June 2006
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Archives

Archive for June, 2006

Tips on Community Organizing

( General )

Changing the world — your homework from the last class — is a challenging task! As you plan your project and reach out to your community, keep in mind the value of starting to implement your vision by taking manageable, concrete first steps. Wangaari Mathai won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize for mobilizing tens of [...]

Cheap Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs

( Energy and Needs )

The Northern Illinois Energy Project and the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance are teaming up to offer very cheap compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) at Walgreens and Family Dollar stores all over the Chicago region. The bulbs are the equivalent of 60 watt incandescents, and cost $1 each. They are sold in 4-packs costing [...]

Local Media Resource

( Media )

Found this on the ChicagoBloggers email list, might be helpful to some in thinking about getting the word out about their project(s)…

…what and why you write varies across a broad spectrum. If you are interested in writing about neighborhood and community issues and stories for an edited news publication, read on.
I recently got a grant [...]

Resources for developing your project

Here are some useful resources to keep in mind when you’re developing your project proposal:
Project Proposal Worksheet: Please fill out this form by hand or type it up and submit it to your C3 liason by Friday, June 30.
12 Step Project Process Document: The steps to follow as you work with your C3 liason to [...]

Wrap-up from Community Organizing Class

Thanks for a great final class! We were very excited to hear your project ideas, and we’re looking forward to working with you on finalizing your proposals and implementing your projects, whether you’ll be carrying them out now or after the fall classes.
We handed out a Course Evaluation on Saturday. Please send [...]

Small Group Discussion Resources

( Media )

As some of us are considering project possibilities, the Northwest Earth Institute (NWEI) might be of interest.
NWEI’s hallmark program is a series of discussion courses, developed in Portland, but available to groups anywhere in the United States:
• CHOICES FOR SUSTAINABLE LIVING
• VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY
• DISCOVERING A SENSE OF PLACE
• EXPLORING DEEP ECOLOGY
• GLOBALIZATION [...]

Reminders and Docs from Water Class

Thanks to everyone for another great class Saturday. Who knew water could be so fun? Here are the materials and info you need to prepare for our last class, Community Organizing, on June 17.
Class To Do’s
- Self Test and Water Audit homework
Project To Do’s
- Contact and meet with potential partners from your asset map. Use [...]

The Bleeding Heart Bakery

This post initiates a new category, Green Business. I’d like to start posting not only the names of businesses we think are run in environmentally friendly ways, but also what it is that they are doing that we think is so friendly. We need to define the category, not just fill it [...]

Cook County Forest Preserves

Did you know that Cook County has 67,000 acres of forest preserve land? That’s 11% of the county, and is more land than the entire city of Washington, DC. The District is 61 square miles, less than 40,000 acres.
One preserve in particular, Busse Woods, has more visitors annually than Yellowstone National Park, [...]

CSA’s, Farmer’s Markets and More

During the Air & Energy Class, there was a lot of discussion around sustainable argiculture. We’ve located links to lists of Illinois CSA’s (Community Supported Argiculture) and Chicago Farmers Markets.
We’ve also included a hefty paper titled Diet, Energy, and Global Warming which disusses the “Meat vs. Cars” idea brought up during class.
Finally, we [...]

Preview of the C3 Water Class

*note: we have updated this post with the final version of the Water class.
Get ready for Water! (Saturday June 10, 9:30, CCGT) Here is a DRAFT of the Water Class powerpoint if you’d like to review it before Saturday. We aim to move through this quickly so we have time for more discussion. We [...]

Bicycle Works

This past Sunday we borrowed a bicycle and I took my fiancee out to “ride” some errands and enjoy the Lakefront. I’ve been working on this trip for two years, since I met her — her first time out on a bike in 20 years.
She started out timid, avoiding busy roads. [...]

Links and Docs from Air & Energy Class

Thanks to all for a great class on Saturday! For a closer look at some of the graphs and other images that were presented, check out the Air & Energy Full Presentation (pdf/1MB). Please don’t forget the Self-Test and Homework (.doc), too.
A refresher on the project homework: go back to your asset map and for [...]

Music as my vehicle for conservation

( Action and Community )

A great organization to check out is Rock the Earth. I am interning with them for five weeks after our C3 class ends. I will be touring on the east coast, working a booth at various Dave Matthews, Bonnie Raitt, Guster, and String Cheese Incident shows.
RtE is an environmental advocacy group [...]

About This Weblog

Ideally, this blog becomes a community practice, with many C3 leaders posting news — and anyone able to add comments or conversation about each news item.
To give this work a little beginning shape, I’ve posted a new page About This Weblog, offering some simple framing principles. C3 leaders are welcome to click [...]

An Inconvenient Truth

A number of people who’ve already seen it are recommending everyone see Al Gore’s new documentary An Inconvenient Truth. It’s currently playing at: Century 12 and CineArts 6, Landmark’s Century Centre, Renaissance Place, River East 21.
See the long review from J.R. Jones at the Reader.
Have you seen it? Click the Comments link to [...]

I-GO Car Sharing Program

Well, it seems the blog is already working. Melissa Haeffner of the I-GO car-sharing program googled C3, found the blog, and we’ve had quite a conversation by email. She answered a lot of my questions about how the program works, what it costs, and how the “community” of I-GO car-sharers is all about [...]