Earth Hour 2009 Movie

Earth Hour isn't just for big cities-anyone can participate. To get a better sense of the event, check out this video.

This came to our attention and it sounds like a good idea. Hope that you'll consider participating!

On Saturday, March 28, 2009, at 8:30 pm, take part in Earth Hour-a global event in which millions of people will turn out their lights to make a statement of concern about our planet and climate change. We want to invite you to join, too! Sponsored by World Wildlife Fund, Earth Hour got started just two years ago and is now the largest event of its kind in the world. Last year, more than 50 million participated and the lights went out at the Empire State Building, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Sydney Opera House and the Coliseum in Rome, just to name a few. Even Google's homepage went black for the day! In Israel, President Shimon Peres personally turned off lights in Tel Aviv.

This year, Earth Hour will be even bigger-already 250 cities in 74 countries have agreed to take part including Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami and Nashville with more signing up every day. Around the world cities like Moscow, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Shanghai and Mexico City will turn out their lights.

Participating in Earth Hour is easy, fun and free. We hope you will join us for this amazing event. To sign up, visit http://www.earthhourUS.org where you'll learn more including ways you can spread the word about Earth Hour, plus creative things to do when the lights go out in case you need inspiration!

Help the US to turn out more lights than any other country in the world during this historic event so please pass this note along to anyone you think might want to take part. Let's all turn out and take action on March 28 at 8:30 pm.

Brown Bag Book Club goes Green!

The Burbank Green...err, Brown Bag book club will be going Green in March when they meet to discuss "Living Like Ed" by Ed Begley Jr.

Recap - Ed Begley Jr. kickoff event on March 7.

(Pictured are the Library staff who worked the Kickoff event)

Saturday's author event for our Burbank READS Goes Green kickoff, was a wonderful success. 181 people attended, many books were autographed, photos taken and Ed Begley Jr.'s talk was informative and entertaining.

For a wonderful recap of the event [far better than I could ever dream of writing!] with some great photographs, visit Lisa Burks Online

Family Day @ the Library – “The Earth is in Our Hands” with eco-magician Paul Cash.

Attention all families, please join us at the Buena Vista Branch Library on Saturday, March 14 as we present Paul Cash the EcoMagician.

Join us for an entertaining afternoon as Cash uses magic and humor to encourage young people to make good environmental choices about water, waste, and energy. Not only do they learn about how they can help the environment, the magic will foster a positive "can-do" attitude towards the environment.

Click to visit Paul Cash's website.

Meet author/actor Ed Begley Jr.!

Join us on Saturday, March 7 for our big Burbank READS goes Green kickoff event featuring Ed Begley Jr., the author of this year's book, Living Like Ed.

Come and meet one of the hottest speakers on eco-living in America, Ed Begley, Jr. who has received standing ovations for his empowering and humorous message on sustainable living. Mr. Begley will talk about and sign copies of his book [copies available for purchase].

When: Saturday, March 7, 2009 at 2:00 PM

Where: Buena Vista Branch Library - 300 N. Buena Vista St. See you there there!

Global Warming – Facts and Solutions with John Zavalney

Please join us at the Central Library auditorium on Wednesday, March 11 @7:00 PM for a lecture by John Zavalney on "Global Warming -- facts and Solutions."

Learn about the emergency of global warming and what steps you can take to be part of the solution. John Zavalney has trained with Al Gore and a team of renowned scientists and environmental educators to become a presenter of the “Inconvenient Truth” slide show. His mission now is to get the word out about the dangers of global warming and offer suggestions on how we can help solve this crisis.

Teen Book Clubs reads Green.

In honor of the “green” theme for Burbank Reads in March, the Teen Book Clubs have each chosen a novel with an ecological bent.

The High School Book Club, which will meet on Tuesday, March 10, at 6:30 p.m., is reading The Family Tree, by acclaimed science fiction writer Sheri S. Tepper. Police officer Dora Henry must investigate the bizarre, seemingly unrelated murders of three geneticists. But she has some big distractions from her work that she must address, among them the fact that Nature seems to be taking over the neighborhood! Trees are springing up everywhere, blocking off the streets, kidnapping unwanted babies, and generally acting like they have both a brain and a plan. Meanwhile, from far in the future, an odd band of comrades follows an ancient prophecy into their past (which happens to be Dora’s present) to stop the extinction of their species. The story is hilarious at moments, but also earnest in its warnings about the need to take our ecological future seriously by acting on it today.

The Middle School Book Club, which will meet on Wednesday, March 18, at 7:00 p.m., will read The Secret Under My Skin, by Janet McNaughton. In the year 2368, Blay Raytee is an orphan living in a state-run work camp, spending her days excavating usable items from a garbage dump. The government teaches the orphans that technology users are evil and the world is a dangerous place, and the children are afraid to go outside without protective clothing. Everything changes when Blay is chosen by a “bio-indicator” (a sort of canary in the mine who monitors environmental toxin levels for her community) to help with her studies. Blay discovers that much of what she has learned about science, technology and the world is a lie…including her own identity. The book celebrates the impact that one person can make, while postulating a believable future we would be wise to avoid.