Happy Earth Week!
We flashback to 2021, when the sustainability fair returned to campus, offering a variety of fun and functional wares. This year’s Earth Week is under way, so make sure to check out all of the great events!
Shawn Proctor, MFA, is Communication and Marketing Program Manager at Falvey Library.
As Falvey’s Cat in the Stax, Rebecca writes articles covering a broad range of topics, from academics to hobbies to random events. All the while highlighting how Falvey Library can enhance your Villanova experience!
We are officially two weeks away from the last day of classes! I don’t know about you, but I feel like this month has been flying by. Assignments are piling up, finals are looming, and you’re probably anxious for summer break. Make an effort to take some time to yourself this week. Find some way to decompress so that you can finish the semester strong!
Image by Markus Spiske from Unsplash.com
Take care of yourself this weekend, and if you have time next week, try to take care of the Earth. Next Monday, April 22 is Earth Day, the second day of Earth Week, which runs from April 21-April 27 this year. The global nonprofit Earthday.org selected the 2024 theme “Planet vs. Plastics,” informing about the dangers of single-use plastics and undertaking a commitment to ending the use of plastics entirely. Proponents for this cause are demanding a 60% reduction in plastic production by 2040. Kathleen Rogers, President of Earthday.org, explains that “The Planet vs. Plastics campaign is a call to arms, a demand that we act now to end the scourge of plastics and safeguard the health of every living being upon our planet.”
Achieving sustainability is huge focus in efforts to combat climate change. Simply put, sustainability means meeting the needs of the current generation without compromising future generations’ ability to do the same. On an individual level, this can be as simple as changing your habits to reduce your carbon footprint. The biggest things you can do, of course, are recycle and use reusable water bottles and food containers instead of plastic ones. If you want to learn more about sustainable living and the various ways you can make a difference, check out Villanova’s Pathways to Sustainable Living. You can calculate your ecological, carbon, and water footprints and learn ways to reduce your impact.
Looking to get involved in making a difference? Villanova has organized a myriad of events over the next two weeks to celebrate Earth Week. Click here to look at what’s being offered and to sign up!
If you would like to learn more about the importance of protecting the environment and how you can make a difference, check out some of these books and film documentaries available at Falvey:
Rebecca Amrick is a first-year graduate student in the English Department and a Graduate Assistant at Falvey Library.
Villanova’s community is celebrating sustainability with Earth Week, renewing our commitment to our shared environment. For this throwback, enjoy a memory from the Farmers Market in April 2021, when this honey-themed seller graced the pathway just outside of the Library.
Image courtesy of NASA Earth Observations.
A brief sampling of Falvey Library online video related to Earth Day and our rapidly changing planet:
For Falvey Library video subscribed content visit an introduction to Streaming Video at Falvey or try one of the selected library subject headings below:
For more video dig further in:
Merrill Stein is Political Science Librarian at Falvey Memorial Library.
Do you have an interest in sustainability research? If so, be sure to check out JSTOR Sustainability, one of Falvey’s resources. This database provides a wide range of scholarly journals, ebooks, and research reports in effort to help you stay informed on topics related to sustainability. Having celebrated the landmark 50th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22, there is no better time to dig into this dynamic resource!
Within this database, users have the option to search for content on a broad range of topics related to sustainability. Some featured topics include:
• Agricultural productivity
• Agroforestry
• Carbon footprint
• Climate change policy
• Conservation biology
• Emissions trading
• Energy policy
• Environmental education
• Environmental engineering
• Environmental history
• Environmental law
• Food security
• Green buildings
• Human ecology
• Industrial ecology
• Land use planning
• Natural resources
• Nature conservation
• Population geography
• Renewable energy
• Resource economics
• Sustainable cities
• Sustainable urban infrastructure
• Transportation planning
• Urban development
• Waste management
• Water quality
• Wetland conservation
There are many other topics you can delve deeper into as well, depending on your interest or research needs.
Matters of sustainability impact all people, so the JSTOR Sustainability database could potentially be of use to not only scholars in environmental science/studies, sustainable engineering, global health and peace and justice fields, but really to anyone who has a general interest in climate studies or wants to learn more about living a sustainable life. In fact, Villanova University has expressed a pledge to sustainability efforts through its Climate Commitment, so the information found within this database is of great significance to all Villanovans—past, present, and future.
If you need help using this or any other library resource, you can Live Chat or email a reference librarian at ref@villanova.edu.
Be sure to check out JSTOR Sustainability to stay informed on the latest and greatest information in sustainability research.
Regina Duffy is a Communication and Marketing Program Manager at Falvey Memorial Library.
Here comes a BONUS TBT in honor of Earth Day! The photos featured here come from the March 15, 2019 Climate Strike at Villanova. This was just one of many climate strikes taking place on college campuses across the country. These strikes were inspired by Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish student who challenged world leaders to take immediate action against climate change and emphasized that no one is too small or too young to make a difference. Thunberg has had three consecutive nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize from 2019-2021.
Student speakers Gracie Stagliano and Yvonne Nguyen led the demonstrations and the group march to the office of University President the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD, to present him with two demands:
More information on the 2019 Climate Strikes at Villanova can be found in Falvey’s mini-exhibit entitled Earth Week at Villanova.
Jenna Newman is a graduate assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a graduate student in the Communication Department.
By Shawn Proctor and Merrill Stein
During Earth Week, Villanova is fortunate to host climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, PhD, as she delivers the keynote, “Christians, Climate, and our Culture in the US.” The talk will speak to the misconception that religion and science must occupy opposing sides of the topic of climate change.
In the last half-century, the average global temperature has risen faster than ever before in recorded history. This trend has reshaped our planet. It represents a looming threat to our planet’s future.
Dr. Hayhoe, endowed Professor in Public Policy and Public Law and Co-Director of the Climate Center at Texas Tech University, uses her evangelical Christian faith to inform her work and how she talks with those who would challenge her research.
Before she delivers her keynote on April 22 at 5:30 p.m., dig deeper to learn more about Dr. Hayhoe and her work, which has been cited more than 7,000 times, according to Scopus (Elsevier).
Prior registration for this ACS-approved event is required.
Read Dr. Hayhoe’s books featuring her research: 
Listen to her talk on her podcast Global Weirding.
Lastly, read articles about Dr. Hayhoe and her work:
Shawn Proctor is Communications and Marketing Program Manager at Falvey Memorial Library. Select resources curated by Merrill Stein, Social Sciences Librarian at Falvey Memorial Library.