LibGuides: Sustainability: Sustainability: Getting Started

Start with the following resources to research and learn more about sustainability.

For more information about specific sustainability topics, browse the topic pages on this guide.

eBooks

Flourishing: A Frank Conversation about Sustainability

Reinventing Sustainability: How Archaeology Can Save the Planet

Encyclopedia of sustainable technologies

Drawdown: The most comprehensive plan ever proposed to reverse global warming

Videos

Living the Change: Inspiring Stories for a Sustainable Future

Library Resources

Searching Seneca Libraries (Library Search)

Search sustainability topics using Library Search. Within Library Search, you can select search filters to limit the search results to a type of source (e.g., eBooks, peer-reviewed articles), publication date, and/or subject area.

Sample searches on sustainability topics:

Library Search Tips

Reference and Topic Overview

The following databases are excellent resources if you are looking for general information on a topic.

Canadian Encyclopedia Online This link opens in a new window
(Historica) Provides access to information about Canadian personalities, places, events, history and achievements.
Details and Terms of Use
Canadian Points of View This link opens in a new window
(EBSCO) Provides access to essays with differing points of view on current issues. Essays include an overview, arguments, counter arguments and a guide to Critical Thinking.
Details and Terms of Use
Opposing Viewpoints in Context This link opens in a new window
(Gale) Provides access to a comprehensive resource offering differing points of view on current social issues with pro and con articles, topic overviews and biographies of social activists.
Details and Terms of Use
Oxford Reference This link opens in a new window
(Oxford University Press) Provides access to over 300 Oxford reference books via a single Web interface.
Details and Terms of Use

Research Article Databases

Access a broad range of peer-reviewed and scholarly articles related to sustainability topics in one of these article databases. If your research intersects on two or more unique disciplines, browse in one of the Multidisciplinary databases available at Seneca.

Agriculture Collection This link opens in a new window
(Gale) Agriculture Collection provides a comprehensive view of agriculture and related fields. The database provides access to current and authoritative content that spans the industry -- from practical aspects of farming to cutting edge scientific research in horticulture.
Details and Terms of Use
BuildingGreen This link opens in a new window
(BuildingGreen) Provides comprehensive content on sustainable design practices and green building materials. Shares expertise and lessons learned from design experts working in the field. Builds context for sustainable design strategies and what makes a building product or material green.
Details and Terms of Use
Environmental Studies and Policy Collection This link opens in a new window
(Gale) Provides access to comprehensive coverage of environmental topics from the perspective of the scientific community, governmental policy makers and corporate interests.
Details and Terms of Use
Environmental Studies in Context This link opens in a new window
(Gale) An interdisciplinary portal of information on the environment, sustainability, and emerging green technologies. May be searched by issue, organization, or country.
Details and Terms of Use
Federal Science Libraries Network (FSLN) This link opens in a new window
(Government of Canada) The Federal Science Libraries Network (FSLN) is a one-stop, self-serve portal where you can access library services and search the print collections and repositories of seven science-based departments and agencies from a single place. Wherever possible, departmental publications, reports, data sets and other content are freely available for anyone to access or download.
GreenFILE This link opens in a new window
(EBSCO) Provides access to 295,000+ abstracts and citations of scholarly, government and general interest articles covering environmental issues, with an additional 4600+ Open Source documents.
Details and Terms of Use
NRC Research Press This link opens in a new window
(Canadian Science Publishing) Provides access to journals published by the National Research Council and affiliated publishers.
Details and Terms of Use
ScienceDirect This link opens in a new window
(Elsevier) Provides users with access to a wide range of journal articles and full-text e-books in Health and Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Engineering, Computers and Technology, and the Social and Behavioural Sciences.

- In this database, there is no way to limit a search to our subscribed content only. Only those results with the words "Full text access" or "Open access" are content to which we have access.
Details and Terms of Use
Science in Context This link opens in a new window
(Gale) A multimedia approach to learning about popular science topics: news reports, journal and magazine articles, video, audio, photos, experiments, and reference materials.
Details and Terms of Use

In the News

For news articles and clips, search in the following new databases. For a comprehensive database in the News and Current Events.

