Research Blog : environment

Mosquito control with bats

googler@evpl — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:55:00 GMT

Are there more mosquitoes around this year, or is it just me? One of the best natural ways to combat these pesky bugs is encouraging a local population of bats. Contrary to popular belief, bats do not swoop down into your hair. And you're way more likely to contract rabies from a dog or other ground-dwelling mammal. In short, they're good citizens and excellent neighbors. But their habitats are dwindling (and the mosquito population seems to be rising). You can help by building a bat house in a sunny spot, not too close to trees and other obstacles, about 12 to 18 feet off the ground.

The Bat House Builder's Handbook is in the Library's collection, and you can also visit a variety of websites on bats and their housing needs.

Bat Conservation International has a list of tips for attracting bats, criteria for successful bat houses, and lots of information on building and installing your bat house.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park has instructions on building a bat house.

This is an informative article and an entertaining read: Why I Built a Bat House.

The Fish and Wildlife Service has an excellent PDF file on building a bat house.

This would be a great weekend project for parents and kids -- maybe even Father's Day!

Greening your life

googler@evpl — Wed, 06 May 2009 19:20:00 GMT

You can tell I'm behind again in reading my RSS feeds -- I've caught up to Earth Day. But these are such interesting sites I have to share them.

Free Green offers free energy-efficient house plans, with full construction documentation and other related material. You can also join the community and ask questions about specific designs or green building in general.

Sierra Club Green Home is dedicated to helping you create a more sustainable home environment. The site is full of information about reducing emissions, saving on energy, recycling, and more. They have a discussion board for members, too.

Sustainable Table celebrates local sustainable food, educates consumers on food-related issues, and works to build community through food. They encourage the purchase of organic and local food, and their locator will show you markets, coops, and even restaurants within 20 miles your zip code that meet their criteria. They also have a section called "The Issues," which gives a huge amount of information about what they see as the problems with our food choices, from factory farms to additives to pollution caused by the agriculture industry.

The US Department of Energy has a website devoted to energy efficiency and renewable energy. There's information about designing and remodeling, appliances, landscaping, lighting, alternative energy sources like wind and solar, and much more.

Homepower magazine is a good source of information and inspiration about solar, wind, and other alternative energy systems.

The web makes it pretty easy to make every day Earth Day!

Do Not Flush!

wag.mado@evpl — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:28:00 GMT

You may remember a time when it was common practice to flush outdated/unused medications down the toilet. Well, that practice has caused some disturbing consequences resulting in the FDA promoting guidelines on proper disposal of drugs. There are still a few drugs that should be flushed, but the majority are to be disposed of following specific guidelines in order to safeguard life and protect the envioronment.

If you want to dispose of things once a year, you can always take your unused meds and other toxic substances to "Tox Away Day" at Robert's Stadium on September 12, 2009. A list of environmental pollutants can be found on the City of Evansville's website along with the hours they will be accepting materials for disposal. Tox Away Day is for Vanderburgh and Posey County residents only.

Maybe you are interested in learning more about what type of pollutants are making their way into our water. If so, you can listen to NPR's Fresh Air for April 20, 2009 where Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Hendrick Smith reports that disturbing chemicals from our everyday activities are showing up in water supplies around the globe. He is interviewed by Terry Gross to promote PBS's Frontline - Poisoned Waters, which airs on Tuesday April 21, 2009.

Since protecting our environment can seem like a monumental task, many people decide to start with small basic steps and gradually add something new each year. As Earth Day approaches this week, maybe each of us can add one thing to our daily routine which would help lessen the burden on our beautiful planet. And, what a better time to do it than now.

The Christmas tree dilemma: real or fake?

googler@evpl — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:47:00 GMT

An environmental blog, Sustainablog, recently weighed in on the real-or-fake Christmas tree question, and their answer might surprise you. They believe it's more environmentally friendly to use a live tree every year, as long as you recyle it after Christmas, and particularly if you buy a locally grown tree. Buying directly from a local tree farm is always the best way to go, they say. IndianaChristmasTree.com identifies two farms in our area. This site also has a guide to the various species used for Christmas trees and tips on caring for a live tree.

And just for fun, here are some facts and trivia about Christmas trees.