tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45423093752467758072024-02-19T09:41:46.017-06:00Recycle, Chicago!The ups and downs of going green in the Windy CityAllisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025229190516843693noreply@blogger.comBlogger96125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4542309375246775807.post-65895885430617316042011-03-01T14:01:00.004-06:002011-03-01T14:01:00.706-06:00Opt Out of the Yellow Page's Yellowed Pages!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ULn9uVYBIe1o3o5LqC2hqKwLtUqbKfYv29zcO3fDIgwuHwGfUK-eMHNV0HpS_0cy_yZDrxXFJ15EFOawFbOhV4d8hDqqISMM5UhYbr8OOqqYoDhyphenhyphen7eQrOGOV_RG-kEM6k4DXkBMHxJW-/s1600/DSCN00060608.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ULn9uVYBIe1o3o5LqC2hqKwLtUqbKfYv29zcO3fDIgwuHwGfUK-eMHNV0HpS_0cy_yZDrxXFJ15EFOawFbOhV4d8hDqqISMM5UhYbr8OOqqYoDhyphenhyphen7eQrOGOV_RG-kEM6k4DXkBMHxJW-/s320/DSCN00060608.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576261790860918578" /></a><div>After years of complaining about phone book litter by tree huggers and building owners alike, it seems as if Yellow Pages is finally getting the message that millions of Americans would like to see printed phone books <i>disappear</i>! I'd be willing to bet that it's been quite a while since most Americans turned, rather than scrolled, through the Yellow Pages. Yet it seems like another stack of these monstrous directories appears outside the front door of my building every few months or so. </div><div><br /></div><div>Fortunately, the City of Chicago accepts phone books for recycling, but many towns and municipalities do not. Nor do many of Chicago's phone books find their way into a blue cart; most wind up rotting on the front steps or entry way, in the same place they were dropped off. </div><div><br /></div><div>Late last year, cities began taking the matter into their own hands. It was <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/10/phone-book-litter-banned-seattle-nations-first.php">Seattle</a>, not a California city, who led the way in banning unsolicited phone book deliveries last fall, although a similar proposal found its way onto lawmakers' desks in San Francisco shortly thereafter. I rejoiced when I saw a posting last month on <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/02/yellow-pages-industry-unveils-national-opt-out-site-neg-norton-interview.php">Tree Hugger</a> that Yellow Pages has created a site for residents to opt out of receiving phone directories! </div><div><br /></div><div>In Tree Hugger's interview with Neg Norton, president of the Yellow Pages Association, Norton said the company created the opt-out site because, "it doesn't make any sense for us to deliver phone books to people who don't want them." Amen! He also went on to predict that a very small amount of people would actually sign up to decline directory deliveries, as the company's surveys and studies show that 75% of households still use printed phone books.</div><div><br /></div><div>Seventy-five percent seems awfully high to me; do 75% of households even have a land line anymore? At any rate, I went immediately to the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.yellowpagesoptout.com">opt-out</a> site and entered my zip code. It showed that I was signed up to receive eight (eight!) directories a year, including the Guia Telefonica and the Russian Yellow Pages. Huh? I refused delivery of all of them. So if you're as sick of phone book litter as I am, take a minute to opt out, and pass this information along to any and every one you know who might like to opt out, too! </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025229190516843693noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4542309375246775807.post-49991450772678827752011-02-23T14:01:00.003-06:002011-02-23T14:01:00.251-06:00Junk Mail Experiment<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPt5Sd2LEwgMxuH_eqNFXqqckEF46QPVx4n77K3MQ4l5g_uhZH52rEpYX2CT3xyX2KVE_CsIVt0I9m_1U026kwKcVDe8ZgCaixVKlfcOI0eMVC2XX661HRavC1hvEuItlvMbTF9v6qzJ-J/s1600/DSCN00120509.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPt5Sd2LEwgMxuH_eqNFXqqckEF46QPVx4n77K3MQ4l5g_uhZH52rEpYX2CT3xyX2KVE_CsIVt0I9m_1U026kwKcVDe8ZgCaixVKlfcOI0eMVC2XX661HRavC1hvEuItlvMbTF9v6qzJ-J/s320/DSCN00120509.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576234583794093730" /></a>During my annual inbox purge, I came across a forward that I received last fall, but never bothered to read. The only reason I didn't delete it is because the subject matter-- clever ways to reduce spam, junk mail, and unsolicited phone calls-- actually piqued my interest. So I skimmed its contents and was particularly amused by the proposed solution to curb unwanted junk mail. <div><br /><div>Now, I'm already on just about every opt-out list that I know of, but I still get my fair share of crap in the mailbox each week. The author of the forward suggested sending the utility company's ads back to them with their payment stubs, but I pay my bills online, so that's not a problem. Then the author shared some suggestions from Andy Rooney, the shouty old curmudgeon with woolly eyebrows who rants about some mild annoyance or other at the end of every <i>60 Minutes</i> episode. I normally mute the guy, but this time he was in print, and he actually seemed to have a point. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>Apparently, Rooney saves the return envelopes from the junk mailings he receives, then stuffs them with generic letters, advertisements, and application forms and drops them back in the mail. This forces companies to dispose of their own junk mail, and it also makes them pay-- twice!-- for sending it out in the first place. Even if there's nothing in the envelope, it still costs about 50 cents to return it to the sender. It sounds like he's careful to shred anything with his name or information on it, yet Rooney crows that the amount of junk mail he receives has decreased dramatically in the years since he's been single-handedly keeping the postal service in business, and that if we all would just do as he does, we could eliminate it entirely. </div><div><br /></div><div>So I decided to try it for a week. I returned a blank application form to a credit card company, I sent AARP (they shouldn't be sending me stuff yet, anyway!) information on how to save 15% or more on car insurance, and I enclosed pledge forms supporting spay and neuter campaigns to an airline (on which I've never flown) that still wants me to join their frequent flier program. Granted, it was kind of fun, but my conscience kept me from making the experiment as effective as it could have been. </div><div><br /></div><div>I decided from the outset not to return mailings to charities (many of them don't send out postage paid envelopes, anyway!), which automatically disqualified the majority of the junk mail I receive. But of the mailings I was willing to return, it was kind of fun to give these companies a chance to experience firsthand the frustration of receiving junk in the mail. Ultimately, though, I decided that my time would be better spent doing just about anything else. I guess I'm not cantankerous enough to single-handedly eliminate junk mail, but at least I tried!</div>Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025229190516843693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4542309375246775807.post-59267969010670668812011-02-14T14:00:00.005-06:002011-02-21T13:01:46.912-06:00In Lieu of Roses...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQNrVpEdAJV_OjrTIl1hlp0QxR82VrDMyATAge0H40ZQvG8fnvF2VNMT6KGIuzi9eXMAWrC5Yq_pTVD-0kY_-cnAZsus9rlna63foyLfQGEoshgCJJ8qfq2XMTvFCgsG8G5oUkCJQ1WWKJ/s1600/DSCN00711156.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQNrVpEdAJV_OjrTIl1hlp0QxR82VrDMyATAge0H40ZQvG8fnvF2VNMT6KGIuzi9eXMAWrC5Yq_pTVD-0kY_-cnAZsus9rlna63foyLfQGEoshgCJJ8qfq2XMTvFCgsG8G5oUkCJQ1WWKJ/s320/DSCN00711156.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576219367356467586" /></a><div style="text-align: left;">... give your Valentine some fair-trade chocolate! Or plan an activity together; depending on how much you're willing to invest in this Hallmark holiday, you could go ice skating, make reservations at a nice restaurant, see a museum, volunteer, or even cook together. Whatever. Just no roses. Especially cheap roses. I'm serious-- do or give <i>anything</i> but roses!</div><div><br /></div><div>Not only are roses cliche, they're also ruining the already fragile ecosystems of some of the developing countries from which our supermarket bouquets are exported. In Kenya, for example, the cultivation of Valentine's Day roses is draining (and polluting) Lake Naivasha, a precious and crucial source of water for the region. And in Colombia, the roses they export have been sprayed liberally with highly toxic pesticides and dipped in a myriad of chemicals by the time they hit store shelves. In addition to ruining their soil, surface water and groundwater, the workers who are repeatedly exposed to these chemicals (many of whom are single mothers) are at higher risk for health problems. Many children whose mothers came into contact with these pesticides and preservatives during their pregnancies showed signs--both physical and mental-- of developmental disabilities or delays. </div><div><br /></div><div>So next year, consider starting a new tradition. Guys, I speak from experience when I say that, while flowers are nice, I'm much more impressed by a gift or a gesture that was well thought out and came from the heart. It doesn't have to cost a lot; in fact, I usually prefer that it doesn't! It just has to show that you care. </div><div><br /></div><div>However, if you (and/or your Valentine) is/are dead-set on giving/receiving a colorful bouquet, consider buying organic. <a href="http://www.organicbouquet.com/">OrganicBouquet.com</a> offers a variety of Earth-friendly options, including some rose alternatives that are grown a little closer to home. Potted plants are also nice (I like orchids!); they generally don't wither in a week and, when watered, can be enjoyed year round. So get creative, guys-- you can thank me later!</div>Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025229190516843693noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4542309375246775807.post-69863159001479599042011-02-08T11:42:00.003-06:002011-02-21T12:19:44.499-06:00I Spy... With My Little Eye...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieCBjMzBamkYNwBinwpzaJqtTGMjEKSExL1HYQqnqDwxB5Gevv3RLkiwUvxPGynqD327NGqS2uvqeQAyWWN1J7rCOrFxcF-WM6TwLs-lffjkgnnbTUvAy_pUBzD_UbkOR4Yj6jugfV34Dm/s1600/DSCN03361395.