Just a foot or so off State Road 97, nature is taking back what was once lost. Drivers can’t miss the sprawling wetlands, sunken floodplain and “narrow shoulder” signs, as the road winds across empty lands. The Emiquon Preserve, about an hour and a half northwest of Springfield, stretches 7,100 acres along the Illinois River. […]
Diane Ivey
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GOP wants campaign limits
Illinois Republicans want to curb the power of legislative leaders, with a new bill that would limit campaign spending for leaders’ caucus committees and political parties. The bill, HB 5008, aims to close the loophole in a campaign finance reform law approved by the governor last December. The law, which will not go into full […]
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Energy-saving tips and tricks: Day Three
Tip #3- Unplug it! Living in a dorm introduced me to the wonderful world of power strips/surge protectors. I wasn’t concerned with saving my electronics from power outages as much as I was delighted by the opportunity to plug a million things into one old, tiny outlet. Since I moved away from home, I’ve lived […]
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Energy-saving tips and tricks: Day Two
Happy Groundhog Day, readers! Here’s an appropriately-themed card. Welcome back to Tips & Tricks Week! (Does that sound dirty? I don’t mean for it to imply prostitutes and dollar bills in g-strings. Maybe I need a new title.) On day two, let’s talk about home energy audits. While green building has become more and more […]
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Energy-saving tips and tricks: Day One
I’ll admit that I’m not perfect. The point of this blog is not to preach at you to hug a tree or save a penguin. I like to think that I’m a non-judging environmentalist. I enjoy saving the earth/whales/redwoods/whatever, but I understand that we’re all busy with our own lives and sometimes it’s hard to […]
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Green Links 1/28: Straight from the Horse’s …
I’ve been crazy busy lately, so I haven’t had time to post. I’m working on a longer piece about wildlife tracking and restoration in the Emiquon Preserve (about 1.5 hours northwest of Springfield, off State Road 97 near the Dirksen Mounds.) It’s been fun, but I’m glad my little city girl car could make the […]
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Brady optimistic about GOP’s chances
Republican gubernatorial hopeful Bill Brady addresses a small band of followers in a cozy, dimly lit Irish pub in Plainfield, Ill. Despite the Sunday drizzle, about 20 people have gathered, clad in sweaters and khakis and the kind of expensive coats you see in catalogs catering to the faux-outdoorsman. They listen attentively as Brady, who […]
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Conservation Consumerism: Sodastream
In Michigan, they say pop. Though with Central/Northern accents it sounds like PAHH-p. People in my state also keep their excess pop in the garage. Do you guys in Illinois do this? (Coworkers Pat and Amanda said their families do, but I need more opinions!) I’d never heard of this bizarre tradition until I moved […]
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Upcoming Events: Sustainable Springfield
Sustainable Springfield is hosting some great events in the next couple of weeks! Monday, Jan. 25 Solar and Wind Energy @ 7 p.m. Prairie Heart Institute’s Dove Center Sixth St. & Mason Mark Bauer, CEO of Bauer Power, one of the largest Midwest providers/installers of renewable energy, will speak about the potential for solar/wind power […]
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Community colleges get “green”
Wind turbines, solar panels and renewable energy will become top priorities for Illinois, says Gov. Pat Quinn, who announced a $1.7 million grant promoting green job training at community colleges last Thursday. The Illinois Community College Sustainability Network (ICCSN), which consists of all 48 community colleges, will use the grant to expand green educational and […]
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Green Links: 1/21
Today’s Campus Progress has a great story about how powerful campus activism can be. Coming from a university of 40,000 students, I am always interested in how influential schools can be in their communities. Students at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York, managed to enact a moratorium on drilling for natural gas in the lucrative […]
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Hunters and Gatherers
“Garage sale!” My mom would shout into the back seat of our yellow 1982 chevy cavalier. She always said it like she’d just spotted someone famous skulking the streets of our suburb. No matter where we were headed, she’d pull over immediately to take a look. We’d venture into someone’s garage, driveway or backyard to […]
