Green Chicago

By Kathleen Ellis

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“Ipsa Scientia Potestas Est.” (Knowledge itself is power.)

—Sir Francis Bacon

September is perenially linked with the the return to school. The start of the fall semester infuses the social sphere with the enthusiasm of teaching and learning. As we enter the season of agricultural harvest, we begin to sow seeds in the intellectual realm. Charged with a student's devotion, we are able to move closer to our long-term goals for living a conscious life. The exchange of information in the classroom or online fosters empowerment both for the individual and in the communal sphere. Exposure to new ideas promotes a more flexible mind and deeper engagement with the world around you.

Course Series: Rethinking Green

Various dates in September–November, Loyola University Campuses, https://perseus.luc.edu/continuum.

     Loyola University offers a series on greening your lifestyle and business through its Continuum series, a set of one-, two-, and seven-day courses oriented toward the lifelong learner. The courses offered this year include “Rethinking Green: Theoretical Implications,” “Localvore: The Art of Eating Locally,” “Finding Your Triple Bottom Line,” and “Green Consumerism.” Each course is taught by local experts. Various dates, September, 2008–July, 2009.

Boulevard Lakefront Tour

September 7, 7:30am, 59th St. and Chicago Ave., Chicago, www.boulevardtour.org.

     Choose a 15-, 35- or 62-mile course and tour the town with thousands of other friendly cyclists for the 20th annual tour. Rides start and end at Midway Plaisance on the University of Chicago Campus and are supported by volunteers and refreshment stops. Each of the routes winds through beautiful parks, boulevards, and historic neighborhoods of Chicago. Volunteer course marshals will be on hand to assist with the route or with minor bike trouble. The post-ride festival offers live entertainment, raffle prizes, and a scavenger hunt. Registration is $30, discounted with Chicagoland Bicycle Federation membership.

Center for Neighborhood Technology Celebrates Thirty Years

September 17, 6pm–9pm, Garfield Park Conservatory, 300 N. Central Park Ave., Chicago, www.cnt.org.

     In thirty years, CNT has grown from a small storefront operation with tomatoes growing in the window to a national “think-and-do” tank that is leading the movement toward urban sustainability—locally, national and recently, even internationally. CNT will celebrate its accomplishments and innovations which have addressed critical urban environmental and economic issues.

Environmental Resource Day

September 20, 9am–3pm, City Parking Facility, 900 E. 103rd St. Chicago, http://tinyurl.com/5dgq3b.

     Bring in your electronics, household chemicals, and expired prescription medications for disposal or recycling. Take home a compost bin ($30), rain barrel ($40) or complimentary compact fluorescent light bulb. If you bring in an old gas can, you can trade it in for an environmentally friendly one.

Green Drinks Series Electing Sustainability: Transforming a Green Electorate

September 10, 5:30–8:30pm, Jefferson Tap & Grill, 325 N. Jefferson St.

     Can voters help create a more sustainable world? With so many pressing sustainability issues, how do we decide which are the most pressing? With an election cycle just around the corner, this forum created by Foresight Innovative Design delves into the world of environmental politics and policy for a discussion of legislative priorities, tactics to hold our elected officials more accountable, and strategies to help us be better advocates for sustainability. Illinois Sierra Club Director Jack Darin, Illinois League of Conservation Voters Interim President Jay Rowell, and environmental journalist Shawn Allee lead the discussion. $5 requested donation, 21+ only, please.

Critical Mass

September 26, 5pm–?, Daley Plaza, Dearborn and Washington (in the Chicago Loop), www.chicagocriticalmass.org.

     Join up with thousands of radically individual cyclists in the heart of the loop for this experience. Part protest, part party, part spectacle, this joyous, non-competitive ride has been happening the last Friday of every month for over ten years. If large crowds don't appeal to you or if you don't work near the Loop, “minimasses” have sprouted up in Wicker Park, Pilsen, Oak Park and Evanston and take place on the first Fridays of the month (September 5). Festive attire recommended, but come as you are.

The “Urban Assault” Ride

September 28, 9am-4pm 3655 N. Sheffield, Chicago, www.urbanassaultride.com.

     Don't be intimidated by the name—this event is all fun and benefits the worthy cause of the West Town Bikes nonprofit. An all-day, bicycle-based scavenger hunt, teams of two will compete using both cycling aptitude and mental muscle, following clues from checkpoint to checkpoint, where they must complete zany obstacle courses to move on. This day-long spectacle is on-track to be a “zero-waste event” and will rely on alternative fuels where needed. Registration is $45/person, free to spectators.

Worms in the Basement

September 27 2–4pm, Angelic Organics Learning Center, 1547 Rockton Road, Rockton, IL, www.learngrowconnect.org

     Learn to rehabilitate the soil in your area through composting. At this workshop, you'll make your own in-home worm bin (complete with worms!) to compost veggie and fruit scraps. Registration is $40 per family.

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Have a green event that The Monthly Aspectarian readers would like to know about? Send notices to Kathleen Ellis at k@thleen.org.

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