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 238px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieCBjMzBamkYNwBinwpzaJqtTGMjEKSExL1HYQqnqDwxB5Gevv3RLkiwUvxPGynqD327NGqS2uvqeQAyWWN1J7rCOrFxcF-WM6TwLs-lffjkgnnbTUvAy_pUBzD_UbkOR4Yj6jugfV34Dm/s320/DSCN03361395.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576208320349835362" /></a>... the contents of the blue recycling carts being tossed into the same truck as the garbage! For shame, Streets and San guys! Yes, I am aware that there was a blizzard last week. Yes, I know that many of you had to work overtime to salt and plow all the streets in this city. And I'll even admit that, since the city doesn't plow the alleys, it's a crap shoot as to whether the garbage trucks can even get down the alley ways at all.<div><br /><div> <div>But this is Chicago. The city that works. So man up, boys; if you can collect garbage, you can collect recyclables. Our recycling rate in this city is shameful enough as it is; let's not use a couple feet of snow as an excuse to make things even worse. </div></div></div>Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025229190516843693noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4542309375246775807.post-83251605783008613072011-02-02T20:46:00.004-06:002011-02-28T12:20:34.823-06:00What Say Ye Now, Groundhog?<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKDqQi_Y0yJT6mi8N4FLGu6ymrqgL_TjHafFwO5Lce3chFu8C7Q7ZN7JCHwFTWmq7MNnhGkGoODVqzlsOVmE5WYHZhmrid6Pwmy-DEUdCUwm7lpNaaYgDm3_6a2MNKCw7SDS2fPpKo_ZDY/s320/DSCN03321392.JPG" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576005925331442882" />Here in Chicago, outlandish weather forecasts are not at all uncommon among the local news stations. In fact, a rush-hour flurry or a sudden downpour is usually all it takes for meteorologists to cut in to the evening's top stories with "breaking news" of the (usually obvious) precipitation affecting portions of the viewing area, and to dispatch rookie reporters to the lake front and expressway overpasses to confirm that-- "<i>live</i>, from outside"-- the white stuff that's hitting my window is, in fact, snow.<br /><br />So when forecasters began making their catastrophic storm predictions last week, I tuned in to Chicago's Very Own, WGN, to see what my buddy Tom Skilling had to say. He is <i>by far</i> the most level-headed, non-alarmist meteorologist in the tri-state area, so as soon as I heard him calmly describe the impending blizzard as a "storm of historic proportions", I took notice. And as it turns out, he was right on the money.<div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUCrvp9GYbNGATMH0SDmJOu8BYJLNg_4nhYuvlsQm6MV4YwcdXoxz5FrX1rtSmizzs0fNzQbxHimBC5J5Ra0JtUiGZ1wyja88SUtEktQAJ0eENlAkyZpgA2MU-YxGZrs6X8TQD6S7uvVX4/s200/DSCN03301390.JPG" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 173px; height: 200px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576005109704237522" /></div><div><br />In this (delightfully snarky for NPR) <a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/02/01/133391970/monster-snows-and-megastorms-oh-my?sc=17&f=1001">article</a> posted yesterday, an Atlanta meteorologist said (in response to the "monstrous monikers" that have been attached to the megastorms of recent winters):"Just in passing, I've overheard conversations about the intensity and danger of impending storms. People refer to the storm systems by their TV names, which lets me know that being creative gets people's attention."<br /><br />But since terms such as "Snowmageddon" and "Snowpocalypse" are <span style="font-style:italic;">so</span> East Coast 2010, I'd like to present to you a medley of the Chicago versions, coined specifically for the Blizzard of 2011. Here goes!<br /><br />Snowly cow! Snowtorious B.I.G. himself has descended upon the Windy City. We've learned that Mother Nature's first name is, in fact, Snowprah, and that <span style="font-style:italic;">no one</span> was excluded from her first "Favorite Things" episode of February. In a shrieking voice, loud enough to be heard over the howling winds, she has declared that, "<i>you</i> get a blizzard... and "<i>you</i> get a blizzard... <i>everyone</i> gets a BLIZZZZARRRRD!" Only this time, it's not just a room full of hysterical middle-aged women in brightly colored tops who are squealing "SNOW-M-G!"; school children everywhere are overcome with joy to learn that, what started as a snowrnado last night has closed even the Chicago Public schools today. And since this blizzaster has all but crippled transportation in the city, tomorrow's not looking good, either.<br /><br />It warms my heart (but not my hands) to know that residents are banding together in the wake of this snowtastrophy; in this magical time-- after the snowfall has ended but before the lawn chairs appear (to claim "dibs" on their owners' dug-out parking spaces)-- neighbors are helping neighbors clear drifts from their front doors, shovel narrow pathways for brave commuters and dog walkers, and they're also responding to all-too-literal questions of, "Dude! Where's my <i>car</i>?!?"<br /><br /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6CtxRUEBV46ZXpQet4MrS7QZJVfJLFzoUYVEdSRKVh2jfQYRrar2uxRYInN-O-KjvrMnYWiJ7gBauMiea8ejp5hDi1dD8ZJ2g7Ly9xYtVhNSJmF8xvd7A-cf9tZrsQ1cEwcvtWBCLVmJm/s200/DSCN03311391.JPG" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 139px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576006612512746162" />On my quiet little side street (that probably won't see a snow plow or a back hoe until sometime this weekend), the only modes of transportation I saw in the two hours I was out unearthing my car were el trains, skis, and snowshoes. Plenty of people ventured out of their homes to marvel at the mess, though, snapping pictures like tourists while trying not to lose their dogs or kids in the waist-high drifts.<br /></div><br />I know that 48 hours from now, we'll likely be back to business as usual, cursing the city's never-fast-enough response to snow removal, screaming "oh SNOW you <i>didn't</i>!" at drivers who cut us off or park in a way that is considered stupid-- even for blizzard standards-- but for today, I'm going to do my best to enjoy Blizzardpalooza 2011.<br /><br />And as for the groundhog... I saw Punxsutawney Phil on the news, smugly predicting an early spring for those out east. Closer to home, our resident rodent in Woodstock, Illinois, wouldn't even come out. Groundhog's day was cancelled. What's <i>that</i> supposed to mean? My guess is that it doesn't bode well for any of us Chicagoans... well, except for maybe the meteorologists.<br /><br /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi506Xxs5QhAcJxTx_YwMgB7JygFENsf8wmnHgahTzZzkZIWQuefSVNb2Wrc14b0-L-1S5HOd9pSlscqR49cBXp4H3YbsalP3tY2s8RrGpbTknrnKgSPCj6gLwA_z1eueOywDHez2yk40ND/s400/DSCN03281388.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576004035231293922" />Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025229190516843693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4542309375246775807.post-88680275685994819932011-01-24T16:38:00.006-06:002011-02-20T21:01:29.570-06:00Alma Mater Goes Green!I admit, I perused the cover article of my latest alumni magazine with a mixture of excitement and envy. The feature story championed all the ways the University has "gone green" in the decade since my graduation, outlining both the big and little steps they are taking toward environmental sustainability. <div><br /><div>While the seeds of environmental change had already been planted during my time there, the fruits of these labors did not materialize until after I had left; the University began offering a minor in environmental studies my senior year (but by then it was too late for me to add the program and still graduate on schedule) and it was offered as a major in 2005. The LEED-certified Welcome Center opened in 2008, and the GREENetwork, a task force that formed the year after I graduated, meets monthly to oversee the many environmental initiatives that are taking place campus wide. </div><div><br /></div><div>Those are the biggies, but there are plenty of smaller and equally innovative practices taking place in nearly every aspect of campus life. Student volunteers run a second-hand clothing store from one of the residence halls; the cafeteria has gone trayless and has installed a "Hydration Station" of filtered and flavored waters, meant to encourage students to carry reusable water bottles; and prospective students and their families sip beverages from ceramic mugs that encourage their users to "Think Green", referring both to the environment and to the school's colors. </div><div><br /></div><div>Even the University's staff are doing their part: the grounds crew has abandoned the practice of blanketing the lawn with pesticides, opting instead to spot-treat areas when necessary; custodial workers have switched to machines and cleaners that use both less water and fewer chemicals; and 65 pairs of aging laundry machines have been replaced with energy efficient models that use much less water and less energy. </div><div> </div></div><div><br />Although I did take one environmental science class during my undergrad years, I would certainly have taken more had they been offered. I might have even taken more science classes if the ones that most interested me didn't have crazy prerequisites (like surviving the infamous Bio 101). That this liberal arts school is now taking a liberal arts approach to the environmental sciences-- encouraging students in the program to complete coursework in biology, chemistry, political science, and anthropology-- pleases me to no end; I only wish I could have gotten in on the fun!</div>Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025229190516843693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4542309375246775807.post-30908395695345987462011-01-13T09:39:00.003-06:002011-02-02T15:24:07.570-06:00Alderman Wants Brockovich at Water TestingWell, I'll be. Alderman Ed Burke has invited renowned environmental lawyer, Erin Brockovich, to the soon-to-be-held public hearings on the level of hexavalent chromium recently discovered in the city's water supply from Lake Michigan. This is the same pollutant found in the now groundbreaking case of the residents of Hinkley, California, vs. the Pacific Gas and Energy company, a case that Brockovich researched, launched, and championed all the way up to the highest courts, which ended in a $330 million victory for the plaintiffs and fame and good fortune for Brockovich. What's more, according to Burke, Brockovich's people say she is "available". So an environmental rock star may be coming to Chicago! I am beyond excited about this. <div><br /></div><div>The level of chromium-6 found in Chicago's water supply last month was 0.18 parts per billion, which is now nine times higher than the acceptable 0.02 ppb adopted by California officials just this month. Although nothing has been said about limiting the amount of Cr-6 in our local water supply, officials vow to begin quarterly testing for the substance, and to report their findings online. The EPA has also agreed to review it's current chromium limits, and to consider separating the villified chromium-6 from its cousin chromium-3, which is an essential nutrient. </div><div><br /></div><div>While chromium levels can knowingly be reduced through fancy water filtration systems, carbon filters (like the one in my fridge) have not yet been proven to separate this chemical out of the tap water (yikes!)