It doesn’t seem possible, but 60 years ago people survived without air conditioning. Not only did they survive, but they may have even enjoyed life more, since they actually went outside in summertime and talked to their neighbors. Today the only people without it are the poor and radical environmentalists doing their part to avert […]
Karen Fitzgerald
Karen Fitzgerald lives in Pleasant Plains. She has a master’s degree in science and environmental reporting from New York University and is the author of several children’s chemistry books. She’s currently working on a novel about Isaac Newton.
Posted inSpecial Issues
Be energywise and economize. Winterize.
A good place to start reducing your carbon footprint is at home. If you make a few tracks around the house in areas you rarely tread, you might be surprised at what you find and how much you can save on your heating bill this winter. Hidden openings could be bleeding warm air from your […]
Posted inArts & Culture
When Vladimir Nabokov came to Springfield
When the great Russian novelist Vladimir Nabokov visited Springfield in 1942, he met a man who would become fodder for one of the most entertaining letters he wrote to his wife. It was excerpted last year in The New Yorker magazine and is among 300 letters to be published in a forthcoming volume titled Letters […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Feeding the soil builds sustainable lawns
Spraying chemical fertilizers and pesticides on lawns is like giving kids junk food, says landscape designer Cathy Bilow. They’ll be invigorated for a while, but eventually they’ll crash and burn. The chemicals kill organisms in the soil that feed plant roots, and as a result “our lawns are dead,” she told a recent class at […]
Posted inArts & Culture
A creative visit from Vachel Lindsay’s granddaughter
The spirit of Vachel Lindsay was alive and well in Springfield Nov. 5 in the form of his granddaughter, Louisa Lindsay-Sprouse. She was visiting from Eugene, Ore., to promote creative writing in Springfield schools and to celebrate her grandfather’s 132nd birthday with the Vachel Lindsay Association at Maldaner’s Restaurant. Her grandfather’s expressive poetry readings seemed […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Renew your home with solar and wind
If you’re considering adding solar energy to your home, now may be a good time to do it. Solar panel prices are low because demand slumped after the financial crisis of 2008, when the renewables industry was booming in Japan, Germany, Spain and California. Surplus panels piled up in warehouses and prices dropped as a […]
Posted inNews
The greening of Springfield
Welcome to the most eco-friendly home in Springfield. You’d never guess the carpeting is made of recycled plastic grocery bags, or the bathroom countertops come from recycled cardboard and paper. The speckled rubber flooring of a workroom consists of recycled tires, and the simulated wood deck is actually recycled plastic soda bottles. The place simply […]
Posted inNews
Yoga blossoms in Canton prison
Yoga is hardly the first thing that comes to mind as an activity for male prisoners. But two inmates who teach yoga classes at a state prison near Canton believe it is ideal for prison life. “Yoga is my sunrise,” says Marshawn Feltus. “I want yoga every day.” Quite a few others at the Illinois […]
Posted inNews
Welcome to America
Beardstown and surrounding communities in west-central Illinois have taken on a surreal international air of late. A community of African immigrants has quietly been building in the area for the past few years, on the heels of a Hispanic migration that began in the 1990s. The immigrants are drawn by jobs at the local Cargill […]
Posted inNews
Meet the monk
What Gunasiri misses most about Myanmar since moving to Springfield in August is the distinct Buddhist presence that pervades the country. Landing at the airport, Guna says, a traveler to Myanmar can practically “smell the Buddhist atmosphere. When you enter the city, you see a big huge pagoda with golden shining light. You see many, […]
Posted inNews
Illinois meditations
When I signed up for a meditation course at the Illinois Vipassana Meditation Center, I was hardly expecting a peaceful, relaxing vacation. It would be meditation all day, every day, for 10 days; I was accustomed to half an hour a day, max. But I assumed that if people who’d never meditated before were welcome, […]
Posted inNews
Flirting with disaster?
In the spring of 2001 Joe Mackay left a message with the Springfield Metro Sanitary District. He’d seen sewage flowing out of three manholes in the Lick Creek Wildlife Preserve near Lake Springfield. The next day, Mackay says, sewage district director Andy Alvey called him back, asking “What are you doing hunting down there?” Mackay, […]
