China participated for the first time, cutting the lights at Beijing's Bird's Nest Stadium and Water Cube, the most prominent 2008 Olympic venues.

In Bangkok, the prime minister switched off the lights on Khao San Road, a haven for budget travelers packed with bars and outdoor cafes.

In Rio de Janeiro, the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue that watches over the city of 6 million was darkened, along with the beachfront of the famed Copacabana and a few other local sites.

McDonald's Corp. planned to dim its arches at 500 locations around the U.S. Midwest. The Marriott, Ritz-Carlton and Fairmont hotel chains and Coca-Cola Co. also planned to participate."

Friday, March 27, 2009

can i'make a difference?




For our patrons who choose to use hotmail for their email I have recently learned that in the options menu of your hotmail account you can choose to give to one of 10 worthy charities with every email you send and it doesn't cost you a dime. Well, not directly anyway. The program is funded through the businesses who advertise with the "i'm" program. So if you buy products from those businesses, you're paying for the advertising. But if you believe in that business and their mission it might be worth it to you to make a difference and bring awareness to your cause. Microsoft shares a portion of the program's advertising revenue with the organization of your choice from a selection of some of the world's most effective organizations dedicated to social causes.

After one year, the i’m Initiative, which launched in March 2007, raised $1.3 million for 10 of the world’s most effective social causes, with each charity receiving a minimum of $100,000. No cap is set on the amount donated to each organization, so the more customers who communicate using Windows Live Messenger and Windows Live Hotmail, the more money Microsoft donates toward addressing some of the world’s most urgent social issues.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Book Club for Adults April 2

April's book discussion of Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas will be on the 2nd at 6:30 pm in the library's Community Room. Ellis, Colorado, a small town bordering the Rockies, becomes the site of a relocation camp during World War II. Our narrator, a young teenager, notes that her first impression was not of the "yellow peril" of the newspaper cartoons but people who looked so ordinary. So begins, Tallgrass which, in the words of current author Gail Tsukiyama, "speaks to a time in our history when prejudice and fear fueled passions that divided family and friends." This book gives participants much to discuss about how our country reacted to wartime dangers and how we react today.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Government Assistance is Available to Help Homeowners Avoid Foreclosure

Our patrons may be interested in knowing more about the programs available to help them avoid foreclosure. The following information is taken from http://www.financialstability.gov/:

The Obama Administration’s Making Home Affordable program will offer assistance to as many as 7 to 9 million homeowners making a good-faith effort to make their mortgage payments, while attempting to prevent the destructive impact of the housing crisis on families and communities. It will not provide money to speculators, and it will target support to the working homeowners who have made every possible effort to stay current on their mortgage payments. Just as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act works to save or create several million new jobs and the Financial Stability Plan works to get credit flowing, the Making Home Affordable program will support a recovery in the housing market and ensure that these workers can continue paying off their mortgages.

Friday, March 13, 2009

How much power does our 30 photovoltaic (PV) panels generate?

There's a constantly updated read out in the South lobby of The Hastings Public Library that shows how much power we generate.