</div>Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025229190516843693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4542309375246775807.post-36366764085604566372011-01-09T01:57:00.003-06:002011-02-03T14:51:30.551-06:00Revelations?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqM8UQwHaZXLPZMYLMWzH10rMW2kcGHGO_UE3RimH3zFZNnlMIhotq_bKFL58JP1Eh2hx_lJwl87YyALh9AWKHBgFcihXaU-NAJSxVP72z9cfHGmCc3nzGdN_1me5wiHsTTfOHfYNlqAtk/s1600/Hong+Kong-Beijing+0540762.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqM8UQwHaZXLPZMYLMWzH10rMW2kcGHGO_UE3RimH3zFZNnlMIhotq_bKFL58JP1Eh2hx_lJwl87YyALh9AWKHBgFcihXaU-NAJSxVP72z9cfHGmCc3nzGdN_1me5wiHsTTfOHfYNlqAtk/s320/Hong+Kong-Beijing+0540762.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569559973823787250" /></a>Is the sudden flurry of recent news reports on the "aflockalypse" keeping anyone else awake at night? My eco-insomnia started on New Year's Day with a chilling story of 5,000 blackbirds falling from the Arkansas sky, and it seems like every time I turn on my TV nowadays, there's another report of mysterious mass wildlife deaths. We're barely a week into this new year, and already we've got reports of species turning up dead in Kentucky and Arkansas and Sweden, in numbers of Biblical proportions. And it's not just birds; dead fish have washed up on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, dead crabs were found littering a beach in Britain... what (or who!) is next? <div><br /></div><div>So what's going on here? Is our civilization being punished once more with a series of plagues? Did the Mayans correctly predict the coming of the end of days? Or is there something to the many conspiracy theories floating around, warning of covert government operations and chemical/biological warfare testing and the like? </div><div><br /></div><div>Even though I'm exhausted, my judgement isn't clouded enough to buy into any of these crazy conspiracy theories, and I suspect that the day after the Mayans say the Earth will end will be remarkably similar to January 1st, 2000 (judgement day for Y2K); surprisingly uneventful despite all the hype. Nor do I entirely believe the reports that are telling us not to worry because scientists have decided that the blackbirds in Arkansas were literally scared to death by New Year's Eve fireworks the night before. I <i>am</i> worried, and I don't think the real answer is as simple as the (sometimes conflicting) news reports would lead us to believe! </div><div><br /></div><div>I resolved not to spend another sleepless night speculating about the disturbing events of recent days, but to instead try and find a more logical explanation. So I turned on the Internet, set my common sense filter to "high", and started searching reputable biological and environmental sites. And here is what I found: sudden mass wildlife deaths are nothing new, nor are they uncommon. The U.S. Geological survey actually keeps a running tally of all reported die-offs <a href="http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/mortality_events/ongoing.jsp">here</a>. In fact, scientists believe the species-specific deaths are more common than even this chart shows (as they think most die-offs go unreported) and that the media coverage (<i>not</i> the deaths themselves) is the only thing that has changed in recent days. </div><div><br /></div><div>In reading through this chart, I see that most of the species on this list are birds, but that the suspected causes of death vary. While trauma <i>is</i> listed quite frequently, so are a number of various diseases. And I know (even from my limited training in biology and ecology) that toxins/pollutants and loss of habitat are other contributing factors. That in itself should give us plenty to worry about; I read somewhere else that as many as one in six species of birds are in danger of becoming extinct! </div><div><br /></div><div>What's more, animals often succumb to disease, pollution, and other environmental factors long before humans. Some scientists suspect that these dead animals are the "canaries" in our proverbial coal mine, and it's high time we stop and listen. Just as animals can predict and detect severe weather and instinctively know when to take cover, many human diseases start in wildlife populations (bird flu, swine flu... these aren't just cute names!). If we want to stop their problems from becoming our problems down the road, we need to work to protect the environment we all share; humans are <i>not</i> immune! </div><div><br /></div><div>The beauty of biodiversity is that every creature plays a vital role. We may not know what purpose each species serves in relation to our own existence, but we don't want to find out after they're gone... Sweet dreams!</div><div><br /></div>Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025229190516843693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4542309375246775807.post-36588972836701087282010-12-28T09:42:00.006-06:002011-02-02T15:23:41.030-06:00Recycle Your Christmas Lights!<span class="Apple-style-span">Don't ask me how, but the City of Chicago will be recycling your old, broken, and unwanted strands of Christmas lights! Visit any one of their twelve <a href="http://www.blogger.com/embed%20width=%22100%%22%20height=%22100%%22%20name=%22plugin%22%20src=%22http://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/doe/general/RecyclingAndWasteMgmt_PDFs/BlueCart/StringLightRecyclingFlyerFINAL2.pdf%22%20type=%22application/pdf%22%3E%3C/embed%3E">drop-off locations</a> now through January 18th to keep these old decorations out of area landfills. Both indoor and outdoor light strings are being accepted. For more information, or to print out this <a href="http://www.blogger.com/embed%20width=%22100%%22%20height=%22100%%22%20name=%22plugin%22%20src=%22http://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/doe/general/RecyclingAndWasteMgmt_PDFs/BlueCart/StringLightRecyclingFlyerFINAL2.pdf%22%20type=%22application/pdf%22%3E%3C/embed%3E">flyer</a>, call 311 or visit www.chicagorecycles.org.</span>Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025229190516843693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4542309375246775807.post-3639841828647555612010-12-20T09:53:00.006-06:002011-02-02T15:23:09.198-06:00Hexavalent Chromium Found in Cities' Water Supply<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3-tccTjKoQpgKHgnXvPuIAWVbGJPgqcleqkjOc9LVsbRoPlGltdGFaBguoAYeHa_uWwZE5GT1ZyCVe9qTeIX00GtLaFm2jnEmxeF-0smazMJxbr4yMGq96f4U3tYwT2mHfXAvaktSNOig/s1600/DSCN01411222.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3-tccTjKoQpgKHgnXvPuIAWVbGJPgqcleqkjOc9LVsbRoPlGltdGFaBguoAYeHa_uWwZE5GT1ZyCVe9qTeIX00GtLaFm2jnEmxeF-0smazMJxbr4yMGq96f4U3tYwT2mHfXAvaktSNOig/s320/DSCN01411222.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569205075502780162" /></a>Remember the based-on-real-life movie, "Erin <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Brockovich</span>", starring Julia Roberts as a feisty, lingerie-flaunting, single mother? Yes? Well, you may also remember that Robert's unemployed character was so desperate for a job that she took an entry-level position at her lawyer's firm, which was seemingly offered to her out of pity. And I'm sure everyone remembers that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Brockovich</span> stumbled upon a covered-up accusation of water pollution by corporate behemoth Pacific Gas and Electric, and took it upon herself to conduct follow-up research and rally more than 600 residents of the town affected to become plaintiffs of what turned out to be a huge class-action lawsuit (which, by the way, they <i>won</i>) against PG & E. This true rags-to-riches story ends with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Brockovich</span> going to law school and becoming one of the nation's most prolific environmental lawyers.<div><br /></div><div>What you may <i>not</i> remember, however, is the contaminate at the center of this legal battle. The alleged cancer-causing metal in question was <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">hexavalent</span> chromium, or chromium-6. The good news is that the NIH finally labeled chromium-6 as a "probable carcinogen" (it's believed to cause stomach cancer, among other ailments) back in 2008, and that the great state of California (which has led the way in setting environmental standards and regulations since the 1970s) proposed to set a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">MCL</span> (a limit on the acceptable amount of contaminate present) in its drinking water to 0.06 parts per billion. The bad news is that the EPA has no limit on the allowable amount of Cr-6, nor does it regularly test the nation's water supply for the presence of such a chemical. </div><div><br /></div><div>So why do I think this is a big deal? Well, an independent environmental organization, the Environmental Working Group, took it upon themselves to test the drinking water of 35 cities around the U.S.; chromium-6 was found in the water supply of 31 of those cities, and in 25 of those cities, the amount was well above California's proposed limit. </div><div><br /></div><div>In Chicago, the tests revealed Cr-6 amounts of 0.18 parts per billion; three times what California suggests is safe. Uh oh. The water pollution in this city is suspected to have come in part from the south side steel mills and other riverside industries, as the substance was widely used until the mid 1990s. Although the EPA has agreed to review its stance on h<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">exavalent</span> chromium, utility companies and industrial polluters are already fighting back. If the EPA does in fact set limits on the allowable amount of chromium-6 to enter the water supply, it will be very difficult (not to mention expensive!) to clean up, and companies are reluctant to dip into their profit shares to remediate the problem in the interest of public health. We're all drinking the water, though, so if <i>I</i> knew there was a way to lower my family's risk of certain cancers, liver and kidney damage, and leukemia, I'd consider it a small price to pay. </div>Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025229190516843693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4542309375246775807.post-26074790277082754972010-11-28T18:56:00.003-06:002011-02-03T17:50:20.022-06:00Meigs Field Now Bird Sanctuary<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2VwixJ-uX3Otvy4yLIHGR0uuHSt2LKv22v-U5Nc_fAvEr3T_yuVr05HzDlAOdnwBza_dk_aDq5ANuk4JxgX4DgmJ2o4WLHZtDbO7l5XlWaHq_4Nqp2vLt3pilgXhxoU-OBqp5xl7LFtrY/s1600/DSCN02751342.