Guest Post By: Beau D’Arcy, President, Effortless Efficiency
As a homeowner, if you could pay $50 per month to save $100 on your utility bills, would you do it?
The answer to this question is always, “Yes, of course I would!” It makes sense though, right? Who doesn’t want to have an extra $40 or $50 in their pocket every month, especially with the way our economy is going these days. Well as crazy as it sounds, it’s totally possible if you use a federal program called Energy Efficient Mortgages, or EEM for short. EEMs allow you to include the cost of efficiency upgrades with your home mortgage, so you can pay for them over a 15- or 30-year term. That’s a lot more bearable than coming up with $5000 or $10000 out-of-pocket to make these upgrades! Plus, because interest rates are so low right now, you’ll be able to finance these upgrades at 4.5 – 5.0%, which is way better than a standard home equity or consumer loan.
The EEM program is run through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and Fannie Mae. However, even with lots of government support, not many people know about these types of loans because Continue reading 'Energy Efficient Mortgages'»
Thanks to the Foresight Forecast for reminding us about their next Green Drinks!
A pastor, an alderman, a community activist, and a Walmart representative walk into a bar…
Not even close to a joke – this event is actually happening TONIGHT when a panel will discuss the potential benefits and dangers of living near, competing with, and shopping at Walmart. Any citizen with an interest in sustainability, job creation, or corporate responsibility should not miss this event.
5:30–8:30pm
Jefferson Tap & Grill
325 N Jefferson St
2nd Floor
Chicago IL, 60661
Panelists include:
REGISTER HERE
Guest Post by: Kerri McClimen
Join the Pew Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Farming’s Moms for Antibiotic Awareness, a group of mothers advocating for the reduction of antibiotic-resistant bacteria through phasing out the misuse and overuse of antibiotics in food animal production.
Doctors commonly warn their patients that antibiotics should be used for bacterial infections, and only taken at the proper dosage for the full course of treatment. Many industrial farms violate these principles every day by routinely feeding healthy food animals antibiotics over long periods of time in order to promote growth and to compensate for the effects of overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. In fact, 70 percent of all antibiotics sold in the U.S. are routinely used on industrial farms in healthy food animals. Unfortunately, this can breed dangerous strains of bacteria that are resistant to these live-saving drugs, and some of them can spread to humans.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention testified Continue reading 'Moms for Antibiotic Awareness'»
Inspired by Jennifer Murtoff’s excellent post on Egg Labels, and having read a bit about some of the recent rules issued by the USDA regarding meat nutrition labeling issued by the USDA, I thought I’d dig a bit into Meat Labeling, and look into some local choices for meat producers and retailers.
Though we’re all better off reducing meat consumption and getting more of our calories from plant-based sources, it helps to make informed decisions. The USDA sets out some relevant definitions, but what do they really mean? Continue reading 'Meat Labeling and Local Resources'»
Disposables
Drinking one paper cup of coffee a day = 7 trees cut down a year. And that’s for just one person.*
Based on Starbucks™ Shared Planet™ Goals and Progress report, in 2009 Starbucks™ sold 1,733.000,000 cupped beverages in the US, Canada and the UK — 98.5% of them in disposable cups.**
Some were paper cups — some were plastic tumblers. “Guesstimating” that 50% of the cupped beverages were in paper cups — that would equal
2,373,972 trees cut down — just so we each could have the “convenience” of throwing away our cup.
To their credit, Starbucks’ goal is to increase the percentage of reusable serverware to 25% by 2015. I hope they reach their goal — or better — surpass it.
But what about the other major chains, convenience stores and thousands of independent coffee shops who may not be as sustainably-minded as Starbucks™. How many millions of trees were cut down , will be cut down for those stores. Or worse — gallons of oil used to make the styrofoam cups.
Coffee can often be an “impulse” buy and I understand the reasoning behind some people not wanting to lug around a coffee mug all day. But what about in the morning when you plan to get a cup of coffee….
Stop, Think. Choose….. Use a re-usable “carry mug” for your morning coffee. It could wind up saving millions of trees….
Reduce. Re-use. Recycle.
