Connect, Engage, Act - Sharon M Weinstein€¦ · engage, and get into action with the multitude of opportunities to plug into your personal yen. It’s easy to coordinate with others

By ALANNA GORDON

As proposals for corn-based ethanol refineries sprout like dandelions across Illi-

nois, concerns about environ-mental impacts are spreading just as fast.

Ethanol is an alcohol-based gasoline additive gaining wide-spread political support as a

home-grown, renewable alternative to dependence

on foreign oil.The boom is great for

corn growers. Illinois ranks

second nationwide in corn pro-duction, and prices have nearly doubled in the last year.

But with nearly 50 plant pro-posals pending in Illinois, ques-tions abound about how a bum-per crop of ethanol refineries will affect pollution, water supplies, erosion and habitats. Even etha-nol’s impact on global warming may be marginal at best, because production is energy-intensive, relying heavily on fossil fuels.

As a result, members like Verena Owen, Illinois Sierra

Reorganization creates plenty of new opportunities to volunteer for the Club

By JOYCE BLUMENSHINE

Do you have a passion for prairies? Does fighting for forests fit your priorities? Is global warming uppermost in your mind? Maybe clean cars turn you on?

Whatever your environmental zest, you can find your niche in the new Chapter Conser-vation Committee reorganization. Connect, engage, and get into action with the multitude of opportunities to plug into your personal yen. It’s easy to coordinate with others who share your interests.

Nimble and responsive action committees

provide teamwork for the new committee struc-ture. A national Sierra Club study showed that opening more leadership roles activates grass-

roots efforts. Illinois Chapter is building on that research and now has issue-focused committees ready for your involvement.

The new Conservation Committee structure is intended to make it easier for volunteers get connect-ed with Chapter efforts.

You can contact the Committee Chairs for more information. The issue focus is also intended to help in fundraising efforts, as conservation work needs to find like-minded donors.

So, turn to page four, find your focus and get involved today!

In this issue:New campaign seeks to use nature to help kids get healthier P A G E 3

Lusk Creek Wilder-ness inholding saved, thanks to Club staffer P A G E 3

Hickory Creek ruling will help waterways throughout Illinois P A G E 3

What’s new in the world of science? P A G E 7

Experience the great outdoors on a Sierra Club Outing P A G E 8

Newsletters included inside:Chicago Group’s The Wild Onion P A G E 1 2

North West Cook County Group’s The Leaf P A G E 1 6

Prairie Group’s Prairie Flyer P A G E 2 0

River Prairie Group’s DuPage Sierran P A G E 2 4

Woods & Wetlands Group’s Woods & Wet-lands News P A G E 2 8

Valley of the Fox Group’s 21st Century Fox P A G E 3 2

Connect, Engage, Act: help make a difference!

C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 8

▷Information on the new Committee structure, and contacts for volunteers can be found on page 4

Corn-based ethanol:gold mine, or fool’s gold?

S I E R R A C L U B , I L L I N O I S C H A P T E R • T H I R D Q U A R T E R 2 0 0 7 • V O L U M E 4 8 , N O . 3

L A K E & P R A I R I E 2 3 R D Q U A R T E R 2 0 0 7

In the past 30 years, there have been dramatic changes in how children play, reversing centuries-old traditions of going outside. With television, the

Internet, video games, green space lost to develop-ment, and parents’ concerns for their children’s safety, unstructured play time outdoors has virtually disap-peared, resulting in a generation of children accus-tomed to staying inside, away from nature.

This shift in how children spend their free time has serious – and scary – implications for our society, many of which were outlined in Richard Louv’s 2006 book “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder.” According to Louv and a relat-ed national movement aim-

Volume 47, Number 4 | 3rd Quarter 2007

Lake & Prairie is published quarterly by the Illinois Chapter of the Sierra ClubISSN# 1536-4372

P R O D U C T I O N A N D D I S T R I B U T I O N :

fullline printing, inc. Chicago, IL

P R O D U C T I O N C O O R D I N A T I O N :

Sue Lannin, Douglas Chien

M A N A G I N G E D I T O R :

Douglas Chien

C O P Y E D I T O R :

Peg Flynn

L A Y O U T A N D D E S I G N :

Gregg Runburg, Douglas Chien

C O N T R I B U T I O N S :

Send all contributions to: [email protected] articles receive equal consideration based upon merit. Photo submissions are strongly encouraged with articles.

E D I T O R I A L P O L I C Y :

Sierra Club policy and the Executive Committee decisions set the overall philosophy of the Chapter and the newsletter tone. We welcome articles and letters from members and other con-cerned environmentalists. Opinions expressed in Lake & Prairie are not necessarily those of Sierra Club or the Illinois Chapter. However, L&P will not advocate positions directly opposed to adopted Sierra Club policy positions. Contributing authors may review their edited story prior to publica-tion. We reserve the right to condense or revise articles for space, clarity, or libel. Knowledgeable local environmentalists may be consulted for fact checking.

S U B S C R I P T I O N S :

Lake & Prairie is sent free to all IL Chapter members. One dollar of annual dues is for Lake & Prairie. A non-member subscription is avail-able for eight dollars ($8). Send requests for non-member subscriptions to [email protected].

A D V E R T I S I N G :

For information about advertising rates and deadlines contact Sue Lannin at 312-251-1680 x0 or [email protected]

I L L I N O I S C H A P T E R S T A F F :

Jack Darin, DirectorDouglas Chien, Conservation Field RepresentativeJennifer Hensley, Grassroots OrganizerTerri Treacy, Conservation Field Representative (Central & South)Dr. Cindy Skrukrud, Clean Water AdvocateChristine Favilla, Three Rivers Project CoordinatorSue Lannin, Administrative Assistant

All Sierra Club staff can be contacted directly via e-mail by: [email protected]

M A I N O F F I C E :

Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter70 East Lake Street, Suite 1500Chicago, IL 60601Phone: 312-251-1680Fax: 312-251-1780http://illinois.sieraclub.org

A L T O N A R E A O F F I C E :

Sierra Club, Piasa Palisades Group223 Market StreetAlton, IL 62002-2631phone: 618-462-6802fax: 618-462-0282

N E X T I S S U E : 4 T H Q U A R T E R 2 0 0 7

Copy receipt deadline: Aug. 17, 2007Send copy by e-mail to [email protected].

Printed on 90% Post-Consumer Recycled Paper

Hot enough for you?The bad news: It’s going to get worse. The good news: The Sierra Club is fighting to save the planet — and you can help

The dog days of summer just ain’t what they used to be. Sure, there have always been hot days and heat waves, and who’s to say whether

this summer’s hot spots are in part our own making, or a natural variation. We do know, however, that what we remember as unusual is forecast to become com-monplace. NASA recently projected that by the 2080’s, average daily highs in July and August in Chicago could be between 100 and 110. Iced tea anyone?

Imagining that sweltering future makes our work to make Illinois a leader in the fight against global warming seem as much about saving our own lives as sav-ing the planet. Maybe that’s one reason why so many wonderful people are coming out of the woodwork to get involved in our Illi-nois Clean Energy Campaign - help or else! Our Clean Car campaign, led by Will Reyn-olds of Springfield, is aimed at getting Illi-nois to require the same clean cars sold in 12 west coast and northeast states (Illinois EPA estimates this would mean 18,259,000 fewer tons of greenhouse gases every year by 2030). Tom Borchard, from Des Plaines, is taking the lead in educating consumers about how saving energy and using renew-ables cuts costs at home, and decreases air pollution. Verena Owen of Winthrop Harbor has made it her mission to stem the “coal

rush” that threatens to spew new bunches of carbon into our over-loaded atmosphere. Lonnie Morris of Lom-bard has found her niche working with mayors and city coun-cils that want to go green by becoming a Cool City, and cutting greenhouse gases at the local level.

So save yourself! We have room and we have the need for your

brains, your brawn and your financial sup-port for our clean energy campaigns. If you need to get out of your hot house, come join us this summer at one of the many concerts, fairs, festivals and other events where we’ll be helping people cool the planet.

If you want to make a difference while you’re holed up with your air condition-er, help us write the decisionmakers who will decide whether Illinois leads the nation toward smart energy solutions. Make a gift to our Clean Energy Campaign at www.illi-nois.sierraclub.org, click “Donate.”

Have a great summer. Enjoy the long days, a cool drink, the slower pace, and let’s work together to keep Illinois cool.

THE DIRECTOR’S CHAIRBy Jack Darin,Chapter director

Naturally healthyNew campaign stresses importance of nature to children’s health

By LUC Y HUTCHERSON

| C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 6

Photo: Fermi National Accelerator Lab

“Nature-play” in the form of col-lecting prairie seed.


Executive committee seeking candidates

Preserved in perpetuityLusk Creek Wilderness Inholding saved via Audubon land trust

By TERRI TREAC Y

Being in the right place at the right time has led to preserving an important place at a critical time.

Back in August, at a meeting with the Forest Service Lands Program Manager, Barb McKasson and I learned that a Forest Service proposed land swap deal for a 56.8-acre parcel of land had col-lapsed. But this wasn’t any ordinary piece of land; this was a well-known, privately owned inholding within Lusk Creek Wil-derness. The Forest Service hoped a land trust might be able to step in to purchase the property. But it wasn’t going to be easy – the property was owned by four, unre-lated individuals, plus a fifth person who owned the mineral rights.

I left the meeting, changed into my Illi-nois Audubon hat, and drove directly to the home of one of the landowners with whom I was acquainted. I explained to him that although he knew me as Sierra Club that I was also affiliated with an Illinois

land trust, Illinois Audubon Society, and we wanted to buy the Lusk Creek parcel.

Because of the importance of this acquisi-tion to the integrity of Lusk Creek Wilderness, the Shawnee Committee allowed me the ability to spend some of my work time in the many hours spent negotiating with the own-ers, arranging an appraisal and title search, developing a proposal to IAS board, etc.

On April 19 the papers were signed and the Illinois Audubon Society became the proud new owners of the Lusk Creek Sanc-

tuary.Not only is the

property situat-ed in the middle of the Wilderness Area, Lusk Creek itself, considered to be one of the most biologi-cally significant streams in Illinois, runs vertically through the mid-dle of the proper-ty. The stretch run-ning through the property ranges from slow broad

sections, fast narrow channels, deep pools and active riffles. The riparian zone ranges from flood plain cane-breaks to hardwood forest canopies to sheer sandstone bluffs topped by xeric glades — truly an amaz-ing array of diversity for one small tract of land.

Illinois Chapter can be proud that it provided support to this tremendously significant acquisition.

– T E R R I T R E A C Y is the Conservation Field Rep-resentative for Central and Southern Illinois.

Photo: Karen Frailey

Crossing Lusk Creek.

A new ruling will protect Hickory Creek from harmful sewage waste that would

have poured from a proposed expansion at the New Lenox sew-age treatment plant in Will Coun-ty. The Pollution Control Board ruled that the Illinois Environ-mental Protection Agency (IEPA)

erred in issuing a water pollu-tion permit to the Village of New Lenox without doing sufficient research into the resulting envi-ronmental impacts.

“This is a major Board deci-sion that will protect rivers, lakes and streams throughout the state.

Major ruling protects waters across Illinois

By JOE LASZLO

The Nominating Commit-tee for this year’s Illinois Chapter Executive Com-

mittee [ExCom] is seeking can-didates. Candidate submis-sions are due July 22, 2007. The ExCom, which manages the affairs of the Illinois Chap-ter, is comprised of nine mem-bers elected at-large from around the state along with one member from each of the Chapter’s 15 local Groups. Four at-large seats will be open in the next election.

If you would like to pro-pose a nominee to serve on the Ex-Com for a two-year term, please be advised of the following guidelines:

Candidates must be Club

members in good standing and must give their consent to run. The Nominating Com-mittee may not select its own members as candidates.

The Nominating Commit-tee will attempt to nominate at least two more candidates than the number of vacancies.

The name of any member of the Chapter/Group pro-posed by a petition of 15 Chap-ter/Group members will also appear on the ballot, provid-ed the petition and statement of consent is received by Joe Laszlo, Chair of the Nominat-ing Committee, 330 S. Barne-wolt Dr., Peoria, IL. 61604.

Nominations or ques-tions, etc. also can be sent by e-mail to Joe Laszlo at [email protected] O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 4


Illinois Clean Energy InitiativeClean CarsChair: Will ReynoldsContact: [email protected]

Why not have Illinois adopt California Clean Car standards? Great things can happen: Illinois could be the veritable tipping point in moving the Midwest to cleaner cars. Join this committee and be part of a paradigm shift which combines efforts from state government, agencies, and the grassroots.

Global Warming Chair: Verena OwenContact: [email protected]

Action now is essential for facing the future. Join in efforts to educate, articulate, and influence meaningful changes from the grassroots and actions of individuals to state legislation. Coordinate with Midwest Sierra in promoting positive change and make a difference where you live.

Nuclear EnergyChair: Rudy HabbenContact: (309) 685-5605

Consider this: if Illinois was a country, it would rank third in the world for the number of nuclear power plants, with France ranked first. Chairperson Rudy Habben presented this information tidbit at a recent Chapter meeting. Whatever your level of knowledge, if you are interested or concerned about nuclear power issues, call Rudy.

Cool Cities Chair: Lonnie MorrisContact: [email protected]

Whether you want to know more about the process or have your community already listed as a Cool City and want to keep connected with the issue, this com-mittee is for you.

Coal Power Plants Chair: Verena OwenContact: [email protected]

The rush to new coal power plants has been an important focus of our Chapter’s clean air work. Monitoring permits and clean up of old coal power plants is part of the amazing efforts in coordination with Midwest Sierra and others. Do you have a power plant in your community? Join this committee!

Renewable Energy/ Energy EfficiencyChair: Energy Fair Guru Tom BorchardContact: [email protected]

Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin all have alternative energy fairs. Tom Borchard is leading the charge to have an Illinois Sier-ra presence at these events and to be an information sharing arm of our state Sierra. If you have an interest in other aspects of renewable energy and energy efficiency, a new committee could be your calling.

Illinois Clean Water Initiative

Clean Water Act Enforcement Chair: Albert Ettinger, Chapter Legal Coun-

selContact: [email protected]

Monitoring permit applications and responding with comments is an essen-tial part of protecting Illinois’ water. At certain points, initiating legal action may also be a necessary step. Volunteers can help with information gathering, checking local areas under permit consideration, and other monitoring steps.

Water Quantity Chair: Lynn RotunnoContact: [email protected]

Who is minding the store and con-necting the dots for all the water takings impacting our rivers and water resources? Join in the information gathering and edu-cation that is needed to raise awareness of

this looming issue.

Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers EcoregionChair: Mark BeorkremContact:[email protected]

Legislative alerts, notic-es for hearings and giving comments at hearings, are

all part of the effort to keep the public informed about damage done to our rivers and restoration work that is needed. Part of the focus is the high expense both in dollars and river ecosys-tem health, that will be caused if locks and dams are expanded.

Illinois Lands, Wilds, and Endangered Species Initiative

Illinois’ 20 Wild and Endangered PlacesChair: Chris WilliamsonContact: [email protected]

Identifying and listing twenty of the most special and threatened places in Illi-nois will provide momentum for having

What’s Your Interest?There are issues that need volunteers, but currently do not have a chair. If you are interested in leading or being part of a committee on Agriculture Issues, Factory Farms, or have other topics that you would like considered, please contact Joyce Blumenshine at [email protected] or phone (309) 688-0950.

Connect, Engage, Act!Illinois Chapter conservation committees can use your help – here’s how to get started!


these places protected. Public awareness is a large part of the project. Outings to selected places, work to support designa-tion and funds for land acquisition fund-ing, may all be part of this committee’s endeavors.

Shawnee National Forest Chair: Jim BensmanContact: [email protected]

Illinois’ only national forest, the Shaw-nee, is threatened by abuse of its wil-derness areas, competing interests for resource extraction, ATV and recreation-al horse riding damages, and invasive species. The Shawnee Committee will be looking for a window of opportunity for major legislative and conservation initia-tives. All kinds of volunteers are needed.

Mining Issues Chair: Joyce BlumenshineContact: [email protected]

Impacts of longwall mining on water resources, woods, and prime ag land are ongoing concerns for this commit-tee. Members also are involved in fight-ing strip mines in several inappropriate locations. A review of Illinois mining law needs to be done. Volunteers have all kinds of opportunities, from photography to letter writing.

Other

Waste & Recycling Chair: Kathy AndriaContact: [email protected]

Do you have issues about toxic or hazardous waste or municipal solid waste landfills? Perhaps there is a coal combus-

tion waste location near you. Learn how to deal with the siting process for new landfills. Monitor and report on landfills in your community and help to educate the public about minimizing the waste stream.

Chicago Olympics Co-chair: Chris WilliamsonContact: [email protected]: Larry MarvetContact: [email protected]

Wouldn’t it be great if the 2016 Olym-pics in Chicago was a showcase for envi-ronmentally responsible planning? Pro-tecting public lands, using environmen-tally sound materials, enhancing public transportation, improving Lake Michigan water quality, all are part of the list of issues this committee will pursue.

Environmental Justice Chair: Verena Owen Contact: [email protected]

How do you apply environmental jus-tice issues to your community? A wealth of information is available from Sierra sources, but grassroots volunteers are needed to bring EJ to the home front. If you are interested in outreach, research, or other avenues of being involved, opportunities abound.

The main office in Chicago’s Loop has some specific needs that YOU can fill.

▶Graphic designers; ▶Photographers; ▶Writers – specific subjects or a beat; ▶ In-office administrative;

▶Public outreach specialist;▶Event planners; ▶Licensed plumber;▶Handyman.Contact Douglas Chien at doug.

[email protected] or (312) 251-1680 x2

Chicago office has specific volunteer needs

Building bridges to the outdoorsBy DOUGLAS CHIEN

Sierra Club continues to contribute to the effort of building connections between youth and the natural world

through a variety of programs.October 2007 brings the 3rd annual Indi-

ana Dunes weekend with the Boys & Girls Club of Chicago’s Keystone Youth Leader-ship Program. Each fall about 60 Junior and Senior High School aged members of Keystone have ventured to the IN Dunes National Lakeshore Environmental Learn-ing Center for a weekend of environmental leadership training, issue education, and best of all, free time to explore nature.

This outreach effort as yielded a local partnership between the IL Chapter the James Jordan Boys & Girls Club on the west side of Chicago. Working directly with the youth led Keystone program about a dozen Keystone members have been out to LaBagh Woods Forest Preserve to conduct stewardship activities. A trip this summer is scheduled for more stew-ardship and water quality testing.

The Chicago Inner City Outings (ICO) program has a long track record of tak-ing inner city school kids out to experi-ence nature through hikes, canoeing and camping. ICO, under the leadership of new chairperson Colin Tysoe, will also be work-ing with the Jordan Boys & Girls Club in addition to their other school based

In the Fox River valley, our Valley of the Fox Group has worked with Hermes Elementary School in Aurora for 3-years. Students from this predominantly Latino school have participated in the Fox River Clean-up, stenciled storm drains around their school, and visited Tekakawitha Woods Forest Preserve. State Representa-tive Linda Chapa LaVia has provided lunch on several occasions.

– D O U G L A S C H I E N is a Conservation Field Representative for the Illinois Chapter

Connect, Engage, Act!Illinois Chapter conservation committees can use your help – here’s how to get started!

Photo: Douglas Chien

A Jordan Boys & Girls Club Keystone member checks out a raccoon hanging out in a tree at LaBagh Woods Forest Preserve.


ing to re-connect kids with nature, mount-ing evidence connects a rise in children’s health concerns with their increasing dis-tance from outdoor play:

The percentage of obese youths has tri-pled to nearly 15 percent since the 1960s.

▶Between 1981 and 1997, the amount of time American children ages six to eight played outside decreased by almost four hours a week.

▶In 1973, 60 percent of children walked to school, now only 13 percent do.

▶A study of 5- and 6-year-olds shows that American children gain up to three times as much weight during summer vacation as they do while in school.

▶The number of children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disor-der rose 33 percent from 1997 to 2002. From 2000 to 2003, there was a 369 percent increase in spending on children’s ADHD.

▶Due to its ability to reduce stress, sharpen concentration and promote cre-ative problem solving, “nature-play” is a promising therapy for ADHD and other childhood concerns.

It’s essential to lead our children back to nature, for the sake of their physi-cal, mental and emotional health. Chicago Wilderness, a consortium of more than 200 organizations dedicated to protecting, restoring and managing Chicago’s natural areas, has developed an initiative to help parents do just that.