Canadian Business & Current Affairs Database This link opens in a new window
(ProQuest) Part of ProQuest Central. Provides access to a broad range of Canadian magazines, newspapers, and journals.
Details and Terms of Use
Canadian Newsstream (formerly Canadian Major Dailies) This link opens in a new window
(ProQuest) Part of ProQuest Central. Canadian Newsstream provides access to 700 Canadian newspapers from Canada's leading publishers, including the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star. This full-text database includes electronic compilations from most newspapers, providing access to articles, columns, editorials, and special publications from each. Some compilations date from the late 70s.
Details and Terms of Use
Curio.ca (including CBC News in Review) This link opens in a new window
(Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)) Educational videos from CBC and Radio-Canada: documentaries from television and radio, news reports, archival material, stock shots and more. Our subscription includes selected, not complete, News in Review content only.

- Faculty: For the ability to add videos to a playlist, you must set up a separate Curio account. Please e-mail librarians@senecapolytechnic.ca from your Seneca faculty e-mail account for instructions.
Details and Terms of Use
Gale OneFile News (formerly Infotrac Newsstand) This link opens in a new window
(Gale) A database of over 2500 full-text newspapers, newswire services, and news program transcripts from Canada, U.S. and abroad.
Details and Terms of Use
Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
(LexisNexis) A large multi-tiered database of thousands of sources including newspapers, journals, wire services, newsletters, company reports and SEC filings, case law, government documents, transcripts of broadcasts, and selected reference works.
Details and Terms of Use

Streaming Videos

Access a wide array of films, documentaries, news clips, and learning modules through the following databases.

Can-Core Academic Video This link opens in a new window
(McIntyre Media) Canadian video collection with content from CTV, BBC Learning, Blue Ant Media, Good Earth Productions, Passion River Films, and more.
Details and Terms of Use
Curio.ca (including CBC News in Review) This link opens in a new window
(Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)) Educational videos from CBC and Radio-Canada: documentaries from television and radio, news reports, archival material, stock shots and more. Our subscription includes selected, not complete, News in Review content only.

- Faculty: For the ability to add videos to a playlist, you must set up a separate Curio account. Please e-mail librarians@senecapolytechnic.ca from your Seneca faculty e-mail account for instructions.
Details and Terms of Use
Films on Demand This link opens in a new window
(Films Media Group / Infobase Learning) The Master Academic and Technical Education collections of educational and news films from Films Media Group and Infobase covering a wide range of subject matter. Studios represented include PBS, BBC, Films For Humanities & Sciences, National Geographic, TED, and others.

- Users who wish to create Playlists, Favorites, and Preferences must set up their own Films on Demand account (separate from their Seneca User Name and Password) by clicking "Your Profile" and then "Sign up".
Details and Terms of Use
Kanopy This link opens in a new window
(Kanopy) Full-length streamed videos including popular documentaries, feature films, and professional educational films covering the arts, business, education, global studies, health, media and communication, science, social science, and technical training.

- Users must create a separate Kanopy profile to use this service, using a Seneca Polytechnic email address to set up the account.
- Mobile access requires use of a separate Kanopy app.
- Kanopy videos will not display in classes delivered via MS Teams or Zoom. Share the link for the film instead, ask viewers to open another browser tab and view the film or scene, and then return to class in Teams or Zoom.
Details and Terms of Use
NFB.ca (National Film Board of Canada) This link opens in a new window
(National Film Board of Canada) Public performance rights to selected films produced by the National Film Board of Canada. Documentaries, animations, alternative dramas, trailers, and interactive productions on the Web.
Details and Terms of Use

Video Playlists

Data & Statistics Resources

If you're looking for data sources or statistical reports, check out these sources.

Library Databases

Statista This link opens in a new window
(Statista, Inc.) Statistical data and analysis of business, industry, product brands, market share, media, and social scientific topics, obtained from both private and public sector sources, and covering all regions of the world.
Details and Terms of Use
Federated Research Data Repository (FRDR) This link opens in a new window
(New Digital Research Infrastructure Organization & Compute Canada) Search FRDR to find research datasets originating from researchers affiliated with Canadian institutions.