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2VwixJ-uX3Otvy4yLIHGR0uuHSt2LKv22v-U5Nc_fAvEr3T_yuVr05HzDlAOdnwBza_dk_aDq5ANuk4JxgX4DgmJ2o4WLHZtDbO7l5XlWaHq_4Nqp2vLt3pilgXhxoU-OBqp5xl7LFtrY/s320/DSCN02751342.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568574345152780994" /></a>Northerly Island is, by all accounts, an enviable piece of real estate. Located just southeast of the Museum Campus, the peninsula was once home to a little airport known as <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Meigs</span> Field, which met its now-infamous end back in 2003, when Mayor Richard M. Daley covertly sent a fleet of bulldozers to tear up the runways in the middle of the night, without warning the public or getting approval from any of the city's usual legal channels. Unapologetic in his actions, Daley cited only a concern that having an airfield so close to downtown posed a "terrorist threat", in a very-belated response to the September 11<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">th</span> attacks. <div></div><div><br /></div><div>Although pilots and other aviator enthusiasts still harbor a great deal of resentment toward the mayor and his seemingly rash decision, it sounds like Northerly Island will soon become a permanent hub for winged creatures of the feathered variety. </div><div><br /></div><div>In the years since the runway debacle, the Park District has already made great strides in beautifying Northerly Island. They have done a good deal of prairie restoration on the southern half of the peninsula, and erected the Charter One Pavilion, a 7,500-seat (temporary) concert venue to the north. This <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-11-27/news/ct-met-northerly-island-meeting-20101127_1_design-process-studio-gang-architects-steve-whitney">article</a> in yesterday's Tribune details how architects plan to unveil green designs for a permanent concert facility (revenue from these concerts will help fund this project) and to restructure the old terminal building, by removing the walls (which have claimed the lives of many a migrating bird) and turning it into an open-air <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">pavilion</span>. </div><div><br /></div><div>A more concerted effort will be made to turn the island, which is on the direct flight path of many migrating birds, into a bird sanctuary and hospital, while underwater rock formations will harbor many more species of aquatic plants and animals. I walked the length of Northerly Island earlier this fall, and despite a group of tourists on Segways, I found it to be a surprisingly peaceful place. I think a nature sanctuary is a great idea, and the views can't be beat!</div>Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025229190516843693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4542309375246775807.post-35007094627718519162010-10-30T16:35:00.002-05:002011-02-03T18:00:23.904-06:00What's in YOUR Water?Just as many people find it hard to remember life before cell phones, others can barely remember life before bottled water. Do you remember when bottled water was "invented"? I do. We must have all been so primitive and uncultured before then... to think that we all used to drink (*gasp!*) tap water... the horror! <div><br /></div><div>Oh, wait. I <i>still</i> drink tap water, and I think all of you should, too. Now, I'm not normally one to blatantly impose my views on others; as long as your actions aren't affecting me and you're not hurting yourself or anyone else, I'm willing to put up with a myriad of different things. But in this case, I think the actions of bottled water drinkers <i>are</i> hurting themselves and others, and here's why. </div><div><br /></div><div>We've all heard the alarming statistics of the number of plastic beverage containers that wind up in landfills: they make up 45%-60% of <i>all litter</i> in this country, and the number of bottles discarded last year alone, when stacked end to end, would be enough to reach to the moon and back six times, or something crazy like that. Discarded plastic bottles are also clogging up our oceans, comprising a hefty percentage of the giant patches of garbage floating in our polluted seas; the 21st century version of the plastic six-pack rings people got so fired up about back in the '80s. </div><div><br /></div><div>I know what you're thinking: "Of course litter is bad. I recycle <i>my</i> plastic bottles. What else have you got?"</div><div><br /></div><div>If pollution doesn't weigh as heavily on your eco-conscious as it does mine, then consider this. Our government, in its infinite wisdom, passed a great deal of environmental legislation back in the 1970s and 80s, and as a result of pieces of legislation such as the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act, all municipalities have to meet very specific criteria when it comes to the treatment of drinking water. This includes regular, <i>daily</i> testing of the water that comes out of our tap. And no, it's not 100% pure, but some minerals are <i>good</i> for us and we can rest assured that it has been tested for a myriad of toxins, and test results came in below the MCLs for each of those toxins. We can use additional in-home filtration systems as an extra safeguard or if we object to the taste, but know that in the 21st century, the water that comes out of the tap in this country has been thoroughly tested and is safe to drink. </div><div><br /></div><div>Still not convinced? Then consider this: bottled water came onto the scene several years after the afore-mentioned bills were passed, so our government, in its infinite wisdom, delegated the regulation of bottled water to the FDA instead. The FDA is so huge that it can't really test every product under its jurisdiction to the extent that is sometimes needed, and often approves items (such as water) that are "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) without closer inspection. The FDA does not investigate advertising claims of "mountain-pure spring water" and the like, and only gets around to testing bottled water every three to six months... if we're lucky. </div><div><br /></div><div>Independent testing has since revealed that many of these claims are false, and that most bottled water is just packaged tap water. It's rarely cleaner than what comes out of our faucet, and in some cases the level of contamination is worse. If, for example, bottled water is contaminated during the packaging process, it could take months to detect the toxin, and by that time, thousands of people could have already consumed the tainted water. Tap water contamination is detected and remediated much more swiftly than that. </div><div><br /></div><div>My final argument against bottled water is this: bottled water came about because giant corporations such as Nestle and Coca Cola and the like found a sneaky new way to increase their sales. They've profited so much from designing clever advertising campaigns and making unfounded health claims about the benefits of their bottled water product, they've monopolized and have all but depleted once-public water sources in areas (such as northern Michigan) just to make a buck. Bottled water is the first step in turning a natural resource into a commodity, and that's a slippery slope to venture down. </div><div><br /></div><div>Water is vital to our very existence, and the thought of allowing large companies to seize our water supplies and claim ownership of this crucial element is terrifying, indeed. So the next time you reach for an Ice Mountain or a Dasani, I challenge you to stop and think about what you're actually drinking! </div><div><br /></div>Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025229190516843693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4542309375246775807.post-87277917407015580952010-10-02T18:49:00.010-05:002011-02-03T18:13:56.428-06:00Climate Change Exhibit<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4-5q-wN0YK0eJ4LBdj3urKBzJSN0-RJRP5ezstGaVulM77U9GAp1UmqS2oVQlVlq0rCjaZdAY1X2BpYQqVFTR-jQkQKE9nsvgaZtCKJl9_DCZQqY2bPS9nBgJpPyZWE2o4WWR3PcEuqd/s1600/DSCN02571324.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4-5q-wN0YK0eJ4LBdj3urKBzJSN0-RJRP5ezstGaVulM77U9GAp1UmqS2oVQlVlq0rCjaZdAY1X2BpYQqVFTR-jQkQKE9nsvgaZtCKJl9_DCZQqY2bPS9nBgJpPyZWE2o4WWR3PcEuqd/s320/DSCN02571324.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568571322314025986" /></a>I practically skipped down to the Museum Campus last week to take advantage of one of the Field Museum's free days, which means reduced-price admission to their normally pricey special exhibits! I've been meaning to go see the Climate Change exhibit (as well as the robotic dinosaurs, which were <i>very</i> cool) all summer, as I'd heard so many good things about it that I wanted to see it for myself.<div><br />In my excitement, I arrived at the museum shortly after it opened, and had the entire Climate Change exhibit practically to myself. So I took my time meandering through the aisles, crammed floor to ceiling with historic facts, photos, meteorological diagrams, and flow charts, reading both the interest-piquing tidbits and the heavier scientific evidence behind the findings presented.</div><div><br /></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2K3ngerjcW7R8oYw3RaslURfmvKvho7x6yXSL7U84fu3FpJE21uICiLP3rmPUg4GktQu4JGeCqtLRwzgDzHJFIW0jwvdJvDjkmZJQK3PI9-2I0R-EecpGjS71JzxpAPMS0T_Q0Amwidl4/s200/DSCN02621329.JPG" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569185078087302802" /><div>Of all the information presented, my only beef with the presentation was with the giant stuffed polar bear picking its way over a mound of garbage. I found the display to be apocalyptic and over the top; the present facts are scary enough, there's no need to make wild predictions about the future.</div><div><br /></div><div>Although the subject matter was still alarming, it was not alarmist by any means, and I was pleased as punch to see no partisan politics in play whatsoever (which, in my opinion, is exactly as it <i>should</i> be!). The exhibit did exactly what exhibits do best, and that is to present the facts in a clear and concise manner. It's funny, but without partisan rhetoric and cliche talking points, skeptics have a much harder time arguing with the facts!