Wellness for Life

Greatest Impact Project: Information Resources

Professor Wendy Leffel

Relevant organizations and publications

American Center for Life Cycle Assessment
http://www.lcacenter.org

American Chemical Society (publishes Environmental Science & Technology)
http://pubs.acs.org/journals/esthag/

Environmental Health Perspectives Online
http://www.ehponline.org/

New American Dream's Conscious Consumer Marketplace
http://www.newdream.org/consumer/marketplace.php

Organic Consumers Association
http://www.organicconsumers.org (look for links to "Background Info")

Search terms to try
(in the online catalog, on the Internet, in research databases)

Environmental impact and (name of product or item)
Environmental impact analysis
Green products
Industry and (name of product or item)
Life cycle analysis
Life cycle assessment
Life cycle impact assessment
Life cycle inventory
Personal care products or body care products
Sustainability and (name of product or item)

Resources for information on specific products or ingredients

Good Stuff? - A Behind-the-Scenes Guide to the Things We Buy from the Worldwatch Institute
http://www.worldwatch.org/taxonomy/term/44

Greentips from the Union of Concerned Scientists (Choose from "Previous Topics" and then take a look at the "Related Links")
http://www.ucsusa.org/publications/greentips/

Products A-Z from National Geographic's Green Guide
http://www.thegreenguide.com/products/

Product Reports from National Geographic's Green Guide
http://www.thegreenguide.com/reports/

Toxics A to Z : A Guide to Everyday Pollution Hazards (REF 615.9 H251t )

Suggested research databases to try searching

Academic Search Premier (includes Science News back to 1975)

Business Source Premier

CQ Researcher

Environment Complete

Expanded Academic Index (try term "Life-Cycle Studies")

Health & Wellness Resource Center

To locate an article when you have a citation:

If you’re in a research database, look for a link to "Full-text" or "PDF." If neither of those is available, check for a link to "Search for Article." If you can click on “Search for Article,” on the next screen, click on “Article” if it’s available. If it’s not available full-text, but Castleton has it in “Print Holdings,” click on that to find out where to locate it in the library.

If all you have is a citation:
1. Click on “Journal Holdings List” (a link from the Library's homepage) and type in the title of the periodical where the article was published. Pay attention to the date of the article you'd like to find when you check the information in the "Journal Holdings List." Your article might be available in full-text through a database or in "Castleton Print Holdings." If you click on "Castleton Print Holdings," you will find out where to locate the journal in the CSC Library, whether it’s in print, or on microfilm or microfiche.
2. If the article is not available full-text through another database, or in CSC's holdings, you can click on “Request an Article” (a link from the Library’s homepage) and copy and paste or type in the citation to request the article through interlibrary loan.

Additional resources

For a thorough overview of this topic, including definitions of the terms "Life Cycle Inventory," and "Life Cycle Impact Assessment," see:
Life Cycle Assessment: Principles and Practice from the National Risk Management Research Laboratory of the U.S. EPA
(http://www.epa.gov/NRMRL/lcaccess/pdfs/600r06060.pdf)

You can read an article that explains the challenge of accurate life-cycle assessments:
"Life Cycle Assessment" by Mark Duda and Jane S. Shaw, in Society, Nov/Dec97, Vol. 35, Issue 1. You can access this article through Expanded Academic Index.

Also see the Sustainability Research Guide from the Castleton State College Library
(http://www.castleton.edu/library/pathfindersnew/sustainabilityresearchguide.htm)

compiled by Charlotte Gerstein, Reference and Instruction Librarian, Castleton State College

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