On June 16, Chicago Wilderness is launching Leave No Child Inside, a multi-year campaign to promote awareness and enjoyment of local natural resources, as well as the importance of biodiversity con-

servation. As a founding member of Chi-cago Wilderness, the Sierra Club – Illinois Chapter will be actively promoting the Leave No Child Inside campaign (see side-bar).

This initiative is borne out of a concern for children’s well-being, as well as the long-term conservation of our natural her-itage. “Our immediate goal is to get kids and their families back out into nature and promote healthy childhood development,” says Melinda Pruett-Jones, executive direc-tor of Chicago Wilderness. “But ultimately, we hope that Leave No Child Inside will help foster generations of children who care enough about nature to protect it.”

Concentrating on children up to age 14 and their parents, grandparents and teach-ers, the first year of the campaign focuses on ongoing efforts by Chicago Wilderness members to promote nature exploration by children and families. Next year, the campaign will feature expanded activities, including a Field Book program to encour-age visits to local natural areas. Chicago Wilderness will also conduct workshops for educators, offer partnerships with com-munity organizations, and promote efforts

at the state and federal levels to support outdoor programs for children.

A significant barrier to getting adults outside with their children is that many adults are disconnected from nature themselves — they don’t know where to go or what to do outside. To help address this issue, Chicago Wilderness is creat-ing a Web site, www.KidsOutside.info to help parents and other caregivers Leave No Child Inside. This interactive site will be a rich resource for adults, inspiring and enabling them to get outside with their kids. It will contain a database of outdoor events and volunteer opportu-nities, searchable by date range or loca-tion; activity suggestions; and a chat room where people can post comments and start their own dialogue about their expe-riences getting outside with their kids.

The www.KidsOutside.info Web site will be online shortly before the June 16 launch of Leave No Child Inside. For more information about Chicago Wilderness, visit www.chicagowilderness.org.

− L U C Y H U T C H E R S O N is the Director of Con-servation and Communications Programs for Chi-cago Wilderness.

HealthyC O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 2

Nature-play and stress reduc-tion. Tearing down a sand dune in the Indiana Dunes National Lake-shore.

Photo by Douglas Chien


By PARAS BHAYANI

Nature’s metropolisA growing body of economic research

indicates that cities whose primary growth is vertical have a far smaller ecological footprint.

According to research conducted by economists Edward Glaeser and Joseph Gyourko, the roughly eight million resi-dents of New York occupy an average of one-fortieth of an acre per person; mean-while, residents of Portland, widely regard-ed as a green leader, occupy roughly six-times as much land. Economist Matthew Kahn notes that because only one-third of New Yorkers drive to work, in compari-son to about seven out of eight Ameri-cans, the state places 49th in energy con-sumption, behind only tiny Rhode Island. Thankfully, Chicago is already a compara-tively dense city: using the same method-ology as Glaeser and Gyourko, one finds that twenty Chicagoans share one acre on average, making the city about three-times as dense as Portland and the dens-est major city outside New England and New York.

Still, density is only half the game. Chi-cago, as it currently stands, lacks the other component to meaningfully reducing energy consumption: a world-class public transit system.

The future of wind powerWhile wind energy is the fasting grow-

ing source of energy in the world, it’s an open question whether current wind tur-bine technology is good enough to gener-ate the massive amounts of power needed to significantly displace fossil fuels. But a pair of turbine innovations might be the breakthroughs that finally make wind the dominant power source of the future.

The first design scraps the entire idea of a windmill-like turbine, instead look-ing more like a spinning double helix. Designed by Bil Becker, a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the turbines are made to be installed on city rooftops. Like photovoltaic systems, with which they can be integrated, these quiet, roof-mounted turbines produce energy at the site of consumption, reducing the need for transmission and allowing the owner to sell power back to the grid. The turbines also need little maintenance, can utilize gusting winds and those that blow

from different directions, and pose no danger to birds.

The other innovation turns a conven-tional turbine on its side, allowing the blades rotate on a vertical axis. Accord-ing to the designers, the vertical blades capture about 45 percent of the wind’s energy, as compared to 25 to 40 percent for conventional turbines. Equally impor-tant, conventional turbines must be shut down in winds faster than 50 miles per hour, while vertical turbines can operate in winds of up to 70 mile per hour. This means that sturdier vertical turbines might be ideal for offshore projects.

Both technologies have tremendous potentials in Illinois. The helix-shaped tur-bines, being manufactured in the Chicago neighborhood of Pilsen, are ideally suit-ed for Chicago’s tall buildings and gust-ing winds. Likewise, vertical-rotor turbines could be used offshore to tap the power of Lake Michigan, which a University of Wisconsin study finds has a wind energy potential of 9,700 megawatts, or enough to power over 7 million homes.

—P A R A S B H A Y A N I , a member of the Massa-chusetts Chapter Executive Committee, is a former intern with the Illinois Chapter and activist with sev-eral Illinois groups.

On the cutting edgeA roundup of news from the world of science and research

Image courtesy TMA Energy Systems

Vertical axis turbines can capture about 45% of the wind’s energy.


J U L Y 2 0 0 7

7 Canoe Des Plaines River Rt. 60 to Oak Spring, Libertyville

Des Plaines River, IL. Learn about the river on this half-day out-and back canoe trip. We will leave from the Rt. 60 canoe launch and travel up the Des Plaines River. Canoe experience required. Rental canoes reservable (847-362-4880) for $40/canoe, including life jackets and paddles. Limit: 12. Leader: Geno Spain, [email protected], 847-526-8409. WnW

14-15 Classic Summer Hike, Grasslands. Pale

Male and Canoe, Oregon, IL. Come hike White Pines State Park, learn about and see the Nachusa Grass-lands in bloom, see a DVD on “Pale Male,” the red-tail hawk of Manhat-tan, and canoe the beautiful Rock River. Cost is $115, which covers fees, dinner, over night, breakfast, and the canoe rental. Limit 16. Leader: Jan Bradford, 847-455-2947, [email protected] RPG

A U G U S T 2 0 0 7

11Water and Wind Mills, Ore-gon and Mendota, IL areas.

First we will canoe the beautiful Rock River and observe the many birds and wildlife. Then we will go to the windmill farm and learn about wind as a renewable, non-fossil energy source at the Men-dota wind farm, the first in Illinois (63 towers). Leader: Jan Brad-ford, [email protected],847-455-2947. Cost: $34 and limit is 20. RPG

11Volunteer Work Day at Midewin National Tallgrass

Prairie, Wilmington, IL. Under the guidance of site naturalists assist in creating this 17,000-acre National Tallgrass Prairie. Box lunch or bar-beque picnic will be provided by Midewin Alliance. Jointly sponsored

with the Sauk-Calumet Group. At end of work day, we’ll hike or bike. Leader: Steve Carrow, 630-293-4988, [email protected] RPG & SCG

13-17 The Lewis & Clark Commemorative Mis-

souri River Trip, Great Falls, MT. A National Sierra Club Trip. The beautiful river of the Upper Mis-souri Breaks follows the route of the famed Lewis and Clark expedi-tion. We’ll paddle in the explor-ers’ path and witness up close the vast landscapes and rock forma-tions that can only be appreci-ated from our canoes. Details at www.sierraclub.org/outings, trip number 07221A. Leader: Ed Gacek, [email protected]

25-9/2 Hikes, Huckleber- ries & Heavenly

Scenery, Libby & Cabinet Moun-tain Wilderness, MT. Nine days (8 nights) in spectacular Libby, Mon-tana, Cabinet Mtns., Purcell Mtns., Yaak River Valley, Kootenai River, Lake Koocanusa, Ross Creek Cedars. Learn how and why huge cedar, ponderosa pine & western spruce trees host more species of wildlife than anywhere else in the USA. Cost $605 includes lodging & 8 evening meals. Minimum 8, limit 12. Leader: Paul Silverman, 847-392-3433. RPG

26Biking the Des Plaines River Trail, Lake County, IL. Join

the leader along this beautiful trail winding through many forested areas of Lake County. We will be covering 48 miles of trail from Half Day Forest Preserve in Vernon Hills up to the trail’s northern termi-nus near the Wisconsin border and back. Limit 15. Leader: Mark Ginger, 847-699-0329. RPG

31-9/3 Canoeing on the Manistee

River in Northern Michigan, Pere Marquette State Forest, Wexford County, MI. Beginning canoeists welcome. Camping experience required because at least one night will be wilderness camping along the river with no facilities. About 330 miles from Evanston. Leaders: George and Yvonne Ammerman, [email protected], $50 deposit will hold limited space. CHI

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 7

2-8Hikes in Glacier National Park, East Glacier Park, MT.

Seven days (6 nights) in beauti-ful Glacier National Park. Learn about the effect of global warm-ing on glaciers. Cost $565 includes 6 nights lodging, 6 evening meals, park entry fees, expenses. Limit 12, minimum 8. Photos at: www.nps.gov/glac/photos.htm Leader: Paul Silverman (847-392-3433). RPG

7-9Backpacking Nordhouse Dunes, Ludington, MI. This

is a base camp-backpacking trip for beginners, families, grandparents or experienced hikers. Nordhouse Dunes is the only congressionally designated wilderness area located along Lake Michigan. We’ll back-pack into the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area near the beach

where we will spend some time exploring, hiking, swimming, sun-set viewing and star gazing, satel-lite watching. Leader: Ed Gacek, [email protected] RPG

7-10 Three-day Namekagon River Canoeing Week-

end, Trego, WI. Paddle the lower Namekagon River to its confluence with the St. Croix River through a wilderness area on this 3-day, 35-mile paddle. Learn why this is des-ignated a National Scenic Riverway. Heavily-wooded shorelines of pine and mixed hardwoods, high banks, and lowlands. Cost: $110. Some canoeing experience needed. Limit 16. Leader: Mary O`Boyle, 847-902-3639. RPG

8 Late-summer hike, Moraine Hills State Park, McHenry, IL. Join us

for an late-summer hike around Lake Defiance and other wetlands in a diverse forest preserve full of wildlife in nearby McHenry County. This will be a moderately paced, six or nine-mile hike with marsh-es, prairie fields, creeks, and his-tory. Optional 3-mile loop through remote Pike Marsh. Leader: Scott Etienne, 847-516-8653. NWC

15-16 Cowles Bog hike/pre-sentation & Duneland

Harvest Festival, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, IN. Come join this early fall hike and learn

For up-to-the-minute list-ings and more details visit http://illinois.sierraclub.org/outings


about Cowles Bog, and then be transported back in time to the 1900-era and learn about farm life, crafts, fur trading, and see Ameri-can Indian performances & farm demonstrations at the Bailly Home-stead and Chellberg Farm. Limit 16. Leader: Jan Bradford, 847-455-2947, [email protected]. Cost covers Sierra fees, lodging, dinner, breakfast & presentation. RPG

16 Fall bike ride, Governors State University, University

Park, IL. Enjoy this 42-mile bike ride over generally flat terrain with a few rolling hills and farmlands of Uni-versity Park, Monee and Beecher. Lunch stop will be at Goodenow Grove Nature Preserve, a 689 acres of oak-hickory forest interspersed with hills and open grasslands. Rest stop at the Monee Reservoir, a 46-acre fishing and boating lake. Leader: Sharon Koontz, 708-799-3287, [email protected]. RPG

21-24Advanced backpack, North Kettle Moraine,

Kewaskum, WI. Up for a real chal-lenge? Hike the entire length of the Kettle Moraine Northern unit in three days − over 32 miles total, including a 16-mile-day. A self-con-tained trip. Cost: $25-$30 includes group supplies, administrative and reservation costs. Final cost based upon number of participants. Limit 10. Backpack experience needed. Leader:Scott Etienne, 847-516-8653. NWC

21-24Hikes/fall colors — Porcupine Moun-

tains, Ironwood & Silver City, MI. Three days of day hikes at the Porcupine Mountain Wilderness in Michigan`s Upper Peninsula with hiking and views unlike any other in the Midwest. Towering virgin timber (pines, cedar, hemlock, oak, maple), secluded lakes and miles of wild rivers and streams. Cost: $150 includes 3 nights lodging & Sierra fee. $5 member discount. Limit 12. Leader: Paul Silverman, 847-392-3433. RPG

O C T O B E R 2 0 0 7

6Day hike at S. Kettle Moraine State Forest, LaGrange, WI. Join

us in a fall-color hike in the South Kettle Moraine State Forest, located in southern Wisconsin, north of Lake Geneva. We will describe how this area of special natural beauty

5TH ANNUAL SHAWNEE TRASH BASH SET FOR OCT. 19 THROUGH 21

Once again we’ll be based at Pounds Hollow in the beautiful Shawnee National Forest, where we will gather on Friday the 19th.

Saturday, after breakfast and a short orientation, we’ll send you to bash the trash out of Illi-nois’ only National Forest.

After the trash bash, we will host a BBQ for all partic-ipants nar and far. Sunday is open for travel or one final concentrated bash.

Camp sites are available Friday, Saturday, and Sun-day night.

Cost: $20 covers food, camping, trash bash sup-plies. Assistants are Linda Sullivan, Alice Englebretsen, and Scott Etienne

Contact: Tom Borchard (847)390-8386 ; after Sept 15, Scott Etienne (847)516-8653

Basically, the Board held that before issuing permits, IEPA must take a hard look backed by real science at the potential environ-mental effects of new pollution

and has to analyze whether allow-ing so much pollution is really necessary,” stated Albert Ettinger, Senior Attorney at the Environ-mental Law & Policy Center.

Read all about his important victory and see more photos of Hickory Creek on the web at illi-nois.sierraclub.org.

WatersC O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 3

was formed during the glacial age. Our pace will be moderate over hilly and forested trails in one of the nearby Midwest’s prettiest loca-tions. Limit 25 per hiking group. Leader is Fred Weber. Assistant leader is Mike Davis. Call Fred at 630-469-6826.

11-14 Canoeing the Current River, Salem, MO. 4-

day trip. 3-days of primitive canoe-ing and fishing with a day of hiking Mantauk Springs. The Current River is part of the Ozark National Scenic River way. It is fed from natural springs, with bluffs, steep sided hollows, & numerous caves and abundant wildlife. Camping will be on sand or gravel bars on the river. Paddlers should have pad-dling skills & swimming ability, PFDs will be available for every-one! Contact Leader Ed Gacek, [email protected]

12-15Hikes/fall colors at Shawnee National For-

est, Harrisburg, IL. Day hikes and fall colors in three spectacular wil-derness areas in Shawnee National Forest. Garden of the Gods, Lusk Creek and Indian Kitchen. The mix of trees can provide an unequaled

autumn spectrum of color. Learn “Why Leaves Turn Color”. We’ll stay at the White Lace Inn, a luxuri-ous B&B. Cost is $165 (+$10 if less than 15 participants) and includes lodging, 3 breakfasts & 2 gourmet dinners. Limit 16. Leader is Paul Silverman 847-392-3433. Co-leader: Joe Pokorny.

19-21 Fifth annual Shawnee Forest Cleanup, Har-

risburg, IL. See sidebar this page.

25-28 Three-day backpack at Hoosier National For-

est, Story, IN. A moderately paced fall color adventure of backpack-ing, camping and hiking through the forested hills of south-central Indiana. Learn how this area of early settlement was converted over the years into a vast national

forest. We arrive Thursday evening and camp in the area. Covering about 8 miles on each of 3 days (Fri.-Sun.), we’ll backpack into the National Forest on Friday, camp by a stream, spend the middle day hiking and exploring this vast wilderness area and backpack out on Sunday. Suitable for beginners in good physical condition and for experienced backpackers too. Limit 18. Cost is $50. Leaders are Fred Weber and Mary O’Boyle. Assistant leader is Paul Saindon. Call Fred at 630-469-6826.

27Volunteer work day at Midewin National Tallgrass

Prairie, Wilmington, IL. Join friends and have fun assisting with the creation of the 17,000-acre National Tallgrass Prairie. Under the guidance of site naturalists we will be doing something helpful. Dress for outdoor work - equip-ment provided. Box lunch or bar-beque picnic will be provided by Midewin Alliance. This outing is jointly sponsored with the Sauk-Calumet Group. At end of work day, we will do a guided hike or bike ride, so bring your bike or hiking shoes. RPG Leader is Steve Carrow. Call Steve at 630-293-4988 or email [email protected] to sign up and for more details.

N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 7

10 Training workshop for new Outings leaders, Oak Brook,

IL. If you are interested in becom-ing a Sierra Club outings leader or in merely learning the ins and outs of leading a trip, this workshop is for you. Subjects covered include trip scouting, planning, enrollment, on-trail practices, conservation issues, safety, etc. The workshop is open to potential leaders from all Sierra groups in the area as well as to anyone else interested. It will be taught by a team of River-Prairie Group outings leaders. Limit 15. Call Fred Weber 630-469-6826.

L A K E & P R A I R I E 1 0 3 R D Q U A R T E R 2 0 0 7

Club’s global warming and energy chair, are reconsidering what once was seen as a benign — even beneficial — development.

The first few plants proposed seemed unobjectionable, Owen said, especially because ethanol replaces methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) — a suspected carcino-gen banned in Illinois — as an oxidizing agent in gasoline.

But that was when their numbers were few. In 2000, there were only four of them. Even today, there are only seven in opera-tion. But since January 2006, 49 new appli-cations have come in. Moreover, county boards seem “to be bending over back-ward to accommodate them,” said state conservation chair Joyce Blumenshine — speedily rezoning agricultural areas for heavy industrial use with little discussion or debate.

According to Owen, the sheer num-ber of applications filed has turned minor environmental concerns into bigger ones.

If the permits are granted, pollutants emit-ted by the current handful of plants will cumulatively increase as a result, she said.

That problem is magnified by a recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rul-ing raising the threshold for airborne pol-lutants that ethanol plants emit. Until May, plants emitting less than 100 tons of pol-lutants — like nitrous oxide and volatile organics — were exempted from using the best, and most costly, pollution-control technology. Now that threshold has been raised to 250 tons.

Owen, who serves on Gov. Rod Blago-jevich’s biofuels committee, is concerned — especially since legislation is pending that would provide $25 million in state subsides. Ethanol is also exempted from state sales taxes, and the federal govern-ment subsidizes 51 cents per gallon.

“Ethanol plants subsidized by Illinois taxpayers should have the best pollution-control technology our money can buy,” said Owen. “We shouldn’t have to settle for the Yugo version of an ethanol plant if we can have the Cadillac.”

The plants should be fueled by natural

gas — not coal, she said. The good news is that currently, only one of the proposals is for a coal-powered plant, she added.

Moreover, ethanol plants should incor-porate environmentally-friendly technolo-gies like solar panels and Combined Heat and Power (CHP), which recycles energy wastes to power other production lines, Owen said.

CHP and other engineering advances can save energy, reduce pollution and conserve water supply — another issue growing in importance.

Ethanol plants use enormous amounts of ground and surface water – but Illinois sets no limits on the plants’ water use, said Traci Barkley, a scientist with the Prairie Rivers Network advocacy group.

According to Owen, a typical plant producing 100 million gallons of ethanol a year might use 400 million gallons of water, or more, a year — and that’s just for one plant, not 50. Barkley added that “even though it’s possible to build plants that use only two or three gallons of water per gallon of ethanol produced, we’re see-ing facilities that will use up to eight gal-lons of water per gallon of ethanol pro-duced.” Illinois should develop regulations or incentives to protect the public’s water resources, she said.

Blumenshine shares Barkley’s concern. “We have this ethanol plant rush in Illi-nois,” she said. “But we need more over-sight examining the huge impact of the proposed plants on water supplies.” She’s concerned that if siting is not appropriate, conflicts may arise between public and commercial water needs.

Blumenshine points to the town of Waverly, where the Sangamon County Board approved zoning for a large nearby ethanol plant without knowing for certain where the water supply will come from — or where the wastewater will go. Resi-dents complain about being kept in the dark about negotiations. They worry that the speedy approvals might threaten their primary water source.

Similar issues are emerging in other cities, like Canton. Fulton County has promised to supply water to a proposed plant there that could diminish the sup-ply 22,000 people draw from Canton Lake. In hopes of finding more water, the city is drilling test wells near the Illinois River, about 10 miles from town, Blumenshine said.

Plants springing up near the state’s aquifers are creating even more water sup-ply issues, she added.