</div><div><br /></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx1iiVBbpUZQVsnQGA6_JFzMPDa8Zz9O00l62je6IjPCyFHlZAgL7pG5exCccMYrH7gS-DI3EiouorTeyNp1MQWMJ5sg_NWosyOn9DhJtRLlFzGUyVE6oPL5G4xVASS8CrBLgMgs10VorF/s200/DSCN02611328.JPG" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569188729436609474" /><div>And the fact is that our planet is getting warmer. The all-encompassing takeaway I left with is that, while the rising temps <i>may</i> be due in part to the natural cycle of the Earth (take heart, skeptics!), our habits and actions as a society certainly aren't helping matters and may in fact be making things worse (hug a tree, hippies!). The exhibit left visitors with a sense of hope, detailing how a few small actions by many could change the trajectory of our future, because the health of the environment and the health of <i>all</i> species (humans are not immune!) are inexorably linked.</div>Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025229190516843693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4542309375246775807.post-87085185037796981702010-09-19T18:50:00.002-05:002011-01-29T23:13:10.916-06:00Ding Dong! The Well is Dead!<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Ding Dong! </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >The Well is dead. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Which oil Well? </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >The BP Well! </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Ding Dong! </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Macondo well is dead!</span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Scrub oil off the pelican's head,</span></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >pull trawlers along the Gulf Sea bed.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Coast Guard said the oil well is dead! </span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Say skeptics, "Where'd the oil go?"</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Below - below - below. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Yo-ho, </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >let's open up the beach </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >and wring the booms out.</span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Ding Dong the merry-oh, </span></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >never mind the slick below.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Let folks know </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Macondo well is dead!</span></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i>BP</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >The well's been plugged but it's a pity, </span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Offshore drilling all had to be stopped. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Spillcam's off; we're not the enemy! </span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i>USCG</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >But we've got to verify it legally, to see</span></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i>BP</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >To see?</span></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i>USCG</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >If she</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i>BP</i> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >If <i>she</i>?</span></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i>USCG</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Is morally, ethic'lly</span></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i>Shrimpers</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Spiritually, physically</span></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i>Fishermen</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Positively, absolutely</span></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i>Tourists</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Undeniably and reliably Dead</span></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i>Adm. Thad Allen</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >As Admiral I must aver, </span></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >I thoroughly examined her. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >And she's not only merely dead, </span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >she's really most sincerely dead.</span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i>BP</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >This is a good day for Gulf dependents, </span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >For all marine life, and their descendants</span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i>USCG</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >If any...</span></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i>All</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Yes, let the joyous news be spread </span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Deepwater Horizon's well is dead!</span><div></div></div>Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025229190516843693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4542309375246775807.post-36648193540826126792010-09-07T18:49:00.004-05:002011-01-29T19:01:00.674-06:00Stearns Quarry Wetlands<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpoOnwnKKCWqYhU0WdrQdicp8WcaCgWUOufh3onFP0LUR1GEIlUhy8lS29oUF1gx_uhoU4ieCf7FYTw2YjZxZg9speAu1peFNQ-pSPLxFqZ4IP_k0dds4ZENSVrY-MQm3agGMVY4T7hRyh/s1600/DSCN02431310.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpoOnwnKKCWqYhU0WdrQdicp8WcaCgWUOufh3onFP0LUR1GEIlUhy8lS29oUF1gx_uhoU4ieCf7FYTw2YjZxZg9speAu1peFNQ-pSPLxFqZ4IP_k0dds4ZENSVrY-MQm3agGMVY4T7hRyh/s320/DSCN02431310.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567764532310945874" /></a>I learned of this ecological gem while waiting on the Roosevelt <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">el</span> platform, of all places. The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">CTA</span> has TV screens at some of the larger stations that encourage passengers to explore different areas of the city by mass transit, by showcasing certain attractions near different <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">el</span> stops. Advertised as being just steps from the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Halsted</span> Orange Line station and bus hub, I hopped a train to the south side and spent a morning wandering through one of the Park District's newest open areas and wetlands restoration sites.<div><br /><div>The site of this abandoned stone quarry lies just southeast of the Stevenson Expressway, but despite its proximity to such a major vehicle thoroughfare, the quarry is surprisingly tranquil. The topographical variation itself is reason enough to visit; the mound of unused land left by the site's previous industry is now a grass-covered hill, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">criss</span>-crossed by paved pedestrian walkways, and the mining pit has been filled with water and stocked with native fish and aquatic plants.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7hrBr4SnkwsADe9Twlw0P65GoKS82VHcBDfIrrBns_WCyMup-lyZCZlwuKUKCjZlz9ESuagaHcoHGxXLkfXcs4SuwLQICjuINW0LOVpZlVUW3B1I-XQgUcYf0s01RC9LFgbaMjKJ2I0zY/s200/DSCN02501317.JPG" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567770294134054322" /></div>The walkway into the park is lined with large stones, a reminder of what the land was once used for, and the water's source is at the site of the quarry's old well. It circles the well in a growing spiral trench until it reaches the edge of the pavement and meanders down the hill into the quarry pit below. Sedges and tall grasses have already taken root in the fertile soils lining the newly formed stream, and should be completely grown in by next summer. Although the fishing area is not yet open to the public, residents are already taking advantage of the open space; runners were tackling one of the largest hills in the city and families were picnicking atop giant boulders.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>After I toured the wetlands, I briefly considered continuing south on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Halsted</span> to lunch in (and explore) the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Bronzeville</span> neighborhood, but was skeptical of the neighborhood that lay in between, so I (somewhat reluctantly) hopped back on the train and made my way north. Kudos to the Park District and the Transit Authority, however, for enticing me to visit a part of the city I wouldn't otherwise have considered!</div><div><br /></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRR_yVcvzRMJuz5nGVDOPHJtBWHauLp1OFFHgaEzMy597z8nAh181XSu_E4YSDuKXh9CmY7N_F3crFSNNtEyhyphenhyphenPclIyGeldvEZ3vEsuIOLXrOUAsW8ZCkAzfQ5HQymN2cgfmGrsK44CLEI/s400/DSCN02411308.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567777398493054722" />Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025229190516843693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4542309375246775807.post-84211136259584973822010-08-23T18:47:00.006-05:002011-01-18T16:01:43.593-06:00Lincoln Park Nature Boardwalk<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS_aOYfJyRJOt0b8jN6U7DlTqOSxg5hHJn15S5BxYtn5BEkNMxuL9Ef3X1XorWMA_GS4XkUkLvivaHvHgAUIAKVwPM1myc7hy1mAk30vvsAfsbOb0gb5iVhg0giFyOtVlhYP4S_zfSl_ut/s400/DSCN02221293.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563645665748217730" /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>With the end of summer looming, I packed my camera, field guides, and water bottle and headed down to Lincoln Park to see the Nature Boardwalk, which opened in June. The park's South Pond had been under construction for more than a year, with bulldozers and backhoes tearing out the old and making way for the new, native ecosystem. About the only wildlife remaining from the old pond is a colony of endangered herons (in fact, construction was scheduled around their breeding season), as all of the non-native fish that had once called it home had to be destroyed (because it's illegal to release non-native species into local waterways). <div></div><div><br /></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJNVBqpiv8ySN8yyiSOP-yR_Ib-QxMlgT7bQkd8jW7ii_xSfQyQ_QdAgNd4Nfyc10oFBlgruZZXgdAax84vD5kTVslC1fVScBodcg0uITV8JQq2AT7uZYBKAEjh9dQVKyinkurH5LU_ASZ/s200/DSCN02021273.JPG" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563647007324822546" /><div>The pond was filled and surrounded by regional vegetation and stocked with native minnows, bluegill, turtles, and other wildlife. Filtration systems were installed in the pond to keep the water's pH as close to a naturally formed pond as possible. An island in the middle of the pond and ledges under the bridges were meant to</div><div> encourage swallows and other non-aquatic species to take up residence as well. