Librezine 2022 Xmas Edition

LIBREZINE XMAS 2022

OFFSETTING YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT

GREENWASHING

WORLD ACTION to WORLD PROBLEMS

ENVIRONMENTAL FILMS & DOCS

Contents 4 5 6/7 8/9 10/11 12/13 14/15 16/17 18/19

Puzzle Page LRC New Releases Offsetting Your Carbon Footprint Green Guardians Visionary Cities Environmental Films & Docs World Action to World Problems Greenwashing Spruce It Up

LRC Opening times 1st Floor Library - A1 46 Mon - Thurs 8.30am - 7.30pm Fri 4pm

2nd Floor LRC - A2 29 Mon - Thurs 8.30am - 7.30pm Fri 4pm

Arts & Construction - B1 28 Mon - Thurs 8.30am - 4.30pm Fri 4pm

xmas puzzle

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New REleases

Best Environmental Books in the LRC

How Bad Are Bananas Berners-Lee explores the carbon footprint of everything from bananas to social media and even space tourism. His findings can be quite shocking but simultaneously it’s an entertaining read. The figures can help us to manage and reduce our own carbon footprint and also brings companies, businesses and governments into account.

How to Break Up with Fast Fashion Writer Lauren Bravo gets to grips with her own addiction to fashion and helps others to change their mindset on this toxic relationship. Discover how to embrace sustainable ways of shopping and dressing whilst keeping your style, and it not costing the earth!

No More Rubbish Excuses Martin Dorey urges us to take an honest look at how much rubbish we are individually responsible for. He explains what happens to the contents of our bins from food waste to recycling, and offers easy solutions which we can introduce into our everyday lives.

The Uninhabitable Earth David Wallace-Wells depicts a sobering perspective where the Anthropocene epoch, a geological unit of time used to describe the human impact on our planets’ history, takes centre stage. The book delves into the living nightmare that will soon become a reality exclaiming that “It is worse, much worse, than you think”.

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CARBON FOOTPRINT simple steps to offsetting

We are all aware of the climate change crises and the environmental impact it is having on our beautiful planet and its creatures. We are also aware that we can all make a difference if we work together and act now to offset our own personal carbon footprint. Here’s a few easy tips on the small changes we could all make to save earth and future generations to come.

Consider Your Transport Many towns and cities are bringing in clean air zones which charge vehicles if they enter the area. This is to help bring pollution levels down, especially within urban areas, so residents can breathe better and healthier living standards are created. As this is brought into force it will make peo ple consider Grow Your Own other ways It’s not called the ‘Good of travelling Life’ for nothing – growing your which are own vegetables not only helps with ultimately your health and wellbeing, it also better for the helps you save money too. By eatplanet. The convenience of getting ing less meat, planting seeds and in your car will come at a cost and nurturing your organic veg you you will want to walk, cycle or use are helping to sustain yourself and public transport simply because it’s the environment in many ways. cheaper. Greater Manchester is still Plants absorb carbon dioxide and under review at the moment but release oxygen from their leaves you can check the website for more which in turn helps us to breath details at: www.cleanairgm.com and assists with the water cycle.

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Grow your own cont.....

Worms fertilise the earth and breakdown organic matter which ensures the soil is full of nutrients.

Eating seasonally with the food you grow offsets the food you would normally buy from the supermarket. Check out some facts and figures relating to what we eat here: https://friendsoftheearth.uk/food Recycle Recycling is easy and has become a part of our everyday existence. Most things can be recycled from plastic, glass, tin cans, metal, cardboard and paper, food waste, garden waste, clothes, old tech products and cars. Many people don’t realise that they can be quite wasteful, many of us want to buy the latest phones, computers, cars, furniture or wear the latest fashion. It’s fine to be seen as ‘a la mode’ if that’s what you choose to do, but perhaps we should give or sell our second-hand things to become a bit more resourceful. Remember one man’s trash is another man’s treasure! Find some handy recycling tips at www.which.co.uk/reviews/shopping-sustainably/article/how-torecycle-in-the-uk-ajwEz4p63Qs6

Switch to Renewable Energy In an ideal world all the energy we used would come from a sustainable source such as wind power, wave power or solar power but unfortunately we are currently living in an energy crisis where most of the UK relies on fossil fuels.

This year Ofgem raised the cap on

energy prices to 54% which effectively means everyone in the UK is being held to ransom on the basics of heating and eating. I think we will all be forgiven for acting like Ebenezer Scrooge this Christmas as we battle with insulating our homes and keeping warm. Going green isn’t cheap but if you are interested in switching to renewable energy check out these companies for more details: www.ecotricity.co.uk or www.goodenergy.co.uk/ by zoe rothwell

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Green Guardians of the galaxy

1) Trees Capture and Store Carbon WHO and HOW we can help with Excess carbon dioxide is Climate Change building up in our atmosphere It is everyone’s responsibility contributing to climate change. to help prevent climate change.

