What's Wrong with Environmentalists?

I recently discovered the thoughtful and incisive blog of Paul Botts of the Donnelley Foundation, at http://dot-org.blogspot.com. In a February posting he discusses how environmentalists have hurt their own cause by doing a poor job at communicating with broader society. In this
post, he discusses similarities between environmentalism and feminism - in terms of how the approach that seems to work at one point in the movement may not resonate for a later generation.

Is Walking (to work) Hard?

Harold Henderson's blog at the Chicago Reader has an interesting item on walking to work. Turns out that the 3 top towns in the U.S. of more than 5,000 people where over 1/2 the population walks to work are... military bases. See the posting here. The web site this is drawn from has lots of data to mine - http://www.city-data.com.

CTA Tightens Management

CTA Tattler reports on a very interesting (and largely unreported) development. In today's posting, Tattler reports the agency has worked with the Civic Consulting Alliance to benefit from more than $2 million in pro bono consulting to improve agency management. For example, working with Booz Allen Hamilton, CTA chief Ron Huberman has led a "Performance Initiative" that has helped the agency enforce accountability of its managers in terms of cleanliness, safety, courtesy, etc. Sounds like smart management.

Chicago's Green Maps Are Out!

Today's Reader announces that the long-awaited Art Institute-produced 'green' neighborhood maps are now available online. Harold Henderson discusses the maps, the import of having them as a tool, and the complexity of decision-making they represent. See the maps here. Produced by AI students, they are colorful and pack a lot of information.

Environmental Journalism Round-Up

There's a nice round-up of coverage on the environment by Curtis Brainard on the Columbia Journalism Review's web site. Brainard looks at some of the top green reporting of late - including Grist , the NYT's series "The Energy Challenge," the LA Times series "Altered Oceans" and the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel series on how climate change is specifically affecting Wisconsin. News budgets are being slashed, but fortunately - for the moment - climate change is not just a hot story but a sizzling one. "We can only hope for more."

The World Without Us

Saw journalist Alan Weisman speak last night - was truly remarkable. His book "The World Without Us" is just out and he's on tour. The book explores a world without humans, and Weisman interviewed hundreds of people to explore the notion. For example, he talked to city managers in Manhattan to learn how long the city's bridges would survive if workers stopped coming to take care of them. And how long it would take for New York's subways to flood and streets to cave in if workers stopped arriving each morning. It's a fascinating journey - largely about the resilience of nature - and worth picking up.

Gaviotas Comes to Chicago

The Peace Museum has just inaugurated the exhibit "Gaviotas: An Oasis of Imagination" on one of the world's most innovative sustainable cities. At the Harold Washington Library through January 2008, the exhibit features the writing of journalist Alan Weisman. The story is a remarkable one and explores the many creative solutions that residents of Gaviotas have implemented to resolve the challenges of living in one of Colombia's most inhospitable regions. The exhibit also features Gaviotas-like projects in Chicago; several of my photos appear there.

Green Development Going up in Evanston

This is cool - a new green development is going up in Evanston. See this piece in Evanston Now. The developers are hoping for a platinum-level LEED rating from USGBC. My wife Carmen is part of the team designing the homes and is quoted in the story.

Finally... A Rally for CTA Funding

This coming Monday, Nov. 5th, there will be a rally in downtown Chicago to support funding for CTA. Finally - but isn't it a day too late?! See this link for more on our funding scenario in Illinois and the need for reform.