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>As much as I enjoyed my stroll around the pond's perimeter, I think the habitat will be far more impressive in a couple of years.</div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCrrA2XFWTKpO8whPTUV8mh7Vtnp0KYx7IJE_U0TesOOi0ewTqipbGDoILyXRcrN-3ZfXeJ5wftjxtdq4r1FUxCIV7tPySD-uhVkVNbm6_MpgEJT_TMaCQE58afcZ7AM47sE84INsacGXg/s200/DSCN01981269.JPG" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563648533991441378" />The newly transplanted sedges, grasses, and wildflowers will need time to take root and grow tall enough to cover the ground, and once the vegetation is established, even more species will come to settle in this ecological sanctuary. It was definitely worth the el fare, though!Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025229190516843693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4542309375246775807.post-3669811019386188942010-07-27T10:09:00.004-05:002011-01-18T15:04:48.358-06:00The Reader on Recycling<div>When I saw <a href="http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/chicago-recycling-blue-carts-service/Content?oid=2135422">this story</a> on the front page of the <em>Chicago Reader,</em> I wanted to bend down and hug the squat little distribution box just north of my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">el</span> stop. Upon further reading (and it's quite a hefty article, at least by free newspaper standards), I began to wonder whether its author was making legitimate complaints or just adding fuel to this already fiery debate. I've included some of the most telling excerpts below, with minimal commentary, so readers can formulate their own opinions on the matter. The article opens: </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); "><p class="Body" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; "></p><p class="Body" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; "></p><blockquote><p class="Body" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >If you live in a residential building with four or fewer units, you're supposed to put your recyclables into blue carts and set them out by your trash every two weeks—though ... in most neighborhoods there are no blue carts yet. [Or] you can take your recyclables to one of the city's 33 drop-off centers and hope the bins there aren't already too full.</span></p><p class="Body" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >[But] if you live in a building with more than four units, your garbage is picked up by private waste haulers ... If your hauler isn't recycling, you can press the building owner to comply with the law, but he doesn't really have to fear being fined for violating it. Or you can take your stuff to one of those 33 drop-off centers and hope the bins there aren't already too full.</span></p><p class="Body" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >If you live adjacent to a neighborhood that has the blue carts, maybe you can slip your recycling into the ones across the street, if they're not already too full—but don't get caught, because it's illegal. If you live next to a park, or visit the airports regularly, maybe you can take your materials to their plentiful recycling bins.</span></p><p class="Body" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >Or you can do what most Chicagoans do: say to hell with it.</span></p></blockquote><p class="Body" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; "></p><p class="Body" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Confusing, right? I think so, too.</span><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span">A good deal of funds allotted for recycling have been spent on studies, which show that only 8% of waste from city garbage haulers is diverted from landfills (private sector haulers fare slightly better at 19%). Studies also project that this number could easily be raised to 40% in both public and private sectors. So why is Chicago's recycling program still such a failure? </span></p><p class="Body" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; "></span></span></p><p class="DropCapSmall" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></p><blockquote><p class="DropCapSmall" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">In April, city officials quietly released the results of a pair of studies they'd commissioned to help figure out how to reduce the amount of garbage produced in Chicago. One, a "waste characterization study," sampled trash around the city to determine what Chicagoans are throwing out. It found that we produced about 7.7 million tons of waste in 2007, most of it metals, paper, food and yard waste, plastics, used clothing, and construction and demolition (C & D) debris like concrete and steel.</span></p><p class="Body" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">The other, a "waste diversion study," analyzed what's happening to the city's garbage after it's picked up. It determined that most C & D debris is recycled and reused—as much as 65 percent, the result of a 2005 city ordinance as well as demand for the materials in the marketplace.</span></p><p class="Body" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">But the study also found that even with the high recycling rate for C & D debris, most of Chicago's waste ends up in landfills: 56 percent of metals from homes and businesses, 69 percent of discarded paper, 96 percent of food and yard waste, 96 percent of plastics, and almost all clothing.</span></p><p class="Body" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">The study authors, from a consulting and engineering firm called <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">CDM</span>, offered city officials some straightforward recommendations: offer blue carts citywide, provide more opportunities for residents to recycle clothing and compost organic waste, launch education and outreach programs, and start enforcing recycling laws already on the books. (The studies cost $494,250, about half of which was covered by grants, the rest by funds drawn from the city budget.)</span></p></blockquote><p class="Body" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></p></span><p></p><p class="Body" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Enforce laws already on the books. That seems obvious to me. So obvious, in fact, that I bristle every time I hear lawmakers debating issues into the ground for which practical (albeit unenforced) solutions already exist. Even more alarming to me, though, are these findings: almost all clothing is tossed instead of being donated!?! 56% of metals, 69% of paper, and 96% of plastics are NOT being recycled!?! And 96% of food and yard waste is NOT being composted?!? Not cool, Chicago. Not cool. </span></p><p class="Body" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; "></span></span></p><p class="DropCapSmall" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></p><blockquote><p class="DropCapSmall" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">According to the study results released by the city this spring, just 14 percent of the city's waste is produced by the homes served by city garbage crews. About 61 percent comes from the C & D sector, whose efforts are one of the city's few recycling success stories.</span></p><p class="Body" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">The other 25 percent comes from businesses and what the city refers to as high-density residential buildings—those with more than four units, for which garbage collection and recycling are already in the private sector. For the last 20 years recycling in these buildings has been an even lower priority for the Daley administration.</span></p><p class="Body" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">In 1993 the City Council passed the Chicago High Density Residential and Commercial Source Reduction and Recycling Ordinance ... It requires that building owners set up recycling for at least three kinds of materials. If they don't, the city can issue warnings, impose fines of $100 a day, or take away the business licenses of retailers and offices ... In practice, however, the ordinance is almost meaningless, because city officials quickly decided that they didn't want to alienate property owners and building managers by enforcing it.</span></p></blockquote><p class="Body" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></p><p></p><p class="Body" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Well, so much for that idea. The article attempts to leave the Chicago's readers with a glimmer of hope in the closing paragraphs: </span></p><p class="Body" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"></span></p><p class="DropCapSmall" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; "></p><blockquote><p class="DropCapSmall" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">In lieu of curbside programs or a coherent high-density policy, the city has created 33 recycling drop-off centers that are well used, to the point where they're often overflowing. In fact, two south-side aldermen recently proposed fining suburbanites who sneak into Chicago to dump their recyclables at city-owned drop-off facilities. From the beginning of the year through the end of May, 1,900 tons of recyclables have been left at the sites, according to Matt Smith.</span></p><p class="Body" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Recent changes to city and state law have made composting more feasible. The city's website offers tutorials, even for apartment dwellers, and several new commercial composting ventures are opening on the far south side. But for many people—even those with a deep interest in recycling—the city's current web of programs and possibilities is too difficult to navigate.</span></p></blockquote><p class="Body" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; "></p><p class="Body" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">And where will that leave us, Chicago? Before too long, I imagine it will leave us wallowing in our own waste, because we've been clogging up the landfills with recyclable materials for far too long. </span></p><p></p><p class="Body" style="margin-top: 1.12em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; "></p></div>Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025229190516843693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4542309375246775807.post-89971793931068217282010-07-22T19:20:00.005-05:002010-07-24T23:04:26.248-05:00The Greening of Brownfields<div align="center"><span style="color:#ffff00;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN78d-PGhQ6EmE9_ZmLqoa-5ZxDx9LB2Xwyg9LIZjoOoQmD8x-HeOYJtL3ieCsI5Sci4ai9XkQ7DjOIef8SFjoy1AXoE9_xw04Ypst4TVcSoCbMfKozVQndCVLEp3a9FNFkjdOwCo8EKUp/s1600/lrg_exeloncitysolar.