The Topsfield Town Library is a proud partner library for Climate Preperation Week 2023!
Climate Prep Week, held from September 24-30, 2023, marks a week of learning, service, and actions to better prepare our communities for extreme weather events and the effects of climate change.
During this week, the Topsfield Town Library will be hosting some great events that highlight the perils of climate change (see below). Visit climatecrew.org to see a wider variety of events held in libraries throughout the state for Climate Prep Week!
All week: Houseplant Giveaway! Come pick up a free houseplant seedling, while supplies last!
Monday, September 25th, 7pm via Zoom: Extreme Flooding and a Vermont Library’s Response.
The Library Director of the Kellogg Hubbard Library in Montpelier, Vermont, Carolyn Picazio, will discuss the catastrophic flooding that hit them this summer, the challenges the library and community now face, how the library has remained flexible in offering services to its community and what communities can do to stay resilient in the face of future storms. Sign up for this program via Zoom here!
Picture: Damage to Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Vermont following this summer’s flooding.
Tuesday, September 26th, 5:30pm in Library Activity Room: Get to Know the SAC: How Topsfield is working to protect the environment
As part of the Climate Preparedness Week programming, the Topsfield Town Library is hosting representatives from the Topsfield Sustainability Advisory Committee (SAC). Learn about what the SAC is, what they do, and how you can get involved. There will be time to ask questions.
The mission of the SAC is to identify, and promote environmental sustainability initiatives in Topsfield focused on waste diversion and renewable energy, reducing the Town’s carbon footprint, preserving and protecting our ecosystems, and performing environmental education and outreach.
Friday, September 29th, 2pm, via Zoom: How NASA Is Combating Climate Change.
The missions of NASA’s Earth Science Division help us to understand our planet’s interconnected systems, from a global scale down to minute processes. The division delivers the technology, expertise, global observations, and applications that help us map the myriad connections between our planet’s vital processes and the climate effects of ongoing natural and human-caused changes. Learn about the efforts of teams of NASA researches who are currently examining Earth to understand climate change, storms, fires, and where people fit in to all of it, including an active mission studying climate change in northern regions of the world (e.g., Alaska and Canada). Led by Dr. Elizabeth Hoy, PhD, who has been a NASA scientist for over 10 years with the NASA Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems Office and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Studying Arctic systems since 2005, her research interests are in geography and disturbance mapping within the high northern latitude regions of North America where she utilizes GIS and remote sensing to understand aspects of environmental change. Sign up for this program via Zoom here!
Topsfield Town Library’s Climate and Environment Research Guide
One of the defining challenges of the twenty-first century is facing the changes to our climate. According to the Fourth National Climate Assessment, climate change poses significant risks due to increased flooding, erosion, and wildfires, lower yields of crops overall, and risks to the water supply, infrastructure, and economy as a whole. Furthermore, these effects are predicted to disproportionately affect vulnerable communities, including lower-income and marginalized populations.
Our Climate and Environment Reading List provides excellent resources on the condition of our climate, steps we can take to preserve our planet for future generations, and reducing your footprint!
