During a Saturday afternoon in November, three volunteers at The Plant Chicago were busy busting down two brick walls with hammers and crowbars. Their protective eye goggles fogged up and sweat rolled down their foreheads as bits of mortar flew into the air. As they slammed their tools into the wall, they had to...
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The city is aggressively looking for ways to keep rainwater from entering the sanitary sewer system so overflows are not discharged untreated. Such contamination can prompt beach closures and threaten water quality. The challenge is complicated by environmental issues as diverse as climate change, sprawl and the spread of invasive species. Read the full...
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When you walk into Logan Square Kitchen, near Milwaukee and California avenues, you won’t see a fancy restaurant with well-decorated tables and expensive silverware. In fact, you probably won’t see any food at all. The most likely thing you’ll see is Zina Murray, the owner, sitting behind a table with her laptop and phone...
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Greenbuild is a conference for the construction industry, but its arrival in Chicago suggests some positive news for the city at large — and for neighborhoods where people care about the environment and the future of our economy, too. The focus this year is on residential housing. The Residential Summit Master Series is designed...
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The Active Transportation Alliance — Chicagoland’s nonprofit biking, walking and transit advocacy organization — commends Gov. Pat Quinn and the Illinois Department of Transportation for announcing nearly $90 million in federal transportation money for the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program (ITEP). For nearly 20 years, ITEP has provided critical funds for improving transportation safety, alternative...
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By Marsha Shields Chicago’s handling of crime and education may, to some, leave much to be desired, but city officials are doing a good job on one front, according to University of Michigan professor and scientist Don Scavia. At an speech held at the Field Museum on Oct. 7, Scavia commended Chicago’s proactive approach...
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The Field Museum’s “Climate Change” exhibit begins with a 60-foot illuminated timeline showing how the increased use of modern appliances such as cars, airplanes and computers has increased the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere and pushed Earth to its limits. Written in large letters above the daunting timeline are the words: “Using...
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Blog Action Day 2010 is Oct. 15. The issue this year is “water.” It is easy to participate if you are a blogger: just register your blog and get writing. With one-fifth of the world’s fresh water right at our shoreline, it is worth thinking about how many people suffer and even die because...
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Columbia College Chicago will host GreenTown: The Future of Community starting Wednesday, Oct. 13 with a free pre-conference workshop. The conference is designed to help create sustainable communities by bringing people together to discuss different ideas and solutions. According to Norman Alexandroff, Columbia’s director of student communications, the GreenTown Conference is more than just...
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By Jeff Gillies, Great Lakes Echo When the U.S. Senate abandoned greenhouse gas-curbing legislation, they also pulled the plug on 1.9 million new clean energy jobs, according to a report released by a coalition of business groups. The report cites state-specific numbers of “jobs forgone” for only four Great Lakes states — mostly those...
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