A Shady Deal for Oak Park?

21 July 2017 Laurie Casey

A rear view rendering of the proposed 1000 Lake Street building from the Albion Planned Development Application. The Austin Gardens Environmental Education Center is omitted.

The rumors are true: a developer is proposing to build an 18-story building on the south side of Austin Gardens, at 1000 Lake Street. In order to move forward, the builder – Albion – is asking the Oak Park Plan Commission to change the zoning on the lot, which allows only 8 stories. We need all hands on deck to understand the issues and get involved. Will you? Read more for a quick summary and 4 easy actions you can take.

What’s at stake? The developers claim the mixed-use building containing 265 luxury apartments and 9,500 square feet of retail will bring in tax revenue. Many residents and the Oak Park Park District feel the building will be extremely costly in ways we can’t fix once the project is up. They point to these problems:

The building will throw Austin Gardens into deep shade all winter. It will also shade the southeast corner of the park, hurting mature trees and plantings there.
It will cast a shadow on the rooftop solar panels of the $1 million environmental center we just built in Austin Gardens.
Higher winds are already whooshing down Forest Ave. due to the Vantage building. The Albion project will likely make them worse.
The charming, human-scale character of the downtown will be altered by yet another tall building.

The Great American Eclipse

21 July 2017 Lisa Files

You may want to skip work Monday, August 21. Or at least the afternoon. On that day, the moon will pass in front of the sun, creating an 87% partial solar eclipse at about 1:20 p.m. in the Chicagoland area. In the ensuing darkness, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, and Mars may all be visible.

Those interested in seeing the full, 100% total eclipse are welcome to drive to the “path of totality” in southern Illinois or any other state along the diagonal swath that starts in Oregon in the morning and finishes in South Carolina by afternoon.

A cloudy day could ruin visibility anywhere along the route, which is why some eclipse chasers plan to camp out in Wyoming, where the likelihood of clear skies is best.

The “path of totality” has a width of 71 miles and just happens to stay within American borders all the way from the Pacific to the Atlantic Oceans, hence the moniker, “The Great American Eclipse.”

What Can One Person Do about Climate Change?

20 July 2017 Sally Stovall

Seth Wynes/Kimberly Nicholas, Environmental Research Letters, 2017

High Impact Personal Choices to Reduce our Contribution to Climate Change

A recently published scientific peer-reviewed study identified 4 high-impact lifestyle choices that produce the greatest reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The comprehensive study analyzed 39 peer-reviewed articles, carbon calculators and government sources to quantify the most high-impact personal lifestyle choices in developed countries.

“Bringing all of these studies side by side gives us confidence we’ve identified actions that make a big difference. Those of us who want to step forward on climate need to know how our actions can have the greatest possible impact. This research is about helping people make more informed choices.” — lead author, Seth Wynes

The study’s findings show that the actions that would have the greatest impact on an individual’s greenhouse gas emissions are:

Eating a plant-based diet (saves 0.8 tons of CO2 equivalent per year)
Flying less: One transatlantic flight (or equivalent) avoided per year (saves 1.8 tons of CO2 equivalent)
Living car free for a year saves 2.4 tons of CO2 equivalent
Having one fewer child would save 58.6 tons of CO2 equivalent based on current emission rates. However reducing overall national emissions could make the climate impact of an additional child significantly less.

Native Garden Tour

20 July 2017 Laurie Casey

Are you curious about native gardening? Have you been longing to see some real, live examples and talk to the experienced gardeners who created them? You’ll have an opportunity to do just that from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 6.

“Birds, Bees and Butterflies: A Native Garden Tour,” sponsored by West Cook Wild Ones, the Interfaith Green Network and Green Community Connections, offers you an opportunity to visit 15 private and public gardens in Oak Park and River Forest that are brimming with life and beauty. The host gardeners are excited to walk you through these treasured spaces. Each stop on the tour is unique, reflecting each gardener’s interests.

You’ll meet a mix of master gardeners, passionate hobbyists and professional landscapers who lovingly maintain these emerald places not only for their own enjoyment, but to contribute to the health of our local ecosystem. Bring your curiosity and your questions. Whether you are just getting started or have an established native garden of your own, new discoveries await you.

Join the Movement to Reduce Single-Use Plastics

20 July 2017 Lisa Files

We’ve seen the images of seagulls caught in plastic bags, microscopic plastic beads in plankton, and the Great Norther Pacific garbage patch. Plastic is so ubiquitous that cleaning up our enormous mess sometimes seems hopeless. But three opportunities are available for those with a heart to make a difference.

A Plastic Ocean

“A Plastic Ocean” will screen from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday, July 28, at Euclid Avenue Methodist Church, 405 S. Euclid Ave., in Oak Park. Conversation and action opportunities will follow. This screening is open to the public with a suggested donation of $5 per person.

Watch the trailer: plasticoceans.org/watch-trailer/

“A Plastic Ocean” shows the heartbreaking impact of plastic pollution on marine life and offers potential solutions.