- Please note that not all of the Ontario Data Catalogue results in this database are fully Open Access.
Details and Terms of Use

Websites

Data and Statistics Guide (Seneca Libraries)
This library guide provides you with an overview on how to get started with data. The contents have been organised into several tabs to provide you with access to key areas.
Data-Driven EnviroLab
An interdisciplinary and international group of researchers, scientists, programmers, and visual designers. The Data-Driven Lab uses innovative data analytics to distill signals from large-scale and unconventional datasets and develop policy solutions to contemporary environmental problems.
Environmental Performance Index
Provides a data-driven summary of the state of sustainability around the world.
Government of Canada: Open Data
Search open data that is relevant to Canadians, learn how to work with datasets, and see what people have done with open data across the country.
Our World in Data
Research and data to make progress against the world’s largest problems
Statistics Canada (by subject)
Sustainable Development Report 2021
Urban Environment and Social Inclusion Index (UESI)
The Urban Environment and Social Inclusion Index (UESI) is a first-of-its-kind tool that leverages high-resolution, large-scale data to reveal how cities perform at the intersection of environment and social equity.

Library Subject Guides

Check out the library's subject guides for additional resources related to your course or program. Some of the subject guides which are related to sustainability include:

Websites & Other Online Resources

Note: Some non-governmental organizations, think tanks, and other groups may have biased views of certain issues and/or political leanings. As with any source, always consider the perspectives of the authors and take bias into consideration when evaluating the source.

Non-governmental & Intergovernmental Associations

Think Tanks

Advocacy Groups

Associations

Websites & Blogs

Appropedia: The Sustainability Wiki
Appropedia is the site to develop and share collaborative solutions in sustainability, poverty reduction and international development through the use of sound principles and appropriate technology, original research and project information.
BESIDE
BESIDE is an independent magazine at the crossroads of nature and culture. We feature personal essays, stories from the field, and ideas—new and old—for better ways to live in the world.
Clean50
Canada’s Clean50 annually offers recognition to Canada’s leaders in sustainability for their contributions over the prior two years.
CleanTechnica
Focuses on solar power, clean transport, wind power, energy efficiency, and energy storage.
Climate Action Tracker
The Climate Action Tracker is an independent scientific analysis that tracks government climate action and measures it against the globally agreed Paris Agreement aim of "holding warming well below 2°C, and pursuing efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C." A collaboration of two organisations, Climate Analytics and NewClimate Institute, the CAT has been providing this independent analysis to policymakers since 2009.
Climate Atlas of Canada: Indigenous Knowledges
Ecochallenge
Ecochallenge is a platform to educate, entertain, and engage the community on ways to drive sustainable habits.
Encyclopedia of the Earth
The Encyclopedia of Earth (EoE) is an electronic reference about the Earth, its natural environments, and their interaction with society. The EoE is a free, expert-reviewed collection of content contributed by scholars, professionals, educators, practitioners and other experts who collaborate and review each other's work.
Evergreen
A place where the world can experience and learn sustainable practices that enable cities of the future.
Global Atlas of Environmental Justice
Global Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet (NASA)
Grist
A nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.
Inhabitat
A green design and lifestyle site that provides coverage of environmental news and the latest in sustainable design.
The Narwhal
Project Drawdown
Our mission is to help the world reach “drawdown”—the point in the future when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline, thereby stopping catastrophic climate change—as quickly, safely, and equitably as possible.
Treehugger

Government Websites & Reports

Government of Canada: Sustainability
Sustainability goals and strategies, environmental indicators, greening government operations.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
In September 2015, Canada and 192 other UN member states adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The 2030 Agenda is a 15-year global framework centred on an ambitious set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 169 targets and over 230 indicators.
Achieving a Sustainable Future: A Federal Sustainable Development Strategy for Canada Search the strategy to find out about its goals, targets, milestones and actions
A Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan
earn about Ontario’s plan to address climate change and protect our air, land and water.
City of Toronto: Climate, Energy & Resilience
Live Green Toronto

Canadian Acts & Regulations

International Laws & Regulations

Climate Change Laws of the World
Climate Change Laws of the World and Climate Change Litigation of the World build on more than a decade of data collection by the Grantham Research Institute at LSE and the Sabin Center at Columbia Law School. Climate Change Laws of the World covers national-level climate change legislation and policies globally. The database covers climate and climate-related laws, as well as laws and policies promoting low carbon transitions, which reflects the relevance of climate policy in areas including energy, transport, land use, and climate resilience.

Podcasts

See Library Resources: Data & Statistics tab.

See For Faculty: More Resources section for a list of simulations, visualizations, and other interactive tools.

Sustainability

Start with the following resources to research and learn more about sustainability. For more information about specific sustainability topics, browse the topic pages on this guide.