Below are links to several materials which may be of general interest to you and perhaps help you in planning your C3 project. Links include articles, Department of Environment electronic brochures and information sheets, tips for running an eco-friendly home, and much more. If you would like us to post additional resources, please email a link or pdf of the file to conservation@cityofchicago.org.
General
Green Health
Healthy Food
- 2012 Chicagoland CSA Guide
- Advocates for Urban Agriculutre (AUA) Online Resource Guide
- The Meat Eater’s Guide to Climate Change + Health
- Livestock impacts on the environment
- Balanced Menus
- Pesticide Citizens Guide
- Slow Food Chicago
- Healthy Foods Healthy Communities, Measuring the Social and Economic Impact of Food Co-ops
Healthy Air and Water
- Care For Your Air
- Flood Cleanup at Home
- Guide to Recycling Household Hazardous Waste
- Healthy Cleaning for your Home
- Indoor Air Pollution for Health Professionals
- Radon Guide Book
- Renovate Right Lead
- 10 Ways to Improve the Air Quality in Your Home
Land
Agriculture, Urban Farming and Local Food Issues
- “Deconstructing Dinner”
- “Good Food Pages”: Local Foods resource
- “No Bar Code” – Mother Jones
- “Unhappy Meals” – NYTimes
- Arsenic and Old Graves by Jason Goodman
- Chicago Boosts its Growing Power by Jacob Wheeler
- City of Chicago Map of Urban Agriculture and Community Garden Sites
- Illinois Food, Farms, and Jobs Act
- It Takes More Than Veggies to Make a Kitchen Green by Kim Severson
- The Local Organic Initiative Statement
- To Revitalize a City, Try Spreading Some Mulch by Keith Schneider
- What’s Wrong With School Lunch by Nicholas Day
Composting and Vermiculture
- Archeworks: Vermiculture Guide in English
- and Spanish
- Chicago Department of Environment’s Backyard Composting Brochure: Part I;
- Part II
- The Care and Keeping of Worms by the Shedd Aquarium
- Vermicomposting and Invasive Earth Worms
- ‘Your Lunch Leftovers Could Be Worms’ Buffet by Gary Wisby
Green Buildings, Homes, and Communities
- Building Better by the Sierra Club
- Chicago-area Yard Care Companies That Offer Environmentally Friendly Services and Products by the Safer Pest Control Project
- Chicago’s Green Rooftops – A Guide to Rooftop Gardening
- City of Chicago Street Tree Planting Program
- LEED for New Construction Rating System (LEED-NC)
- Map of Green Roofs – The Future is Green from the City of Chicago
- Please Stay on the Lawn by Mary Ellen Podmolik
- Zero Waste Communities
Recycling and Waste Issues
- Chicago Recycles from the City of Chicago
- Chicago Recycling Drop-Off-Centers Map
- City of Chicago Recycling Drop-off Centers
- Environmental benefits of recycling – WRAP
- Home Depot Offers Recycling for Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs by Stephanie Rosenbloom
- Let’s Talk Trash by Laura Blue
- Myths about Recycling from the Sierra Club
- Polysterene Foam Report from the Green Restaurant Association
- Steel Recycling in Chicago
- The Green Guide to Plastic Containers
- Thou Shalt Sort Thy Plastics by Brendan I. Koerner
- Typical Anatomy of a Landfill from Waste Management
- What’s Accepted? List of Recyclable Materials
Air
Clean Air
- Chicago’s Clean Air Innovations from the City of Chicago
- Clean Air Counts from the Metropolitan Mayors’ Caucus, U.S. EPA, Illinois EPA, Delta Institute, Center for Neighborhood Technology
- Indoor Plants, Winning the Battle for Clean Air by Foliage for Clean Air Council
Urban Air and Health Issues
- Asthma Action Plan Report 2007
- Highway Health Hazards by the Sierra Club
- Is Your Printer Polluting the Air You Breathe? from the Scientific American
- The City of Chicago’s Vehicle Idling Management Policy
Energy
Alternative Energy
- Alternative Fueling Station Locator
- Options for Reducing Fossil Fuel Use from the U.S. Department of Energy and the CBC News On-line
- Regional Alternative Fueling Stations by the City of Chicago
- What’s So Bad About Big? by Matthew L. Wald
- Wind and Solar Energy in Illinois
Carbon Emissions and Climate Change
- A Calculated Loss: How to Reduce Your Global Warming Emissions by Emily Main and P.W. McRandle
- Carbon Light from Daily Candy
- Citizen’s Guide to Climate Policy by Lois Parshely and Ben Wessel
- Climate Change 101 – Technological Solutions by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change
- Diet, Energy, and Global Warming by Gidon Eshel and Pamela A. Martin
- In Flood-Prone Bangladesh, a Future That Floats by Emily Wax
- Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from U.S. Transportation by David L. Greene and Andreas Schafer
- The New Red, White And Blue by Thomas L. Friedman
- Turned Off by Global Warming by Katherine Ellison
Coal Plants
- Coal-Fired Power Plants in Chicago
- Coal Power Plants in Pilsen
- Is Coal Golden? by Cathy Booth Thomas
- Mercury Reduction Plan Article
Energy Savers
- Are Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs Dangerous? by John Matson
- CFL Mercury Facts
- ComEd CARES programs
- Controlling Energy Costs in Schools
- Electricity Principals Worksheet
- Energy Savers by the U.S. Department of Energy
- Financial Incentives for Building Green
- Frequently Asked Questions – Information on Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs) and Mercury from EnergyStar
- Green Building Manual
- Illinois Schools Energy Reduction Compact
- More than 100 Ways to Improve Your Electric Bill from the Edison Electric Institute
- The Next Green Revolution by Alex Steffen
- Warm Weather Energy Savings
Water
Great Lakes Issues
- Alliance for the Great Lakes
- The Great Lakes: An Environmental Atlas and Resource Book (U.S. EPA)
- Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
- Household Tips for Protecting Water Quality
- Adopt-a-Beach™
- Great Lakes Information Network
- Great Lakes Literacy Principles
- ‘Pressure mounts to restore Great Lakes water levels’ by Dan Egan
- ‘In hunt for Asian carp’ by Dan Egan
Individual Water Use
- Water Environment Federation
- EPA Waste Wise Program
- NRDC Chicago Water Fact Sheet
- 30 Smart Ways to Save on Your Summer Water Bill by Cathy Frisinger
- Rain Gardens: A How-to Manual for Homeowners from the University of Wisconsin Extension
- Alliance for Water Efficiency Resources
- It Takes a River by Paul Rauber
- Message in a Bottle by Charles Fishman
- Middle School Water Project
- Pabloe Calculates the True Cost of Bottled Water by Lloyd Alter
- Save the Source by the City of Chicago
- Some Facts About Bottled Water from Shaker Heights Nature Center in Ohio
Rain Barrels and Stormwater Management
- Free Water: It’s Yours for the Taking by Beth Botts
- Make Your Own Rain Barrel by the Chicago Department of Environment
- Rain Garden Project
- Storm Water Management and Infrastructure
- W11 Water Resources Handout
- Illinois RiverWatch network
Community Action
General
Event Management
- How to Plan a Sustainable Event by Concern, Inc.
