Earth Day: Legislative Milestones & Beyond

April 21, 2016

In the 1960’s and 1970’s, a growing public awareness of the impact of human activity on the environment led to the enactment of key legislation protecting clean air, clean water, and endangered species, the establishment the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the annual observance of Earth Day every April 22.  On Earth Day 2016, GPO makes available these original, authentic documents on govinfo.gov.

worldAside from ushering in legislative mechanisms to protect our environment, Earth Day helped raise public awareness of everyday greening. Green spaces benefit our environment and our psychological wellbeing. Naturally (pun intended), vegetation needs consistent, targeted care. Here are two U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) how-to guides for maintaining our planet’s valuable cache of green gold.

How to Prune Trees

When I think of pruning, I picture an English garden full of imaginative topiaries or a miniature bonsai masterpiece. But there are more than just aesthetic reasons for pruning—encouraging strong structure, wound closure, and space-conscience growth are all part of the snip and trim objective. “How to Prune Trees” explains the principles and approaches of keeping plants trees healthy and full of character.

001-000-04755-8This pamphlet tells you why, when, and how to use your hand pruners, lopping shears, and pole pruners. Don’t worry—there are helpful pictures, too. Although this publication is mostly a how-to resource, it does detail a few how-not-tos. The section on harmful pruning practices will make you wince with empathy. It’s a careful reminder that “just as proper pruning can enhance the form or character of plants, improper pruning can destroy it.” Finally, let this be your pruning mantra: “prune first for safety, next for health, and finally for aesthetics.”

Nursery Manual for Native Plants

This USDA Forest Service handbook covers all aspects of native nursery planning, crop propagation, and long-term fertility. This book takes tribal nursery design and management seriously. And so should you. Before you invest in a nursery, consider this: “a nursery is a web of interrelated factors. Each aspect of the nursery affects every other aspect.” So meta!

001-000-04744-2The text introduces Native American tribespeople to the benefits and drawbacks of growing native plants. Subsequent chapters breakdown the concepts of pest control, plant nutrition, growing media, and seed handling. Photos and specific examples demonstrate simple but effective techniques. Tribal nursery management is hard work. It’s also rewarding and challenging and visionary and practical. Nurseries can bring a tribal community together. Because of this, nursery design is “personal…you are the person who can best understand the unique…environment around you.”

HOW DO I OBTAIN THESE RESOURCES?

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.

 Shop our Retail Store: Buy a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up.

Order by Phone: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.

Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

About the author: Our guest blogger is Chelsea Milko, Public Relations Specialist in GPO’s Public Relations Office.

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Posted by Trudy Hawkins

Environmental resources from the Federal Government

June 4, 2015

environment 1It’s time, once again, for World Environment Day (WED), a globally-celebrated day for positive environmental action. Established by the UN General Assembly in 1972, WED is celebrated annually on June 5th and inspires worldwide environmental awareness, attention, and action.

2015’s theme is “resource efficiency and sustainable consumption and production in the context of the planet’s regenerative capacity, as captured in the slogan ‘Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care’.”

There are countless resources from the Federal Government on the topics of environmental protection, conservation, sustainability, green initiatives, and footprint reduction, just to name a few.

The White House has pioneered many initiatives focused on energy, climate change, and our environment. You can read more about all these initiatives, get the latest news, and even sign up for energy and environment updates via email at https://www.whitehouse.gov/energy.

And let’s not forget the obvious authority on tackling these issues, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). From epa.gov, you can get important facts and information about a host of environmental issues, including: air, chemicals and toxics, climate change, emergencies, greener living, health and safety, land and cleanup, pesticides, waste, and water. Of course, you can also access laws and regulations that are in the works to support these issues. And with summer nearly here, you can also get sun safety tips and learn about insect repellents. You can even locate resources in your own community to address local environmental challenges by inputting an address, zip code, or location name.

USA.gov offers a browseable list of .gov resources on the topics of “environment, energy, and agriculture.” From there, you can also sign up to receive updates when there is new information available on these topics.

earth-from-spaceGPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications offers access to a wide variety of related publications and resources from across the Federal Government. Here is just a small sampling:

GPO’s Federal Digital System also provides free access to countless pieces of legislation and Federal regulations on the topic. Here are just a few:

earth 2The U.S. Government Bookstore offers a wide variety of U.S. Government publications related to this important and timely topic.

Take a look at our 19 collections of publications related to the topic of Environment and Nature.

There are U.S. Government publications on topics ranging from Environmental Protection and Conservation collection to Biofuels and Renewable Energy to Earth Day and more!

Celebrate World Environment Day by taking in all of the environmental information resources provided by the U.S. Government, and share this information with others.

HOW DO I OBTAIN THESE RESOURCES?

Click on the Links: For the free resources, click on the links above in the blog post.

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Shop our Retail Store: Buy a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up.

Order by Phone: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.

Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

About the author: Kelly Seifert is the Lead Planning Specialist in GPO’s Library Services & Content Management division.

Leave a Comment » | Environment, Environmental Protection Agency | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Trudy Hawkins

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