Dr. Cindy Skrukrud, a scientist and clean water advocate for the state Sierra Club, shares Blumenshine’s concerns. “Using water to produce ethanol competes with

Illinois Chapter DirectoryE X E C U T I V E CO M M I T T E E

Chair: Bill Davies ([email protected], 309-797-6101)Vice-Chair: Bob Larson ([email protected])Secretary: Evan Craig ([email protected])Treasurer: Charlie Kubert ([email protected], 312-795-3716)At-Large: Fran Caffee ([email protected], 630-859-1687)

George Etu ([email protected], 847-432-3787)Craig Gilbertson ([email protected], 815-748-5037)Rudy Habben (309-685-5605)Cory Jones ([email protected], 773-463-4072)Verena Owen ([email protected])Linda Sullivan ([email protected], 630-620-5257)Lynn Rotunno ([email protected])Christine Williamson ([email protected], 773-935-8439

LO C A L G R O U P S O F T H E I L L I N O I S C H A P T E R

All Illinois Sierra Club members are assigned to one of 15 local groups. Each has an elected Executive Committee and hosts regular general public pro-gram meetings. To find local contact informaton and meeting dates and locations visit: illinois.sierraclub.org or call 312-251-1680 x0

12: Blackhawk (Rockford area), 1: Chicago (includes inner ring suburbs), 13: Eagle View (Quad cities area), 3: Heart of Illinois (Peoria area), 4: Kaskaskia (Belleville to Centralia area), 17: Kishwaukee Solduc (DeKalb area), 2: Northwest Cook County (Schaumburg area), 6: Piasa Pali-sades (Alton area), 7: Prairie (Champaign-Urbana area), 15: River Prairie (DuPage Co.), 9: Sangamon Valley (Springfield area), 14: Sauk-Calumet (south Cook, Will, Kankakee cos.), 10: Shawnee (Carbondale area), 16: Valley of the Fox (Kane & Kendall cos.), 5: Woods & Wetlands (Lake & NE Cook cos.)

EthanolC O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1

L A K E & P R A I R I E 1 1 3 R D Q U A R T E R 2 0 0 7

other uses in the area. If you’re proposing an ethanol plant, you should look at where the water sources are, who else is using them, and whether they can satisfy every-one’s needs.” In the rush to build new plants, “that’s not a process that’s in place at all,” she added.

Moreover, water quality issues dovetail with water quantity issues — not just where the water will come from, but also where it will go as wastewater, Barkley said. “It’s really a double-edged sword.”

When ethanol is distilled, circu-lating water — drawn from either an aquifer or a river — cools hot metal vats. As a result, much of the water is lost through evaporation.

The remaining wastewater may be heavily polluted, because con-taminants intensify after evapora-tion. In response, polluting facili-ties dilute the water before it’s dis-charged — good for quality, but bad for quantity. For every gallon of ethanol produced, up to two gallons of wastewater will be dis-charged. This may erode the beds of small streams, release sediments and damage aquatic habitats, Bar-kley said.

Agricultural practices may leave their own environmental foot-print, she added. High corn prices may encourage some farmers to squeeze in every last row, edging them closer to streams — and pol-luting them with runoff from fertil-izers, pesticides and herbicides. Moreover, farmers are not subject to water quality regulations, Barkley said.

Also, high corn prices may encourage planting on land protected by the federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). This program pays farmers to take land out of production, letting wildlife habitats even-tually improve. When crop sizes increase, wildlife may suffer, she added.

Other issues include:▶ the ethics of using food for fuel in a

world where millions go hungry;▶ the feasibility of using switchgrass-

based cellulosic ethanol as a cleaner next-generation biofuel;

▶and especially, the future of mostly-ethanol gasoline blends designed to be used in Flexible Fuel vehicles (FFVs).

An FFV operates in exactly the same way as a gasoline engine. The “flexible” nature of the vehicle refers to its ability to run on both regular gasoline and E-85 — a mix of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.

Most vehicles can already run on a fuel

blend containing up to 10 percent etha-nol; flexfuel cars can run on either tradi-tional gasoline or E-85.

Automakers are pushing FFVs as the new green technology. Unfortunately, that’s an environmental mirage. The Sier-ra Club believes the real solution lies in raising Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards to 40 miles per gallon, easily achievable with already existing technologies. Automakers have opposed such measures, but the Sierra Club is press-ing for this to change. Hybrid vehicles are also a step in the right direction.

As for E-85, most Americans may be hard-pressed to find it. The fuel is available only at a tiny number of gas stations. The vast majority of them are in the Midwest, with 10 in the Chicago area and roughly 140 in Illinois, according to a recent arti-cle in the Chicago Sun-Times. Nationwide, only 918 of the 170,000 gas stations sell E-85. In practice, 99 percent of FFVs will never see a drop of E-85, and will continue to run on gasoline.

With its government subsidies, E-85 can

sell for less than regular unleaded gasoline, but its mileage is worse. Greencarcongress.com calculates that, based on September 2005 prices, it would cost $2,781 to drive a Chevy Tahoe FFV 15,000 miles on E-85, compared with $2,444 for regular gasoline — that’s a differ-ence of more than $300. Until the price of E-85 drops to 72 percent of gas, consumers won’t see any savings.

Also, a loophole lets makers of FFVs — which include Detroit’s Big Three — to evade already weak fuel economy standards. This loop-hole allows them to produce two extra gas guzzlers for each FFV they make. As a result, E-85 and FFVs are unlikely to cure America’s oil addiction.

In terms of air quality, they’re not much better.

A recent Stanford University study found that a ”high blend of ethanol poses an equal or greater risk to public health than gasoline,” according to Mark Z. Jacobson, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering.

Nationwide, E-85 is likely to increase the annual number of asthma-related emergency room visits by about 800 and the num-ber of respiratory-related hospital-izations by nearly 1,000, resulting in about 200 additional deaths per year, Jacobson said.

The prospects for global warm-ing are not much better: A debate is rag-ing, in fact, about whether corn-based eth-anol takes more energy to produce than it provides. The Sierra Club views ethanol as a transitional fuel until it can demonstrate better environmental sustainability.

Cellulosic ethanol — currently in the research phase — offers a better alterna-tive. This biofuel, made from woody plants like switchgrass, requires less energy and pesticides to produce, protects soil and creates less pollution. Properly developed, it could emit 85 percent less global warm-ing pollution than conventional gasoline — and significantly less than corn-based ethanol as well.

Better biofuels, better fuel economy and better technology could save billions of barrels of oil.

Ultimately, though, the most practi-cal solutions are the simplest: Walking, bicycling and taking public transportation more often.

— A L A N N A G O R D O N is an award-winning speech writer and regular contributor to Lake & Prairie.

Existing and poposed/permitted Ethanol factories in Illinois as of May 2007. Data courtesy Illinois EPA.

T H E W I L D O N I O N 1 2 3 R D Q U A R T E R 2 0 0 7

The Newsletter of the Chicago Group of the Sierra Club Third Quarter 2007

Wild Onion

In addition to our Lincoln Square group in Chicago, anew club is forming in Oak Park.

Read about and discuss the environmental issues fac-ing global citizens today and more importantly, thesolutions for those issues. Both book clubs meet onweekday evenings at convenient locations.

Environmental Book Club Resumes inSeptember, New Oak Park Club in FormationChicago Group’s very popular Environmental Book Club is expanding!

I t ’s true, everybody loves the Cubs. And everybody lovesSierra Club! Now you can combine your passions at afundraiser for the Chicago Group of the Sierra Club.

Join other Sierrans for an evening to remember whenthe Chicago Cubs host the Milwaukee Brewers onTu e s d a y, August 28 at 7:05 p.m. The ivy on the wallswon't be the only green in Wrigley Field that day.

Here are some activities your contribution helps us to do:

• have a direct, material impact on the environment inthe Chicago land area, through close work with publicofficials and politicians. Our campaign —Chicago: TheCleanest, Greenest Olympics — is a great example;

• educate and entertain Sierra Club members throughprograms and film festivals, conservation and recre-ational outings, and special events with important andinteresting local and national speakers;

• public outreach — especially to environmentally under-served communities — educates everyone about theneed for clean water and air, protection of endangeredspecies and habitats, and simple ways to live a more

H e y, Hey! Holy Cow! Support Chicago Group at a Cubs Fundraiser!sustainable, healthy life;

• hands-on stewardship at local natural areas, for exam-ple, Montrose Beach, gets members outside, workingactively on direct improvements to the environment;

• providing relevant, high-quality training for membersand committees results in volunteers well-equipped tofight for the highest environmental standards, especial-ly clean air/energy and land management;

• help us keep you informed about Sierra Club issuesand activities via our newsletters, web site and e-mailc o m m u n i c a t i o n s .

Interested in supporting your local group and the Cubs?Tickets are $30 for seats in one of the upper deck infieldsections. If you’re interested, act quickly: There are only40 tickets available. Limit five per household.

Mail a check made payable to the Sierra Club to:Ta k e 'Yamamoto, 555 W. Cornelia Ave., Apt. 301, Chicago, IL60657. Include your name, address, e-mail address andphone number so tickets can be mailed to you.

Questions? Call event coordinator Take' at 773-528-7812.

If you are interested in joining the Book Club in OakPark or Lincoln Square, contact Take’ Yamamoto at [email protected] or 773-528-7812 andindicate which group you wish to attend.

Co-leaders for the Oak Park Book Club are needed.Let Take’ know if you are interested!

Chicago Group Information

For information about the Chicago Group of the Sierra Club, check the web site often: http://illinois.sierraclub.org/Chicago. Contact details for group leaders who can answer questions about activities and how you can getmore involved can be found on the home page. You may also subscribe to e-News for e-mail delivery of a monthlycalendar of activities. To subscribe, click on the Chicago Group e-News box in the right column on the home page.

Chicago Group’s newsletter, Wild Onion, is a quarterly publication with in-depth news and discussion oflocal issues. Wild Onion — traditionally available in print — now can be sent electronically, saving printingexpenses and paper. To receive Wild Onion by e-mail, send your name, Sierra Club membership number and e-mail address to [email protected].


Chicago Group of the Sierra Club is 100 percent com-mitted to frequent, targeted communications withmembers about environmental issues. That’s whywe’re mounting a HUGE campaign to get our mem-bers to move to digital communications.

First and foremost, using e-mail and web-based com-munication is FAST. When time really counts — sayfor an urgent action alert when members need educa-tion so they can influence environmental policy —nothing is faster than e-mail and the web site,http://illinois.sierraclub.org/Chicago.

There are three ways you can help Chicago Group trans-f o r m to an e-organization and save time and money.

Time to Move Away from Print NewslettersChicago Group has been experiencing very big delaysin getting the print newsletter, Wild Onion, to mem-bers. The Postmaster General has acknowledged thatChicago has the worst delivery in the U.S.

Mail delivery from down town Chicago to members liv-ing on the north side took as long as seven weeks forthe first quarter newsletter. Newsletter copy was pre-pared mid-February: Many members did not receivetheir print copy until the last week of April. We had agreat Earth Day celebration at Montrose Beach onApril 21, but the majority of Chicago Group membersreceived their newsletter much too late to join thebeach clean-up and habitat restoration activities.

Just like death and taxes, there’s nothing you can doabout bad postal delivery. So rather than fight fate, theChicago Group ExComm is urging every member tomove to an electronic subscription for Wild Onion.

Our goal is to get fifty percent or more of members tosubscribe to Wild Onion by e-mail by Dec. 31, 2007.

This is an ambitious goal for a local Sierra Club groupthat has 9,000 members. But it is the EASIEST thingin the world to do. By taking 90 seconds to subscribeonline, you will begin to receive your newsletter beforethe ink begins to hit the paper for the print version.

Save Trees and Tons of Money for Chicago Group.We’ve already trimmed costs on the group newsletterby attaching to the Illinois Chapter newsletter: Chapterpays the postage, a huge savings for the group. Butour print expenses still are high: A four-page newslet-ter costs about $1,300 per issue or $5,200 per year.That’s thousands of dollars that could be used for con-servation work, volunteer training or public outreach.By moving to online newsletter delivery, it’s like mak-ing a donation to Sierra Club. If fifty percent of mem-

Chicago Group Moving to Electronic Communications Goal: Electronic Delivery to 50 percent of Members by December 31

bers move to e-delivery of the newsletter this year, itequates to a $2,600 donation that will go to supportlocal conversation activities.

The newsletter will arrive as a PDF file and is print-able. You will receive both Wild Onion and Lake &Prairie, the newsletter of the Illinois Chapter.

Subscribe to e-Delivery of Wild OnionTo subscribe to the electronic version of Wild Onion,send your name, Sierra Club membership number ande-mail address to [email protected].

You can also download and print the most recent issueof the newsletter any time from the web site, http://illi-nois.sierraclub.org/Chicago. You can download thewhole Chapter newsletter — which contains WildOnion — as well as news from other local groups fromthe Chapter web site http://illinois.sierraclub.org.

Internet: The Web is the Way to GoFor the most up-to-the-minute information about theChicago Group of the Sierra Club, check our web siteoften: http://illinois.sierraclub.org/Chicago.

You’ll find contact information for the right people toanswer questions about the group, activities and howyou can get more involved. All the best, freshest infor-mation about Sierra Club in Chicago is right there:Make it your home page to stay in constant contact.

Subscribe to Monthly E-CalendarChicago Group compiles all of its activities into a monthlycalendar delivered by e-mail called e-News. The group’sactivities are delivered to your e-mailbox in one conve-nient package. To subscribe, click on the Chicago Groupe-News box in the right column on the web site.

Thanks for taking this small but important step tostreamlining communications and making them asconvenient and affordable as possible.

Not Online and Happy About It? Or Are You an E-MailWannabe?We realize not everyone has access to e-mail or theInternet and those that do may prefer print communica-tions. That preference will be respected, although wehope everyone will consider the savings of time andmoney e-communications will bring to Chicago Group.

If you aren’t online, haven’t a clue, but really want toget started, contact me at 773-935-8439. Most publiclibraries offer free use of their computers to patrons. Ifenough online neophytes need help in getting starting,Chicago Group may offer training to make your migra-tion to e-mail and the Internet as easy as possible.

by Christine Williamson, Chair


Just Do It! Or, How I Bicycled to Workby Take’ Yamamoto, Social Chair

As the weather turns warm and the dunes come to life,there is much to celebrate. In late December, theChicago Park District was awarded an IllinoisConservation 2000 (C2000) grant for restoration workat Montrose Beach Dunes. The C2000 program of theIllinois Department of Natural Resources providesgrants for conservation work that protects, preserves,and enhances biodiversity and Illinois' natural her-itage. This is the first time the Chicago Park Districthas received a C2000 grant for one of its natural areas.

Applying for the grant in 2005 was a lot of hard workand required much documentation about the dunes'flora, fauna, and public use. The two-year grant willfund removal of major invasives in the dunes atMontrose Beach (targeting mainly Sandbar Wi l l o w ) ,updated interpretive signage and a new dune protectionfence. The grant is going to make a huge, positive dif-ference in the future health and viability of the dunes.

Another great piece of news is that in mid-March, theChicago Park District and City of Chicago approvedthe addition of one more acre of beach to the protecteddunes area of Montrose Beach, just west of the currentdune protection fence. Dune plants have been emerg-ing in the area for the past two years because the sail-boat owners started parking their boats there, whichprevented the beach grooming machines from raking

and destroying vegetation. The boats have been relo-cated and a new dune protection fence installed far-ther west. This increases the size of the protecteddune habitat to 10.25 acres.

It's thrilling and gratifying that on Chicago's largestpublic beach, despite huge pressures of active recre-ation and coastal development, the Park District andCity have decided to set aside more land for nature.

Chicago Group Volunteers Add Habitat Work to BeachWorkdaysChicago Group, which is the official clean-up stewardat Montrose Beach, has started to work with Leslieand her volunteer habitat crew on our spring, sum-mer and fall work days. In addition to cleaning uptrash, flotsam and jetsam, clearing invasive plantsand replanting new native species is really satisfying.

Montrose Beach Dunes is the wildest natural place inChicago. You can almost forget you‚Äôre in the middleof one the 10 largest U.S. cities. There are manymigrant and resident birds, butterflies, dragonflies,mammals and native plants that call Montrose BeachDunes home.Join in restoring this wonderful foredunehabitat habitat to its full potential.

Check the Chicago Group web site for summer workdates: http://illinois.sierraclub.org/Chicago

Montrose Beach Natural Area is Expanded,Habitat Enhancedby Leslie Born, Montrose Beach Steward

For years, I’ve been saying I should bike to work. Ascoordinator for Team Sierra in the Bicycle to Work We e kCampaign, I figured it was time to commute by bike.

Like many of us, I had the same excuses for not bikecommuting: I couldn’t figure out what to wear; I didn’tknow how to handle the personal hygiene issue; and Ididn’t know exactly which route to take. I finally brokedown and said just do it. Here’s what I did:

First, I had to figure out a route since I live nearAddison and the lake and work near the Cumberlandel stop. I got out the Chicago land Bicycle Federationbike map and the City of Chicago’s Bike Map. Betweenthe two of them, I figured out a general route to take.

The next step was to actually scout the routes to seehow they worked in practice. I did this over the week-end when I figured traffic would be lighter and I couldtake my time and figure out various options. It actuallytook two weekends to get the route nailed down.

Now I had no excuses. The big day came around. I saidI would do it. I hemmed and hawed and guess what? I

chickened out. I made up all sorts of excuses. So, thatnight, I just pre-packed and tried to psyche myself intoit. Morning came and I pushed myself out the door.

So, how did it go? Traffic was actually heavier on theweekend than during the week. Going to work was abreeze. I start work at 8:00 a.m. and traffic was verylight. It was a little heavier going home, but not bad. Ifelt strange walking into the building wearing cyclingclothes, so I may think that out a little more. I maycheck out some mountain bike apparel which tends tolook more like street clothes than road bike apparel.

Will I do it again? You bet! Just have to psyche myselfup again and not worry about the clothing for now.

So what’s stopping you from bike commuting? Why notbike to the train station instead of using a car? Or justbike the whole way. Biking is fun, healthy, and a lotbetter for the environment than driving.

You can find information about bike commuting at theChicago land Bicycle Federation at: http://www.bike-traffic.org/btwg and http://www. b i k e t r a f f i c . o r g / t r i c k s t i p s .


After reading about Chicago’s new Household Wasteand Computer Recycling facility at 1150 North BranchStreet on Goose Island, I decided it sounded so cool,I’d plan an outing just to see what was going on there.

Sponsored by Chicago Group’s Air/Energy Committee,the April 7 field trip attracted 35 members from ourgroup and other Chicago area Sierra Club localgroups. The day was very cold and from the outside,the Department of the Environment’s recycling facilitylooked a little bleak.

I was prepared to be a little freaked out, actually.Formerly the animal incinerator for the City ofChicago’s Streets and Sanitation Department, thebuilding has a grisly past. I didn’t tell the field tripparticipants about the site’s less glorious former pur-pose, essential in a city which once relied on horsesfor transportation, but I definitely felt a little shudderwhen I went through the doors.

But the City of Chicago did a great job rehabbing thebuilding. Unless you knew or our super-friendly guide,site manager Kevin Schnoes, happened to tell you thebuilding’s former purpose, you’d never guess.

Funded through state grants, the Household Wasteand Computer Recycling facility is purpose-built torecycle computers and almost any electronic device, aswell as most hazardous wastes. The IllinoisEnvironmental Protection Agency (IEPA) hauls muchof the hazardous wastes away. To date, about 500 peo-ple have been dropping off materials at the site. InMarch, 30,000 pounds of electronics passed throughthe facility, which also accepts an average of 30,000pounds of chemicals per month.

What IEPA w o n ’t take, Schnoes and his crew are find-ing — or creating — markets to accept the waste. Forexample, Schnoes told our group about the way Chicagois developing outlets to take propane tanks and carlead acid batteries. Ditto latex paint, which IEPA w o n ’thaul away because it’s not toxic. Considering that oil-based and latex paint account for about 60 percent ofthe facility’s waste stream, finding a market wasimportant. The facility even recycles all paint cans.

Chicago Group has a better way to keep members up-to-date with news and events: Chicago Group e-News.

Through e-News, subscribers are kept informed month-ly about programs, socials, outings and environmentalevents in our neighborhoods.

This listserv is for members only; you must have aSierra Club membership number to sign up. Check the

Subscribe to Chicago Group e-Newsaddress label on S i e r r a magazine to find your number.

Take a minute to subscribe online to receive the nextissue at http://Illinois.SierraClub.org/ Chicago/e-News.

For information about Chicago Group’s social outings,subscribe to the e-newsletter at: http://illinois.sierra-club.org/chicago/ socials/social_listserv.html and checkthe web at http://illinois.sierraclub.org/chicago/outings/.

And the recycling facility has set up a small swaproom where anyone can drop off still-useable paintand household chemicals for someone else’s use. It’s agreat way to use up paint and other materials so theydon’t have to enter the waste stream in the first place.

A program sponsored by the Illinois Department ofCommerce and Economic Development trains ex-offenders and puts them back to work. Another pro-gram gives computers to a rehabber who recyclesthem for use in schools and libraries.

