Archive for the 'Green Events' Category
Chicago is starting to be known as one of the greenest cities in the nation. And of course, people recognize the city for the Sears Tower. The tallest building in North America and the city’s green initiatives might be joining forces.
One Chicago blogger wrote on Nov. 8:
The tallest building in North America is officially going green, along with a few of its Windy City counterparts. At a green building expo in Chicago yesterday, former President Bill Clinton and eterna-Mayor Richard Daley announced a partnership to retrofit landmarks including the Sears Tower and the Merchandise Mart, the nation’s largest commercial center. Using features like wind turbines and green roofs, the endeavor will seek to save energy, fight climate change, and — perhaps most important — show other communities and countries around the world that environment and economy do mix. Green building and other climate fixes represent “a staggering economic opportunity,” Clinton said. “I think this is the greatest opportunity our country has had to generate prosperity since we mobilized for World War I.” Daley, who first took office in 1914, nodded sagely.
December 08 2007 | Green Places and Green Leaders and Green Events and Green Energy | No Comments »
If you interested in being part of a sustainable local food system, this conference is for you.
WHO: Experts from Illinois, Iowa and Missouri (including Land Connection founder Terra Brockman) will share their research and experiences. Keynote speakers are Rich Pirog of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, and Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon, co-authors of Plenty, and originators of the 100-Mile Diet.
WHAT TO DO: Register at http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/adamsbrown/ (Click on Locally Grown Conference) Registration is $25 per person, with a lunch featuring local foods included
WHEN: Registration deadline is Nov. 21.
For more information about Terra Brockman and how she started the Land Connection in Evanston, read how she challenges Chicagoans to dig in and eat local.
November 29 2007 | Green Food and Green Events | No Comments »
America Recycles Day is Nov. 15.
Hundreds of events will be held across the United States to raise awareness about the importance of recycling at home and work and buying recycled products.
According to the National Recycling Coalition (NRC), 20 years ago, almost 1,000 curbside recycling programs existed in the U.S. Today, there are more than 10,000 curbside recycling programs across the nation, and Americans recycle 33 percent of their waste, a rate that has almost doubled in the past 15 years.
While the nation is doing better, is Chicago at the bottom of the heap?
A Chicago Sun-Times article addresses whether the city lags behind the rest of the country in recycling efforts.
November 14 2007 | Green Events | No Comments »
People across the nation are steadily becoming more interested in finding ways to buy local and organic produce. This week Chicago’s first permanent, year-round urban farm could make supporting local farmers a little easier.
Who: Growing Home, Alderman Toni Foulkes and Teamwork Englewood
What: Groundbreaking for Chicago’s First Permanent, Year-Round Urban Farm
When: Wednesday, November 14, 9:00 am
Where: Wood Street Urban Farm, 5814 S. Wood St., Chicago
Growing Home is a six-year old certified organic agricultural business with a social mission of providing transitional employment for homeless and low-income adults. Program participants are difficult-to-employ people, most of whom have criminal backgrounds.
The Wood Street Urban Farm is the third site for Growing Home, which also operates a 10-acre farm 75 miles southwest of Chicago at Marseilles, Illinois and a half-acre urban farm on the south side.
The new farm is a part of the larger Quality of Life Plan for the Englewood community, which calls for developing an Urban Agriculture District in Englewood that will lead to healthy and sustainable living among neighborhood residents.
According to the Growing Home website, the U.S. organic sector is expected to grow from $13 billion in 2003 to over $25 billion in 2007. However, less than 3 percent of organic produce available in Chicago is grown locally.
November 13 2007 | Green Trends and Green Lifestyle and Green Food and Green Farming and Green Events | No Comments »
As one of the greenest cities in the nation, Chicago has a lot to offer people who are interested in adopting a sustinable lifestyle.
Sometimes the cold frightens people from getting out, but this week you could…
…learn how to grow vegetables through the winter at a “Season Extension Workshop” at the Chicago Center for Green Technology Saturday, November 17.
Here’s a summary of the event:
Dr. John Biernbaum, Professor of Plant and Soil Sciences at Michigan State University & Director of the Student Organic Farm will present a program on how to extend the growing season using hoophouses and unheated greenhouses. The Hoophouse Handbook can also be purchased at the event ($15). For More information and to register YOU MUST email or call our Chicago office 773-288-5462.
Cost: $20, includes materials.
November 12 2007 | Green Lifestyle and Green Farming and Green Events | No Comments »
If designing, working and living in green buildings is of interest to you, then the Greenbuild Conference in Chicago Nov. 7 to 9 is right up your alley.
“Chicago is welcoming us with open arms” said Peter Templeton, Vice President of Education & Research, USGBC. “Chicago is not only one of the greenest cities in the country, Mayor Richard Daley has set a high bar for sustainable leadership and green building is a significant part of his commitment.”
The conference will be held at the McCormick Place West Building and include educational sessions, speakers, special events and tours. Basically, more than 18,000 who agree that green building is a good idea will meet to discuss the future of going green in an urban setting.