* Calculation furnished by Starbucks™ and the Environmental Defense Fund. See http://www.starbucks.com/thebigpicture
** See http://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/learn-more/goals-and-progress/recycling
Though “open sharing” of this copyrighted material is both permitted and even encouraged between individual family members, friends and co-workers — any commercial use or re-distribution of this material by any for-profit business entity or non-profit organization is strictly prohibited and requires the author’s expressed written permission in order to be disseminated in any printed or electronic form, including any and all forms of social media.
By: David Weiner
The nation’s largest green consumer living event returns to the Windy City for 7th year.
CHICAGO – The largest sustainability event in the nation celebrates 10 years, one million attendees at McCormick Place May 14-15. This one-of-a-kind weekend experience offers opportunities for community members to meet their favorite authors, actors and community leaders; shop more than 300 eco-friendly exhibitors; participate in educational workshops; enjoy live music and local vegetarian cuisine; and sample organic chocolates, wine and beer.
Ten stages and pavilions will host more than 125 inspirational and educational speakers and teachers, including Amy Goodman, The Fabulous Beekman Boys, Jeffrey Smith, John Perkins, Colin Beavan (No-impact Man), Dr. Devra Davis, Hunter Lovins, Bianca Alexander and Dr. Sharif Abdullah. Continue reading 'GREEN FESTIVAL CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY MAY 14-15'»
It was recently brought to our attention that ChicagoREgen was named 1 of 9 Bloggers to know in Chicago by TimeToSignOff.
We are thrilled and honored and would like to thank TimeToSignOff and we would especially like to thank all of our readers and contributors!
Check out TimeToSignOff by clicking HERE!
Green Gardening
Leukemia. What does that have to do with gardening?….
As a board member of the Organic School Project (OSP), I recently proofed a new version of the Grow section in our three-part program guide for schools — Grow Teach Feed. Fact checking led me to a shocking statistic:
The National Cancer Institute concluded that children in homes where lawn, garden, and other outdoor pesticides are regularly used are six to nines more likely to develop leukemia.*
Six to nine times more likely….
By both choice and happen-stance, my family has been relatively safe. And so far our kids and their friends have been “luckier”….
Stop. Think. Choose.™ Acting reflexively and “out of habit” can have dire consequences.
Make a conscious choice to protect your children and their friends, your nieces and nephews, yourself. And if you’re already making this conscious choice when it comes to gardening — if you have kids, give them a hug — then give yourself a big pat on the back.
Reduce. Re-use. Recycle.
By: David Weiner
Though “open sharing” of this copyrighted material is both permitted and even encouraged between individual family members, friends and co-workers — any commercial use or re-distribution of this material by any for-profit business entity or non-profit organization is strictly prohibited and requires the author’s expressed written permission in order to be disseminated in any printed or electronic form, including any and all forms of social media.
* There are several web sites that cite this National Cancer Institute study. Google “pesticides cancer” and several sites will pop up. The original report “Risk Factors” can be found at:
rex.nci.nih.gov/NCI_Pub_Interface/raterisk/risks99.html
Today is Earth Day! This day marks the anniversary of what many consider the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. The first Earth Day, on April 22, 1970, activated 20 million Americans from all walks of life and is widely credited with launching the modern environmental movement.
Earth Day 2011 will be organized around A Billion Acts of Green®: Personal, organizational and corporate pledges to live and act sustainably. The goal is to register one billion actions in advance of the Earth Summit in Rio in 2012. What will your Act of Green be? To pledge your Act of Green, visit their website by clicking HERE.
Guest Post by Lauren Grossman, founder of Across the Table, a non-profit organization that hosts topic focused and facilitator led dinners and brunches with the mission to break down race and socio-economic barriers by connecting diverse Chicagoans through food and conversation.
Being connected to other people, whether that means your family, friends, neighbors or even strangers, is part of being human. Every human being strives to develop meaningful, close and trusting relationships. For some it comes easier than others, but throughout our lives, the benefit and importance of close relationships permeates our lives. But what does it mean to be connected with people? How do we create an environment that fosters meaningful relationships? And, moreover, how do we know when a profound and meaningful connection is made and how do we keep that connection alive and a regular part of our daily lives? All of these are questions I think about often as the founder and director of Across the Table.
Continue reading 'Across the Table'»
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