Our tour took us through the whole facility. It’s not thatlarge, but there’s so much activity and participants hadso many questions, we spent a 90 minutes on-site.

The trip ended with a tour of the outside of the build-ing, which was especially wonderful, because Schnoesdemonstrated the site’s sustainable landscaping. Abioswale was built to collect and filter rain water run-off before it is released into the Chicago River. All theplants used around the grounds are hardy natives.The building itself is very energy efficient, thanks to aheat wall on the south side of the building. The hollowwall absorbs heat from the sun in the winter, so theintake air is pre-heated before it goes into the heatingbusiness. There is no air conditioning in the building,but the hollow wall also cools the building in summer.

All in all, it was a great trip, one that we will repeatin October. Check the web site http://illinois.sierra-club.org/Chicago, e-News and Wild Onion for the date.

I loved dropping off pounds of old electronics knowingthey’d be put to good use or recycled. But don’t wait forthe next field trip. Be sure to u s e the facility to helpChicago meet its goal of zero waste generation. It’slocated at 1150 N. North Branch Street, two blockseast of the Kennedy Expressway at Division Street andopen for drop-offs on the following days: Tuesday (7:00a.m.-12:00 p.m.), Thursday (2:00-7:00 p.m.), and thefirst Saturday of every month (8:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.)

More information about the chemical and computerrecycling facility can be found under EnvironmentalInitiatives and Recycling at the city’s web site:http://cityofchicago.org

From the Field: Having Fun with Hazardous Wa s t eby Christine Williamson, Chair

T H E L E A F 1 6 3 R D Q U A R T E R 2 0 0 7

IN THIS ISSUE

Chair’s Letter

A recap of clearing invasive buckthorn on Earth Day

PAGE 16

Spring Valley Events

A schedule of Spring Valley events from July to October

PAGE 17

Program Schedule

The goings-on of the NWCCG for the next few months

PAGE 17

For the most up-to-date news, be sure to visit us on the Web:

http://illinois.sierraclub.org/NWCook

the leaf NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTHWEST COOK COUNTY GROUP OF THE SIERRA CLUB | SUMMER 2007

By SHARON WEINSTEIN, R.N.

We’d like to think that our homes are safe havens. But if we’re not careful, certain products and designs can create health risks. Pollutant levels inside our homes and offi ces may be two to fi ve times higher than the air outside. Combine that fact with the realization that we spend 75 to 90 percent of our time indoors and we can see why indoor air quality has become a major concern. Multiple-chemical sensitivity is a heightened reaction to substances that cause symptoms ranging from respiratory ailments to depression and anxiety. The cause, the prevalence, and even the existence of this and other disorders, such as fi bromyalgia—a musculoskeletal pain and fatigue disorder—are the subjects of debate. The growing consensus, however, is that the fl ood of new chemicals introduced into the environment

every year is making people sick. Symptoms and health effects range from mild short-term acute effects, such as sneezing, itchy eyes, and general discomfort, to more serious long-term effects, such as respiratory disorders, lung cancer, and a weakened immune system. And, some people report that they react to

Creating Healthy Homes

Veterinarians and Wildlife BiologyBy SUZIE CROMBIE

Envirovet was started in 1991 by Val Beasley, of the College of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Illinois, to carry out his lifelong vision of bringing veterinary medicine together with wildlife biology. Though a small-animal veterinarian himself, he wanted to do more in the domain of the ecosystem.

Envirovet is an intensive course for veterinarians and students whose alumni include Joan Embery, of Johnny Carson fame; Leslie Dierauf, who directs the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin; and Lawrence Mugisha, who runs the Ngamba Island Chimpanzee sanctuary in Uganda. To

date, the program has helped educate 300 veterinarians, many of whom voluntarily come back to lecture, guide fi eld exercises, and mentor new students. Students in the program come from all over the world, creating a diverse learning environment and establishing a network for fi eld work after the program ends.

The program’s fi rst session focuses on terrestrial and aquatic wildlife and ecosystem health in developed countries. It provides four weeks of lecture, fi eld experience and laboratory work that demonstrate wildlife health in the context of the ecosystem health and what, they, as veterinarians, can do. Half of this session is spent

at White Oak Conservation Center and half at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution in Florida.

White Oak maintains genetically diverse populations of endangered species and leads professional efforts to improve veterinary care, develop holistic animal management techniques, and better understand the biology of critically endangered species.

Students also travel to St. Catherine’s Island, a location closed to the public, where they learn about radio tracking of free-ranging wildlife, geographical aspects of conservation, and in situ stewardship of amphibians,

PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 18

PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 17


Earth Day was a great success! Over 120 volunteers cut brush and sawed, hauled and burned the invasive buckthorn. Others planted oaks and some picked up roadside trash. Our energy was fueled by members of Boy Scout Troop 495 (Elk Grove Village) and Cub Scout Troop 286 (Arlington Heights). Everyone worked hard and we really appreciate their helping hands. Some of our more notable brush cutters included John Rogner, a fi eld supervisor with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley, and Congresswoman Melissa Bean and her nephews. I want to thank John, Mike and Congresswoman Bean for their continued support of Spring Creek. Kristina Anderson and Peter Wessel with the Riding Club of Barrington Hills supplied lunch, snacks and much-needed water. Kristina and Peter, you are wonderful. The event will remain clear in my memory thanks to an extremely reliable photographer, Jim Haba, who came back home from out of state for this event! Jim is a professional photographer who covers corporate events. His company, 20/20 Communications, is in Elk Grove Village, 847.364.7666.

If the day seemed to fl ow smoothly, this is largely due to the many Master Stewards who participated. These volunteers were always there—offering their friendly expertise, tightening up a burning brush pile, encouraging a tired beginner. Thank you to Dave Cook, Kim Keper, Ginger Underwood, Jim Voris and John Yapelli. The Northwest Cook County Group’s volunteer support supplied everything they promised, and more! Tables were set up, drivers were directed to parking, water was boiled, people were greeted as they arrived. Tad even brought his sons to help—two extra hard workers. Tom delivered the good weather that he promised. Greg left his new son to join us for the workday. All of your efforts made this day perfect. Thank you to Steve Packard for the educational and also many thanks to the Forest Preserve employees, who have always

supported our efforts. Our Earth Day event was co-sponsored by the Northwest Cook County Group, Sierra Club, the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Spring Creek Stewards; The Riding Club of Barrington Hills, Audubon-Chicago Region; Citizens for Conservation, Fox River Valley Pony Club, The League of Women Voters Palatine Area. A reminder: Public Lands Day is Sept 29. We will once again be working in Spring Creek. Come out and join us. If you’d like to help with the planning, please call me at 847.967.7835.

—Donna Hriljac

From the Chair

Master Steward Dave Cook, left, gives instructions on buckthorn removal. Right, the demise of the buckthorn.

Which group was one of the main sponsors of the event?

All photos courtesy of Jim Haba


Spring Valley EventsSunday, July 8. 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Mowing & Mooing at the Heritage Farm We’ll be harvesting the mid-summer hay crop with draft horses and milking the dairy cow. Back at the farmhouse, process fresh cow’s milk into cheese and ice cream. There will also be refreshments, games, and crafts. $1.50 per person. Take a hayride from the Nature Center to the Farm.

Friday, July 13. 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Nature’s Night Life

An educational walk around Spring Valley for adults. Pre-registration required, so please call in advance.

Friday, July 27. 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Lights in the Night

A fi refl y program for youngsters. Pre-registration required so call in advance.

Saturday, Sept. 22. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. National Public Lands Day

A morning of native seed collecting. All of the seed is dried, cleaned, and used to replant additional acres of native wildfl owers and grasses in Schaum-burg’s parks and nature preserves. Learn ways to heal the land and help restore rare plants and animals. All participants will receive a free packet of native wildfl ower seed. Free and open to all ages, but please call the Nature Center at 847.985.2100 to RSVP.

Sunday, October 7. 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Autumn Harvest Festival

Demonstrations of 19th century farm life at the Volkening Heritage Farm. Activities include cider pressing, woodstove cooking, blacksmithing, and horse-powered threshing, primitive fi re starting, campfi re cooking, musket fi ring, and more. Children’s activities, live music, hayrides, and sales of refreshments will be available. $3 per person. Call 847.985.2100.

Spring Valley is located at 1111 E. Schaumburg Road, just west of Meacham Road. Call (847) 985-2100 for reservations or more information.

gopher tortoises and sea turtles. The aquatic session at Harbor Branch features research submarines, estuarine and reef assessments, ecological toxicology and ecosystem health for fi sh, and marine birds and mammals.

The students are trained through postmortem examinations of frozen sections of multiple species of birds and marine mammals from spontaneous major lethal events in the fi eld. Faculty of the terrestrial and aquatic units hail from across the U.S. and Canada, and include such experts as Scott Citino of White Oak, Kirsten Gilardi and Jonna Mazet of the University of California

at Davis, Tom Lovejoy of the Heinz Center for Science Economics and the Environment, Jeff Zuba of the San Diego Zoo, Daniel Martineau of the University of Montreal, and Greg Bossart of Harbor Branch.

The second session teaches students to work across national boundaries. Each year the location varies, but during the last few years it has been organized in South Africa or Swaziland. Students explore opportunities to see what types of problems these countries deal with and the many ways in which veterinarians are needed. These include preventing diseases and gene-jumping not only

between wildlife and domestic animals, but also between wildlife and human populations. Students also undertake hands-on work in wildlife health assessment, and preventive medicine related to the interface of national parks and private lands.

Val Beasley’s vision is growing daily. Past students return to the fi eld with new insights, and use their new knowledge and skills to make a difference for wildlife populations.—Suzie Crombie is a freelance fi lm editor and videographer. She is currently working on a fi lm for Envirovet. For more information, see: www.cvm.uiuc.edu/envirovet/index.html.

Envirovet: Treating Wild Animals CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

Group Calendar July and August

Summer BreakEnjoy the the Summer!

August 25thSierra Club NWCCG Picnic

Watch for info.

September 13thProgram Meeting

Topic yet to be announced.

September 29thPublic Lands Day

Spring Creek PreserveWe will be hauling away trash and doing our regular ecological restoration work. We will have a variety of area and eco co-

sponsors. Come out and join us. It is a great day outside, for a great cause, with some great people! If you’d like to help with the

planning, please call Donna at 847.967.7835.

Program meetings are held on the second Thursday of the month, September through June, at the Spring Valley Nature Sanctuary at 1111 East Schaumburg Road in Schaumburg. Meetings start at 7:00 p.m. and the program, focusing on natural history or environmental issues, starts at 7:30 p.m. Meetings are free and open to the public. For more info, contact Greg Stolzer at [email protected] or (847)368-0483. Also, see the Outings section of Lake & Prairie for more information on events.


Spring Valley EventsSunday, July 8. 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Mowing & Mooing at the Heritage Farm We’ll be harvesting the mid-summer hay crop with draft horses and milking the dairy cow. Back at the farmhouse, process fresh cow’s milk into cheese and ice cream. There will also be refreshments, games, and crafts. $1.50 per person. Take a hayride from the Nature Center to the Farm.

Friday, July 13. 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Nature’s Night Life

An educational walk around Spring Valley for adults. Pre-registration required, so please call in advance.

Friday, July 27. 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Lights in the Night

A fi refl y program for youngsters. Pre-registration required so call in advance.

Saturday, Sept. 22. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. National Public Lands Day

A morning of native seed collecting. All of the seed is dried, cleaned, and used to replant additional acres of native wildfl owers and grasses in Schaum-burg’s parks and nature preserves. Learn ways to heal the land and help restore rare plants and animals. All participants will receive a free packet of native wildfl ower seed. Free and open to all ages, but please call the Nature Center at 847.985.2100 to RSVP.

Sunday, October 7. 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Autumn Harvest Festival

Demonstrations of 19th century farm life at the Volkening Heritage Farm. Activities include cider pressing, woodstove cooking, blacksmithing, and horse-powered threshing, primitive fi re starting, campfi re cooking, musket fi ring, and more. Children’s activities, live music, hayrides, and sales of refreshments will be available. $3 per person. Call 847.985.2100.

Spring Valley is located at 1111 E. Schaumburg Road, just west of Meacham Road. Call (847) 985-2100 for reservations or more information.

gopher tortoises and sea turtles. The aquatic session at Harbor Branch features research submarines, estuarine and reef assessments, ecological toxicology and ecosystem health for fi sh, and marine birds and mammals.

The students are trained through postmortem examinations of frozen sections of multiple species of birds and marine mammals from spontaneous major lethal events in the fi eld. Faculty of the terrestrial and aquatic units hail from across the U.S. and Canada, and include such experts as Scott Citino of White Oak, Kirsten Gilardi and Jonna Mazet of the University of California

at Davis, Tom Lovejoy of the Heinz Center for Science Economics and the Environment, Jeff Zuba of the San Diego Zoo, Daniel Martineau of the University of Montreal, and Greg Bossart of Harbor Branch.

The second session teaches students to work across national boundaries. Each year the location varies, but during the last few years it has been organized in South Africa or Swaziland. Students explore opportunities to see what types of problems these countries deal with and the many ways in which veterinarians are needed. These include preventing diseases and gene-jumping not only

between wildlife and domestic animals, but also between wildlife and human populations. Students also undertake hands-on work in wildlife health assessment, and preventive medicine related to the interface of national parks and private lands.

Val Beasley’s vision is growing daily. Past students return to the fi eld with new insights, and use their new knowledge and skills to make a difference for wildlife populations.—Suzie Crombie is a freelance fi lm editor and videographer. She is currently working on a fi lm for Envirovet. For more information, see: www.cvm.uiuc.edu/envirovet/index.html.

Envirovet: Treating Wild Animals CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

Group Calendar July and August

Summer BreakEnjoy the the Summer!

August 25thSierra Club NWCCG Picnic

Watch for info.

September 13thProgram Meeting

Topic yet to be announced.

September 29thPublic Lands Day

Spring Creek PreserveWe will be hauling away trash and doing our regular ecological restoration work. We will have a variety of area and eco co-

sponsors. Come out and join us. It is a great day outside, for a great cause, with some great people! If you’d like to help with the

planning, please call Donna at 847.967.7835.

Program meetings are held on the second Thursday of the month, September through June, at the Spring Valley Nature Sanctuary at 1111 East Schaumburg Road in Schaumburg. Meetings start at 7:00 p.m. and the program, focusing on natural history or environmental issues, starts at 7:30 p.m. Meetings are free and open to the public. For more info, contact Greg Stolzer at [email protected] or (847)368-0483. Also, see the Outings section of Lake & Prairie for more information on events.

the leafSummer 2007

Disclaimer: Published quarterly, the leaf is the offi cial newsletter of the Northwest Cook County Group of the Sierra Club. Opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the author and do not necessarily refl ect those of the Sierra Club. the leaf may be redistributed as long as the content re-mains unaltered and full credit is given both to the author and to the North-west Cook Group. Copyrights for the print and electronic content belong to the Sierra Club and the Northwest Cook County Group.

EDITORS

Laura [email protected]

Robin [email protected]

LAYOUT AND DESIGN

Paras [email protected]

CHAIR

Donna [email protected]

CONSERVATION CHAIR

Vacant

ENERGY CHAIR (STATE)Tom Borchard, 847.390.8386

[email protected]

FUNDRAISING CHAIR

Vacant

MEMBERSHIP CHAIR

Greg Stolzer, [email protected]

OUTINGS CHAIR

Scott Etienne [email protected]

POLITICAL CHAIR

Barbara Hill, [email protected]

VISIT US ON THE WEB: www.illinois.sierraclub.org/NWCook

PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER

chemicals in their environments; these allergy-like reactions seem to relate to exposure to a wide variety of synthetic and natural substances, including paints, carpeting, plastics, perfumes, cigarette smoke, and plants. In my own home, I keep pollen and spore counts down with an air fi ltration system based on creation of negative ions. The fi ve fi lter system ensures air quality. I also keep my air conditioning system set on recirculate to reduce pollen and mold. Today’s homebuilders strive to build homes that meet the demands and needs of health-conscious home buyers, as today’s consumers are well-educated about indoor air quality, radon, and environmentally correct building materials. Banning toxins is another approach. Some health-conscious homeowners are rejecting the use of natural gases, which according to some studies is believed to aggravate chemical sensitivity. They are ripping out carpets, which can trap toxic fumes. The good news is that carpets, paints, wood treatments, drapes and bedding are increasingly available in nontoxic versions, devoid of substances linked to carcinogens. “Healthy Homes” is a century-old concept that promotes safe, decent, and sanitary housing. Healthy housing is receiving considerable attention from public health professionals and policymakers as a result of emerging scientifi c evidence linking health outcomes, such as asthma and lead poisoning to substandard housing. Such unhealthy substandard housing can be seen across economic lines! Even expensive new homes may have biohazards lurking within. So, what is a homeowner to do? First, assess how unhealthy your home might be. Examine cleaning-supply labels and pesticides. Even

scented personal products can be big offenders. There are approximately 5,000 chemicals registered for use in personal products that can negatively impact the immune system of a child. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has explored the link between children, the environment and neurotoxicity. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Environmental Health, the toxins that invade our homes and accumulate in the immune systems of children contribute to learning disabilities, hyperactivity, and Attention Defi cit Disorder. As a homeowner, parent, or grandparent you can, and should be involved in making healthier decisions for your family. Health-conscious homeowners are now buying cutting boards and countertops treated with

bacteriocides. They have also found that silver and copper are naturally sanitizing. For information on ‘green’ environments to incorporate into your home, visit www.pathnet.org or www.globalgreen.org. On the cutting edge of wellness

technology are materials that radiate far-infrared rays, a part of the sun’s invisible spectrum that can penetrate deep into human tissues. Such materials have been widely used in Japan for years and are gaining respect here as germ-zappers and remedies for ailments such as arthritis and fi bromyalgia. These materials are available in comforters manufactured by Nikken, a Japanese wellness company. A healthy home can and should be a healing home. Good health begins and ends with you!

—Sharon Weinstein is a registered nurse, health educator, author and wellness and environmental specialist. Visit her online at: www.corelimited.com. She can be reached at [email protected].

Home Health HavensCONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

“There are approximately

5,000 chemicals registered

for use in personal

products that can

negatively impact the

immune system of a child.”

P R A I R I E F L Y E R 2 0 3 R D Q U A R T E R 2 0 0 7

Shawnee Forest National Service TripBy Alice EnglebretsenFor the third year, I led a national service trip in the Shawnee National Forest, the only national forest in Illinois and a special natural resource for the state. The difference in this trip was that it was held in the spring; my other trips have all been held in October. The other difference was that we worked on a variety of jobs. The previous trips focused on archaeology within the national forest, whereas this year we worked with the IllinoisDepartment of Natural Resources (IDNR) and the National Forest Service.

2007 Shawnee service trip group members and leader Alice Englebretsen (second from left). Photo by Alice Englebretsen.

Various tasks were arranged by Jody Shimp, Natural HeritageBiologist with the IDNR. On the first day we were in the Lusk Creek Wilderness Area helping build a steep trail down to Lusk Creek from a trail used by horse riders as well as hikers. The section we worked on was only used for foot traffic and was very steep. Our job was to build and restore water bars, which help control erosion on the trail and direct water off to the side. The issue of equestrians and hikers using the same trails has long been a controversial one. Until recently, there were no restrictions on where trails could go in the national forest. The Sierra Club has been very active in establishing rules that require specified trails for horses, and designating other trails for foot traffic.

On the second day, we were again in the Lusk Creek Wilderness Area working with the National Forest Service trail crew to brush

out some of those ad hoc trails that are now restricted. Since the Lusk Creek Wilderness Area is under special protection, the work on these trails can only be done manually with no heavy-dutyequipment such as chain saws. The work was challenging but very rewarding, and the trail crew members were very informative about trail issues.

On another day, we drove about an hour to Giant City State Park, where we met with Scott Ballard, IDNR herpetologist. Scott had a few live critters for his show-and-tell, including an alligator turtle, a Gila monster, and a snake. He told us all about snake migration on national forest land near the Mississippi River. After lunch in the lodge, we took a hike with Jenny Skufca, Park Interpreter, around Giant City State Park and helped with a little invasive species and trail maintenance work. Jenny was full of insightful information about the nature of a national forest and spoke to us about the unique diversity of southern Illinois forests.