The Greenbuild International Conference and Expo used to be held in Los Angeles, but Templeton thinks the move to Chicago was a good idea.
“We’d like to thank the USGBC Los Angeles Chapter and Los Angeles Host Committee for their incredibly hard work to make Greenbuild 2007 a success, and we’re looking forward to bringing Greenbuild to Los Angeles in the near term. However, in January we had agreed to a date change from October to November, in order to support a business development opportunity for the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau (LA, Inc.) and better accommodate our growth. But last week LA, Inc. notified us that in order to fulfill our needs, we would now need to move to a December date. We felt another date change would be detrimental to Greenbuild, and our ability to serve our members and our sponsors. A venue change for 2007 became our only option.”
Chicago was a great change of venue because it was one of the first cities to adopt the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Green Building Rating System. Also, Chicago has more building projects registered to earn this prestigious certification than any other city in the world. The new West Building at McCormick Place is a LEED registered project and Greenbuild will be one of the first major shows to be held there.
LEED Certified Buildings in Chicago include:
- The Chicago Center for Green Technology
- Chicago Public Library, Oriole Park Branch
- 22nd District Police Station
- Haworth Chicago Showroom
- 111 South Wacker Drive
- West Englewood Public Library
- Center for Neighborhood Technology
- North Exelon Pavilions, Millennium Park
- One South Dearborn
- Kimball Office/National Office Showroom
- The Angel Harvey Infant Welfare Society of Chicago Community Health Center
- Logan Square Branch Library
- Target McKinley Park
- 71 South Wacker Drive
- 1761 Chicago Marine Safety Station
- Bucktown-Wicker Park Branch Library
- Cook County Domestic Violence Courthouse
- West Pullman Branch Library
November 08 2007 | Green Events | No Comments »
Among political issues of interest to religious groups in this country, the environment is beginning to emerge as key. How do various faiths address the many issues involved?
A panel of scholars and experts on world religions will examine the various doctrinal stances and discuss what religion and faith have to say about humankind’s place in nature. The panel will meet Nov. 4, 2:00-3:30 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple.
To live green, people make a conscious effort every day to sustain the environment and make decisions accordingly. The same usually goes for someone’s faith. Do the two go hand-in-hand?
Religions to be discussed will include: Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam…no religion under the sun is off limits.
November 02 2007 | Green Lifestyle and Green Events | No Comments »
People with celiac disease or those who just like to try new foods, can enjoy an evening of gluten-free food with a well-known blogger, Gluten-Free Girl.
Celiac disease, an inherited autoimmune disorder, may have been the best thing to happen to Shauna James Ahern.
Once she was diagnosed and forced to change her lifestyle and how she ate, she found love for seasonal foods, scratch cooking, living life with no regrets – and a man.
Ahern shares her journey in her debut book, “Gluten-Free Girl: How I Found the Food That Loves Me Back…And How You Can Too” (Wiley, 288 pages, $24.95), which hit shelves Oct. 12 , timed appropriately to coincide with Celiac Awareness Month and a cross-country book tour.
She will be in Evanston for a book signing at BooCoo Cafe & Cultural Center on Nov. 1 from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m.
The Balanced Kitchen, the gluten-free, vegan restaurant mentioned in the post on October 29, will cater the event. All of the snacks will be organic, gluten-free and vegan.
October 31 2007 | Green Food and Green Events | No Comments »
If people are working toward making housing affordable in Chicago, why don’t they go ahead and kill two birds with one stone and make it green as well?
Buildings account for 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions and therefore, developers and architects need to be mindful of placing more eco-friendly structures within the city. On top of high levels of greenhouse gas emissions, costs of energy and housing in general seem to always be on the rise. Buyers and renters need help finding accessible green options for their current and future homes.
One company is showing Chicagoans how to put that notion into practice.
At the Greenbuild Conference coming up in Chicago on November 5, Global Green USA will discuss some viable solutions to meeting the rapidly growing need for green affordable housing in the area.
An expert on building green, Walker Wells, will join developers from Chicago and throughout the Midwest to explain how to avoid using toxic chemicals and reduce energy bills for residents.
Events like this are important to the Chicago community because environmental experts coach average citizens, who are interested in doing more to sustain a healthy living environment, how to go beyond changing a lightbulb.
October 30 2007 | Green Places and Green Events | No Comments »
The Making A Great Lake Superior conference will be held at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center Oct. 29 -31. The conference will bring together researchers, government officials, educators and the public to present and exchange information on the critical issues facing the Lake Superior ecosystem with an emphasis on climate change.
Speakers will include Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Duluth Mayor Herb Bergson, EPA Regional Administrator Mary Gade, Arctic explorer Will Steger, former EPA Assistant Administrator Tracy Mehan and John Austin of the Brookings Institution, as well as other experts on Lake Superior and the Great Lakes. In addition, Lake Superior mayors and tribal leaders will participate in a panel discussion about critical issues facing the lake.
The conference agenda is available online, and the meeting will also be available as a Web cast and by telephone.
October 25 2007 | Green Events | No Comments »
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