Celebrate Earth Day!

Sunday April 22, 2012 is Earth Day.

Repeating last year’s theme of A Billion Acts of Green®, a “people-powered campaign to generate a billion acts of environmental service and advocacy . . .” the folks at the Earth Day Network have almost reached their goal:  the total Acts of Green reported as of the morning of April 18, 2012 was 977,876,186 (and counting).

One easy Act of Green you could pledge, helping send that number over the one billion mark, would be to turn off the library study table lamps and carrel lights whenever you leave.  Or, you could use the stairs instead of the elevators between floors.  We will thank you and so will the Earth.

Another suggestion:  By drinking your coffee, tea, or other beverage from a spill-proof, reusable mug, you can transform a single Act of Green into an ongoing one, helping continually to reduce the volume of plastic, Styrofoam, and paper cups piling up in landfills or requiring energy for recycling.  At the same time, you’ll be complying with the Library’s food and drink policy and earning our thanks! 

If you don’t have a spill-proof mug, pick one up at the Circulation Desk for $3.00.  Although we already sell these mugs at a loss, for every one purchased through the end of this semester’s exam period librarians will contribute $.50 to Earth Day Network (www.earthday.org/), which works with over 22,000 partners in 192 countries to broaden, diversify and mobilize the environmental movement.

For complete information about Earth Day, visit Earth Day Network.


Celebrate Earth Day!

Friday April 22, 2011 is Earth Day.

This year’s theme is A Billion Acts of Green®, a “people-powered campaign to generate a billion acts of environmental service and advocacy . . .” in advance of the global Earth Summit in Rio in 2012.  One easy Act of Green you could pledge, adding to the 100,504,172-and-counting Acts already submitted, would be to turn off the library study table lamps and carrel lights whenever you leave.  We will thank you and so will the Earth.

For complete information about Earth Day, visit Earth Day Network.


Follow the Kagan Confirmation Hearing

You can follow the ongoing Kagan confirmation hearing via webcast from the Senate Judiciary Committee’s web page.

You can find same-day hearing transcripts from C-SPAN on the University of Michigan Law Library’s Elena Kagan web page. The Michigan page also includes biographical information about Kagan, links to her authored works, transcripts of speeches and links to her confirmation hearings for her nomination as Solicitor General.

The Law Library of Congress offers a similarly comprehensive web page here.



Freedom of Information Day

Monday March 16 (James Madison’s birthday) marks the celebration of Freedom of Information Day in the United States.  The day was designated in a 1986 Congressional resolution signed by President Ronald Reagan.  Freedom of Information Day is now part of the related celebration of “Sunshine Week.”  According to sunshineweek.org:

Sunshine Week is a national initiative to open a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information. Participants include print, broadcast and online news media, civic groups, libraries, non-profits, schools and others interested in the public’s right to know. Sunshine Week is led by the American Society of Newspaper Editors and is funded primarily by a challenge grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation of Miami. Though spearheaded by journalists, Sunshine Week is about the public’s right to know what its government is doing, and why. Sunshine Week seeks to enlighten and empower people to play an active role in their government at all levels, and to give them access to information that makes their lives better and their communities stronger.

Additional information about Sunshine Week and  Freedom of Information Day is available from the First Amendment Center.