Our day off gave us an opportunity to visit the War Bluff Valley Sanctuary near Golconda, which is owned by the Illinois Audubon Society. Our own Terri Traecy, Field Representative for the Shawnee National Forest, is fortunate to be the resident caretaker of this beautiful wild area. A few other hardworking volunteers chose to return to Lusk Creek and the water bar project. They came back tired and dirty, but very pleased with a job well done. Our final workday was spent at the Cache River Natural Wildlife Area. Under the guidance of Mark Guetersloh, Natural Heritage Biologist, we pulled a truckload of invasive garlic mustard along the side of the road, presumed to be brought in by road crews on their heavy equipment. This is the only place in the Cache River Natural Wildlife Area known to have garlic mustard. It was most satisfying to realize that we had made a big dent in keeping this difficult invasive out of the area. The primary project was to plant trees, andwe then set out on swampy open lands that had once been forested. We made short work of planting 750 trees: 500 swamp cypress and 250 pin oaks. As we worked, we also learned from our guides, in intimate detail, the nature of a healthy forest, from upland wooded areas such as Lusk Creek to the very special lowland wetlands, such as the Cache River.

One of my favorite things about leading these trips is the people I meet. Our group was diverse, ranging in age from 34 to 79, and several people were repeat participants. Look for this trip to be repeated next year, and plan to sign up. It’s a great way to enjoy the outdoors and learn what a treasure we have here in Illinois in the Shawnee National Forest.

Upcoming EventsJulySummer break - No meeting.

August 14 @ 5:30 pm –Annual Potluck Picnic Location: Meadowbrook Parkat the The Garden Pavilion(Go South on Race St. from Windsor Rd. turn at 1st driveway to East)The Prairie Group will provide condiments, beverages and a grill for those who would like to bring burgers and the like. Please bring your own plate, utensils, and a dish to share.

September 11 @ 7 pm –Socially and Environmentally Responsible InvestingLocation- TBA:Your investments affect the environment and humankind for better or worse.You can meet your financial needs and promote social/ environmental progress with Socially Responsible Investing. Russell Rybicki of Progressive Asset Management will speak on Socially Responsible Investing, its effect on performance, and its role in social/environmental change.


Shawnee Forest National Service TripBy Alice EnglebretsenFor the third year, I led a national service trip in the Shawnee National Forest, the only national forest in Illinois and a special natural resource for the state. The difference in this trip was that it was held in the spring; my other trips have all been held in October. The other difference was that we worked on a variety of jobs. The previous trips focused on archaeology within the national forest, whereas this year we worked with the IllinoisDepartment of Natural Resources (IDNR) and the National Forest Service.

2007 Shawnee service trip group members and leader Alice Englebretsen (second from left). Photo by Alice Englebretsen.

Various tasks were arranged by Jody Shimp, Natural HeritageBiologist with the IDNR. On the first day we were in the Lusk Creek Wilderness Area helping build a steep trail down to Lusk Creek from a trail used by horse riders as well as hikers. The section we worked on was only used for foot traffic and was very steep. Our job was to build and restore water bars, which help control erosion on the trail and direct water off to the side. The issue of equestrians and hikers using the same trails has long been a controversial one. Until recently, there were no restrictions on where trails could go in the national forest. The Sierra Club has been very active in establishing rules that require specified trails for horses, and designating other trails for foot traffic.

On the second day, we were again in the Lusk Creek Wilderness Area working with the National Forest Service trail crew to brush

out some of those ad hoc trails that are now restricted. Since the Lusk Creek Wilderness Area is under special protection, the work on these trails can only be done manually with no heavy-dutyequipment such as chain saws. The work was challenging but very rewarding, and the trail crew members were very informative about trail issues.

On another day, we drove about an hour to Giant City State Park, where we met with Scott Ballard, IDNR herpetologist. Scott had a few live critters for his show-and-tell, including an alligator turtle, a Gila monster, and a snake. He told us all about snake migration on national forest land near the Mississippi River. After lunch in the lodge, we took a hike with Jenny Skufca, Park Interpreter, around Giant City State Park and helped with a little invasive species and trail maintenance work. Jenny was full of insightful information about the nature of a national forest and spoke to us about the unique diversity of southern Illinois forests.

Our day off gave us an opportunity to visit the War Bluff Valley Sanctuary near Golconda, which is owned by the Illinois Audubon Society. Our own Terri Traecy, Field Representative for the Shawnee National Forest, is fortunate to be the resident caretaker of this beautiful wild area. A few other hardworking volunteers chose to return to Lusk Creek and the water bar project. They came back tired and dirty, but very pleased with a job well done. Our final workday was spent at the Cache River Natural Wildlife Area. Under the guidance of Mark Guetersloh, Natural Heritage Biologist, we pulled a truckload of invasive garlic mustard along the side of the road, presumed to be brought in by road crews on their heavy equipment. This is the only place in the Cache River Natural Wildlife Area known to have garlic mustard. It was most satisfying to realize that we had made a big dent in keeping this difficult invasive out of the area. The primary project was to plant trees, andwe then set out on swampy open lands that had once been forested. We made short work of planting 750 trees: 500 swamp cypress and 250 pin oaks. As we worked, we also learned from our guides, in intimate detail, the nature of a healthy forest, from upland wooded areas such as Lusk Creek to the very special lowland wetlands, such as the Cache River.

One of my favorite things about leading these trips is the people I meet. Our group was diverse, ranging in age from 34 to 79, and several people were repeat participants. Look for this trip to be repeated next year, and plan to sign up. It’s a great way to enjoy the outdoors and learn what a treasure we have here in Illinois in the Shawnee National Forest.

Upcoming EventsJulySummer break - No meeting.

August 14 @ 5:30 pm –Annual Potluck Picnic Location: Meadowbrook Parkat the The Garden Pavilion(Go South on Race St. from Windsor Rd. turn at 1st driveway to East)The Prairie Group will provide condiments, beverages and a grill for those who would like to bring burgers and the like. Please bring your own plate, utensils, and a dish to share.

September 11 @ 7 pm –Socially and Environmentally Responsible InvestingLocation- TBA:Your investments affect the environment and humankind for better or worse.You can meet your financial needs and promote social/ environmental progress with Socially Responsible Investing. Russell Rybicki of Progressive Asset Management will speak on Socially Responsible Investing, its effect on performance, and its role in social/environmental change.

Global Warming and the Arctic:Chad Kister Returns for Prairie Group Presentation

by Jim Beauchamp

Chad Kistler speaks to Prairie Group members. Photos by Kirstin Replogle.

wilderness, and this tour was part of an effort to show them support, as well as to emphasize the need for the USFWS to demand a mandatory reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to save the polar bear, and so much more. Tours like this help spread the word nationwide about the need to lobby for wilderness protection.

Chad has recently finished the second edition updates to his book ArcticMelting, and his presentation showed the very latest climate change’s impact on the Arctic and Alaska. In addition it showed

On April 10, environmental author, photographer, and cinematographer Chad Kister treated the Prairie Group to a well-attended slideshow talk on the Alaskan Arctic, with an emphasis on polar bear survival, as part of his spring U.S./Canada tour. Chad has hiked and filmed extensively in Alaska and is the author of two books and producer of a film on the Alaskan environment, especially in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. His tour included 45 presentations and book signings, and we were the first stop on the tour, conducted by fuel-efficient train.

The polar bear is important, Chad told us, not only because of its intrinsic beauty but because it is a “canary” for climate change. The bear’s rapid decline, due to Arctic ice melting, demonstrates that we are in a serious crisis and in desperate need of rapid political action. With the Arctic Ocean likely to be nearly ice-freeas early as 2040, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) predicts that the polar bear could soon become extinct in the wild, unless massive changes are made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While polar bear live in 19 population groups across the circumpolar Arctic, thecoastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is by far the densest denning ground of polar bear in the world. Most of this denning has occurred on ice floes where the polar bear survives by hunting seal and fishing.

Ice has thinned 42 percent in the last 40 years, as measured by U.S. submarinedata. Melting in Greenland has doubled in the last 5 years according to NASA senior Scientist James Hansen. He also said that sea levels could rise 80 feet and that the melting is far more dynamic and accelerating faster than previously thought.

While some people may actually think that a warming Arctic is a good thing, nearly all impacts have been found to be very negative. Permafrost melting has caused billions of dollars of damage in Alaska and is releasing more greenhouse gases. The melting ice and snow has allowed more of the sun’s radiation to be absorbed, causing more warming.Shorelines are crumbling into the sea, destroying whole Native Alaskan villages, such as Kivalina and Shishmaref. Andmillions of acres of forests that have died because of insect outbreaks and drought caused by climate change, are now burning. The list of negative impacts and their severity grows longer by the year.

Again this year, Arctic champions in Congress have introduced legislation to protect the Arctic Refuge coastal plain as

the critical need to immediately begin reducing fossil fuel emissions and replace them with solar, wind, and other efficient renewable resources.

Kister is the author of Arctic Quest: Odyssey Through a Threatened Wilderness Area and Arctic Melting: How Climate Change is Destroying One of the World’s Largest Wilderness Areas, both published by Common Courage Press. Kister is also the producer of the 2006 film Caribou People. His third book, Against All Odds: The Struggle to Save The Ridges will be released soon. The first 5 minutes of Kister’s film Caribou Peoplemay be viewed online at:

www.arcticrefuge.orgorwww.chadkister.com

Important Notice on Prairie Group Meeting VenueThe Prairie Group recently learned that its current venue, the Geneva Room at the McKinley Foundation, will not be available for meetings during the 2007-2008 academic year due to much-needed renovation work. As of press time, no replacement venue had been lined up. Please check the Prairie Group website (http://illinois.sierraclub.org/prairie ) later in the summer for this information. We will also be publicizing our new meeting place through a mailing. Stay tuned!


Native American Artist Plays Lake Land Community College in Aprilby Kirstin Replogle

Did you see the Disney movie "Pocahontas"? Or the National Geographic special "Braving Alaska"? If so, you have already heard Bill Miller's flute playing.

But the Native American musician does more than play the flute. The Grammy - winning performer writes compelling lyrics and also paints images of warriors from his Mohican ancestors' past. Miller captivated a packed house at Lake Land Community College, Mattoon, on April 11th, spending two hours sharing his culture and life experiences along with his music. In addition to his artistic performances, Miller teaches works hops on racial reconciliation, and runs suicide prevention and substance abuse awareness programs.

He told one story of confronting imprisoned L.A. gang members who were disrupting his performance. He took the time to talk to the men one-on-one, listening to their stories and sharing his own. The confrontation became an opportunity to acknowledge the humanity ineveryone, as the prisoners learned anger is not the only way to deal with a difficult childhood.

This event was the inspiration for the song, "Forgive":

"nowhere to run nowhere to turnthe fires of rage begin to burnyou can't go home, he can't go onhis flesh is weak and his spirit's gone

now he's behind a prison walland doesn't have the will to livehe says it's all his father's faulthe taught his son the way to livehe was unable to forgive."

Bill Miller in concert. Photo by Kirstin Replogle.

The paintings accompanying Miller on the stage (see photo) were used to tell the story of Mohican warriors who would paint their faces as a "spiritual armor," based on their visions, before going into battle. If something happened during a battle, perhaps the death of a warrior's brother, the warrior could go back to the village and have his face repainted so that all would know of his grief and what he was going through. The trouble with our lives today, said Miller, is that none of us knows what the other has been through - what scars we carry on the inside. This leads to a lack of understanding and compassion.

Miller also spoke of how the circumstances of our lives should not dictate who we become, and used his culture as an example. Native Americans have been dispossessed of their land, language, and culture to a great extent, with many Native Americans living in poverty or exposed to environmental degradation and contamination. Yet he reaches out in a spirit of love and reconciliation to all people, because he lives in hope for the future not the hurt of the past. His song "Every Mountain I Climb" touches on this theme:

"for every mountain i climband every river that windsfor every wind that will blowi will send out my prayersto the children below...

they pretend that they just don't seethey are blinded with their own mediocritythey've got their trophies and their carsbig houses on the hilland they don't really careif their wars are killin' mefor every child that follows a dreamten thousand angels will fly..."

In closing, he used his drum in a traditional blessing chant, and many of us in the audience felt very blessed indeed to have shared part of a day with Bill Miller.

Part of the college's Arts and Humanities series, the event was co-sponsored by the Illinois Humanities Council.


Bur Oak Birthday BashThe 200th birthday of the massiveBur Oak in front of the Natural History Building at the University of Illinois was celebrated on April 27. This tree is the oldest living thing on the campus and was a sapling when prairie fires swept easterly across what is now Champaign, routinely consuming every-thing before them. The wetlands that became the campus subdued these fires, allowing the hardiest trees to survive. The Boneyard creek stopped the spread The crown of the magnificent 200-year old Bur Oak.of the fire and allowed the Big Grove to flourish beginning in what is now down-town Urbana. Only remnants of that grove remain, along with our most famous tree.

The Birthday Party -- with cake, candles,and bur oak seedlings being offered to thoseinterested in planting a cousin of the oldesttree on the University of Illinois campus.

Happy 200th Birthday,Bur Oak!

Photos by Stuart LevyThe Bur Oak gets a birthday hug.

Come See Us at the Farmer’s Market in Urbana!As we have done for the past few years, the Prairie Group will have a table at the Urbana Farmer’s Market on the second Saturday of the month through October. Prairie Group members will be distributing Sierra Club membership and activism information, doing some community outreach, and selling Sierra Club gear: backpacks, messenger bags, t-shirts, and more! Proceeds from these items go towards future Prairie Group programs and social events. See you there!

Executive Committee Members of the Prairie GroupKirstin Replogle**Chair217-344-3809, [email protected]

Dick Bishop*Vice Chair, Alternate Chapter Delegate217-328-6379, [email protected]

Jim Beauchamp**Membership Chair217-344-3307, [email protected]

Peg Flynn*Secretary, Newsletter Editor, Membership Co-Chair217-352-4114, [email protected]

Alice Englebretsen*Chapter Delegate, Treasurer217-367-7344, [email protected]

Don Davis**Environmental Education Chair, Conservation Chair, Outings Chair217-637-3456, [email protected]

Stuart Levy**[email protected]

Trent ShepardPublications Representative217-344-3822, [email protected]

Cynthia Hoyle*[email protected]

* elected or appointed to ExCom for 2006-2007** elected or appointed to ExCom for 2007-2008

Open PositionsProgram Chair, Publicity Chair, Fundraising

Website: http://illinois.sierraclub.org/prairieMailing address:Sierra Club Prairie GroupP.O. Box 131Urbana, IL 6180

D u P A G E S I E R R A N 2 4 3 R D Q U A R T E R 2 0 0 7

Sierra Club, River Prairie Group Summer 2007 Volume 26, No. 3

DuPage Sierr a nS i e rra Club Bet Pays Off With Freshman Repre s e n t a t i v eby Linda Sullivan

In the heart of one of DuPage County’smost conservative districts, the SierraClub endorsed a young business-orient-ed conservative in the 2006 primary andgeneral election whose views prettymuch fit the 95th District on most issues.

What was different about MichaelFortner was that he is a scientist. He isan associate professor of physics atNorthern Illinois University and has doneresearch at Fermi Lab. When ConnieSchmidt and I did our endorsementinterview with him, right away, he under-stood the importance of energy conser-vation, wetlands protection and limitingcarbon emissions.

“ A healthy environment is a quality of lifeissue,î he told us at the endorsementi n t e r v i e w. For instance, as mayor ofWest Chicago, he realized the value ofwetlands in promoting clean water andpreventing flooding. He immediatelyconnected air quality with certain healthproblems his constituents had.

In other words, conservation was defi-nitely part of his conservatism.

River Prairie Group voted unanimouslyto endorse him, as did the IllinoisChapter Political Committee. RPG mem-bers Jan Beaton, Connie Schmidt,Lonnie Morris, Ann Moses and I thenwent door to door last winter in Wheaton,working on his primary campaign.

We have not been disappointed withF o r t n e r’s performance. He was namedto the Energy and EnvironmentCommittee and has made himself influ-ential because of his science back-ground. He has been helpful to theSierra Club in votes on the residentialgreen building code bill, HB 1842; theA ffordable and Clean Energy Bill, SB1184; and the Great Lakes Compact. Hehas joined the House Environmental

Caucus and educated himself on theissues we care about.

Perhaps most importantly, the day thisstory is being filed, Fortner has agreedto become a principal cosponsor of T h eA ffordable and Clean Energy Statute,SB 1184, in the House of Representa-tives. The Sierra Club is excited aboutthis because of Fortner’s science back-ground and energy and also becausethe chief sponsor is Deborah Graham, aDemocrat. Having a Republican princi-pal cosponsor makes this a bipartisanbill and makes it easier for both partiesto support.

Jack Darin, Illinois Sierra Club directorsaid, “When decisions are made basedon science and facts, the environmentwins. Legislative decisions are moreoften based on politics than science, inpart because most legislators are notscientists, and are not given the time tostudy complex issues. RepresentativeFortner is not afraid of science, and notafraid to make good policy choicesbased on it. In his first year in office, heis becoming the ‘go-to-guy’ for many ofhis colleagues on complex environmen-tal problems."

I interviewed Representative Fortnerabout his first year representing the 95thDistrict by telephone on a lovely A p r i ld a y. This is our conversation:

Linda: Representative, how has your lifechanged since becoming a state repre-s e n t a t i v e ?Rep. Fortner: It has been tough beingaway from my family and community.When I am home they probably seemore of me than they did, but when I amgone, I am really gone.

L: How has your family adjusted? Rep. Fortner: I had discussed the prob-lem of being away so much with my

wife, Becky, and my two children before Idecided to run, so we were all somewhatprepared. But I still miss them and theymiss me. There have been some nicethings for my family too. My daughter,Liz, who is a high School freshman cameto Springfield and shadowed me for ad a y. That was fun and my 12-year-oldson, Charles, came down on his SpringBreak. We had a great time visiting theLincoln Library and Museum.

L: What is your favorite part of the job?Rep. Fortner: I like the committees I amon. I like the free debate and exchangeof ideas. On the district side, it is excitingto set up different kinds of activities usingmy office. I set up a senior fair in A p r i land an autism forum in January. I likeconnecting people who have informationwith the people who need it.

L: I have heard there is a hazing processwhen a new representative introduceshis first bill and is forced to answer allsorts of questions on the floor of theHouse. How did that go for you? Rep. Fortner: It was fun. I think I gave asgood as I got.

L: Let’s talk about some of the placesyou have been helpful to the Sierra Club. Rep. Fortner: I spoke out on the Energyand Environment Committee for thegreen residential building codes bill, HB1842. There were quite a few skeptics onthe committee. It was pretty clear thatsome people did not understand it. Iknow I was able to change some minds.If you consider that about 50 percent ofcarbon emissions come from buildings,this bill is really significant.

I also cosponsored the Great LakesCompact (a Sierra Club priority whichlimits the amount of water that can bedrained from the Great Lakes) and theelectricity net metering bill.


Sierra Club, River Prairie Group Summer 2007 Volume 26, No. 3

DuPage Sierr a nS i e rra Club Bet Pays Off With Freshman Repre s e n t a t i v eby Linda Sullivan

In the heart of one of DuPage County’smost conservative districts, the SierraClub endorsed a young business-orient-ed conservative in the 2006 primary andgeneral election whose views prettymuch fit the 95th District on most issues.

What was different about MichaelFortner was that he is a scientist. He isan associate professor of physics atNorthern Illinois University and has doneresearch at Fermi Lab. When ConnieSchmidt and I did our endorsementinterview with him, right away, he under-stood the importance of energy conser-vation, wetlands protection and limitingcarbon emissions.

“ A healthy environment is a quality of lifeissue,î he told us at the endorsementi n t e r v i e w. For instance, as mayor ofWest Chicago, he realized the value ofwetlands in promoting clean water andpreventing flooding. He immediatelyconnected air quality with certain healthproblems his constituents had.

In other words, conservation was defi-nitely part of his conservatism.

River Prairie Group voted unanimouslyto endorse him, as did the IllinoisChapter Political Committee. RPG mem-bers Jan Beaton, Connie Schmidt,Lonnie Morris, Ann Moses and I thenwent door to door last winter in Wheaton,working on his primary campaign.

We have not been disappointed withF o r t n e r’s performance. He was namedto the Energy and EnvironmentCommittee and has made himself influ-ential because of his science back-ground. He has been helpful to theSierra Club in votes on the residentialgreen building code bill, HB 1842; theA ffordable and Clean Energy Bill, SB1184; and the Great Lakes Compact. Hehas joined the House Environmental

Caucus and educated himself on theissues we care about.

Perhaps most importantly, the day thisstory is being filed, Fortner has agreedto become a principal cosponsor of T h eA ffordable and Clean Energy Statute,SB 1184, in the House of Representa-tives. The Sierra Club is excited aboutthis because of Fortner’s science back-ground and energy and also becausethe chief sponsor is Deborah Graham, aDemocrat. Having a Republican princi-pal cosponsor makes this a bipartisanbill and makes it easier for both partiesto support.

