The Green Exchange is a Free-cycle for the Libraries at University Park. If your office has extra supplies (such as file folders or toner cartridges) no longer needed, post a brief description of the item, along with whom to contact and how. Once you've received a request, send or deliver the item and delete your posting. It's that easy! click here to access: Green Exchange (you'll need to authenticate to get in).
Most Americans may not realize they have a secret love affair with garbage. The average American throws away over 7 pounds of trash a day, only a quarter of which gets recycled. New York City spends $300 million a year just to drive its trash to landfills in other states. Meanwhile, at least $20 billion in usable resources are buried in landfills. It doesn't need to be this way - we can all take steps to reduce how much we throw away by buying smarter, buying less, and recycling more. Read more about our love affair with garbage in this Wall Street Journal article.
DLT recently transitioned six older servers to three more efficient servers with more memory and more CPU power than the old servers. As a result the power load used by the servers was reduced from 23,500 watts to 5,000 watts which translates to between 50 and 75% less power usage. DLT also moved from physical machines to virtual machines with more memory and CPU power. The old physical machines consumed approximately 7220 total watts, the new virtual machines consume about 3558 total watts, a power reduction of almost 50%. In addition to the decrease in power the new machines have lower cooling requirements, so we should see a reduction in this area as well.
Recommend a book!
Want to know what other green initiatives are happening around campus? Check out the Office of Sustainability's green.psu.edu site!
For tips and information from the american libraries magazine on ways to green our libraries, visit their Green Your Library website
Contact us for compost bins, bags and signs to make your next food event a little greener!
To purchase supplies for a department funded event, biodegradable plates and cutlery can be found in the General Stores catalog (p141), as well as recycled paper napkins (p147). Local grocery stores and the Factory Card and Party Outlet on Benner Pike also carry a limited supply of earth-friendly party materials.
Recycle your office equipment batteries at the Sidewater Commons staff office, or at the Human Resources office (511 Paterno).
Buying locally supports our local farmers, gives us fresher and healthier produce, and has a lesser environmental impact than buying fruits and veggies that were transported hundreds or even thousands of miles before arriving at the grocery store. The Pennsylvania Buy Fresh Buy Local and Local Bounty websites help you to locate local farmers' markets and local sources for a variety of foods and goods.
Submitted by Cathy O'Connell in Libraries Human Resources
