Dry in Australia

The April 2009 issue of National Geographic has a really interesting article on the severe drought that is affecting much of rural Australia. Crops have died or have not been planted at all. Rural populations are diminishing, and livestock populations have been sold off because the land is presently unable to support them. One of the difficulities in rural southern Australia is that much of the water is diverted from crops to urban areas along the coast, such as Adelaide. This creates a blending of environmental issues, the drought, as well as issues of water rights, agriculture, and urban water usage. Rural families often shower together and catch the shower water in tubs and pots. There are also some great photographs and maps with the article.

Please note that National Geographic is received each month in print by the North Metro Library and that past issues are kept for a period of two years.

The library also has a new book related to this issues entitled 'Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed' by Jared Diamond. This book deals with modern and ancient societies and their environmental challenges, which in the case of some ancient civilizations, led to their collapse. Diamond notes in his book that Australia is the most fragile of the continents, and discusses some of the modern day challenges that face it. The National Geographic article points out that European settlers did considerable damage to the water cycle by cutting down many native trees and attempting to farm the outback as they would England or Ireland.

Book Index with Reviews a database in Galileo, has some good reviews for Collapse. Search for the review by searching for Collapse as the title of the book.

Remember, you can get the Galileo password from your local Georgia librarian.

JWF

Through a glass darkly

In the morning a surgeon will be sucking away the cataract from my right eye and implanting a lens. I admit to being a tad nervous. In theory, my vision will be better. I may not even have to wear glasses again except for reading.

Going to GALILEO, I searched for cataracts. I selected Browse by Subject
...the Medicine and Health subject link
.....and selected Nursing and Allied Health

There are 5 databases with the option of selecting 5 more. I chose them all. I limited my search to full text and peer reviewed.

Voila - more information about cataracts, cataract surgery, anesthesia during cataract surgery and the use of bilberry to improve vision than one could hope for.

By Monday, I should be bright eyed and seeing clearer.

Get the password to use GALILEO at home from your Georgia librarian!

-kls

Spring Blossoms

North Metro has a spectacular Environmental Horticulture program. Last year the team came in first in the national competition (Planet). This year the team traveled to California and came in third in the nation - still in the top ten and beating one of our neighboring '
big dogs'.......

Top ten schools:
..1. BYU - Idaho
..2. Colorado State
..3. North Metro Tech
..4. BYU - Provo
..5. Cal Poly St Luis Obispo
..6. Cal Poly Pomona
..7. Miss State
..8. NC State
..9. Univ of GA
..10. Penn State

Students placing in top three:
..Alejandro Simmonds - 1st in CAD Design
..Cassie Templeton - 2nd in Annual ID
..Jessica Gray - 2nd in Irrigation Design
..Jessica Gray - 1st in Irrigation Troubleshooting
..Kevin Porter & Chris Early - 1st in Landscape Maintenance
..Lisa McKinney - 1st in Sales Presentation

This spring the course offerings reflect the depth of our program.

Our library offers a range of materials to support each program. The Horticulture program takes up three shelf units!

Online in GALILEO is the Ebsco database Garden, Landscape & Horticulture Index which provides access to articles about gardens and plants, including topics such as horticulture, botany, garden and landscape design & history, ecology, plant and garden conservation, garden management, and horticultural therapy. A highlight of the database is its focus on environmentally sustainable horticultural and design practices. This index and abstract product is designed for gardening enthusiasts, professionals, and students of horticulture and of garden and landscape design & history. It covers more than 300 core serial titles that include general gardening titles of national, international, and regional interest, and titles devoted to specialty gardens and plant groups.

The password to use GALILEO at home is available from your Georgia librarian.