Jack Darin, Illinois Sierra Club directorsaid, “When decisions are made basedon science and facts, the environmentwins. Legislative decisions are moreoften based on politics than science, inpart because most legislators are notscientists, and are not given the time tostudy complex issues. RepresentativeFortner is not afraid of science, and notafraid to make good policy choicesbased on it. In his first year in office, heis becoming the ‘go-to-guy’ for many ofhis colleagues on complex environmen-tal problems."

I interviewed Representative Fortnerabout his first year representing the 95thDistrict by telephone on a lovely A p r i ld a y. This is our conversation:

Linda: Representative, how has your lifechanged since becoming a state repre-s e n t a t i v e ?Rep. Fortner: It has been tough beingaway from my family and community.When I am home they probably seemore of me than they did, but when I amgone, I am really gone.

L: How has your family adjusted? Rep. Fortner: I had discussed the prob-lem of being away so much with my

wife, Becky, and my two children before Idecided to run, so we were all somewhatprepared. But I still miss them and theymiss me. There have been some nicethings for my family too. My daughter,Liz, who is a high School freshman cameto Springfield and shadowed me for ad a y. That was fun and my 12-year-oldson, Charles, came down on his SpringBreak. We had a great time visiting theLincoln Library and Museum.

L: What is your favorite part of the job?Rep. Fortner: I like the committees I amon. I like the free debate and exchangeof ideas. On the district side, it is excitingto set up different kinds of activities usingmy office. I set up a senior fair in A p r i land an autism forum in January. I likeconnecting people who have informationwith the people who need it.

L: I have heard there is a hazing processwhen a new representative introduceshis first bill and is forced to answer allsorts of questions on the floor of theHouse. How did that go for you? Rep. Fortner: It was fun. I think I gave asgood as I got.

L: Let’s talk about some of the placesyou have been helpful to the Sierra Club. Rep. Fortner: I spoke out on the Energyand Environment Committee for thegreen residential building codes bill, HB1842. There were quite a few skeptics onthe committee. It was pretty clear thatsome people did not understand it. Iknow I was able to change some minds.If you consider that about 50 percent ofcarbon emissions come from buildings,this bill is really significant.

I also cosponsored the Great LakesCompact (a Sierra Club priority whichlimits the amount of water that can bedrained from the Great Lakes) and theelectricity net metering bill.

DuPage SierranExecutive Chair: Frank OrtoEditor: Bonnie BlakeBeat Writers: Paul Mack, Linda SullivanPhotographer: Jeane McGrail.Hotline and Web page!For a listing of activities, legislative action alerts, andoutings information, call the 24-hour hotline, 6 3 0 - 9 8 5 -1185, or visit http://illinois.sierraclub.org/rpg.

Sierra Club’s River Prairie Groupof DuPage CountyCalendar of EventsGeneral programs are held at the Glen Ellyn Public L i b r a r yapproximately six times a year. Since times and days for generalprograms may vary, please check the group’s web page atw w w. i l l i n o i s . s i e r r a c l u b . o r g / r p g or the 24 hour hotline at 630-955-1185. These sources provide detailed information about the gen-eral programs and other activities sponsored by the group.The Glen Ellyn Public Library is located in downtown Glen Ellynat 400 Duane St. Duane runs east/west and is the first street onthe south side of the Metra tracks. From Highway 53 or I-355,exit at Roosevelt Rd., travel a few blocks west on Roosevelt, t h e nturn right (N) at Main St. in Glen Ellyn. Head north a few blockson Main to just before the railway tracks; turn left (W) on Duane.The library is on the right (N) side of Duane. Committee meet-ings are typically held in Sierra Club activist’s homes. For thetimes and locations of committee meetings, call the Sierra Clubactivist listed.

Date/Committee Meeting Host

AUGUST 2007Wednesday, August 1 Call Fred Weber atOutings Committee Meeting 630-469-68267:30 p.m.

SEPTEMBER 2007Wednesday, Sept. 5 Call Fred Weber atOutings Committee Meeting 630-469-68267:30 p.m.

OCTOBER 2007Wednesday, October 3 Call Fred Weber atOutings Committee Meeting 630-469-68267:30 p.m.

PROGRAMS AT THE GLEN ELLYN LIBRARYNew Members Meeting - To Be AnnouncedCheck web site for date and time.Call Bruce Blake at 630-629-2520 or [email protected].

PRAIRIE RESTORATIONRiver Prairie Group Native Plant Restoration - GlacialRidge Forest Preserve/Prairie Path in Glen Ellyn. Fordetails, e-mail [email protected] or call Bruce Blakeat 630-629-2520.

For RPG Programs and General Meetings, call theRPG Hotline, check http://illinois.sierraclub.org/rpg/general_pgms.html or contact Bruce Blake at630-629-2520 or [email protected].

F reshman Representative, continuedL: Do you want to talk about why you opposed our bill to banDecaBDE? Rep. Fortner: I did not think that the alternative flame retardants toDecaBDE had been proven any safer and I did not think the pathwayinto humans from Televisions had been proven. I wish it had been abetter bill.

L: Let's close on a positive note. When it comes to the environment,what are you most passionate about and what do you hope you canaccomplish in this field?

Rep. Fortner: Mass transit is truly my passion. In the recent IPPCreport on climate change, improving mass transit was noted as oneof the most important things governments could do to reduce carbonemissions. I have been meeting weekly with a mass transit reformgroup to try to create a better structure for mass transit throughoutNortheast Illinois. Our RTA act is 25 years old. It does not reflect thereality of people traveling suburb to suburb for their jobs.

Good mass transit that reflects changes in travel pattern since theRTA law was passed would have an immediate impact on people’slives and the environment, reducing congestion, reducing idling time,reducing carbon emissions and other air pollution.

Legislators are not going to vote badly needed funds for mass transituntil we have a structure that makes sense. I and the transit reformgroup are hoping to pass HB 1841, a bill that will strengthen andimprove the powers of the RTA .

L: Thank you very much Representative for talking with me and forall you have done for the Sierra Club and the environment this year.Rep. Fortner: It was my pleasure.

NOTE: This interview took place before the legislative season waso v e r. For information on the Sierra Club’s priority bills check out thelegislative section of our website at www. i l l i n o i s . s i e r r a c l u b . o r g .

Stay up-to-date on the River Prairie Group’s latest activities by join-ing our l i s t s e r v, which is open to anyone interested in finding outmore about our group.

The listserv’s purpose is to announce the activities, meetings, newsand special events of the the Sierra Club’s River Prairie Group,located in DuPage County, Illinois. The list format is for announce-ment and news distribution only, so members will receive but notbe able to post messages.

Anyone interested in subscribing to this list can join in either of twoways: Go to: http://lists.sierraclub.org/ archives/IL-RPG-NEWS.htmland click on “Join or leave the list.”

Or send an e-mail to: [email protected]. org, leave the sub-ject line blank and in the message area type: SUBSCRIBE IL-RPG-NEWS Firstname Lastname (substitute your first and last names)

Join the River Prairie Gro u pL i s t s e rv !


Exploring Some Common Environmental Myths, Part IIThe second in a series of three articles asking readers to challenge conventional wisdom

Although often oversimplified by polar-ized, black-and-white thinking, a givenenvironmental issue is best regarded asa progression of gray tones, incapable ofbeing broken into black and whitehalves. Any such issue portrayed by theconventional wisdom as an open-and-shut case will, upon closer inspection, befound to have neither a right side nor awrong side, but rather a mostly-right sideand a somewhat-wrong side, or even afew gradations of each. As always, skep-ticism is an effective bulwark againstg r o u p - t h i n k .In the previous issue of the D u P a g eS i e r r a n, I explored some commonly heldbeliefs about fossil-fuels that had suc-cumbed to polarization and went on toachieve mythical status. In this issue, Iexamine the non-fossil-fuel beliefs heldsacred by environmental conventionalw i s d o m .Myth #1: Litter = PollutionTo most people, litter is synonymous withpollution, and thus, they consider it anenvironmental issue. Litter is indeed aform a pollution, visual pollution, garbagewhose offensiveness is contextual ratherthan inherent. As such, litter is an aes-thetic, rather than environmental, issue.E fforts to reduce litter on land, lakes,and rivers are aesthetically valuable, butmustn't be chalked up as earth savinggestures. They certainly make the land-scape prettier and more enjoyable, butthe act of removing unsightly yet benigntrash from a pretty area and transportingit to an uglier area (a landfill) results in azero-sum environmental equation.Rather than building awareness, suche fforts run the danger of misdirectingenergy from more significant issues, pro-ducing a superficially clean landscapethat may not accurately portray thehealth of the underlying ecosystem. (Avisitor to the beautiful Blackwell ForestPreserve might never imagine, for exam-ple, that beneath the pristine, litter-freegreenery is a landfill that, like all others,leaks leachate, thousands of gallons ofwhich are pumped to the Wheatonsewage treatment plant each month.)

Myth #2: Buy Organic, Or Just PoisonYourself with Conventional FoodsHealth-conscious shoppers can be divid-

ed into two categories: those who cana fford to shop at an organic grocerystore, and those who can’t. The latterrecognize the health and environmentalbenefits of organics, but have diff i c u l t yjustifying the cost, while the former oftenhave difficulty reconciling their percep-tion of organic food with the realities ofits mass production. Many organic shop-pers have never stepped foot on a farm(organic or otherwise), and thus, are will-ing to pay exorbitant prices for food onwhich they imbue Norman Rockwell ori-gins and Grandma Walton wholesome-ness. Organic disciples attribute near-medicinal powers to their food, imagin-ing it is produced by frolicking lep-rechauns in an enchanted forest. T h eorganic food industry is more thanhappy to perpetrate this bucolic image— and in fact must do so as long asprices remain sky high.Here are some things to consider in thefood debate: It is clear that conventionalfarming is less earth-friendly than organ-ic farming. And, it is clear that conven-tional food contains more residue —pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides —than organic food (this is a good place tomention that residue is sometimes foundon organic produce). What is less clearis whether the minuscule amount ofresidue in conventional food poses ahealth threat. A p e r s o n ’s body is exposedevery day to the full gamut of air pollution(diesel exhaust to air fresheners), manysources of electromagnetic radiation (e.g.cell phones and microwave ovens), anda buffet of household chemical residue(Saran Wrap, antibacterial cleansers,and dry cleaning, to name a few), and islargely successful at mitigating thoseattacks. It seems likely, then, that it mightbe at least as tolerant of the minutequantities of residue found on conven-tional crops.What should be absolutely clear is thatorganic food is lucrative business. $2500invested in Whole Foods (NASDAQ:WFMI) in 1996 would have ballooned to$75,000 about ten years later (a far bet-ter return than Starbucks or Microsoftover the same period). And, like anyprofit-driven business, organic food com-panies utilize slick ads and clever mar-keting to sell their expensive products,

and are not above using innuendo andguilt to suggest conventional food isnearly poisonous.Some additional thoughts:The February 2006 issue of C o n s u m e rR e p o r t s magazine, available at libraries(and in abridged form on CR’s web site)has an excellent in-depth article pittingorganic versus conventional food. (CR,by the way, has been pursuing foodissues longer than most organic compa-nies have been in business.)Many healthy yet less expensive alterna-tives to organic exist. For example, hor-mone-free milk (and beef) is becomingmore widely available. While not organic,it offers a healthy compromise for shop-pers who are unwilling to pay $6 a gallonfor organic milk. Look for “rBGH-free” or“ r B S T-free” in tiny print on the label.Both conventional and organic produceshould be washed with food-grade soap,available in the produce department ofany grocery store. On conventional pro-duce, it will remove residual residue (ie.pesticides, herbicides, and fungicidesthat were not absorbed or waxed over),and on organic, it will remove pathogens(of which there may be a greater likeli-hood than conventional produce, asorganic farming relies more heavily onnatural fertilizer (manure)).

Myth #3: The More Urban GreenSpace, the Better!Lives have grown busier, noisier, andmore congested. Television and theInternet bring faraway disasters homewith dramatic, high-definition intensityand Dolby surround stereo. A local, over-grown field blossoms into a strip mall,and a modest neighborhood home isbulldozed, its lot subdivided and soonbursting at the seams with two tackyMcMansions. Technology becomes evermore intrusive, and politicians competewith journalists to scare the populationwith threats of everything from terrorismto sex off e n d e r s .As life grows crazier and seems moreclaustrophobic, citizens respond withclamors for more local greenspace.Voters routinely approve local referen-dums for land acquisition, which areseen as an acceptable price for therespite and breathing room a park or for-

by Paul Mack


Join the Bluestem Network: Official Lobbying Network of the River Prairie Gro u p !

You’ll receive a phone call whenever the Sierra Club Phone Tree Network is activated with an environmental action alert. Bluestem is gen-erally activated monthly. Upon notification, members access the alert three ways: calling the 24-hour hotline, via e-mail, or by checking theRPG web page. The alert instructs members how to call and the position Sierra Club has taken. A phone call to elected officials is the mosteffective way to have an impact on public policy. To join, clip and mail the application to Carol Squires, 37 N. Brainard, LaGrange, IL 6 0 5 2 5 .

Name AddressCity/State/Zip ILCounty Sierra Club member? Yes NoHome phone # (required to join) Answering machine or voice mail? Yes NoE-mail address if you wish to receive alerts via e-mail

est preserve will offer — even if it willonly be enjoyed from behind a wind-s h i e l d .H o w e v e r, cities that have aggressivelypursued greenspace strategies, such asPortland and the twin cities, have foundthat their efforts actually exacerbatedsprawl, by displacing people (urban gen-trification) or housing (suburban sprawl)to ever more distant areas, disruptingcommunities and destroying farmland,wetlands, and forests.

Like litter, greenspace initiatives can bemore about aesthetics than ecology, andsometimes are little more than thinly dis-guised NIMBY campaigns, a tendency forurbanites and suburbanites alike to say, “Idon’t have a problem with development,as long as it’s not in my back yard!”

Myth #4: Jesus Uses CFL’sAmericans love their fads. Pet rocks, Yo -y o ’s, and Beanie Babies were all greetedwith enthusiastic receptions, intense pop-u l a r i t y, and then a dispiriting denouementcapped by retirement in the attic whilethe owner pursued the next fad.Environmentalists are not immune to theallure of fads, and are perhaps more vul-nerable to the promise of a savior in theface of so much ecological bad news.

The compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL)is the latest craze, a small miracle thatpromises to stave off global warmingwhile saving homeowners money. Manufacturers and retailers were quickto jump on the CFL bandwagon, embrac-ing it as a high-margin rejuvenator of astagnant product line, the sexiest thing inlight bulbs since Thomas Edison. Nots u r p r i s i n g l y, some of the retailers hardesthit in recent years by slowing sales havebeen the biggest promoters of CFL’s .

Fluorescent lights have long been knownas long-life energy savers, so it is no sur-

prise that the CFL turns in some prettygood numbers — five times the life andone-fourth the energy consumption of anequivalent incandescent bulb. It comes ata price, however, and the environmentalimpact is less than advertised.Remember the old adage about leavingfluorescent lights on? It said fluorescentlights were best left on, as each off - o nclick of the light switch sucked electricityand reduced bulb life. Well, the same istrue today. For maximum bulb life andenergy eff i c i e n c y, a CFL is best left on,and thus, will lead a shorter life and usemore electricity than consumers mayhave been led to believe. A family accus-tomed to switching off lights when leav-ing a room, is now, after replacing themwith CFL’s, advised to leave the lights on.Regardless of how robust and economi-cal a CFL is advertised to be, it will beless so when left on longer than itsincandescent predecessor.A second thing to consider is that aC F L’s increased life and efficiency comesat the cost of higher complexity, and withhigher complexity comes at least twodownsides. A CFL, like all fluorescentlights, contains a small amount of mer-c u r y. Unlike conventional fluorescenttubes, however, a CFL’s ballast (electron-ic regulator) is built into the bulb. So, inaddition to adding mercury to a landfill, aconsumer who discards a CFL is alsothrowing away a circuit board, which con-tains lead and other unfriendly com-pounds. (Although CFL’s should be dis-carded at a hazardous waste facility, theyare not regulated by the EPA and thegeneral assumption is that homeownerswill simply discard them in the regulartrash.) The heavy and bulky built-in bal-last also means that a CFL r e q u i r e smore fuel to transport and takes up morelandfill space.On the other hand, an ordinary light bulb

has neither mercury nor a ballast, onlyinert glass and metal.Myth #5: Global Warming — TheSlam Dunk IssueOne of the most hotly contested andpolarized issues of the past few yearsis global warming and the human con-tribution to greenhouse gasses.First, is global warming fact or fiction?Neither. It is a set of theories — andexceedingly complex ones at that —which suggest human activity is accel-erating the concentration of atmospher-ic CO2, which, in turn, is leading toglobal warming and its accompanyingside effects.

Second, are skeptics of global warmingstubborn, or just stupid? That’s hard tosay, but some are realists who perhapsunderstand the economic and socialramifications of the proposed solutionsbetter than their eco-brethren. Environmental groups which call for adrastic cut in U.S. CO2 emissions arenot entirely forthright about its impacton the American lifestyle, for fear ofalienating members and losing popularsupport. And, those environmentalistswho envision the U.S. spending its wayto significantly lower emissions, throughproducts such as energy-saving appli-ances, compact fluorescent light bulbs,and hybrid automobiles, are perhapsjust as disillusioned as the naysayerswho deny global warming altogether.The amount of resources consumed inthis country is staggering — with orwithout Energy Star appliances andToyota Priuses — and the best that canbe hoped for is to slow the growth rateof CO2 emissions; attempts to cap orreduce it would require lifestylechanges that are unthinkable to most.

In the next DuPage Sierran, the last of thisseries will examine the myths of recycling.

W O O D S & W E T L A N D S N E W S 2 8 3 R D Q U A R T E R 2 0 0 7 W1

Serving Lake and Northeastern Cook Counties Woods & Wetlands News

W&W News, Issue No. 56 Sierra Club Woods and Wetlands Group P.O. Box 876, Grayslake, Ill 60030 June 2006

A recent front page article in the May 25 Chicago Tribune highlighted the fact that nesting Sandhill cranes, an Illinois threatened species, would be bulldozed by the proposed 2016 Olympic eques-trian facility in Lakewood Forest Pre-serve. The article by Kathy Bergen also illustrated the beauty of Lakewood and the intense connection that many citi-zens have for this place.

In the days following the article I re-ceived a number of outraged phone calls and emails asking how such develop-ment could be allowed in a forest pre-serve, especially in the habitat of an endangered species. The exact answer is a closely held secret with the Forest Preserve District, as nearly everything has been with respect to this proposal, but many of the facts are known and enlightening:

• M. K. Pritzker, member of the famous Chicago Hyatt Hotel family, is an equestrian and offering over $12 million free and clear to build the Olympic facility.

• It costs way more than $12 million to build an Olympic equestrian facil-ity—the Sidney equestrian Olympics in 2000 cost about $30 million.

• Free land could close the gap between this available $12 million and $30 million requirement.

• The current president of the Lake County Forest Preserve Board, Bonnie Carter, represents Wau-conda voters.

• Wauconda is adjacent to Lakewood FP and would get the most business from the equestrian Olympics—200,000 to 600,000 attendance expected, extensive road widening, hotel building, etc.

• Abbott Laboratories, a main sponsor of the Chicago Olympic bid and active participant in Olympic plan-

ning, is headquartered in Lake County.

• As evidenced by the secret negotia-tions, minimal debate and unani-mous vote by the Lake County Board members, Carter has strong control of forest preserve land.

• Birds in Wauconda don’t vote.

The current Forest Preserve position on their plan mirrors George Bush’s argu-ment for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Preserve—we can do this massive work without affecting nature in any way. And no doubt they will take some precautions, perhaps using smaller bulldozers than normal or leaving a few trees as buffer between the cross-country course and the San-dhill Crane nests.

Their published response is that they will dismantle some of what they build after the Olympics, that spectators will be bussed into the Preserve rather than have massive parking lots, and that afterwards the facility would not be used for non-horse events.

I think this last promise is the most interesting, in that Atlanta’s equestrian Olympic facility (now named the Georgia International Horse Park) is scheduled almost every day of the week with horse shows, mountain bike races, hot air balloon jamborees, concerts, and more. I’m not sure how much promising is going to stop the business people of Wauconda from, well, trying to increase their business with a few more events.

According to a May 28 Daily Herald article by Russell Lissau, the Forest Preserve and the Olympics people did environmental studies before choosing Lakewood. It’s unclear how these studies failed to find (or chose to over-look) endangered Sandhill Crane nests on the cross-country trail or Crane foraging areas where the main stadium is proposed.

