Saturday, February 5
1150 N. North Branch St.
  
Drop by the City's Household Chemicals and Computer Recycling Facility this weekend between 8:00am and 3:00pm and rid your home of leftover cleaners, oil-based paints, or electronics. The facility now accepts working and non-working television sets during regular hours of operation.>>For more information, including weekly hours and a complete list of accepted materials, visit the City's website.

www.chicagogreenofficechallenge.org

The Chicago Department of Environment, in collaboration with ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability USA, is pleased to announce Round 2 of the highly-successful Chicago Green Office Challenge, an initiative to reduce energy consumption by businesses and greenhouse gas emissions from commercial buildings in the central business district.

 

In the first year, more than 100 tenants and 39 property managers reduced their companies' waste, decreased their water and energy use, and engaged their colleagues in the Challenge. In Round 2, office tenants will continue to be evaluated through a Green Office Scorecard, 50 green strategies in five categories: outreach, energy, waste, transportation, and property manager engagement. A new web-based tool was created for tenants and property managers to input and track data. New sponsors and partners, including Siemens Energy, 3 Degrees, and the Delta Institute will also join the program.

>>For more information, visit the Green Office Challenge website.

www.metersave.org

 Sign up for MeterSave, a program offered by the Chicago Department of Water Management in which non-metered Chicago homeowners voluntarily request to have a water meter installed in their home. MeterSave participants receive a 7-year guarantee that their new home water bills will be no higher than they would have been if a meter had not been installed. In addition to saving money, homeowners may receive other incentives such as a rainbarrel or water conservation kit while supplies last. >>To enroll in the program, visit the Metersave website or call 311.

Resolve to Get Involved
  

This year, become more involved in your community or pursue an interest that you're passionate about. The Chicago Department of Environment maintains an extensive network of volunteers--more than 600 of them--who work to improve our city every day by caring for the environment.  

 

Lend a hand at the Chicago Center for Green Technology, become a Recycling Block Captain or join the Chicago Conservation Corps. Read our new monthly feature below recognizing our volunteers and the great work that they do. >>To learn more about these programs, visit the Chicago Department of Environment's website.

 

Chicago Conservation Corp Leader
Edgewater
   

Description of your project:
I wrote and illustrated a storybook about environmental stewardship called Quaid McQueen, Trash Machine. Aimed at readers ages 4-8, it describes how a pet skunk teaches a mischievous boy to clean up his wasteful habits. I was fortunate enough to receive a grant from OberlinCollege to self-publish the book, which is available for purchase through Amazon. 

 

Future projects:
Environmental storybooks are a writer's Vesuvius: how do you distill complicated (and potentially scary) topics, subtlety instill stewardship values, captivate both children and their parents, all in 24 pages? The best storybooks are the simplest ones. I have a lot to learn about this, and thus would like to try creating another book that more closely achieves these goals.  

 

Favorite environmental action:

Drinking a lot of tea is a personal heating system that allows me to leave the thermostat much lower! >>To read more about Amanda or learn how you can become a Chicago Conservation Corps (C3) Leader, visit the (C3) blog.