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 234px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497588296981938514" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN78d-PGhQ6EmE9_ZmLqoa-5ZxDx9LB2Xwyg9LIZjoOoQmD8x-HeOYJtL3ieCsI5Sci4ai9XkQ7DjOIef8SFjoy1AXoE9_xw04Ypst4TVcSoCbMfKozVQndCVLEp3a9FNFkjdOwCo8EKUp/s400/lrg_exeloncitysolar.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">photo via <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Exelon</span> Corporation site</span> </div><br /><br />Stop the presses! Chicago is the Second City no longer! At least not in the realm of environmental initiatives, that is. I personally thought the <a href="http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/green/chicago-pullman-exelon-solar-plant-98981824.html">segment</a> on this <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Brightfields</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Initiative</span> that has come to fruition in the West Pullman neighborhood on Chicago's far south side was more of a headline story than an end-of-broadcast blurb, but these days, I'll take my good news any way I can get it.<br /><br />For those of you unfamiliar with the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">EPA's</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">Brownfields</span> Initiative, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">Brownfields</span> sites are perhaps better known as former Superfund sites. These sites, even after successful cleanup and remediation, are ill suited for most types of developments. For example, no one would want to purchase a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">Brownfields</span> site and build a subdivision or an elementary school, or cultivate a community garden because -- despite even the most successful cleanups -- these sites are still heavily contaminated, it's just that the amount of contamination has been reduced to acceptable EPA levels. So the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">Brownfields</span> Initiative exists to find viable uses for this spoiled land, such as turning it into a parking lot, or building a big-box warehouse or retail location (with provisions made, of course, for importing potable water).<br /><br />The <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">Brownfields</span> to <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">Brightfields</span> Initiative takes this task one step further and put solar panels on these undesirable pieces of real estate, which brings clean energy, jobs, and (eventually) power savings to the surrounding communities. And in this, Chicago is leading the nation! Not only is <a href="http://www.exeloncorp.com/PowerPlants/exeloncitysolar/Pages/profile.aspx"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-error">Exelon</span> City Solar</a> the largest urban solar power plant in the country, it's also the first of its kind!<br /><br />The 32,000 solar panels, which were sourced and manufactured from south side companies, are equipped to follow the rays of the sun as it makes its way across the sky, and will generate enough power to power 1,500 homes. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-error">Exelon</span> has leased the 40-acre Brownfield site from the City of Chicago in a long-term deal, and according to the EPA:<br /><blockquote><p><span style="font-size:85%;">"The City of Chicago and Commonwealth Edison have jointly committed $8 million to purchase solar systems in the next five years. The solar systems will be installed on other [B]<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-error">rownfield</span> sites as well as schools, office buildings, transportation routes, and municipal and commercial properties."</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></p></blockquote><br /></span>Exelon City Solar will also serve as a demonstration and educational site for other cities that want to harness the power of the sun. So let's hear it for Chicago, solar energy's First City!Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025229190516843693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4542309375246775807.post-83054139276530080872010-07-13T19:20:00.004-05:002010-07-24T22:58:22.186-05:00If You Can't Beat 'em... Eat 'em?That's exactly what Governor Quinn is proposing we do about our Asian Carp problem. These pesky bottom feeders, which are too bony and taste too fishy for our weak American palates, are apparently a delicacy in China. So our esteemed Governor has partnered with the downstate Big River Fisheries and brokered a deal to market this "wild grown" fish to upscale restaurants in China.<br /><br />The state's initial investment into this innovative initiative is $2 million to upgrade Big River's two facilities, which are some of the only ones in this state already equipped to handle the processing of these massive fish. Projected benefits of this investment include: 60-180 new downstate jobs, a marked reduction of Asian carp in the Mississippi River, and a local product that China actually wants to import. Quinn said that an estimated 30 million pounds of carp will be exported in the first two years of this venture.<br /><br />Since this unwelcome species was introduced to American waterways down south nearly 30 years ago, they have been migrating north, largely unchecked, destroying native ecosystems as they go. Currently, their continued push has brought them dangerously close to the Great Lakes. If these fish succeed in reaching Lake Michigan, the results could be devastating to nature and industry alike.Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025229190516843693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4542309375246775807.post-58462277982231854112010-07-09T19:18:00.005-05:002010-07-15T21:20:04.920-05:00Blue Bin Blues<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho0RIGUR0AI_rmotSNKjfSuH2yPfddaTz3ALBCaN4cd8ypSkF0ec0BueYik0HMccrR6P0hozVnXRx6EaGapoDqM0_mGm_T_moYJvn2whsk2bAsmycin-lVwWguPUr7A-GNCyKXtUgUXivs/s1600/DSCN00020468.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 294px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494295953476279698" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho0RIGUR0AI_rmotSNKjfSuH2yPfddaTz3ALBCaN4cd8ypSkF0ec0BueYik0HMccrR6P0hozVnXRx6EaGapoDqM0_mGm_T_moYJvn2whsk2bAsmycin-lVwWguPUr7A-GNCyKXtUgUXivs/s320/DSCN00020468.JPG" /></a> This front-page story of today's <a href="http://www.suntimes.com/news/cityhall/2480258,CST-NWS-bluecarts09web.article">Chicago Sun Times</a> stopped me dead in my tracks this morning. The photo, which showed row after row of unused blue carts-- stacked floor to ceiling and sitting in some southside warehouse-- that have <em>not</em> been passed out to qualifying Chicago households. To be more specific, roughly 359,000 of the 600,000 qualifying residences in Chicago are still waiting for the coveted blue bins to appear in an alley near them.<br /><br />The blue cart program, which was supposed to have been completed by the end of 2011, ground to a screeching halt when Chicago, along with many other cities across the nation, witnessed their smoke-and-mirrors method of balancing the city budget evaporate along with the nation's economy back in 2008.<br /><br />Aldermanic proponents of this city-wide program have called the stockpile of pristine blue carts (with an estimated value of $45 each) a "colossal waste of money" and demand that City Hall make recycling a priority once more. Mayor Daley defends his proposal to privatize the city's recycling, which he unveiled last month (just to freak me out, I'm fairly certain), claiming that doing so would cut $40 million of the estimated $60 million it would cost for the city to see this plan through to completion.<br /><br />I'm including <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/09/chicago-recycling-fail-1_n_641087.html">this blurb</a> from The Huffington Post, aptly entitled "Chicago Recycling FAIL", which summarizes the Sun Times article and offers a more pointed reaction to the city's recycling shortcomings. I hate to break it to you, Chicago, but the only thing "green" about the recycling program in this city is our collective envy of the villages, townships, and even other cities that have managed to get it right!Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025229190516843693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4542309375246775807.post-25438977378450692582010-06-28T19:19:00.006-05:002010-07-15T21:18:12.430-05:00Why Putting-it-out-Back-for-the-Scrap-Metal-Scavengers-to-Take is NOT Recycling!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp3nnPj5tWqOhvselXcmUSUXxnYkAKcxiCPa7sIR__VrUMc67IbhFjQXfHJicL20vfX6BY_XjDWW4f2Lz7C7myqNGmz4ZGQ6rhuOn8XlpOAuSKDArB1HV1JHkx8nUckAiW_Hv3v61aN8WY/s1600/DSCN01441225.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 231px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494310785387230146" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp3nnPj5tWqOhvselXcmUSUXxnYkAKcxiCPa7sIR__VrUMc67IbhFjQXfHJicL20vfX6BY_XjDWW4f2Lz7C7myqNGmz4ZGQ6rhuOn8XlpOAuSKDArB1HV1JHkx8nUckAiW_Hv3v61aN8WY/s320/DSCN01441225.JPG" /></a>We've all seen them in the alleys behind our homes... they're about as prevalent as those rat extermination posters the city tacks to utility poles each spring. I'm talking about the scrap-metal guys that skulk through the alley ways in 30-year-old pick-ups trucks, trucks with bad spray paint jobs and hauling beds that have been built up with cheap chain-link fencing, rusty support rods, and splintered two-by-fours.<br /><br />And who hasn't left an unwanted item off to the side of the dumpster, in hopes that someone else will claim it before the garbage men come? I've been guilty of this myself... both of leaving trash and of finding treasures. Well, this isn't always the best idea. I won't even go into how it provides a way for undocumented workers-- who, let's face the facts, make up the vast majority of these scavengers-- to acquire a tax-free income, even though it does.