Now these Cranes are a sticky problem for Ms. Carter and the Lake County Board. Unless they decide to continue their secrecy campaign, expect com-ments like these over the next few weeks and months as they try to defuse the issue:

• “We’ll put a buffer between these animals and the construction/events/spectators!”

• “We’ll build new homes (elsewhere) for these precious wild things.”

• “We’ll be very quiet and not disturb them.”

• “Sandhill Cranes are not really endangered, there are plenty of them in other states/countries/planets.”

• “Our development is only on a very small portion of the Preserve, so the Cranes can move their homes very easily.”

• “We will follow the requisite laws and regulations concerning these

(Continued on page W4)

What’s a Few Endangered Sandhill Cranes Compared to the Olympics? By Larry Marvet

W2

How Your IL Legislator Votes by Doug Ower

W&W volunteers who joined the Illinois Sierra Club Grass Roots Lobby Commit-tee last fall have been focusing our leg-islators’ attention on a number of impor-tant environmental bills. Some of these bills have passed, and others still toss on the rough seas of extended budget negotiations. Here is the status of the bills, and how your Woods and Wet-lands Senators and Representatives voted. We are proud that some of our legislators have rolled up their sleeves and introduced legislation that address pressing environmental problems, and we show their names as sponsors in bold below. Others are lying low, or even opposing us. There are literally thousands of bills offered, and the key to keeping a bill alive to become a law is gathering active support from more leg-islators. By formally cosponsoring a bill, and doing so early, each legislator can play a crucial role in passing a bill. We show them in the order they signed on.

These IL districts are all or mostly in W&W territory: Senatorial: 26-Peterson, 29-Garrett, 30-Link, 31-Bond. Representative: 51-Sullivan, 58-May, 59-Ryg, 60-Washington, 61-Osmond, 62-Cole; partly in: 17-Coulson , 52-Beaubien, 57-Nekritz.

Illinois Cool Cities Act – SB1242.

Sierra Club developed the Cool Cities campaign to show the importance of addressing Global Warming at the local level. In our region, Waukegan and Highland Park have already committed to be Cool Cities by finding ways to use less energy more efficiently. By return-ing to 1990 usage levels, they hope to also save money. Other cities, villages, and Lake County are considering be-coming Cool, and this new act gives them some help. It calls on the Environ-mental Protection Agency to provide technical assistance, if needed, to units of local government in the State that have endorsed the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement.

W&W Sponsors

Representatives Sid Mathias, Sandy Cole, JoAnn Osmond, Eddie Washing-ton, Karen May, Beth Coulson, Kathy Ryg Elaine and Elaine Nekritz.

Status

Passed unanimously in the House and Senate.

Detergents – Regulate Phosphorus –SB0376, HB0819.

When phosphorous gets in our lakes and streams it causes excess growth of algae, and this can kill off the healthy diversity of fish and plants that live there for years. By reducing the amount of phosphorous in the products we put down the drain, we can help keep it out of our waters. Phosphorous was elimi-nated from laundry detergent years ago, and many states have already removed it from dishwashing detergent. This bill provides that on and after January 1, 2010, no person may use, sell, manu-facture, or distribute for sale any clean-ing agent containing more that 0.5% phosphorus by weight in Illinois, except as provided under this Act.

W&W Sponsors

Representatives Karen May and Elaine Nekritz .

Status


Great Lakes Interstate Compact –SB0050, HB0375.

This agreement was negotiated by US mayors of states on the shores of the Great Lakes with Canadian officials to Protect Lake Michigan. This bill ratifies the resulting Great Lakes Compact, to protect the Great Lakes from unregu-lated water withdrawals.

W&W Sponsors

Senator Susan Garrett; Representatives Jack Franks, Karen May, Eddie Washington, Beth Coulson, Kathy Ryg, Sid Mathias, and Sandy Cole.

Status

HB0375 passed unanimously in the House and Senate.

SB0050 passed unanimously in the Senate and is in the House Rules Com-mittee.

Protect Open Space – SJR0052, HJR0055.

According to the Illinois DNR, there is a current need of $3 billion to protect places important for our future. With only 1% of state owned land protected for future generations, Illinois ranks last in the Midwest in acres protected per cap-

ita. The Lake County Forest Preserve District’s acquisition program is moving too slowly, yet has an unmet need of $15M from the state.

These resolutions urge the Governor to present a capital budget that includes $100,000,000, on an annual basis, for the Illinois Special Places Acquisition, Conservation and Enhancement (iSPACE) Program, which includes the following:

i) a new statewide land acquisition program to protect the State's most precious natural resources and pro-vide recreational opportunities, in-cluding matching grants to local governments;

ii) implementation of the Partners for Conservation Program (formerly Conservation 2000) through land acquisition and management grants; and

iii) implementation of the Hunting Heri-tage Protection Act by increasing the amount of land acreage avail-able for hunting opportunities in Illinois.

W&W Sponsors

Senators Susan Garrett, Terry Link, and Bill Peterson; Representatives Elaine Nekirtiz, Beth Coulson, Karen May, Kathy Ryg, Jack Franks, Sid Mathias, Sandy Cole, and Eddie Washington.

Status

HJR0055 – Resolution adopted. Voting record not available.

SJR0052 - Resolution adopted. Voting record not available. Referred to House Rules Committee.

Affordable and Clean Energy Stan-dards Act – SB1184.

With this bill, Illinois legislators recog-nize that using electricity more efficiently is six times less expensive than generat-ing more and wasting it. All scenarios to address Global Warming include in-creased efficiency as the biggest oppor-tunity to reduce greenhouse gas emis-sions. This legislation is designed to help businesses and individuals cut their power bills by saving money through energy efficiency and a diversified power supply provided by wind energy. It initially included measures to improve the energy efficiency of new buildings,



Serving Lake and Northeastern Cook Counties Woods & Wetlands News

W&W News, Issue No. 56 Sierra Club Woods and Wetlands Group P.O. Box 876, Grayslake, Ill 60030 June 2006

A recent front page article in the May 25 Chicago Tribune highlighted the fact that nesting Sandhill cranes, an Illinois threatened species, would be bulldozed by the proposed 2016 Olympic eques-trian facility in Lakewood Forest Pre-serve. The article by Kathy Bergen also illustrated the beauty of Lakewood and the intense connection that many citi-zens have for this place.

In the days following the article I re-ceived a number of outraged phone calls and emails asking how such develop-ment could be allowed in a forest pre-serve, especially in the habitat of an endangered species. The exact answer is a closely held secret with the Forest Preserve District, as nearly everything has been with respect to this proposal, but many of the facts are known and enlightening:

• M. K. Pritzker, member of the famous Chicago Hyatt Hotel family, is an equestrian and offering over $12 million free and clear to build the Olympic facility.

• It costs way more than $12 million to build an Olympic equestrian facil-ity—the Sidney equestrian Olympics in 2000 cost about $30 million.

• Free land could close the gap between this available $12 million and $30 million requirement.

• The current president of the Lake County Forest Preserve Board, Bonnie Carter, represents Wau-conda voters.

• Wauconda is adjacent to Lakewood FP and would get the most business from the equestrian Olympics—200,000 to 600,000 attendance expected, extensive road widening, hotel building, etc.

• Abbott Laboratories, a main sponsor of the Chicago Olympic bid and active participant in Olympic plan-

ning, is headquartered in Lake County.

• As evidenced by the secret negotia-tions, minimal debate and unani-mous vote by the Lake County Board members, Carter has strong control of forest preserve land.

• Birds in Wauconda don’t vote.

The current Forest Preserve position on their plan mirrors George Bush’s argu-ment for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Preserve—we can do this massive work without affecting nature in any way. And no doubt they will take some precautions, perhaps using smaller bulldozers than normal or leaving a few trees as buffer between the cross-country course and the San-dhill Crane nests.

Their published response is that they will dismantle some of what they build after the Olympics, that spectators will be bussed into the Preserve rather than have massive parking lots, and that afterwards the facility would not be used for non-horse events.

I think this last promise is the most interesting, in that Atlanta’s equestrian Olympic facility (now named the Georgia International Horse Park) is scheduled almost every day of the week with horse shows, mountain bike races, hot air balloon jamborees, concerts, and more. I’m not sure how much promising is going to stop the business people of Wauconda from, well, trying to increase their business with a few more events.

According to a May 28 Daily Herald article by Russell Lissau, the Forest Preserve and the Olympics people did environmental studies before choosing Lakewood. It’s unclear how these studies failed to find (or chose to over-look) endangered Sandhill Crane nests on the cross-country trail or Crane foraging areas where the main stadium is proposed.

Now these Cranes are a sticky problem for Ms. Carter and the Lake County Board. Unless they decide to continue their secrecy campaign, expect com-ments like these over the next few weeks and months as they try to defuse the issue:

• “We’ll put a buffer between these animals and the construction/events/spectators!”

• “We’ll build new homes (elsewhere) for these precious wild things.”

• “We’ll be very quiet and not disturb them.”

• “Sandhill Cranes are not really endangered, there are plenty of them in other states/countries/planets.”

• “Our development is only on a very small portion of the Preserve, so the Cranes can move their homes very easily.”

• “We will follow the requisite laws and regulations concerning these


What’s a Few Endangered Sandhill Cranes Compared to the Olympics? By Larry Marvet

W2

How Your IL Legislator Votes by Doug Ower

W&W volunteers who joined the Illinois Sierra Club Grass Roots Lobby Commit-tee last fall have been focusing our leg-islators’ attention on a number of impor-tant environmental bills. Some of these bills have passed, and others still toss on the rough seas of extended budget negotiations. Here is the status of the bills, and how your Woods and Wet-lands Senators and Representatives voted. We are proud that some of our legislators have rolled up their sleeves and introduced legislation that address pressing environmental problems, and we show their names as sponsors in bold below. Others are lying low, or even opposing us. There are literally thousands of bills offered, and the key to keeping a bill alive to become a law is gathering active support from more leg-islators. By formally cosponsoring a bill, and doing so early, each legislator can play a crucial role in passing a bill. We show them in the order they signed on.

These IL districts are all or mostly in W&W territory: Senatorial: 26-Peterson, 29-Garrett, 30-Link, 31-Bond. Representative: 51-Sullivan, 58-May, 59-Ryg, 60-Washington, 61-Osmond, 62-Cole; partly in: 17-Coulson , 52-Beaubien, 57-Nekritz.

Illinois Cool Cities Act – SB1242.

Sierra Club developed the Cool Cities campaign to show the importance of addressing Global Warming at the local level. In our region, Waukegan and Highland Park have already committed to be Cool Cities by finding ways to use less energy more efficiently. By return-ing to 1990 usage levels, they hope to also save money. Other cities, villages, and Lake County are considering be-coming Cool, and this new act gives them some help. It calls on the Environ-mental Protection Agency to provide technical assistance, if needed, to units of local government in the State that have endorsed the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement.

W&W Sponsors

Representatives Sid Mathias, Sandy Cole, JoAnn Osmond, Eddie Washing-ton, Karen May, Beth Coulson, Kathy Ryg Elaine and Elaine Nekritz.

Status


Detergents – Regulate Phosphorus –SB0376, HB0819.

When phosphorous gets in our lakes and streams it causes excess growth of algae, and this can kill off the healthy diversity of fish and plants that live there for years. By reducing the amount of phosphorous in the products we put down the drain, we can help keep it out of our waters. Phosphorous was elimi-nated from laundry detergent years ago, and many states have already removed it from dishwashing detergent. This bill provides that on and after January 1, 2010, no person may use, sell, manu-facture, or distribute for sale any clean-ing agent containing more that 0.5% phosphorus by weight in Illinois, except as provided under this Act.

W&W Sponsors

Representatives Karen May and Elaine Nekritz .

Status


Great Lakes Interstate Compact –SB0050, HB0375.

This agreement was negotiated by US mayors of states on the shores of the Great Lakes with Canadian officials to Protect Lake Michigan. This bill ratifies the resulting Great Lakes Compact, to protect the Great Lakes from unregu-lated water withdrawals.

W&W Sponsors

Senator Susan Garrett; Representatives Jack Franks, Karen May, Eddie Washington, Beth Coulson, Kathy Ryg, Sid Mathias, and Sandy Cole.

Status

HB0375 passed unanimously in the House and Senate.

SB0050 passed unanimously in the Senate and is in the House Rules Com-mittee.

Protect Open Space – SJR0052, HJR0055.

According to the Illinois DNR, there is a current need of $3 billion to protect places important for our future. With only 1% of state owned land protected for future generations, Illinois ranks last in the Midwest in acres protected per cap-

ita. The Lake County Forest Preserve District’s acquisition program is moving too slowly, yet has an unmet need of $15M from the state.

These resolutions urge the Governor to present a capital budget that includes $100,000,000, on an annual basis, for the Illinois Special Places Acquisition, Conservation and Enhancement (iSPACE) Program, which includes the following:

i) a new statewide land acquisition program to protect the State's most precious natural resources and pro-vide recreational opportunities, in-cluding matching grants to local governments;

ii) implementation of the Partners for Conservation Program (formerly Conservation 2000) through land acquisition and management grants; and

iii) implementation of the Hunting Heri-tage Protection Act by increasing the amount of land acreage avail-able for hunting opportunities in Illinois.

W&W Sponsors

Senators Susan Garrett, Terry Link, and Bill Peterson; Representatives Elaine Nekirtiz, Beth Coulson, Karen May, Kathy Ryg, Jack Franks, Sid Mathias, Sandy Cole, and Eddie Washington.

Status

HJR0055 – Resolution adopted. Voting record not available.

SJR0052 - Resolution adopted. Voting record not available. Referred to House Rules Committee.

Affordable and Clean Energy Stan-dards Act – SB1184.

With this bill, Illinois legislators recog-nize that using electricity more efficiently is six times less expensive than generat-ing more and wasting it. All scenarios to address Global Warming include in-creased efficiency as the biggest oppor-tunity to reduce greenhouse gas emis-sions. This legislation is designed to help businesses and individuals cut their power bills by saving money through energy efficiency and a diversified power supply provided by wind energy. It initially included measures to improve the energy efficiency of new buildings,



but that was separated into HB1842.

W&W Sponsors

Senators Susan Garrett, Terry Link, and Bill Peterson; Representatives Kathy Ryg, Karen May and Beth Coulson.

Status

Passed unanimously in the Senate, Re-referred to House Rules Committee.

Energy Efficient Residential Building Code – HB1842.

Building homes that use energy more efficiently saves the homeowner money - and slashes Global Warming Gas emis-sions. But many homebuilders skimp on these measures to increase their profits and sell more houses. The Illinois Resi-dential Energy Efficiency Building Code establishes uniform energy efficiency standards for new single family residen-tial construction.

Forty-two other states have recently adopted the International Energy Con-servation Code (IECC) for residential building, and Illinois is already committed to constructing energy efficient buildings: in 2004 the Illinois General Assembly adopted the IECC for commercial build-ings under the Energy Efficient Commer-cial Building Act. But, Illinois is still one of only four states without a statewide code for residential buildings. House Bill 1842 will amend the Energy Efficient Commer-cial Building Act to bring residential build-ing construction in Illinois up to standard.

W&W Sponsors

Representatives Karen May, Sandy Cole, Elaine Nekritz, Beth Coulson, Eddie Washington, Kathy Ryg.

W&W Opposition

These W&W legislators opposed it:

Mark Beaubien, JoAnn Osmond and Eddy Sullivan.

Status

Passed in the House 74 to 38. Re-referred to Senate Rules Committee.

These are only the primary bills that we have been tracking. For more, see http://illinois.sierraclub.org and click on LEGISLATIVE in the left column.

(Votes, Continued from page W2) US Mail Slow, Switch to E-Mail by Evan Craig

It’s gotten so bad, it’s on the evening news. We just can’t count on having this news-letter delivered, and it regularly takes weeks. Meanwhile, the cost of postage just keeps going up.

Our solution? Sign up to get your newsletter by e-mail. It’s fast, and it’s free! We’ll send you these same great stories and events, with better pictures and richer content - in time to respond and participate! To sign up, address an e-mail message to [email protected] and then include the following commands in the body of the message : SUBSCRIBE IL-WWG-ALERTS firstname lastname

(inserting your first name and last name).

If things don’t improve, we might decide to stop printing and mailing this version of our newsletter, and rely solely on e-mail and our website to get the news to you. So don’t miss out! Subscribe now.

Worried that you might have missed an issue? We post this newsletter on our website too. Bookmark our website:

http://illinois.sierraclub.org/w&w

The Dirt on Global Warming by Evan Craig

Sequestration is a new concept entering the American thinking about Global Warm-ing. We all know that when our cars, homes and factories use fossil fuels, they re-lease CO2, and that the build-up of this Green House Gas (GHG) in the atmosphere is trapping more heat from the sun. This trapped heat is warming the atmosphere, causing violent weather, melting glaciers and ice sheets and upsetting ecosystems. Damage from Global Warming is projected to cost us up to 20% of our Gross Domes-tic Product if not seriously addressed. While the most effective way to reduce GHG emissions is to simply use those ancient forms of stored sunshine more efficiently, the industries who make money selling and burning fossil fuels look for other ways to protect their profits. Rather than stop burning fossil fuels, they’ve begun talking about ways of capturing the CO2 and keeping it out of the atmosphere. That’s carbon se-questration, and while questionable schemes to pipe power plant exhaust half way across Illinois and pump it into the ground sustain the ridiculous notion of “clean coal,” prairies, and especially wet prairies, have been sequestering carbon for thousands of years.

(Continued on page 4)

W4

Printed on Recycled Paper

birds.”

• What’s more important, a beautiful new equestrian facility for our county or a few birds?”

• What’s more important, economic enhancement for Wauconda or a few birds?”

• How can you be against the Olympics?!?!”

In contrast to the Lake County Forest Preserve board, Sierra Club forbids the development of natural areas for Olympic events. We’ve recently started a committee to help Chicago get the Olympics, and to make it a truly green event. If you want to get involved, please email me at: [email protected].

(Olympics, Continued from page W1)

Group Executive Committee

Group Chair Evan Craig 847-573-6536Outings Chair [email protected]

Conservation Larry Marvet 847-537-2083 [email protected]

Treasurer John Massman 847-838-9440 [email protected]

Fundraising Barbara Bell 847-367-4253 [email protected]

Secretary Doug Ower 847-872-8328 [email protected]

Get this newsletter by e-mail: Address an e-mail message to : [email protected] include in the body of the message : SUB il-wwg-alerts yourfirstname yourlastname

P.O. Box 876, Grayslake, Ill 60030

On an international scale, sequestration has been a wildcard in global climate change negotiations. The logging and de-struction of the tropical rainforests to sup-port slash and burn subsistence agricul-ture releases the carbon stored in the wood of those massive trees. Re-growing them using the plentiful amounts of sunlight received by the tropics would re-capture that carbon, and while re-growing, those tropical countries could claim sizable carbon sequestration credits, exceeding their modest industrial emissions. By buy-ing those credits, huge CO2 emitters like the US could offset some of our emissions - while helping to save the tropical rainfor-ests.

The Roadmap adopted by the Sierra Club sets a goal of 60% to 80% CO2 emission reduction by 2050 to avoid the worst con-sequences of Global Warming, and 57% of those reductions are available from im-proving energy efficiency. The other 43% is available from deployment of presently available renewable sources that draw on the daily energy we get from the Sun, in-cluding wind, solar and biofuels, plus a little geothermal from the Earth. In addition

to the efficiency gains expected in Chica-goland, the report targets Illinois for wind power and biofuels (which are made from biomass). Since gas prices started rising above $3/gallon we have heard a lot about running cars on ethanol from corn, one of Illinois’ cash crops. The Roadmap claims modest CO2 benefits of using food for fuel, but places greater hope in the use of bio-engineered woody and herbaceous peren-nial crops like switchgrass. Switchgrass is a prairie species, but talk of bioengineer-ing it like they have corn pleases giant companies like ADM and Monsanto. So after they made corn and switchgrass syn-onymous with biofuels, an article pub-lished in Science magazine by Tilman and Lehman came as a surprise. The abstract reads “Sustainable, higher diversity grass-lands with low-fertility soils can yield more biomass and consume more CO2 than equal acreages planted with monocultured biofuel sources.” Translated: prairies beat switchgrass.

