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 […]
Arts Features
Posted inArts & Culture
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 […]
Posted inArts & Culture
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 […]
Posted inArts & Culture
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 […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Conservation Consumerism: Green Bags
I don’t make a lot of New Year’s resolutions, but I did stick to one this year: stop wasting food. As a busy undergrad sharing a refrigerator with four other people, I often bought produce and lunch meat and forgot about them, leaving my hard-earned money (OK not that hard-earned, I did data entry for […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Confessions of a Literal Tree-Hugger
Hi, there! I got so excited about wind turbines (or well, as excited as anyone can get about wind energy, which in some cases is pretty damn excited) that I didn’t have time to introduce myself. My name is Diane, and I’ll be your new blogger for “Environmentally Friendly.” First, a little bit about me. […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Exhibition: Inspired photographs of poverty and hope in Africa
Seen through a camera lens is a world of extremes. Extreme poverty, disease and death. And then there’s the love, hope and courage it takes to remedy them. These are displayed through the images of Josh Hester — Springfield photographer and videographer. Hester’s work is on display at the Robert Morris Gallery, with an opening […]
Posted inArts & Culture
What are you eating?
Ever wonder about the nutritional value of papaya? Ever wonder whether iceberg lettuce is really as useless as it tastes? The same folks who brought you Condé Nast Traveler, GQ, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Wired, The New Yorker and many other edgy national publications have compiled data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to show you […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Halfwits at it again
When I decided to get my health and fitness in order, I took up running because it was the easiest way to make a change – easier than improving my diet, that is. Since then, I’ve come a long way, and one group in Springfield has helped me achieve something I thought impossible. The Half […]
Posted inArts & Culture
First Night 2009
Ringing in the new year doesn’t need to be an adults-only party. Instead, welcome 2010 with a celebration of family-friendly arts, music and theater at the 23rd annual First Night. This year’s schedule, a mix of yearly favorites and all new acts, features an eclectic – to say the least – group of performers such […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Eating Right
As I sit here munching on all the goodies bestowed upon the office this week from wonderful friends and clients, I can’t help but wonder why in the world would I think that I can write anything useful about eating right? But then I remember that eating correctly is the usual thing I try to […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Health care reform for Christmas?
This could be a critical week in the national health care debate as Democrats aim to deliver reform by Christmas. Senate Democrats in Washington, D.C. have mustered the required 60 votes to stop a Republican filibuster of a health care reform bill, clearing the first of the remaining parliamentary hurdles before the massive bill can […]
