Did you know there are three open climate data portals that are accessible to all Canadians? In the spirit of Open Climate Justice, this blog highlights the importance of these accessible platforms. Along with these national data sets, at the McGill Library we also have an environmental studies library guide which highlights a few other national data sets and our own collection of geographic information.
The Climate Atlas of Canada, is a great starting point as it combines climate science, mapping, and storytelling together with Indigneous Knowledges and community-based research. Through videos, articles, and stories, you can gain a deeper insight to the lived experiences of climate change, as well as climate action amongst different communities. The map is simple and interactive and gives you insight to how different communities in Canada will experience climate change. The first step to justice is understanding. The Climate Atlas provides a holistic look into our future in Canada.
The Climate Data website has a vast pool of data that is perfect for a project or just browsing. What is special about this project is that Sectoral analysis is open for anyone to browse and use. It provides excellent background and relevant data to understand how climate change will affect a sector important to you! For example, if your family has a farm in Ontario, you can actually look at how your specific region is modelled to experience climate change and plan for the future accordingly.
This website helps facilitate the analysis of all of this data. Through more complex tools, PAVCIS might be more adpt for those experienced in climate analysis or academics. If you have a handle on the mechanics, it’s a powerful instrument for deepening your research and evidence.
We hope this was helpful in aiding your research process and curiosity and opening
It’s that time of year again! The ghosts are boo-ing, the zombies are asking for “bRaiiNS” and midterms seem much scarier now that they are back in person. But we’ve got your back through all of this. Featured in this post are some of the Top Horror Titles from our collections, and our favourite streaming content! Scroll through it all if you dare *spooky noises**ghost emoji*
Some Scary Reading Stuff
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
Perhaps one of the most frightening books ever written and it’s in our collection! Based on a classic but effective premise (house small on the outside but dizzyingly huge and spooky on the inside), this book will make you feel like you’re in an escape room adventure- and it’s a not supremely pleasant one. But that’s what this season’s about, eh?
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Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin
Yes, the movie was great, it was amazing, and it was chilling. But. The. Book. Is. Always. Better! If you’ve loved this plot of a terrified mother facing paranoia as a film, we should tell you the book is better- or worse? You get it. Even though its main twist is known to many, we assure you, the book will still keep you awake at night.
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The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
If you haven’t read Jackson, can you even call yourself a horror fanatic? (And King too, but you’ll see him in a sec!). You’ve read and streamed plenty of Haunted House titles, but we assure you, no one does it like Jackson. She perfects the Haunted House trope, we’re not just talking jump scares, we’re talking unreliable narrator that will make you want to reach for the lights, but also hide under the covers. Read it if you dare!
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Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Do you know what’s even more horrifying than supernatural beings defying natural laws and rendering everything possible? The answer is insufficiently socialised human beings stuck in a race for survival, or as Golding portrays it; a group of children stranded on an island without supplies or adult supervision. This is no Home Alone, this is pure savagery.
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Pet Sematary by Stephen King
The King of horror is here (get it? hehe), and he’s got a long list of titles competing for this spot. But unlike his other works that are rich with humanity in characterisation and deal with narrators that make us question the world around us, Pet Sematary manages to be his most terrifying novel by dint of its simple, devastating concept: a magical cemetery where buried things come back to a sort-of life—but aren’t quite what they once were. See how King turns one of the most precious things in the world (our pets) into a living, breathing nightmare.
But these are just some of our top picks. Here’s a list of more titles old and new, pop and classics to satisfy your horror needs this trick-or-treat season.
To get into the spirit, we have picked out some horror/Halloween movies that are free for all McGill students through available streaming services. Cosy up, take some time for yourself this Halloween (or better yet, have a horror movie marathon with your closest buds), and SCREAM with these picks.
To refresh how to use these services click here to read our McGill Films 101 blog post.
These are just a few picks to get you in the spirit if you’re looking for spooky Halloween movies using McGill Library Resources. Tag @mcgilllib on Instagram with the #spookystreaming to be featured on this blog post. We’d love to see what the HSSL community is watching this week.
If you have any questions email us at hssl.library@mcgill.ca!
Climate change does not affect everyone equally. The term “climate justice” was coined to acknowledge that the effects of climate change “will not be borne equally or fairly, between rich and poor, women and men, and older and younger generations” (UN, 2019). Access to information is a key part of connecting communities across disciplines and understanding the vast and imminent impacts of climate change. Sharing information openly and freely provides an opportunity to address the inequitable impacts of climate change and shape the global response.
This year’s International Open Access Week (October 24-30, 2022) will focus on Climate Justice to raise awareness around how Open Access can support climate justice. “Open Access” refers to the “free, immediate, online access to the results of scholarly research, and the right to use and re-use those results as you need” (Open Access Week, 2022).
In conjunction with International Open Access Week, McGill Library has curated a physical and virtual display at the Redpath Complex for the entire month of October, featuring books, films, and music that grapple with the inequities surrounding the climate crisis.
In the spirit of Open Access, our virtual collection includes only Openly accessible materials and links to books which are held in print and can be accessed onsite by users outside the McGill community. Here are some of the highlights from our collection:
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
No list of environmental publications would be complete without this groundbreaking 1962 book by Rachel Carson which details the harms caused by pesticide use and the negative impacts on communities exposed to these chemicals.
Voices of Drought by Michael B. Silvers
Voices of Drought takes a unique ethnomusicological approach to Climate Justice by demonstrating how ecological crisis affects musical culture by way of and proportionate to social difference and stratification.
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
In this book, Indigenous author and botanist Robin Wall Kimmer explores how indigenous wisdom about human interactions with nature, harmonizes with modern scientific knowledge of ecology and sustainable living.
Climate Justice Y’All
This ongoing podcast centers on Climate Justice movements in the Southern United States, focusing on Climate Justice leaders and stories from communities in the South where climate change is already having significant impacts.
