The Mill Valley Public Library is introducing a new initiative to combat climate change through a series of events, activities and actions throughout 2020 called Borrowed Time.
What can you do? Join our effort!
CLIMATE CHANGE can be overwhelming to comprehend so each month we will focus on a different aspect of climate change in depth through documentary film screenings, recommended readings, community conversations and actionable activities. Corresponding with our printed brochure cycle, we are introducing the program in three cycles:
| INTRODUCING THE ISSUE (January – April) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| THEME | FILM | BOOK | |
| JANUARY | What’s at Stake | Racing Extinction | The Sixth Extinction |
| FEBRUARY | What is Climate Change? | Time to Choose | Uninhabitable Earth |
| MARCH | Rising Seas & All Things Ocean | Blue | The Water Will Come |
| APRIL | Environmental Racism | Awake: A Dream from Standing Rock | Refinery Town |
| LOOKING AT THE LOCAL LEVEL (May – August) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| THEME | FILM | BOOK | |
| MAY | Redwoods | If a Tree Falls | Wild Trees |
| JUNE | Salmon | Artifishal | Salmon: A Fish, the Earth, and the History of Their Common Fate |
| JULY | Wildfire | Paradise | Megafire |
| AUGUST | Water | Water & Power: California Heist | The Dreamt Land |
| ACTIONS AND HOPE (September – December) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| THEME | FILM | BOOK | |
| SEPTEMBER | Systemic Change | This Changes Everything | On Fire |
| OCTOBER | Food Practices | Biggest Little Farm | We Are the Weather |
| NOVEMBER | Personal Actions | How to Change the World | Inconspicuous Consumption |
| DECEMBER | Hope | Happening | Green New Deal |
Featured Programs
Feeding the Future: An Insect Approach to Sustaining Humans and Habitats | 1/3
Entomologist Brian Fisher of the California Academy of Sciences uses insects to track climate change. Their rapid responses to environmental changes can flag early signs of ecosystem collapse. He’ll discuss his work in Madagascar, the biodiversity crisis, and how insects are fueling the future—one tasty bite at a time.
Climate Change Conversation Cafés | 1/29, 2/26, 3/11, 4/29 · 7:00pm
Gather with members of the community to share your thoughts on Borrowed Time topics at this casual and civil group discussion.
Book Club with a Scientist | Mon. 3/9 · 7:00pm · future dates TBA
Executive Director and Professor of Biology Karina Nielsen (Estuary & Ocean Science Center) leads our first book club discussion of Jeff Goodell’s The Water Will Come and will answer your questions about the rising sea.
Behind the Bark: Climate Change & Marine Mammals | 3/23
Adam Ratner (Marine Mammal Center) provides a glimpse into the potential consequences of climate change on marine life and the ocean.
Refinery Town: The Remaking of an American City | 4/13
Author Steve Early is joined by Andres Sotos to discuss environmental racism exemplified by the 2012 Chevron explosion in Richmond.
Documentary Screenings* | Creekside Room · Mondays · 7:00pm
Films that introduce what’s at stake from the consequences of climate change: Racing Extinction (1/6), Time to Choose (2/3), Blue (3/2), and Awake: A Dream from Standing Rock (4/6).
Recent Posts
- A Different Kettle of FishA supplement to Episode 6 of the Borrowed Time podcast series.
- Weathering the StormBrooklyn Public Library shares stories from Superstorm Sandy.
- Losing Earth: A Recent HistoryA supplement to the podcast interview with Nathaniel Rich.
- Public Library Book BikesBook bikes represent a sustainability-focused evolution of mobile community mini-libraries.
- The Real WorldA supplement to the podcast interview with Derrick Jensen.
Podcasts
Take the Challenge and Earn a Badge
Earn custom-designed patches by participating in Borrowed Time events, activities, and habit-changing initiatives. Throughout the year, new patches will be introduced for different actions. The Last Straw patch is for people that reduce their personal plastic consumption. The Read it and Weep patch is for people that read our selected books for each month. The Feeding the Future patch is a freebie for folks that attend our kickoff event January 3 and we may have more in October when we address food more in depth. By Leaves We Live is for Earth Day. Tread Lightly is a patch for people that reduce their carbon footprint throughout the year. Give a Hoot is for people that attend our Conversation Cafe events.
