Sustainable Resources and the Green Movement

1. Library Catalog - Find Books, Media and Pamphlets

PCC's online catalog is a database of books, media, pamphlets and course reserves located in the library's collection. To find resources in the library by subject, you will need a call number which is based on the Dewey Decimal Classification System and leads you to the specific item on the shelf. To find the call number, use the library catalog.

Basic Search

Use the Basic Search to look for an item using its exact subject heading, title or author's name (last, first).

To find information about a person, use Basic Search by subject.
To find information on a topic, use Basic Search by subject.

To search by subject, select 'Subject Search', then type in the subject heading.

Examples of subject headings:

  • Alternative fuel vehicles
  • Climatic changes
  • Conservation of natural resources
  • Ecology
  • Energy conservation
  • Energy consumption
  • Energy development
  • Energy policy
  • Environmental degradation
  • Environmental management
  • Environmental policy
  • Environmental protection
  • Environmental responsibility
  • Extinction
  • Global warming
  • Globalization
  • Green movement
  • Pollution
  • Recycling
  • Renewable energy sources
  • Solar energy
  • Sustainable development
  • Sustainable living
  • Traffic congestion
  • Water –- Pollution
  • Wind power

Check related subjects too:

  • Carbon dioxide –- Environmental aspects
  • Coal-fired power plants
  • Deep sea ecology
  • Eco-tourism
  • Ecofeminism
  • Ecological houses
  • Environmental indicators
  • Forest ecology
  • Habitat conservation
  • Indicators – Biology
  • International trade – Environmental aspects
  • Marine resources conservation
  • Nature –- Effect of human beings on
  • Nature conservation
  • Nuclear energy
  • Petroleum reserves
  • Power resources
  • Refuse and refuse disposal
  • Social responsibility of business
  • Transportation –- United States –- Planning
  • Urban transportation policy
  • Water-supply
  • Water rights

To search by title, select 'Title Search', then type in the first few words of the title. Skip the first word of the title if it is an article, e.g. 'a', 'an' or 'the'.

To search by author, select 'Author Search', then type in the author's last name, then first name, e.g. 'Carson, Rachel'.

Advanced Search

If Basic Search is unsuccessful use Advanced Search to combine topics.

  • Examples: Human beings (phrase, keyword) AND environment (all, keyword) AND effect (keyword)

Use the KEYWORD Search to look for an item using part of the title or to combine topics:
To search by keyword, type in the words you want to search for, then select from the menu whether you want to search for ALL THE WORDS, ANY OF THE WORDS (e.g., RNA or ribonucleic acid), or the WORDS AS A PHRASE (e.g., marine resources conservation). You can also use the KEYWORD Search to combine topics.

Examples of combined searches:

Search for: crops farms agriculture [any of these words], Search in: [ Keyword]
AND
Search for: climate [all of these], Search in: [Keyword Anywhere]

Search for: landfills [all of these], Search in: [Keyword Anywhere]
AND
Search for: recycling [all of these], Search in: [Keyword]

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2. Reference Books

Basically, there are two kinds of reference books: general resources, which are broad in scope and deal with all fields; and specialized resources, which deal with specific disciplines such as Ecology. The titles cited below are only a representative sample of many specialized reference books that are available in the library.

Specialized Dictionaries

  • Dictionary of ecology REF 577.03 D 1
  • Dictionary of ecology and environmental science REF 363.7 D 1
  • Dictionary of the environment REF 574.503 A 1
  • Dictionary of dangerous pollutants, ecology and environment REF 363.7003 T 1
  • Animal behavior desk reference: a dictionary of animal behavior, ecology, and evolution REF 591.5 B 11
  • Ultimate visual dictionary of science REF 503 U 2
  • Facts on File dictionary of environmental science REF 363.7003 W 1, 2007
  • Dictionary of environmental science and technology REF 363.7003 P 1
  • Dictionary of environmental & civil engineering REF 624.03 W 1-2
  • Dictionary of environmentally important chemicals REF 363.1791 A 1

Specialized Encyclopedias

  • Encyclopedia of wood: a tree-by-tree guide to the world’s most versatile resource REF 674.03 E 1
  • Environmental encyclopedia REF 363.7003 E 3
  • Encyclopedia of global change: environmental change and human society REF 363.7003 E 2
  • Encyclopedia of environmental studies REF 363.7003 A 1
  • Encyclopedia of environmental issues REF 363.7003 E 1
  • Wiley encyclopedia of energy and the environment REF 333.7903 W 1
  • Encyclopedia of environmental biology REF 574.503 E 1
  • Conservation and environmentalism: an encyclopedia REF 363.7003 C 1
  • Encyclopedia of endangered species REF 591.52 E 1
  • Encyclopedia of community planning and environmental management REF 307.12 S 1
  • Grzimek’s encyclopedia of ecology REF 301.3 G 1
  • McGraw-Hill encyclopedia of environmental science REF 301.3 M 1

