, , ,

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

, , ,
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.

, , ,

Austin Grown Flourishes on Chicago's West Side

, , ,
Austin Grown Flourishes on Chicago's West Side

In July and August, the Austin Grown youth sustainability leadership cohort spent 6 weeks planting fruits & veggies and caring for them and for 9 chickens! We also learned about the environment and all of its intersections—most especially racial and social justice—through speakers, chefs and field trips. In lieu of live planting at BUILD Chicago’s Iris Farm (which was under construction), we planted at Michelle Clark Academy High School’s gardens. We discussed the health of our Earth and our bodies and our communities. We cooked and ate healthy plant-based food. We also created a recipe book, which is a collection of recipes our visiting chefs cooked with us; we can continue cooking these delicious meals and teach them to others.

, ,

Widening the Circle with Full Circle Everest

, ,
Widening the Circle with Full Circle Everest

In spring of 2022, an inspired group of climbers became the first all-Black team to summit Everest, the highest mountain on earth. And as stated on the project’s website, Team Full Circle hopes that their historic trek will “inspire the next generation of outdoor enthusiasts, educators, leaders, and mountaineers of color to continue chasing their personal summits.” More than 6,000 have summited Mount Everest. Fewer than 10 of those climbers have been Black.

Cassandra West Earns National Journalism Awards

Cassandra West Earns National Journalism Awards

Q: You spent 14 years at the Chicago Tribune and three and a half years at the Chicago Sun-Times as an editor/writer. Do you miss those days when print dominated? Or do you see advantages to digital news dissemination?

A: Digital brings a speed and urgency that didn’t exist during the old print days. Seeing my own industry change is what it means to be in this business. A big part of journalists’ work is to document our constantly changing world and how change impacts our lives. I like that more people now are able to participate in sharing information. I don’t like when people are irresponsible or purposely sharing misinformation. Journalism is a sacred public service that shouldn’t be misused.

, , , , , ,

Interview with Julie Winokur, Director of 'The Sacrifice Zone'

, , , , , ,
Interview with Julie Winokur, Director of 'The Sacrifice Zone'

Q: The Sacrifice Zone. That’s a powerful title. It’s raw. Talk about it.

A: The concept is that we have chosen to sacrifice certain people for the benefit of others. They’re collateral damage. There’s an intentionality to it. Collectively, we’ve decided that it’s okay to put all this toxic industry in certain neighborhoods. And somehow we have the idea that the people who live there don’t care, because if they didn’t like it, they’d move.

,

Cheryl Johnson: Still Fighting for Environmental Justice on Chicago’s Southeast Side

,
Cheryl Johnson: Still Fighting for Environmental Justice on Chicago’s Southeast Side

For over 40 years, Chicago’s People for Community Recovery (PCR), has advanced the cause of social and environmental justice. PCR’s initial mission was to press for repairs in Altgeld Gardens, a Chicago Housing Authority development on the South Side of Chicago. However, under the leadership of Hazel Johnson, known in many quarters as Mother of the Environmental Justice Movement, PCR turned to the more serious problems of urban environmental pollution when the group learned that the Southeast side of Chicago had the highest cancer rate in the city.