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Editor’s note: Eco-Libris‘ partnerships with independent bookstores gives us some great insights into how local shops are going green around the US. Today, they take a look at Clarksburg, Maryland’s Novel Places. This post was originally published on Sunday, June 1, 2008.
Another bookseller has joined the growing list of bookstores that participate in Eco-Libris bookstores program. This time we’re happy to present you with Novel Places of Clarksburg, MD.
Novel Places started 2 years ago by Patrick Darby, who has almost 30 years experience in book retail. The store started as an antiquarian online store, but recently, new titles and accessories were added. The rekindled Literary Society restarted by Patrick last year is a book group by today’s standards, which help promote the store. Patrick tries to emulate the history of the Society (which dates back to 1833!) by inviting authors to read and talk about their books. The plan is to include unpublished authors to get feedback on their creations.
The books offered by Novel Places can also be found at Mayorga Coffee (23207 Stringtown Road Clarksburg, MD). The online store offers a community forum to discuss issues and books. Patrick says he designed it the way he would want his brick and mortar store to be like - a place where people can come and relax by a fire or in a comfy chair for conversation, reading, and purchasing a good book. And now there’s also going to be there the opportunity to plant a tree with every book you purchased with Eco-Libris. Customers will be receiving our sticker (made of recycled paper) saying “one tree planted for this book” with every new book purchased at Novel Places.
Why have gas prices risen to nearly $4 a gallon (or more) in the U.S.? Is it oil speculation? Rising demand? Or the first signs of peak oil?
Whatever the cause (and there’s good reason to blame all three to some degree), most so-called experts these days aren’t expecting oil prices to drop anytime soon. In fact, Newsweek this week features a sobering article titled, “The Coming Energy Wars,” that predicts we’ll soon see oil prices top $200 a barrel. When that happens, the authors warn, we can expect everything about our daily lives to change.
Bethesda, Maryland-based Marriott International has introduced a new green meeting program in which it will donate a portion of group guest room costs to its Amazon rainforest protection effort.
Under the program, Marriott will donate five percent of a group’s room costs in the group’s name to help protect and preserve the Amazon rainforest. To qualify, groups must book meetings between July 1 of this year and December 31, 2009.
Rising prices for everything from copper and platinum to flour, gas and cooking oil are creating new markets for trend-minded thieves across the U.S.
With gasoline prices in the U.S. breaking new records weekly, for example, law enforcement officials are seeing more cases of cooking grease thefts from fast-food establishments and other restaurants. Why used grease? Because cooking oil can be converted into biodiesel fuel that can be sold at a cool profit.
Baltimore’s Parks & People Foundation is offering a special kind of tree sale this spring aimed at boosting the region’s tree cover quickly.
The foundation teamed up with RPM Ecosystems, a wholesale native plant nursery in Dryden, New York, to sell year-old trees grown with a root production method (RPM) that helps them grow three times faster than normal … meaning they can sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere three times faster than conventional young trees.
By Max Lindberg •
February 27, 2008
Last December, EPA administrator Stephen Johnson denied California’s request to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Today, the Senate released documents putting Johnson squarely in opposition with the scientific and legal experts on his staff when he denied the request.The documents were requested by Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works chair Barbara Boxer (D-CA), who said:
“These documents paint a picture of an Environmental Protection Agency in crisis. They show the dedicated professional staff of the EPA working hard to do what they are paid to do by the American people - protect our health and our environment. At the same time, we see more and more evidence of Administrator Johnson ignoring the science and the facts, and discarding the advice of his professional staff.”
“I believe this decision will be reversed by the next President or by the courts, but the Administrator can save the taxpayers time and money, and can get us started cleaning up our air if he would simply follow the law, the facts, and the advice of his agency professionals.”
By Maria Surma Manka •
December 12, 2007
Coinciding with the Bali talks on climate change, there has been all sorts of renewable energy and global warming news cropping up. Here are a few I’ve come across lately:
New Zealand may ban fossil fuels. A bill introduced in the NZ Parliament last week would ban new power plants if they burned fossil fuels. Specifically, the 10-year plan would ban fuel sources with more than 20 percent oil, coal or gas from producing more than 10 megawatts of power. This [...]
By Maria Surma Manka •
February 26, 2007
The Global Warming Solutions Act in the Maryland legislature mimics the policy California lawmakers passed late last summer. The MD bill requires carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to be reduced to their 1990 levels by the year 2020. According the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, the bill also requires energy efficiency measures, cleaner cars, and directs state agencies to draft global warming solutions plans. To hit the emissions targets, the Global Warming Solutions Act uses [...]