Almanacs and Yearbooks

  • Cousteau almanac: an inventory of life on our water planet 574.5 C 5
  • Sand County almanac illustrated 574.9 L 3-4
  • Our American land 630 O 1
  • Cutting energy costs 333.79 U 1
  • World wildlife yearbook 591.5 W 3

Handbooks, Manuals, Directories

  • Parks directory of the United States REF 917.304 S 1
  • Environmental career directory 371.4253637 E 1
  • Environment, origins, and population REF 970.1 H 8, v. 3
  • Rainforests of the world: a reference handbook 577.34 G 1
  • American insects: a handbook of the insects of America north of Mexico REF 595.7 A 1
  • Global ecology handbook: what you can do about the environmental crisis 363.7 G 1
  • Nature in the West: a handbook of habitats 574.50978 R 1
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3. Databases and Indexes - Find Articles

To access databases from the library home page, (http://www.pasadena.edu/library)
look under “Find Articles and Other Online Resources” and click on Databases by Name or Databases by Subject.

  • GreenFILE: A freely accessible research database focusing on the relationship between human beings and the environment. Provides approximately 295,000 citations from open access scholarly and general interest titles, as well as government documents and reports. Full text available for more than 4,600 records.
  • Opposing Viewpoints: Articles about social issues. Includes opinion articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, and full-text periodical articles from magazines and newspapers.
  • CQ Researcher: Articles covering controversial issues with summaries, insight into all sides of the issues, bibliographies and more. (coverage since 1991)
  • ProQuest: Thousands of journal, magazine, and newspaper articles covering all disciplines. Includes scholarly journal articles.
  • Science Full Text Select (WilsonWeb): Full text science database that covers approximately 320 journals in a broad range of science topics. Includes scholarly journal articles.
  • SIRS Knowledge Source : Articles about Arts and Humanities, articles from popular magazines, newspapers and U.S. government publications. Look under "Government Reporter", Domestic Affairs, Environmental Protection and Conservation or search by government department (eg. Energy Department).
  • Encyclopedia Britannica Online: the complete Encyclopedia Britannica with related web links.
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4. Resources on the World Wide Web

Finding reliable information on the web can be difficult.
Use the Librarians' Internet Index www.lii.org or see recommended websites below.

Pew Center on Global Climate Change http://www.pewclimate.org/
United Nations Environment Programme http://www.unep.org/themes/climatechange/

Climate Change (U.S. EPA) http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/

American Solar Energy Society (ASES) http://www.ases.org/

Renewable Resource Data Center http://www.nrel.gov/rredc/

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy http://www.eere.energy.gov/

The California Solar Initiative http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/PUC/energy/Solar/index.htm

Energy Tutorial http://www.nfcrc.uci.edu/EnergyTutorial/

A Consumer's Guide to Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/

Water Heating http://www.aceee.org/consumerguide/waterheating.htm

Home Resource Efficiency http://www.rmi.org/sitepages/pid186.php

Green Design/Sustainable Architecture: Resources http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ENVI/GreenAll.html

Wind & Hydropower Technologies Program http://www1.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/

American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) http://www.awea.org/

Alternative Fuels & Advanced Vehicles Data Center http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/

Alternative & Advanced Fuels: Biodiesel http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/fuels/biodiesel.html

Harvesting Clean Energy http://www.harvestcleanenergy.org

Alternative and Renewable Fuel & Vehicle Technology Program http://www.energy.ca.gov/altfuels/

Popular Mechanics: Drive Green http://www.popularmechanics.com/drivegreen

The City Project http://www.cityprojectca.org

Shrinking the Carbon Footprint of Metropolitan America http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2008/05_carbon_footprint_sarzynski.aspx

Clean Air-Cool Planet http://www.cleanair-coolplanet.org/

Wastes (U.S. EPA) http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/index.htm

Water Recycling and Reuse: The Environmental Benefits http://www.epa.gov/region09/water/recycling/

Garbage: How Can My Community Reduce Waste? http://www.learner.org/interactives/garbage/intro.html

Cyburbia: Urban Planning Community http://www.cyburbia.org/

Carfree.com http://www.carfree.com/

Smart Growth America http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/

 
 
 
 
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last updated: 10/17/2008 by S. Coates, P. Johnson revision #2