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Chicago Area Youth Will Attend COP27 in Egypt

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Chicago Area Youth Will Attend COP27 in Egypt

On November 5, five students from the Chicago area youth-driven advocacy group It’s Our Future (IOF) will fly to Egypt to take part in COP27, the UN Climate Change Conference in Sharm El-Sheikh. It's Our Future, a program developed by Seven Generations Ahead and supported by One Earth Collective along with other partners, connects youth climate activists and empowers them to advocate for climate solutions in their schools and communities, and for a healthy livable future for all.

If you, like me, don’t know much about how a young person gets to go on a trip like this, you’re in luck, because I had the great pleasure of discussing these matters with two students who will be going—Tori Evans and Emmet Ebels-Duggan.

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Oak Park, IL, Announces Climate Action Plan; Call for Community Group Participation

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Oak Park, IL, Announces Climate Action Plan; Call for Community Group Participation

All around the U.S., communities are taking the lead on fighting climate change and building community resilience. Climate change is here, and it’s just a matter of time before some version of a Hurricane Ian or the Big Ranch Fire impacts any given community: intense storms, flash flooding, prolonged drought, extreme heat and other weather emergencies are intensifying each year.

This summer the Oak Park Village Board approved Climate Ready Oak Park, a comprehensive, long-range plan that provides a vision, goals and actions to make Oak Park more sustainable and resilient.

Composting: It's a Good Thing!

Composting: It's a Good Thing!

Composting is the natural process of recycling organic matter, such as leaves and food scraps, into fertilizer. When you collect your food scraps for composting, you cut down on the amount of trash that goes into landfill. If that organic waste instead ends up in landfill, it breaks down and is emitted into the atmosphere as methane—an extremely potent greenhouse gas. But as nutrient-rich compost—sometimes referred to as black gold—it can be used in gardens, where it enriches the soil, thus reducing the need for fertilizers and pesticides. This is reuse/recycling/circularity at its natural best!

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Toward a Plastic-Free (or Free-er) July

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Toward a Plastic-Free (or Free-er) July

My husband and I are pretty highly functioning when it comes to plastic-consciousness/plastic-avoidance: For years, we’ve brought our own reusable bags to the grocery store, and we’ve picked up plastic bottles during our walks so we could put them in the recycling bin. We drink from reusable water bottles. Pre-COVID, when we went to restaurants, we brought our own containers for leftovers. . . . And yet, as I look around my home—at the shampoos and conditioners, moisturizers, dish and laundry soaps, toothbrushes, sun block, the bottle that holds my calcium supplements, the one that holds the Tylenol I took for my headache the night I started thinking about this—I feel daunted at the challenge of living plastic-free.

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Young Filmmakers Contest Kicks Off Earth Week Mini Film Fest with Short Student Films

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Young Filmmakers Contest Kicks Off Earth Week Mini Film Fest with Short Student Films

The One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest will continue the celebration of award-winning student films via a virtual event to kick off Earth Week Mini Film Fest in April. See eight short, student films from among 13 honorable mention/notable winners on Monday, April 18, at 5 p.m. CDT.

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Highlights from the 11th Annual One Earth Film Fest

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Highlights from the 11th Annual One Earth Film Fest

In the two years since the pandemic forced a pivotal shift, One Earth Film Festival didn’t retract. In fact, it grew and is now reaching audiences well beyond the Chicago area. You might say the festival has become a whole-Earth event.

This year One Earth Film Festival drew viewers from Hawaii, Japan, Africa and Australia as well as California, Massachusetts, Kansas and many other states. That meant that more people could be moved to take action—to “Turn the Tide.”