While learning that restoring biodiverse prairies could play an important role in stopping Global Warming is satisfying, it was strange that neither the Roadmap or Tilman assigns high importance to the

(Dirt, Continued from page 3)

ability of prairies to sequester carbon. Tilman found that carbon sequestration occurred little below two feet. How then could Chicago Wilderness declare that carbon-rich prairie soils were commonly twice that deep and in some places eight times that deep? A talk by Jerry Wilhelm On March 3 at the Chicago Wilderness Wild Things conference explained the role of water in carbon sequestration. Dr. Wilhelm was describing the fate of a high quality prairie when an adjacent parcel was drained for farming. The high water table and the prairie had sustained each other mutually, with the plants drawing water and nutrients to the surface, and the water protecting the rich carbon in the soil from oxidation. When the water table dropped, the plants declined, and the soil lost its carbon. He cited a Purdue study on Conservation Reserve Program land documenting 1 ton/acre/year of C seques-tration - 4 to 10 times more than the Roadmap, and how tillage of those rich soils causes a 90% loss of Carbon in soils within 19 days. In addition, the prairie evaporates the water drawn to the sur-face, cooling the air, and providing mois-ture for cloud formation, another way to reduce Global Warming. When asked about Tilman’s study, Wilhelm replied that the ability of prairies in the wet Midwest soils to generate rich organic topsoil far exceeds the ability of the dryer marginal lands to the west that Tilman likely meas-ured. In his paper titled The Realities of

CO2, he explains that burning the prairie maximizes it’s ability to capture CO2through photosynthesis during the next growing cycle.

Unlike a mature rainforest, which does not continue to sequester carbon, wet prairies lay down carbon year after year. When big trees fall in the forest, they rot in the intense wet heat, and release their carbon. The rainforest soils remain thin and retain little organic matter. In con-trast, prairies create the richest soils on the planet from silt, gravel and muck.

Together, these studies shed light on the importance of topsoil to reduce Global Warming, and the importance of water to protecting carbon in our topsoil. Losing 99% of our Midwest prairies to row-crop tillage was and continues to contribute to Global Warming. Indeed, the Intergov-ernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assigns 10% of global GHG emission to “land use.”

In our region, developers regularly scrape all the remaining topsoil from an entire site into a big heap, where it rap-idly returns its sequestered carbon to the atmosphere. Then they install drainage to lower the water table. These practices make construction easier, and ensure a stable, dry foundation. But they also amount to death blow and preemptive strike against recovery of an ecosystem that knows what to do about Global Warming. Considering the conse-quences, we need to evaluate other ways to live on the land that do less damage to climate.


but that was separated into HB1842.

W&W Sponsors

Senators Susan Garrett, Terry Link, and Bill Peterson; Representatives Kathy Ryg, Karen May and Beth Coulson.

Status

Passed unanimously in the Senate, Re-referred to House Rules Committee.

Energy Efficient Residential Building Code – HB1842.

Building homes that use energy more efficiently saves the homeowner money - and slashes Global Warming Gas emis-sions. But many homebuilders skimp on these measures to increase their profits and sell more houses. The Illinois Resi-dential Energy Efficiency Building Code establishes uniform energy efficiency standards for new single family residen-tial construction.

Forty-two other states have recently adopted the International Energy Con-servation Code (IECC) for residential building, and Illinois is already committed to constructing energy efficient buildings: in 2004 the Illinois General Assembly adopted the IECC for commercial build-ings under the Energy Efficient Commer-cial Building Act. But, Illinois is still one of only four states without a statewide code for residential buildings. House Bill 1842 will amend the Energy Efficient Commer-cial Building Act to bring residential build-ing construction in Illinois up to standard.

W&W Sponsors

Representatives Karen May, Sandy Cole, Elaine Nekritz, Beth Coulson, Eddie Washington, Kathy Ryg.

W&W Opposition

These W&W legislators opposed it:

Mark Beaubien, JoAnn Osmond and Eddy Sullivan.

Status

Passed in the House 74 to 38. Re-referred to Senate Rules Committee.

These are only the primary bills that we have been tracking. For more, see http://illinois.sierraclub.org and click on LEGISLATIVE in the left column.

(Votes, Continued from page W2) US Mail Slow, Switch to E-Mail by Evan Craig

It’s gotten so bad, it’s on the evening news. We just can’t count on having this news-letter delivered, and it regularly takes weeks. Meanwhile, the cost of postage just keeps going up.

Our solution? Sign up to get your newsletter by e-mail. It’s fast, and it’s free! We’ll send you these same great stories and events, with better pictures and richer content - in time to respond and participate! To sign up, address an e-mail message to [email protected] and then include the following commands in the body of the message : SUBSCRIBE IL-WWG-ALERTS firstname lastname

(inserting your first name and last name).

If things don’t improve, we might decide to stop printing and mailing this version of our newsletter, and rely solely on e-mail and our website to get the news to you. So don’t miss out! Subscribe now.

Worried that you might have missed an issue? We post this newsletter on our website too. Bookmark our website:

http://illinois.sierraclub.org/w&w

The Dirt on Global Warming by Evan Craig

Sequestration is a new concept entering the American thinking about Global Warm-ing. We all know that when our cars, homes and factories use fossil fuels, they re-lease CO2, and that the build-up of this Green House Gas (GHG) in the atmosphere is trapping more heat from the sun. This trapped heat is warming the atmosphere, causing violent weather, melting glaciers and ice sheets and upsetting ecosystems. Damage from Global Warming is projected to cost us up to 20% of our Gross Domes-tic Product if not seriously addressed. While the most effective way to reduce GHG emissions is to simply use those ancient forms of stored sunshine more efficiently, the industries who make money selling and burning fossil fuels look for other ways to protect their profits. Rather than stop burning fossil fuels, they’ve begun talking about ways of capturing the CO2 and keeping it out of the atmosphere. That’s carbon se-questration, and while questionable schemes to pipe power plant exhaust half way across Illinois and pump it into the ground sustain the ridiculous notion of “clean coal,” prairies, and especially wet prairies, have been sequestering carbon for thousands of years.

(Continued on page 4)

W4

Printed on Recycled Paper

birds.”

• What’s more important, a beautiful new equestrian facility for our county or a few birds?”

• What’s more important, economic enhancement for Wauconda or a few birds?”

• How can you be against the Olympics?!?!”

In contrast to the Lake County Forest Preserve board, Sierra Club forbids the development of natural areas for Olympic events. We’ve recently started a committee to help Chicago get the Olympics, and to make it a truly green event. If you want to get involved, please email me at: [email protected].

(Olympics, Continued from page W1)

Group Executive Committee

Group Chair Evan Craig 847-573-6536Outings Chair [email protected]

Conservation Larry Marvet 847-537-2083 [email protected]

Treasurer John Massman 847-838-9440 [email protected]

Fundraising Barbara Bell 847-367-4253 [email protected]

Secretary Doug Ower 847-872-8328 [email protected]

Get this newsletter by e-mail: Address an e-mail message to : [email protected] include in the body of the message : SUB il-wwg-alerts yourfirstname yourlastname

P.O. Box 876, Grayslake, Ill 60030

On an international scale, sequestration has been a wildcard in global climate change negotiations. The logging and de-struction of the tropical rainforests to sup-port slash and burn subsistence agricul-ture releases the carbon stored in the wood of those massive trees. Re-growing them using the plentiful amounts of sunlight received by the tropics would re-capture that carbon, and while re-growing, those tropical countries could claim sizable carbon sequestration credits, exceeding their modest industrial emissions. By buy-ing those credits, huge CO2 emitters like the US could offset some of our emissions - while helping to save the tropical rainfor-ests.

The Roadmap adopted by the Sierra Club sets a goal of 60% to 80% CO2 emission reduction by 2050 to avoid the worst con-sequences of Global Warming, and 57% of those reductions are available from im-proving energy efficiency. The other 43% is available from deployment of presently available renewable sources that draw on the daily energy we get from the Sun, in-cluding wind, solar and biofuels, plus a little geothermal from the Earth. In addition

to the efficiency gains expected in Chica-goland, the report targets Illinois for wind power and biofuels (which are made from biomass). Since gas prices started rising above $3/gallon we have heard a lot about running cars on ethanol from corn, one of Illinois’ cash crops. The Roadmap claims modest CO2 benefits of using food for fuel, but places greater hope in the use of bio-engineered woody and herbaceous peren-nial crops like switchgrass. Switchgrass is a prairie species, but talk of bioengineer-ing it like they have corn pleases giant companies like ADM and Monsanto. So after they made corn and switchgrass syn-onymous with biofuels, an article pub-lished in Science magazine by Tilman and Lehman came as a surprise. The abstract reads “Sustainable, higher diversity grass-lands with low-fertility soils can yield more biomass and consume more CO2 than equal acreages planted with monocultured biofuel sources.” Translated: prairies beat switchgrass.

While learning that restoring biodiverse prairies could play an important role in stopping Global Warming is satisfying, it was strange that neither the Roadmap or Tilman assigns high importance to the

(Dirt, Continued from page 3)

ability of prairies to sequester carbon. Tilman found that carbon sequestration occurred little below two feet. How then could Chicago Wilderness declare that carbon-rich prairie soils were commonly twice that deep and in some places eight times that deep? A talk by Jerry Wilhelm On March 3 at the Chicago Wilderness Wild Things conference explained the role of water in carbon sequestration. Dr. Wilhelm was describing the fate of a high quality prairie when an adjacent parcel was drained for farming. The high water table and the prairie had sustained each other mutually, with the plants drawing water and nutrients to the surface, and the water protecting the rich carbon in the soil from oxidation. When the water table dropped, the plants declined, and the soil lost its carbon. He cited a Purdue study on Conservation Reserve Program land documenting 1 ton/acre/year of C seques-tration - 4 to 10 times more than the Roadmap, and how tillage of those rich soils causes a 90% loss of Carbon in soils within 19 days. In addition, the prairie evaporates the water drawn to the sur-face, cooling the air, and providing mois-ture for cloud formation, another way to reduce Global Warming. When asked about Tilman’s study, Wilhelm replied that the ability of prairies in the wet Midwest soils to generate rich organic topsoil far exceeds the ability of the dryer marginal lands to the west that Tilman likely meas-ured. In his paper titled The Realities of

CO2, he explains that burning the prairie maximizes it’s ability to capture CO2through photosynthesis during the next growing cycle.

Unlike a mature rainforest, which does not continue to sequester carbon, wet prairies lay down carbon year after year. When big trees fall in the forest, they rot in the intense wet heat, and release their carbon. The rainforest soils remain thin and retain little organic matter. In con-trast, prairies create the richest soils on the planet from silt, gravel and muck.

Together, these studies shed light on the importance of topsoil to reduce Global Warming, and the importance of water to protecting carbon in our topsoil. Losing 99% of our Midwest prairies to row-crop tillage was and continues to contribute to Global Warming. Indeed, the Intergov-ernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assigns 10% of global GHG emission to “land use.”

In our region, developers regularly scrape all the remaining topsoil from an entire site into a big heap, where it rap-idly returns its sequestered carbon to the atmosphere. Then they install drainage to lower the water table. These practices make construction easier, and ensure a stable, dry foundation. But they also amount to death blow and preemptive strike against recovery of an ecosystem that knows what to do about Global Warming. Considering the conse-quences, we need to evaluate other ways to live on the land that do less damage to climate.

2 1 s t C E N T U R Y F O X 3 2 3 R D Q U A R T E R 2 0 0 7

S i e rra Club Valley of the Fox Gro u pS e rving Kane and Kendall Counties Summer 2007 Volume 16, No. 3

2 1S T CE N T U RY FO XOne Earth, One Chance

ow often do you see a venturethat fills a consumer need,assists the community's less for-

tunate, provides logistical and tax-breaksolutions for businesses, and sports agrowth model that makes entrepreneursgreen with envy? Add to these a directand significant positive impact on ourenvironment, and you have the ReUseItC e n t e r, located in east Batavia.

Opened in September of 2005, theReUseIt Center is known to most as aplace to buy new or gently used homeremodeling materials at bargain-base-ment prices. The ReUseIt Center offersa large selection of lighting, doors,windows, large appliances, vanities,cabinets, and lumber, to name justsome of the categories. But they alsoprovide a donation center for materialsthat would otherwise be hauled off tothe dump or simply collect dust.

"I hate throwing things away only to

clog landfills," says Bill Coleman, the Center's exuberant store manager.ReUseIt has proven to be an especial-ly valuable resource for homeowners,builders, rental property owners, andreal estate "flippers."

The ReUseIt Center is a program of theMid-Valley Neighborhood Improve-ment Association, Inc. (MVNIA), anon-profit organization that resembles alocal version of Habitat for Humanity.Start-up grants from the Kane CountyRecycling Program, ConAgra FoodsFoundation, and Grand VictoriaFountain were instrumental in theReUseIt Center's launch. Revenuesgenerated by ReUseIt assist lower/lim-ited-income families in the tri-city FoxValley area. ReUseIt is operated by ateam of three staff members and abouttwo dozen volunteers.

The outlook is positive, based on cur-rent trends, Coleman asserts. When he

R e U s e I t

Hby Nate Shelton

assumed management in August, 2006,ReUseIt had recycled 72 tons of mater-ial. As of April 2007, that number hadreached 178 tons. In a business modelwhere there is no firm control ofdemand or supply, the balance of thesetwo has been amazingly successful,although consumer demand is runningslightly ahead of donations.

So, the next time you or somebody youknow have building materials seekinga home after a clean-up or remodelingproject, be sure to check with theReUseIt Center before taking it to thecurb. You can visit their website atw w w. r e u s e i t c e n t e r. o rg for hours, loca-tion, or to verify if your potentialdonations are acceptable.

For further info, contact Bill Colemanat 630-761-4240. The ReUseIt Centeris located at 1530 Hubbard Ave. (rearentrance), Batavia, IL 60510, just east ofKirk Rd., two streets north of Wilson St.

Another Great Ear th Day River Clean-Up

Earth Day 2007 saw VOF and WaterSentinels at it again, picking up trash andcuriosities along the Fox. This year'se fforts focused on the river banks justnorth of downtown Aurora (between theNew York St. and Illinois Ave. bridges),as well as the island north of the casino.

Led by Cindy Skrukrud, Jen Hensley,Scott Dye, and David Roberts, 21 vol-unteers from Aurora, North Aurora,Batavia, and Lisbon removed 1,072 lbs.of rubbish and flotsam. Two studentsfrom Rosary High School helped out.Also joining in on the fun was AuroraMayor Tom Weisner and AssistantChief of Staff Chuck Nelson.

by Nate Shelton

Of the collected litter, 134 lbs. of glassand plastic were separated and recy-cled. Other interesting finds includedeight tires (five with rims), two and ahalf bicycles, (wonder what happenedto the other half) a rocking horse, andmany balls (golf, tennis, soccer, basket-balls etc.). The find of the day was astill-wrapped, uncooked, horrificallyrank 14 lb. turkey.Partners in the effort were the FoxValley Park District, who picked up thecollected trash, and Aurora Township,whose parking lot was the base of oper-ations.Thanks to all who participated. For

Clean-up volunteers bagged a turkey.

more photos of the clean-up, flip to thenext left-hand page!

F r om the ChairSaying GoodbyeOn June 30, I will be steppingdown as Chair of the ExecutiveCommittee of the Valley of the FoxGroup. As some of you know, thisis my second time serving as Chairwithin the last three years. It hasbeen my honor and pleasure toonce again serve as the Chair and Iwish to thank all of the ExCommembers and other group memberswho have helped me while I havebeen Chair this second time. Yourhelp has been invaluable to me inrunning the VOF group.

Regrettably, this will be my lasttime serving as an officer of thegroup, as my wife and I are mov-ing to Colorado next year to becloser to our son, who lives in Ft.Collins, and closer to the moun-tains we love.

I hope, like us, that you will all doyour part, whether large or small,in fighting global warming, whichI believe is the single most impor-tant environmental problem of thiscentury.

I wish the VOF group all the suc-cess in the world in its endeavorsto protect and preserve the envi-ronment in both Kane and KendallCounties.

Dudley Case

Sign up to receive Sierra ClubI n s i d e r, the flagship e-newsletter.

Sent out twice a month, it features theC l u b ’s latest news and activities.

Subscribe and view recent editions ath t t p : / / w w w. . s i e r r a c l u b . o r g / i n s i d e r /

You can now receive the 21stCentury Fox electronically. We alltalk about saving trees, saving paper,being environmentally responsible.Going electronic is a great way to dojust that.To subscribe to the 21st Century Fox(VOF’s newsletter, as well as theChapter Lake & Prairie), send yourname, membership number (eightdigit # on the address label of your

Save Paper ! Save Tr ees!Save VOF Money!

I recently took over the position ofVOF Outings Chairperson. JohnEverett and I have led some localday trips, such as Hiking at Nelsonand Biking along the Fox River.We've had a good turn out and I'mgetting responses from VOF mem-bers who want to get involved.

But we need new and more leaders.To become a local leader you need

Looking for Local Sier r a Club Leader sby Julie Koivula

Sierra magazine) and your e-mailaddress to: [email protected].

If you cannot locate your member-ship number, please contact [email protected] you prefer a paper copy — andsome find it easier to read —fearnot, you will not be criticized. Thank you for doing your part.

to be a Sierra Club member, take ashort training class, and assist ontwo outings.

There are so many day activities thatcan be offered in the Fox Valley area.We need enthusiastic people with alove of the outdoors to lead trips.

If you’re at all interested, contact meat: [email protected]

Get involved! Please check theVOF Web site (sierraclub.org / c h a p-ters/ il/vof) for announcements ofnew listservs. Listservs are easy to subscribe toand just as easy to unsubscribefrom if you find they generate toomuch e-mail.

New ListservsVOF members were again presentat the yearly event, BataviaEnviron-mental Expo on Saturday,April 21. I popped in for a quickvisit and found members Te r r iVoitik (assistant to the chair), RonBedard (treasurer), and MarleneBedard (membership coordinator)managing the VOF booth.

VOF member Jon We s e n b e rg wasshowing his bike/generator/lightbulb machine, which demonstrateshow much more energy it takes forincandescent bulbs to provide thesame lumination as CFLs. T h e r ewas a line of people waiting to tryit out, many children included

Meanwhile, Craig Zabel, global

Success at Expoby Nate Shelton

w a r m-i n g / s m a r tg r o w t hchair wasin themidst ofa multi-m e d i ap r e s e n t a-tion onG l o b a lWa r m -i n g .

I was pumped to see VOF's interac-tive presence was able to generateso much interest and excitement.

Kudos to all who worked so hardon this project.


S i e rra Club Valley of the Fox Gro u pS e rving Kane and Kendall Counties Summer 2007 Volume 16, No. 3

2 1S T CE N T U RY FO XOne Earth, One Chance

ow often do you see a venturethat fills a consumer need,assists the community's less for-

tunate, provides logistical and tax-breaksolutions for businesses, and sports agrowth model that makes entrepreneursgreen with envy? Add to these a directand significant positive impact on ourenvironment, and you have the ReUseItC e n t e r, located in east Batavia.

Opened in September of 2005, theReUseIt Center is known to most as aplace to buy new or gently used homeremodeling materials at bargain-base-ment prices. The ReUseIt Center offersa large selection of lighting, doors,windows, large appliances, vanities,cabinets, and lumber, to name justsome of the categories. But they alsoprovide a donation center for materialsthat would otherwise be hauled off tothe dump or simply collect dust.

"I hate throwing things away only to

clog landfills," says Bill Coleman, the Center's exuberant store manager.ReUseIt has proven to be an especial-ly valuable resource for homeowners,builders, rental property owners, andreal estate "flippers."

The ReUseIt Center is a program of theMid-Valley Neighborhood Improve-ment Association, Inc. (MVNIA), anon-profit organization that resembles alocal version of Habitat for Humanity.Start-up grants from the Kane CountyRecycling Program, ConAgra FoodsFoundation, and Grand VictoriaFountain were instrumental in theReUseIt Center's launch. Revenuesgenerated by ReUseIt assist lower/lim-ited-income families in the tri-city FoxValley area. ReUseIt is operated by ateam of three staff members and abouttwo dozen volunteers.

The outlook is positive, based on cur-rent trends, Coleman asserts. When he

R e U s e I t

Hby Nate Shelton

assumed management in August, 2006,ReUseIt had recycled 72 tons of mater-ial. As of April 2007, that number hadreached 178 tons. In a business modelwhere there is no firm control ofdemand or supply, the balance of thesetwo has been amazingly successful,although consumer demand is runningslightly ahead of donations.

So, the next time you or somebody youknow have building materials seekinga home after a clean-up or remodelingproject, be sure to check with theReUseIt Center before taking it to thecurb. You can visit their website atw w w. r e u s e i t c e n t e r. o rg for hours, loca-tion, or to verify if your potentialdonations are acceptable.

For further info, contact Bill Colemanat 630-761-4240. The ReUseIt Centeris located at 1530 Hubbard Ave. (rearentrance), