Earth Day for the Week @ Mann

Wed Apr 18, 2018

Earth Week @ Mann — Artwork by Daisy Wiley

Consider again that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. The words that Cornell astronomer Carl Sagan once used to encourage his audience to contemplate an extraterrestrial view of Earth in its wider galaxy struck a major chord with us here at Mann as we began to plan some Earth Day programming this year. In celebration of Professor Sagan’s wise perspective, Mann Library is marking Earth Day 2018 with a week-long series of special programming that pays tribute to the “here” that we call “home”…and encourages us to think of some of the many ways, large and small, that we can help keep our place in the universe a safe, green and thriving planet. The activities on our roster include:

Giant Bottle 2.0: On reducing disposable water bottle use with Take Back the Tap

Chains to Change: Turn old bikes into awesome keychains and more

Enhancing Community Through Re-use: Talk by Chris Pletcher of Ithaca ReUse

Public Art Opening: Pledges of Allegiance / Water Crisis in Flint, MI

Film screening: Riverblue: On the environmental dangers of fast fashion

Conservation Collage: Help us create a large-scale, earth-themed community collage! (Re-purposing old book jackets and other tossed away & recycled materials…)

And coming full circle back to the action word that started us out, we close this blog by presenting for your active consideration, a few (possibly less than widely known) ways of reducing our environmental footprint each day right here at Mann Library, or at least pretty close by. These steps may be individually small, but together with all over time, they have great potential for adding up to something quite beautiful. Happy Earth Day!

Need a study / paper writing break? Take one with a good environmental movie! Cornell University Library subscribes to the Kanopy streaming service, that gives the Cornell community access to thousands of films, including a seriously good line up of environmental ones. Go to Kanopy Earth Day to get started.

Have old batteries that have breathed their last? Be sure to recycle them in the bin just inside the front doors of Mann Library (by the two stand-up computer kiosks there).

Enjoyed a yummy Clif Bar (or other foil-wrapped treat) while plugging away at your paper? You can recycle those wrappers using the “TerraCycle” box at Manndible. Look for it on the windowsill by the microwaves.

Forgot your mug from home? It happens. And now, Manndibles has one you can borrow! See their rack, also by the microwaves (and just please be sure to return them when finished).

How much do you save by bringing I your own mug anyway? Twenty-five cents per cuppa (of hot or cold beverage) at Manndible. Which, for some of us, can add up to a nice chunk of change by the end of the year.

Stepping away from your laptop for a bit? Save energy by changing your screen saver to ‘blank’ (a plain black screen) and turning down the monitor’s brightness.

And in the unfortunate event that your laptop is toast (or close to being on its way out in favor of a spanking new one)– Be sure to check out the Cornell Store Trade-in offer. Yes, that’s right, trade-in! You may be able to get a gift certificate if you bring them your old electronics for recycling there! Visit Tech Device Trade-in for details.

And what about that old cell phone? Or broken keyboard, or other electronic devices / components? Small electronics such as phones, laptop computers, mice, keyboards, etc. may be placed in the electronics recycle bin located in Barton Hall next to the west entrance of the Cornell Police Department. For information, visit Recycle How-To’s