"Those who have fewer resources often take the brunt of environmental degradation and pollution, but their voices and faces are now being heard and understood and seen. At long last, people are recognizing that the crucial focus of our environmental movement cannot be LED bulbs and recycling but breathable air and drinkable water. What we say about the environment must be placed in a context of justice, of anti-racism. The environmental movement in its best and broadest sense is about justice."
A few weeks after much of the world locked down to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the environmental picture looked pretty rosy. Automobile traffic plummeted, causing a big drop in emissions, and images from NASA showed a dramatic drop in air pollution.
For environmentalists everywhere, this was good news. Sadly, it was too good to last.
No, it’s not your imagination. The Chicago area is being lashed by heavier rains more often than in the past. On average, today’s rain storms are 37% more powerful than they were in 1958.
Many homes in the Chicago area take on water in the basement. Unless there is sewer backup, much of the problem is seepage from over-saturated soil near the foundation or rainwater that finds other ways into a home.
For the past several years, One Earth Film Festival has displayed the Atmospheric CO2 Level on our website home page. In Coronavirus terms, this number should be as familiar to us as the number of COVID deaths in our state. The gold standard for global CO2 measurements is the Keeling Curve, named for the man who developed it.
West Cook Wild Ones launches its 2020 Garden for Nature program by announcing grants totaling more than $4,500 to 14 nonprofit and public organizations in the Chicago area.
Garden for Nature funds projects mainly in western Cook County that engage young people in planting native gardens and natural landscapes to make their communities healthier and more beautiful.
Up to 40% of food in the US is wasted, while 40 million Americans lack consistent access to adequate and nutritious food.
To increase awareness of the causes and fixes for this complex problem, the Interfaith Green Network sponsored Food Waste Workshop on November 7. Speakers giving information about the scope of the problem and examples of local and national programs working to find solutions included: the Environmental Protection Agency, the Illinois Food Scrap Coalition, Bright Beat (sustainability practices for big events), and Rush Oak Park Hospital’s Food Surplus Project.
Picture the upcoming holiday season and all the laden tables that surround it. How can we become more mindful about food--buying only what we need, using what we buy, and avoiding food waste?
To address this question, the Village of Oak Park has proclaimed the week of November 3, 2019, Food Waste Awareness Week, rallying citizens, businesses, government agencies, and other organizations to become more environmentally responsible with regard to food.
In late 1989, hundreds of headless walrus washed ashore on the coastline of Alaska’s Seward Peninsula, the westernmost part of the North American mainland.
Was it the result of subsistence hunting by Native Alaskans who traditionally used the meat, hides, blubber, bones, and ivory tusks without leaving so much waste behind? Was it the consequence of poaching for ivory tusks alone? Or could Russian villagers on the opposite side of the Bering Strait have been responsible?
Jonathan Moeller returns to teach the Young Filmmakers Workshops in River Forest for grades 6 to 8 on Sunday, Dec. 1, and for grades 3 to 5 on Sunday, Dec. 8. Both workshops will take place from 1 to 4:30 p.m. at the River Forest Depot, 401 Thatcher Ave. Register here: https://www.oneearthfilmfest.org/workshops
Q: Why do you think it's important for kids to learn how to make films?
A: Film and video is a medium that will not disappear anytime soon. Video, especially through the web and social media, has become a cornerstone for how we communicate as a society.
Q: What are you most excited about learning this year with One Earth Film Fest?
A: As an Apprentice, my primary goal is to prepare myself for the future by learning from an expert in this field. Working closely with Ana, I will build entrepreneurial skills and learn how to run a successful business.
Q: What part of OEFF’s mission do you most connect with and why?
A: Something that grinds my gears has to be injustice in society. I love that OEFF works to support environmental and social justice. I'm passionate about women’s rights around the world.
