Dunedin Public Libraries News & Reviews Blog

Global Day of Action on Climate Change: 24 October 2009

Scientists have identified 350 parts per million as the crucial safe upper level of CO2 in the atmosphere.

World environment ministers and officials are meeting in Copenhagen in December, to negotiate a new global climate treaty.

The current treaty on the table doesn’t plan to cut emissions to the 350 level. To highlight the importance of cutting emissions further, the Global Day of Action on Climate Change is hoping to concentrate world opinion through the internet on 24th October 2009.

There are events planned for this day all over the world, to draw attention to climate change, urge people to take personal action to reduce their own carbon footprint, show the solidarity of like-minded people, and hopefully cause meaningful political change.

To find out more check out these websites:

• 350.org
• 350.org Dunedin events
• Guardian UK newspaper – environment coverage

Dunedin Public Libraries have many books on climate change and sustainability.

For a catalogue search try the following subject headings:

• climatic changes
• global warming
• global environmental change
• greenhouse effect
• greenhouse gas mitigation
• energy conservation
• sustainable living
• sustainable development
• energy conservation

Recommended reading list:

• Bill McKibben – The end of nature
• David Suzuki – Good news for a change: hope for a troubled planet
• George Monbiot – Heat: how to stop the planet from burning
• Barbara Kingsolver – Animal, vegetable, miracle: our year of seasonal eating.
• Alex Steffen – Worldchanging: a user’s guide for the 21st century.
• Ross Gelbspan – Boiling point: how politicians, big oil and coal, journalists, and activists have fueled the climate crisis – and what we can do about it.
• Vandana Shiva – Stolen harvest: the hijacking of the global food supply.
• Fred Pearce – When the rivers run dry: what happens when our water runs out?
• Gareth Morgan(NZ) – Poles apart: beyond the shouting, who’s right about climate change?
• Thomas Friedman – Hot, flat and crowded: why the world needs a green revolution, and how we can renew our global future.
• Mark Bowen – Censoring science: inside the political attack on Dr. James Hansen and the truth of global warming.
• Gwynne Dyer – Climate wars
• Tim Flannery – The weather makers: the history and future impact of climate change.
• Rachel Carson – Silent Spring

DVDs

• An inconvenient truth – Former Vice President Al Gore explains the facts of global warming and presents arguments that the dangers of global warning have reached the level of crisis.
• The Corporation. – A documentary by Director Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott and Joel Bakan.
• Based on the book: The Corporation: the pathological pursuit of profit and power by Joel Bakan. – Examines the far-reaching repercussions of the corporation’s increasing dominance in the world. Features illuminating interviews with Noam Chomsky, Michael Moore, Howard Zinn and many others.

Websites:

• Living sustainably – Dunedin City Council
• BBC News: Science and Environment
• Environmental Issues
• Ministry for the Environment (NZ)

Dunedin Public Libraries Databases:

Use keyword searches such as: climate change, environmental issues

• ProQuest Science
• Science Resource Centre