Environmental & energy issues in Chicago

Several days this week I’ve been crossing the street, minding my own business, when suddenly I am confronted by a moat around the sidewalk–the very one to which I have had the ambition to ascend.
What’s going on? Is it monsoon season?
It’s reminiscent of a few days I spent in Mazatlán, Mexico, a beautiful tourist destination […]

It’s time for the annual World Naked Bike Ride.
Happening Saturday, June 7 to protest oil dependency and promote positive body image.
Be there!
2007 Naked Bike Ride Photo 1
2007 Naked Bike Ride Photo 2
2007 Naked Bike Ride Photo 3

Got up at 7 a.m. on a Saturday. Yup.
Why?
Because twenty other people were also getting out of bed to meet at the Waveland Clock Tower. We went riding together to different spots in the city involved in green initiatives.
A grocery store that sells local produce and has a green roof…a school that turned […]

Watch the video my friend Kevin J. and I made on a couple of houses going up on the northwest side.
The difference between these homes and every other home being built in Chicago?
Check it out. Solar panels.
John Berton, a leading figure in solar panel technology, who recently started his own installation company, discusses solar energy. […]

Anyone live in Hillside? Smell the delightful odors of decomposing trash? Well not for much longer. Hillside landfill is in the process of closing once and for all. And, they say, they’re ahead of schedule.
But just how do you close a landfill? I’m on it. More to come.

Right now the abandoned elevated rail line along Bloomingdale Ave. in northwest Chicago is frequented by restless teenagers and the occasional transient. But there’s a plan to transform the deteriorating tracks into a 3-mile paved bike trail with benches, lighting, and fencing. Check out the story and slideshow I did on it here.
I walked along […]

I’ve been doing a little research on how Chicago recycles. Blue bags are on their way out, and no one seems to mind.
I didn’t live in Chicago back when the blue bags were the way it worked. Can someone tell me please, did you go out and pay money for these blue bags? And […]

Tell our next president the Earth comes first!
Earth Day Network is organizing a call-a-thon on Tuesday, April 22 (Earth Day): To participate, call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
 

Ask for your Representative or Senator and ask them to take tough and fair action on climate change. We are demanding:
1) a moratorium on coal-fired power plants
2) […]

Wednesday, April 9, 2008 
The allegation: The City of Chicago purchased an expensive, high-tech solar-powered compacting trash can, and then stuck it underground at the State and Lake el station.
The reality: The Big Belly trash can company gave 50 solar-powered compacting trash cans to the city as a test run, to show the city how much […]

Tuesday, April 8, 2008
            For people who have to get around the city without a car, life just got a little easier. The CTA announced a partnership with Google Maps Tuesday. Now, instead of relying on CTA Trip Planner (which usually gives you three options, two of which are the same, and, many times, all […]