Librarian’s Pick: Environmental Crime: A Sourcebook

The purpose of the book Environmental Crime: A Sourcebook by Ronald G. Burns and Michael J. Lynch is to focus on the need for those who study crime and justice to use environmental data more. The point is made that environmental crimes not only cause damage to nature, though that in itself is significant. Estimates suggest that ten times more people die from the results of environmental crimes than die from homicide. The estimated number of victims who suffer debilitating diseases and injuries due to exposure to toxins is in the hundreds of thousands, perhaps reaching a million. The authors state that these “deaths, injuries, and illnesses are more common, and have a greater impact on the average person than ordinary crime.”

The strength of this book is that it is not only for criminal science students. The environment affects all of us. Reading just a chapter or two will raise your consciousness about why this topic is important to you.

Holiday Gift Giving Dilemma: What to Do with Used Electronics

A great gift idea often times involves an electronics product. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection encourages the reuse and recycling of electronics in order to protect our environment from toxins contained in most of these items. Recycling centers, located throughout the State, can be found using the map on the FDEP site.

Miami Dade County has several locations  where residents can drop off televisions and computer monitors, personal computers, keyboards, hard drives, printers, VCRs, audio and video equipment, cell phones and hand held radios.

More environmentally friendly information can be found in the Environmental Science and Going Green! LibGuides. These guides provide links to resources about current research on environmental issues, sustainable development, energy use, and the connection between the green/sustainable culture and the Business, Hospitality and Culinary Arts majors offered here at JWU.

May Your Holidays be Happy…and Green!

Environmentally Friendly

The GreenFILE database is the first place to look when you are trying to locate reliable information on all aspects of the environment and related issues. EBSCO has made this database freely available. It contains scholarly and general interest titles, along with government documents and reports. The contents emphasize the positive and negative aspects of the relationship between human beings and the environment. Also available in this resource is information concerning the connection between the environment and agriculture, education, law, health and technology. Typical subjects searched include global climate change, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and recycling. Each of us can help reduce the carbon footprint we create everyday. GreenFILE is a source that can show us how.