Santa Monica Public Library’s 2007 Green Prize for Sustainable Literature winners were announced at an awards ceremony on Saturday, September 29 in the Main Library’s North Courtyard, 601 Santa Monica Boulevard.

The Library created the Green Prize to encourage and commend authors, illustrators, and publishers who produce quality books that make significant contributions to, support the ideas of, and broaden public awareness of sustainability.  Sustainability is defined as “meeting current needs – environmental, economic and social – without compromising the ability of future generations to do the same (City of Santa Monica Sustainable City Plan).

The 2007 Green Prize for Sustainable Literature Award Winners for works published in 2006 are:

• Adult Nonfiction - An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It, by Al Gore (published by Rodale Books)
   

• Adult Reference - Worldchanging: A User’s Guide for the 21st Century, edited by Alex Steffen (published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc.)
   

• Adult Honorable Mention - Greenopia: The Urban Dweller’s Guide to Green Living, Los Angeles,  edited by Ferris Kawar and Terrye Bretzke (published by The Green Media Group)
   

•  Youth Nonfiction - Birds of Prey Rescue: Changing the Future for Endangered Wildlife, by Pamela Hickman (published by Firefly Books)
   

• Youth Fiction - Home, and Other Big, Fat Lies, by Jill Wolfson (published by Henry Holt and Co.)
   

• Youth Picture Book - Why Are the Ice Caps Melting?: The Dangers of Global Warming, by Anne Rockwell, illustrated by Paul Meisel  (published by HarperCollins)
   

• Youth Honorable Mention - All the Way to the Ocean, by Joel Harper, illustrated by Marq Spusta (published by Freedom Three Publishing)

Rachel Carson (1907-1964), best known for her 1962 book, Silent Spring, was selected as the Green Prize Pioneer Award winner.  The Pioneer Award honors a writer that has paved the way for discourse on sustainable issues. 

A reception followed the ceremony, and refreshments were provided by the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market and the Friends of the Santa Monica Public Library.  Earlier this year, the City of Santa Monica received a Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Rating for the Santa Monica Public Library from the US Green Building Council.  The rating has served as an impetus for the Library to present programs on sustainable issues.  In 2006, a series of panel discussions, each focusing on an area of sustainability, such as organic gardening and green architecture, was held at the Library.  Earlier this year, a four-part film series, called Sustainable Cinema, screened in the Main Library’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Auditorium.  

For more information about the Santa Monica Public Library’s Green Prize for Sustainable Literature call (310) 458-8922 or visit www.smpl.org/greenprize.htm.     

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