Volunteers needed for the 2008 Air and Water Show

WE NEED VOLUNTEERS FOR the Chicago Air & Water Show – August 15-17, 2008 1600 N. Lake Shore Drive Chicago, IL 60610

This year we are having our Second Annual Water Bottle Awareness for the 50th Annual Chicago Air and Water Show which shakes up the lake front on August 15-17, 2008 which is the . . . → Read More: Volunteers needed for the 2008 Air and Water Show

Plastic Bottle Awareness

Of the 25 billion single-serving plastic water bottles Americans use each year, 80% end up in landfills. Recycle your water bottles and, better yet, choose to re-use a refillable water bottle made of a refill-safe material. (BeGreenNow.com)

Last year on August 18, 2007 during and after the Air and Water Show, my group of 15 . . . → Read More: Plastic Bottle Awareness

Positions available: Alliance for the Great Lakes

Alliance for the Great Lakes is hiring. See below for two available positions: September Adopt-a-Beach Assistant and Summer Intern.

September Adopt-a-Beach Assistant (2008) Job Description

Primary responsibility is to support the Outreach Coordinator in preparation of the annual beach cleanup event, September Adopt-a-Beach on Saturday, September 20, 2008 from 9 am – 12 noon. . . . → Read More: Positions available: Alliance for the Great Lakes

Limit U.S. Steel’s discharge to Lake Michigan!

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) needs to hear from you to limit U.S. Steel’s discharge to Lake Michigan!

Action Needed Now:

· Attend EPA public hearing Dec. 11 or submit written comments

The U.S. EPA has scheduled a public hearing on Dec. 11 in Gary, Ind. to invite comments on a draft water . . . → Read More: Limit U.S. Steel’s discharge to Lake Michigan!

Save the Lake!

The City of Chicago and the Chicago Park District are concerned about BP’s plans to expand their Whiting refinery, increasing the pollutants they discharge into the Great Lakes. The City of Chicago and the Chicago Park District believe BP’s plan, and the precedent it sets, jeopardizes 30 years of efforts to protect the Great Lakes . . . → Read More: Save the Lake!

Native Garden on Chicago’s South Side

Bridget Carey, a C3 trainee, has partnered with Walker Branch Library to create a native garden. The goals of this project are to establish a community group that will oversee the garden, and teach the community about the benefits of native plants. We also want to educate the community about water conservation and pollution, stormwater . . . → Read More: Native Garden on Chicago’s South Side

Great Website About Home Rain Water Solutions

168 Elm Ave. – One Drop at a Time

This Web page describes the principles of innovative and responsible treatment of rain water in and around the home garden. The treatments are organized into seven subjects or stations: 1) the green roof, 2) the rain barrels, 3) the porous pavement, 4) the rain gardens, 5) . . . → Read More: Great Website About Home Rain Water Solutions

Recycle Our Water Bottles

2006 was an outstanding year for M. Grace Designs, highlighted by being featured in the Chicago HOME magazine, Chicago Luxury Home and Condo, StyleChicago, Garden Design magazine, and Spectacular HOMES.

In addition to our business endeavors, we are actively involved with the Chicago Conservation Corp, and the Chicago Department of Environment leader training. As a . . . → Read More: Recycle Our Water Bottles

How Much Water Does it Cost?

This from MoneyWeek recently…

“A typical meat-eating, milk-guzzling Westerner consumes as much as a hundred times their own weight in water every day,” says Fred Pearce, former New Scientist news editor and author of When The Rivers Run Dry.

That’s because it takes between 2,000 and 5,000 litres of water to grow one kilogram of . . . → Read More: How Much Water Does it Cost?

Water Bottles, get involved!

From M. Grace Sielaff:

What you can do?

As a (C3) project team member, our project is to help recycle water bottles and to prevent them from entering the waste stream by collecting the water bottles, and encouraging others to do the same, for the 2007 Air and Water Show.

Project Title: Water Bottles

C3, . . . → Read More: Water Bottles, get involved!

Make Your Own Rainbarrel — FREE BARRELS

Here’s a great way to help the River from home – add a rain barrel to your house. Rain barrels help you conserve water, reduce the amount of water going directly to the sewer system and provide water for your garden.

Friends of the Chicago River board member Grant Crowley has a great offer . . . → Read More: Make Your Own Rainbarrel — FREE BARRELS

Clean Water Campaign Blog

Friends of the Chicago River is launching our Clean Water Campaign to build community support for public investment in cleaning up the Chicago River. Friends’ staff will be making presentations to local officials and community groups distributing the Clean Water Principles for individuals and groups to endorse.

As part of this effort, we have . . . → Read More: Clean Water Campaign Blog

Urban Heat Island map

Thanks Payton for the link to the Sun Times urban heat island map (pdf).

Rainbarrel delivery and installation

From Julie Peterson:

Would you dump sewage in the river? Of course you wouldn’t. But that’s what we do with our sewage in Chicago when it rains. Each homeowner can stop 55-100 gallons or more and protect the river by installing a rainbarrel. BeyondToday has arranged for a servich which will deliver and install the . . . → Read More: Rainbarrel delivery and installation

Events : River Summit : Oct 20th

Events : River Summit : River Summit Friends of the Chicago River and Illinois Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn invite you to join us for the 4th annual Chicago River Summit on Friday, October 20, 2006, at the Merchandise Mart Conference Center from 9:00 to 1:00 p.m.

Chicago Tonight Special on Lake Michigan

Chicago Tonight is running a three part series on Lake Michigan. Last night’s story, the first in the series, covered an international conference about Asian carp and featured scary pictures of the huge, jumping, invasive fish. Keep an eye on the program, which airs on WTTW 11 at 7 pm, to see the rest of . . . → Read More: Chicago Tonight Special on Lake Michigan

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 . . . → Read More: Reminders and Docs from Water Class

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. . . . → Read More: Preview of the C3 Water Class