- Project Leader Checklist from Chicago Cares
- Still the Sam by Sam Pratt
Green communities
- Current Greening Initiatives by Campus Greening
- Great Green Schools by P.W. McRandle
- Greenest Countries and Cities List
- Mother Nature Gets a Faithful Hand by Sheila B. Lalwani
- Smarter Cities: Environmental City Rankings
- What Good is Community Greening? by David Malakoff
- Zero Waste Standards from the Zero Waste International Alliance
Marketing
- Community-Based Social Marketing by Doug McKenzie-Mohr
- How to Write a Press Release
- Media List prepared by the Chicago Conservation Corps
- New Game, New Rules: Communications Tactics for Climate Change by Futerra
- Reaching Out to Your Community
Volunteers
- Community Involvement Programs in Work Places
- For Those with Big Hearts by David King
- Frequently Asked Questions
- How to Recruit Volunteers
Helpful Tips
- 40 Easy Ways to Save the Planet from Time Out Chicago
- 40 lbs… from Eating Green
- 50 Easy Ways to Go Green by Leslie Billera
- Congregation Fair Trade
- Creating Workbooks for Environmental Education
- Don’t Get Mad, Get Active from PETA
- Friend of Nature? Let’s See Those Shoes by Amy Cortese
- Greening Your Holidays Brochure
- How to for I-Go
- How to Weatherize Your Home and Save Money from the Chicago Department of Environment
- Junk B’ Gone by Mary Daniels
- Non-Formal Educational Guidelines
- The Perfect Fix by Sean McCourt and Reed McManus
- What You Can Do: A Guide for Chicago Residents
Stories
- Chattanooga, A City Worth Watching
- Feminism Meets Domesticity by Connie Lauerman
- Putting the ‘Chic’ Back in Chicago by Charles Leroux and Ron Grossman
- The Anti-Olmsted by Arthur Lubow
- The Green Line: It’s Chicago to San Francisco by Erik Gleibermann
- The Green Season Rolls In by Jessica Herman
- The Greening of Chicago by Erick Ferkenhoff
C3 in the News
- Unpacking the Barriers to Going Green, April 20, 2012
- Green up spring cleanup with eco-friendly products, February 23, 2012
- Climate change the focus of after school conservation club workshop, February 7, 2012
- Hegewisch March, oasis of nature in industrial South Chicago, June 14, 2011
- Restoring Nature and Lives in Chicago’s Southeast Side, June 17, 2011
- Logan Square Comfort Station – Vermicomposting 101, May 3, 2011
- Testing the Water at Ashe Beach, October 16, 2010
- Bikers See Green During Local Ride, July 21, 2010
- Cyclists take ‘green’ tour of 19th Ward, July 12, 2010
- Crain’s Top 10 Things to Do This Weekend, Pedal: The Green Ride, July 10, 2010
- Conservation Training Program Can Make You an Eco-Leader in your Community, September 1, 2009
- The Dirt on Making Chicago a Composting Town, Mindful Metropolis, August 2009
- 10 Things to Do this Weekend, Chicago Business, July 17, 2009
- Conservation volunteers get hands dirty cleaning up environment, Chi-Town Daily News, June 30, 2009
- Idle-free school zones give kids a cleaner breath of air, Medill Reports, November 18, 2008
- Quick Facts from the Chicago Conservation Corps, Chicago 2016 Channel, September 29, 2008
- Walking the Talk, 5 Minutes for Going Green, September 17, 2008
- Kyle Orton speaks with C3 Clubs, Chicago Bears News, February 28, 2008
- Chicago Conservation Corps puts citizens in the lead, Sustainablog, January 30, 2008
- Arts alumna urges environmental stewardship, University of Windsor Daily News, June 25, 2007
- Best Practice- City of Chicago, Ecoverde, February 10, 2007
- Volunteer for the environment, Conscious Choice, June 2006
- To revitalize a city, try spreating some mulch, The New York Times, May 17, 2006