Pocket Change: pitching in for a better world by
Until a few hundred years ago, people were embarrassed to buy bread in a store. Families took pride in making almost everything they owned. These days, many people take pride in buying as much as possible! New clothes, a speedier bicycle, the latest phone. If we've got money, someone can sell us a product that will supposedly make our lives better. But each year, humanity uses resources equivalent to nearly one and a half Earths, and we're still not meeting everyone's needs. Around the world, people are questioning consumerism, leaning toward more sustainable lifestyles and creating a whole new concept of wealth. What if you could meet all your needs while getting to know your neighbors and protecting the environment at the same time? Find out how growing a tiny cabbage can fight poverty, how a few dollars can help ten families start their own businesses and how running errands for a neighbor can help you learn to become a bike mechanic-for free!
What Millie Did by
Milly Zantow wanted to solve the problem of her town’s full landfill and ended up creating a global recycling standard -- the system of numbers you see inside the little triangle on plastics. This is the inspiring story of how she mobilized her community, creating sweeping change to help the environment. On a trip to Japan in 1978, Milly noticed that people were putting little bundles out on the street each morning. They were recycling -- something that hadn’t taken hold in North America. When she returned to Sauk City, Wisconsin, she discovered that her town’s landfill was nearing capacity, and that plastic made up a large part of the garbage. No one was recycling plastics. Milly decided to figure out how. She discovered that there are more than seven kinds of plastic, and they can’t be combined for recycling, so she learned how to use various tests to identify them. Then she found a company willing to use recycled plastic, but the plastic would have to be ground up first. Milly and her friend bought a huge industrial grinder and established E-Z Recycling. They worked with local school children and their community, and they helped other communities start their own recycling programs. But Milly knew that the large-scale recycling of plastics would never work unless people could easily identify the seven types. She came up with the idea of placing an identifying number in the little recycling triangle, which has become the international standard. Milly’s story is a glimpse into the early days of the recycling movement and shows how, thanks to her determination, hard work and community-building, huge changes took place, spreading rapidly across North America. Includes an introduction, black-and-white illustrations, sidebars, sources for further information and an index.
Compost Stew by
Apple cores Bananas, bruised Coffee grounds with filters, used Just add to the pot and let it all rot into Compost Stew From eggshells to wiggly worms, this delightful recipe in bouncy verse features items--some familiar and some not so--that are fit for the home compost bin and will nourish Mother Earth. Vibrant collage illustrations use recycled and found materials to further a timely message. And to keep young environmental chefs fully informed about compostingdo's and don'ts, there's a note in the back about what's not fit for the bin. From the Hardcover edition.
Global Warming by
Award-winning science writer Seymour Simon gives you a full-color photographic introduction to the causes and effects of global warming and climate change. Earth's climate has always varied, but it is now changing more rapidly than at any other time in recent centuries. The climate is very complex, and many factors play important roles in determining how it changes. Why is the climate changing? Could Earth be getting warmer by itself? Are people doing things that make the climate warmer? Supports the Common Core State Standards
The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming by
From the producer of AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH comes a powerful, kid-friendly, and engaging book that will get kids get interested in the environment! Irreverent and entertaining, DOWN TO EARTH is filled with fact about global warming and its disastrous consequences, loads of photos and illustrations, as well as suggestions for how kids can help combat global warming in their homes, schools, and communities. Engagingly designed, DOWN TO EARTH will educate and empower, leaving readers with the knowledge they need to understand this problem and a sense of hope to inspire them into action.
What's So Bad about Gasoline? by
Look around to see what uses oil--cars, airplanes, boats, factories, and countless other machines. The world is dependent on oil as its main source of energy. Although oil is plentiful right now, the supply will eventually run out, and even worse, burning oil is very damaging to the environment. What alternatives can help us use less oil and how can we protect the environment? Read and find out