"Learn from the birds what food the thickets yield;
Learn from the beasts the physic of the field;
The arts of building from the bee receive;
Learn of the mole to plow, the worm to weave."
--Alexander Pope
Sustainability comes in many shapes and sizes, small things like turning your light off when you leave or large things like making sure the hazardous chemicals you used in chemistry were disposed of properly. As we've alluded to in previous LibGuides, leaders should not treat the world like a garbage bin, whether that means its people, its animals, its plants, or its atmosphere. Use your own position as a leader in society to be a catalyst in changing the world.
We are the ones in charge of the world, so don't dismiss the size your impact could be. Whether you lower your technology use, or make your community more efficient, or simply better the conditions around you, work towards a cleaner and more sustainable future.
The Lorax by
Long before "going green" was mainstream, Dr. Seuss's Lorax spoke for the trees and warned of the dangers of disrespecting the environment. In this cautionary rhyming tale (printed on recycled paper) we learn of the Once-ler, who came across a valley of Truffula Trees and Brown Bar-ba-loots, and how his harvesting of the tufted trees changed the landscape forever. With the release of the blockbuster film version, the Lorax and his classic tale have educated a new generation of young readers not only about the importance of seeing the beauty in the world around us, but also about our responsibility to protect it.
Hoot by
Everybody loves Mother Paula's pancakes. Everybody, that is, except the colony of cute but endangered owls that live on the building site of the new restaurant. Can the awkward new kid and his feral friend prank the pancake people out of town? Or is the owls' fate cemented in pancake batter?