Trees through photosynthesis Whether it be through recycling, absorb this carbon dioxide from using sustainable transport, inthe air and store it in their wood. vesting in renewable energy, proPhotosynthesis is the process in tecting our trees and rain forests, which plants or trees use sunlight, it all contributes to protecting our to convert water, carbon dioxide planet. Trees are a crucial source in and minerals into oxygen and encombatting climate change so let’s ergy in the form of sugar/glucose. explore some of the benefits they have on our environment.

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How do TREES help with Climate Change?

Trees have social, economic and environmental benefits from helping us to breathe, improving our health, cleaning our air, providing for wildlife, preventing the risk of flooding, reducing pollution, Some carbon from falling leaves providing shelter and more signifi- enters the woodland soil and is cantly preventing climate change. stored. Older trees store a lot more carbon, this helps slow the rate of global warming and why we need to protect our forests. The amazon rainforest is often referred to as ‘The Lungs of the Earth’ because it contributes the most in the production of oxygen.

2) Trees Benefit Health Trees absorb pollutants from the air and trap dust. As well as providing shade and reducing noise levels, trees boost our mental health. A nature walk or bike ride can help us relax and can be an alternative to driving. Vehicle pollutants contain greenhouse gases that cause climate change.

3) Trees Prevent Flooding One of the adverse effects of climate change is the increase in floods. Trees reduce flooding as leaves, branches and trunks slow down the rain hitting the ground.

The roots penetrate water deeper into passages in the soil which store the water rather going directly into the rivers.

4) Trees Provide Shading The shading from the trees provides a more cost-effective solution to keeping our environment cool. As well as keeping our many homes private, it reduces the need to use air conditioning which uses a lot of electricity and refrigerants contributing to global warming.

Planting Trees There are many groups encouraging organisations to plant trees to help the fight against climate change. Trees are a costeffective solution and the faster we work to enforce this growth, will slower the rate of climate change.

by sohana patel

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Visionary cities singapore - the greener redeemer Singapore has become known as a forward-thinking, environmentally aware city-state in the past couple of decades. Its lush natural world has been seamlessly blended with its urban city landscapes, creating a visionary biophilic city.

What?

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Biophilic Cities is an organisation that works with cities around the world to assist in blending nature into urban environments.

The website describes its mission as follows: “As a central element of its work, Biophilic Cities facilitates a global network of partner cities working collectively to pursue the vision of a natureful city within their unique and diverse environments and cultures. These partner cities are working in concert to conserve and celebrate nature in all its forms and the many important ways in which cities and their inhabitants benefit from the biodiversity and wild urban spaces present in cities.”

Singapore became an accredited member of the organisation in 2013.

How?

Singapore has been committed to becoming a more environmentally-friendly city. They created the Singapore Green Plan in 1992 that set targets to meet by 2002; they followed this with the second Green Plan in 2002. This second plan’s achievements included: •The Pollutant Standards Index for clean air quality were well within the target; •Recycling and Singapore’s one landfill have contained waste; •Water diversification provided sustainable water supply; •Traffic ceased to grow due to excellent public transport options;

The Singapore Green Plan 2030 targets include: •Planting 1 million more trees; •Reduce waste sent to landfill by 30%; •Quadruple solar energy deployment; •At least 20% of schools to be carbon neutral.

Who?

Much of Singapore’s ecoregeneration has been led by Dr Cheong Koon Hean, head of the urban development agency. She encouraged property owners to install rooftop gardens and vertical plant walls.

Why?

Though Singapore still has progress to make, it shows how other cities could incorporate nature into their planning and landscapes in the future.

Cities such as New York, London, Paris – any large, industrialised, high-pollution city really – could benefit from projects such as Biophilic Cities promotes.

These types of developments could benefit not just our world’s health, but perhaps even our mental health.

And, as Christmas is approaching, it is in the spirit of the time to be charitable, generous and kind to one another – to whom is it better to extend these virtues than our very own Planet Earth? by james casey

LRC ENrichment Activities Room No A2 29

Movie Club – 6/12/22 – 4.30pm Book Club – 12/12/22 – 4.30pm Intro to Macs – 14/12/22 – 4.30pm Movie Club – 10/1/23 – 4.30pm Book Club – 9/1/23 – 4.30pm Intro to Macs 11/1/23 – 4.30pm Intro to Canva – 16/1/23 – 4.30pm

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entertainment

Environmental Films and Documentaries Interested in learning more about the Environment and Climate Change but don’t know where to start? Below is a small selection of films and documentaries that might interest you!

