Calgary Public Library staff will join the rest of Calgary and other cities in North America again in the annual Commuter Challenge June 5-11, 2011. This week-long initiative encourages us to improve the environment and ourselves by getting to work by any means other than single-person car commuting.

A simple login to www.commuterchallenge.ca will allow you to track your kms by mode of transport or energy saved, either as an individual or as part of a group. Try transit for a week, or cycle to work. Maybe you can carpool. Can you telecommute by working at home? Read or catch up on social media while you ride transit, and get fit while walking or cycling (dust off those New Year's resolutions). Take on other companies and workplaces in your category by encouraging your co-workers to participate.

On a related note, Castell Central Library is offering noon-hour programs on bicycle maintenance and electric bikes from 12:10-12:50 in May and June. See our programs link on the main page to register.

In the meantime, read Urban Camping by Peter Tombrowski for a Calgarian's take on getting around town with kids and no vehicle. Try It's all about the Bike: The Pursuit of Happiness on Two Wheels by Rob Penn, Cycling for Everyone by Leah Garcia, or some of our cycling magazines. Telecommuters, check out Will work from Home by Troy Johnson.

It's only one week, so get out there people!

One lottery ticket, a pet carrier, a pair of shoes, and of course, lots of wrappers and plastic. These are just some of the things we found along the Elbow River in Mission during Calgary’s 44^thAnnual Pathway and River Clean Up. Those were pretty tame findings compared to other teams, who found a rubber flying pig and a vintage tin filled with antique buttons.

Staff from the Central Library, along with family and friends, put on their gloves, grabbed their garbage bags and headed out to stoop and scoop up garbage along the river between the 4^th Street bridge and the 25^th Avenue bridge last Sunday.

After an hour of scouring the riverbank we had accumulated 13 bags of garbage and two bags of recyclables. That sounds like a lot, but it was a vast improvement over last year when we collected 25 garbage bags from the same section of river. Perhaps the new boulevard erected along the river by the Cliff Bungalow-Mission Community Association is encouraging people to stop and smell the flowers instead of throwing garbage on them!

No, it's not the title of a horror movie from our dvd collection. . .

We welcomed a pound of red wrigglers (known as the Dew-ey family, even if they are not dew worms) to our branch in late February to start a new vermicomposting project. This has already been very successful at Nose Hill Library, whence our worms came. Scraps of staff lunches and dinners will feed our new friends. Since it seems we're having another seemingly endless cold season this year, composting inside just makes sense.

How to:

We are using a lidded plastic bin with a plastic heat register vent from the hardware store. You can use the inside bottom edge of the vent to draw an outline template so that you can cut an accurate hold for the vent so that it can be inserted snugly into the lid of the bin. I used a utility knife to cut through the plastic.

We made "bedding" from a damp (but not sodden) mix of shredded cardboard rolls and office paper, newsprint, and dry leaves saved from a garden.

Feeding:

So far we are using only fruit and vegetable scraps, tea leaves, and coffee grounds. We quickly learned that items in the cabbage family make an um...er...fragrant addition to the bin and are best avoided. We will be freezing and thawing food scraps before feeding the worms, to prevent fruit fly problems, as instructed by Green Calgary's website (formerly Clean Calgary). Nose Hill branch recommended a 2L milk carton for food scraps as the right amount to feed per week and it fits nicely in the freezer and on the countertop.

"Dew-ey" Family Diary:

Week One: Our worms arrive from Nose Hill in an ice cream pail covered with a tea cosy (sub-zero weather outside). We added water to the bedding to moisten it.

Week Two:

No need for wormo-phobia...no escapees. No visible worms, in fact, as they've migated down to the bottom of the bin...a good sign that they have transitioned from being "in transit" to "checked in" and happy.

Week Three:

Are they really there? Oops, we missed a feeding until after the weekend, but all seems well. I needed to moisten the shredded paper on the top of the bedding as it had dried out a bit.

Week Four: Wow!The brussel sprouts are pretty much gone. We've been leaving the vent fully open for good air circulation.

Week Five: ...really impressed by how active the worms are and how low-maintenance. All we have to do is feed weekly and turn over the bedding a little now and then to keep it moist.

I recently came across this new title, There's Lead in your Lipstick: toxins in our everyday body care and how to avoid them. I approached it with trepidation as I usually like to have makeup on when I go out the door, not being able to rely on the fresh-faced flush of youth. According to author Gillian Deacon, lead, a known neurotoxin, long banned from use in paint, ends up on our mouths frequently. It is considered a contaminant rather than an additive and therefore doesn't have to appear on ingredients lists for cosmetics or other personal care products

Deacon deals extensively with the subject of greenwashing. She lists the products that have organic or botanical ingredients, but are not necessarily non-toxic because they contain widely-used controversial contents such as parabens. This section was a real eye-opener as many such products are sold in health food stores.

As scary as the concept of toxic personal care products is, I was pleasantly surprised by Deacon's positive approach. She lists plenty of safe alternative brands for shampoo, shaving cream, lotions, anti-perspirant and cosmetics. Her book is Canadian so these products are readily available on-line and in stores here... you can still wear your mascara if you must. Deacon even provides home recipes for simple, pure personal products for do- it-yourself-ers and those on a budget.

by Mel

These are some of the new books on environmental topics on our shelves. Place a hold to pick them up at the branch of your choice!

Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril Kathleen Dean Moore & Michael P. Nelson, Editors

Over eighty visionaries—naturalists, theologians, activists, scientists, business leaders, elected officials, and writers—join together in Moral Ground to urge moral responsibility to the planet in the face to daunting environmental destruction. Their stories, letters, economic analyses, poems, essays and proclamations call us to do the right thing for the planet, its animals, plants and people.

Sustainable Event Management: A Practical Guide by Meegan Jones

Jones takes you through all aspects of event planning—energy, transport, water, waste, supply chains and communications—with a green lens. You’ll find checklists and tools for measuring performance, along with real-life case studies from various events like Burning Man (US), Glastonbury Festival (UK), and Big Day Out Festival (Australia).

The Locavore’s Handbook: The Busy Person’s Guide to Eating Local on a Budget by Leda Meredith

Learn how to incorporate more locally grown foods into your meals, affordably and conveniently with this New York City locavore and edible and medicinal plant instructor.

The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability by Lierre Keith

Keith examines the myth of vegetarianism: that a plant-based diet can feed the world and save the planet and argues that if we are to “save this planet, our food must be an act of profound and abiding repair: it must come from inside living communities, not be imposed across them.” Well written, and deeply personal, it’s another manifesto to eating locally.

rebar: modern food cookbook by Audrey Alsterberg and Wanda Urbanowicz

This book has been around since 2001, but we’ve just purchased some shiny new copies. The original rebar opened in 1988 in Victoria. More than two decades later the restaurant is going strong in new digs and is a west coast institution. Recreate their legendary dishes with this cookbook.

The Hybrid House: Designing with Sun, Wind, Water and Earth by Catherine Wanek

Hybrid houses incorporate smart design, energy-sipping construction techniques and home-generated power. The houses in this book, from across North America and Europe are also jaw-droppingly gorgeous. They feel healthy just to look at, never mind live in.