<br /><br />For the purposes of this blog, I would like to keep my focus on the environmental <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">ramifications</span> of this phenomenon. I watched from my kitchen window today as my landlord cleaned out the garage. The pile of stuff he had amassed was astounding. Within minutes, along hobbles a rusty pick-up truck, already heavily laden with scrap metal. Not only did these guys stop and gobble up the appliances, electronics, and building materials that my landlord had already dragged to the curb, they (with his blessing) finished clearing the unwanted metal items out of the garage for him, with nothing but dollar signs in their eyes!<br /><br />As the poor old truck groaned and lumbered out of the alley, I began to wonder what would happen to all the non-metal components of these items once the metal portions had been weighed and sold as scrap. While I don't have the specifics on any particular metal recycling center, if I've learned anything from my <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">haz</span> mat and contaminated properties remediation classes, it's that these scrap metal yards tend to not give much thought to the heavy metals, corrosive liquids, and other hazardous wastes they separate from appliances, electronics in particular. Sure, the metal gets recycled, which is great, but where does the rest of it go? Into our landfills, soil, and drinking water. Not cool.<br /><br />That said, I'm willing to look the other way for scrap metal items like ironing boards and pipes that <em>don't</em> contain hazardous materials. But when it comes to old electronics, folks, take them to some place like <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Abt</span> Electronics or the Chicago Hazardous Materials Recycling Center (it's free!) where you can be sure that all the parts of that old computer or behemoth television set will be properly disposed of or recycled. And if you get new appliances, many places will haul your old ones away-- if not for free, then for a nominal fee. Take advantage of and throw your support behind these legit services and quit relying on the scrap metal guys to do the right thing!Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025229190516843693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4542309375246775807.post-26005757499421451492010-06-16T21:41:00.002-05:002010-07-15T20:15:12.328-05:00Privatized Recycling?Guess what, everybody? Mayor Daley wants to privatize yet another city service! We've already leased the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Skyway</span>, possibly the airports, and of course the parking meters (and we all know how well <em>that</em> went over, now that we're paying 5 times as much to park on the same streets we've been parking on for years, taking away free parking on Sundays and holidays...). What could be next, you ask? RECYCLING!<br /><br />[Insert collective groan and some serious eye rolling here.]<br /><br />How bad could privatized recycling be, you ask? Well, we'd be paying for it, first of all, and-- once leased-- the city would have little control over things like price hikes and poor service, which is what has enraged so many residents about the parking meter deal. Secondly, who's to say that a privatized company would accept as many types of recyclables as our current (albeit imperfect) system does? And third, if people actually have to make an effort to separate their paper from their plastics, how many will be inclined just to throw the item into the trash?<br /><br />According to the <a href="http://www.chicagoreader.com/TheBlog/archives/2010/06/16/privatize-recycling-its-pretty-much-already-been-done">Chicago Reader</a>, Mayor Harold Washington first put this plan into action back in the 1980s. His successor, Mayor Daley, who inherited the plan when he took office after Washington passed away, has been dragging his feet on the matter ever since. He's concocted a variety of schemes, such as Waste Management's blue bag program (which, as we should all know by now, was an absolute disaster), but hasn't really done much to establish an effective, functional recycling program in this city. Even the blue cart program (which is <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">sloooooowly</span> making its way to 600,000 residential homes in Chicago and estimated to be finished by the end of next year) does nothing to address the remaining 80% of this city's waste, which comes from businesses and multi-unit buildings.<br /><br />The upside to privatized recycling, should this deal in fact go through? Maybe we Chicagoans would finally have a comprehensive, city-wide recycling program that we can call our own. That's what we really want, isn't it? Well, if so, it's looking like it may cost us... and the final price tag remains to be seen.Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025229190516843693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4542309375246775807.post-62184177162872986242010-06-11T13:22:00.004-05:002010-06-25T23:23:23.216-05:00Dawn Saves Wildlife<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEYtJ7aYgBh_W106B-SYz43qyZM9aHDPTeTHXRg3veyWNxqT4myeDSkEGwLZHREQMSCdls5nXR5NhwTxYKFriTrDCznaX9G7OC0n9J0M41B1pQE4I7ds4Sx-Vq4DSlg0Tb5ZdjNCAXWlud/s1600/DSCN01491228.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486930296685496786" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEYtJ7aYgBh_W106B-SYz43qyZM9aHDPTeTHXRg3veyWNxqT4myeDSkEGwLZHREQMSCdls5nXR5NhwTxYKFriTrDCznaX9G7OC0n9J0M41B1pQE4I7ds4Sx-Vq4DSlg0Tb5ZdjNCAXWlud/s320/DSCN01491228.JPG" /></a><br /><div></div><br /><p>Reason #37492751 to read the fine print: buying Dawn dish washing liquid in and of itself does not save wildlife like the cute little otter pictured on the front of these bottles. Consumers have to enter the long numerical code (printed in white on the lower back side of each bottle) and place of purchase at the web site listed in microscopic lettering underneath the claim that $1.00 from each purchase will go toward saving wildlife. </p><p>Once I finally sat down to claim my $2.00 in donations to this timely and worthwhile cause, it only took a minute, but it made me wonder how many people take even that much time to follow through on this extra step, or if they read the fine print at all. </p><p>I've been fighting an overwhelming urge to take my Dawn <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">dish washing</span> liquid, along with my pink-and-brown plaid Wellies, yellow rubber gloves, and an animal carrier down to the Gulf shores, and to just start catching and cleaning oil-covered animals. As much as I would like to be fighting the good fight on the front lines-- from the marshlands of Louisiana to the once-white, sandy beaches of Florida-- it's simply not a feasible option at this time. Entering a product code into a web site, however, is. </p>Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025229190516843693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4542309375246775807.post-43375046261728223552010-06-05T21:44:00.002-05:002010-06-25T22:58:36.581-05:00World Environment DayWell, it seems like there's a day for everything-- National Donut Day, Talk Like a Pirate Day, and today, it's <a href="http://www.unep.org/wed/2010/english/about.asp">World Environment Day</a>. The United Nations actually began celebrating this day back in 1972, so I'm almost embarrassed to say this is the first I've heard of it. I know about Earth Day in April and even Earth Hour in March, but what is World Environment Day?<br /><br />With the tag line of "Many Species. One Planet. One Future.", the UN Environmental Programme boasts June 5<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">th</span> to be the "most widely celebrated, global day for positive, environmental action." Activities are meant to promote awareness, champion biodiversity, and spur individuals and communities to action.<br /><br />On the local level, the Chicago Botanical Gardens has a whole <a href="http://www.chicagobotanic.org/wed/schedule.php">schedule</a> of activities planned to commemorate WED, including used plant container recycling, gardening demonstrations, kids' activities, and a farmer's market. We Chicagoans are always looking for a reason to celebrate, and today, the environment is reason enough!Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025229190516843693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4542309375246775807.post-18504569837186027902010-05-23T18:40:00.002-05:002010-06-25T22:03:19.927-05:00Green Festival 2010I made my way down to Navy Pier this morning to attend this year's Green Festival, free pass in hand (thanks in part to the shelter where I volunteer). I went a few years back when it was at McCormick Place, and left with an entire bag full of free samples, including laundry detergent, energy bars, beauty products, and paper products. This year's Festival didn't disappoint, and in addition to <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">restaurateurs</span>, trade schools, and natural-products vendors, I noticed quite a few activists and non-profit organizations.<br /><br />I spent some time chatting with the Environmental Law and Policy group based right here in Chicago, and filled out post cards to my senators and alderman to vote to close the coal plants operating near <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Pilsen</span> and Little Village. I also picked the brain of a woman working to collect signatures for the Food and Water Watch, a group that was petitioning to have <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">BP's</span> Deep Water Atlantis rig shut down as well, because this well was missing even more safety records than the Horizon, which as we all know, blew up last month.<br /><br />If I were a home owner, I would have enjoyed learning about <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">geo</span>-thermal energy, solar panels, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">eco</span>-friendly windows and energy-efficient appliances, but for the time being I just scooted right past. There's a little something for everybody at this festival: fair-trade edibles (from chocolate to coffee) for the foodies; hemp purses and clothing for the tree-hugging hippies; one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry for the classy folk; organic t-shirts with clever quips or creative graphics for the hipsters; and volunteer/non-profit organizations passionately supporting some noble cause for the do-<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">gooders</span>, like me!<br /><br />If you can't make it to Navy Pier this weekend, keep the 2011 festival on your radar; for anyone who's even remotely interested in all things environmental, it's worth the price of admission. And if you ride your bike or take public transit, that admission price will be reduced!Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025229190516843693noreply@blogger.com0