Don’t Look Up Two astronomers discover a giant planet-killing comet is heading straight for earth and must go on a media tour to raise awareness to try to stop it from destroying the planet.

The comet in Don’t Look Up is a metaphor for climate change and the film is a satire on how politicians, the media, and big businesses are dealing with the threat of climate change – either dismissing it or trying to exploit it for political or financial gain.

I Am Greta Greta Thunberg has become a household name over recent years and when people think of environmental activism, she immediately 12

comes to mind.

At only 15 she started a school strike for climate awareness and this evolved into a global movement with Greta addressing world leaders at COP24, the World Economic Forum, various parliaments, and many other places. This documentary follows her journey.

The Day After Tomorrow Although this film leans way more towards science fiction than scientific, The Day After Tomorrow is an exciting apocalyptic blockbuster with the important message that people are transforming the climate and eventually this may lead us into a situation where we may not survive.

David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet One of the best known, and arguably most well-loved, personalities in the environmental and animal documentary world, David Attenborough has spent the last 60 years educating us on the planet and its creatures. This documentary highlights the devastating changes he has seen over that time and offers some solutions that are available to restore the damage we have done to the planet.

Erin Brockovich An unemployed single mother becomes a legal assistant and is integral in bringing down a power company accused of polluting a town’s water supply. A fascinating true story of an ordinary woman taking on a big corporation after discovering that they are poisoning the local land and water. The real-life Erin went on to become a prominent environmental activist and educator.

A Plastic Ocean A journalist and diver team up with a group of scientists and researchers to explore locations around the world in order to document the state of our oceans and the scope of plastic pollution.

Plastic has a huge detrimental effect on sea life and something as little as throwing plastic in the bin instead of recycling can lead to microplastics entering the food chain. A hugely important issue for today’s society, this documentary attempts to document the scale of the issue and offer solutions we can start now. by clare izquierdo

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World action to world problems

We all know that climate change is affecting our weather and crops, but are you aware of the impact this has on our planet?

Read on to find out some surprising effects of climate change.

Melting Glaciers Rising temperatures are causing icebergs in the southern area of the Artic to melt for longer than the usual summer period.

This longer ice-free period is affecting polar bears, which are showing signs of declining body condition, lowered reproductive rates and a reduced survival rate of cubs. Many are unable to store enough fat reserves to survive the ice-free period. The loss of these animals has a devastating effect on the ecosystem. The disappearance of Greenland’s ice sheets will raise sea levels by 25 feet. Consequently, many countries are at risk of disappearing including: •Kiribati located northeast of Australia •The Maldives in the Indian Ocean •Vanuatu in the South Pacific 14

•Solomon Islands in the Indian Ocean •Samoa, South Pacific •Fiji Islands, Pacific Ocean •Most of the Netherlands

Deforestation More than half of the world’s land-based plants and animals, and three-quarters of all birds, live in and around forests.

They provide food and shelter for so much of life on Earth – from fungi and insects to tigers and elephants. When the forests disappear so do their inhabitants.

Forests and trees store carbon and when they are cut down this stored carbon is released back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide contributing to climate change and and 10% of global warming.

According to Global Forest Watch, the world lost 25.3 million hectares of tree coverage in 2021 and 101 million hectares between 2000 and 2020.

Increased Temperatures Heat-trapping gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and water vapor, have already warmed the climate by nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit since pre-Industrial times starting in 1750. The global average temperature is expected to reach or exceed another 3 degrees Fahrenheit within the next few decades.

These changes will affect all regions of the Earth: •Droughts, particularly in the Mediterranean, North and South Africa, South America and Australia •Reduction in food production and food shortages •Heat-related illnesses such as heat cramps, heat exhaustion, sunburn, heat rash and heat stroke •70 to 90% decrease in coral reefs •Ocean oxygen levels will decrease to levels that won’t support most aquatic life

•At an increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius, 8 per cent of plants and 4 per cent of vertebrates will see their geographic range reduced by more than half •Extreme temperatures •Increase in heavy rainfall, which will see higher flooding risks Are We Doomed?

We are at the 11th hour where action can be taken to reduce our impact on climate change. In December 2015, 195 states signed up to the Paris Agreement. This is the most important pact for international co-operation on tackling climate change and countries are taking steps to deliver on it. The UK, Norway, France and New Zealand are some of the countries that have legally committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2050 which we can all personally help with. So make a pledge today to do your bit. We all need to take action each day to protect our beautiful planet, not just for ourselves, but for generations to come.

by Janette Davies Further reading:

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greenwashing your Troubles away

You may have noticed many brands throwing out the idea that they are environmentally conscious, using words such as ‘green,’ ‘eco,’ and ‘sustainable,’ making advertisements full of earthy tones and natural imagery.

Have you ever wondered how much of their claims are true? And how much is smoke and mirrors? their advertisements. But unfortunately for them people are beginMany people are becoming ning to question their claims. increasingly concerned with environmental issues, and companies Recently there has been a string and establishments are aware of of brands being accused of over that. Greenwashing is a term that exaggerating their environmendescribes when such companies tal achievements, or hiding their will lie, bend the truth, or try to failures. H&M, a fast fashion deceive consumers into believing brand that is very popular, got they are more concerned with the exposed by an article in Quartz environment, or more environmen- that accused them of purposefully tally friendly than they actually are. manipulating statistics to make it Possibly twisting data, or hiding seem like they are doing better for the facts about the impact of their the planet than they are, this also products on the planet. extends to other fashion brands, car manufacturers and even poNow you know what it is, you may litical parties. All using the conbegin to notice how many compa- sumers and voters concern for the nies actually mention the environ- environment to sell their products ment or anything relating to it in or themselves.

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Greenwashing is harmful not only because of its obvious deception, taking money from consumers who are hoping their contribution will benefit the Earth and not harm it, but also because it makes it difficult to know who to trust.

If advertisements claim something, they are always more believable if they are backed up by the placement of certification such as ‘Fair Trade.’

So how can we try our best to avoid This way we know that they have falling for the manipulation of com- been more responsible with their panies who want our hard-earned production practices. money?

There is no harm in doing your own research on companies, how they operate, where their products are made, how they are transported. This should give you an indication of how much damage is happening to the environment vs what they are claiming.

Under the shadow of the statistics coming out of the Cop27 conferences, warning of drastic and harmful changes to our planet, many of us are increasingly concerned with what small contributions we can make.

Lastly read as much about the topic of the environment as you can, there is no harm in being well informed and it will naturally make you a more conscious consumer.

So, there we have it, greenwashing To try to avoid falling for the green- is an unfortunate reality in the washing, look out for buzzwords capitalist world of business and that are placed in advertisements, money making, but thankfully we but have no actual backing, words also have the tools to educate such as the ones above. ourselves so we don’t end up falling for it.

by IRAM HUSSAIN 17

spruce it up This Christmas Decorating Christmas trees

is an ancient tradition and the brainchild of the early medieval English saint- St Boniface. Little did he know that his idea to decorate an evergreen pine tree honoring Christ’s birth would take off, go viral worldwide, and last until this day.

choices more sustainable to protect our forests, therefore in marrying the two.

To some extent, this trend took off decades ago with the mass production of plastic Christmas trees, but now many people are turning to more organic options such as buying a potted fir tree or even making one out of driftwood.

In case you didn’t know, it all started in the woods of Hesse, a Let’s look at some intuitive ideas central German state where St Bon- of how to make our Christmas iface miraculously knocked down trees less tinsel strewn and more the mighty Donor’s Oak to prevent eco-friendly. the German pagan tribes from sacrificing a child to the thunder Rent a Christmas Tree god Thor. In his efforts to convert Believe it or not, you can now hire the German gentiles to Christianity, a real Christmas tree, enjoy it durBoniface used the humble fir tree to ing the festive season and return it teach them the basics of Christian in the New Year. faith – the evergreen symbolizing the eternal life and the tree’s triangular shape representing the trinity.

Saintly history aside, it would be unfair to blame the feisty 8th cent. missionary for the 21st cent. deforestation but the answer to this could be in continuing with the sparkly tradition and making our 18

This is a growing trend and there are more and more companies offering this service. You can even rent the tree decorations to match your desired color scheme!

Grow Your Own Christmas Tree Have you ever thought of growing your own tree?

as for protecting our sand dunes or creeks, or you could contact a charity who will recycle your tree for a donation. You’re only a click away from finding out how your tree could be of benefit to your community and nature.

Eco-friendly Christmas Decorations You can buy a Grow at Home Why not channel your crafty inner Christmas Tree kit and start it off self this year and make your own indoors. Don’t’ expect results over- festive decoranight, but with some green-fingered tions by using luck and patience, this tree seedling natural and recycould turn into a tree of a true fam- cled materials? ily legacy cherished by generations You might only to come. have to look a stone’s throw away, in your garden or a nearby forest and you will be surprised how much free stuff is out there. Pinecones, twigs, dried fruit and leaves can all be used to make your mum’s tinsel look like a knick-knacky Cinderella of Donate your Christmas tree Christmas past.

If you still can’t resist the temptation of buying a freshly cut tree,

by Ivana Fletcher go for the wonky, unwanted tree that doesn’t stand a chance of being sold. You could also donate your tree for conservation purposes such 19