How #LibrariesOfThings build #resilience, fight #ClimateChange, and bring communities together
by Tom Llewellyn
April 17, 2019
Excerpt: "With climate-fueled disasters on the rise around the world, what role can tool libraries play in aiding community-led disaster response efforts?
" #ToolLibraries can play a huge role in #ClimateResilience and helping communities bounce forward after a disaster, but to be most effective they need to be in place before disasters like super-storms, floods, wildfires, or earthquakes.
"The tools, skills, and community that support a tool library can all be essential ingredients for rapid response and rebuilding. As we’ve seen after recent disasters, it can take weeks — or even months — for effective outside assistance to arrive, so the better-equipped communities are to help themselves, the better they will do after a disaster. Even if a tool library itself is damaged in a disaster, a redundant and reliable platform like #myTurn can help locate the tools that were checked out at the time of the disaster or items from other nearby tool libraries, so they can be put back into service quickly.
"Even before a disaster happens, tool libraries can play a number of roles in disaster preparation. Some of the most popular tools at the #PhinneyToolLibrary like concrete drills, palm nailers, air compressors, reciprocating saws are often borrowed to be used for earthquake retrofits, and the Oakland Tool Library even has earthquake retrofit kits. The social cohesion that tool libraries fosters also helps build community resilience.
"One final important, and often overlooked, benefit of tool libraries, #LibrariesOfThings, and other product sharing services is the large role they can play in reducing GHGs and climate risk in the first place. According to recent research by groups in Europe and the C40 Cities, consumer product consumption is the sector of the economy that has one of the, if not the, biggest environmental impact when taking into account resource extraction, manufacturing, and global supply chains, transportation, storage, use, and eventual disposal of products.
"Beyond reducing the 'embodied' energy in products through #reuse, some organizations are using tool libraries to further advance energy efficiency. For example, the Smart Buildings Center, SDG&E, and CUNY Building Performance Lab all run energy efficiency tool libraries that help homeowners, professionals, and construction companies retrofit existing buildings to reduce their energy use. Using shared tools to reduce energy consumption is a win-win for people, economics, and the planet."
Learn more:
https://www.shareable.net/how-libraries-of-things-build-resilience-fight-climate-change-and-bring-communities-together/
#SolarPunkSunday #DisasterPreparedness #BorrowDontBuy #Resiliency #SharingEconomy #LibrariesRule !
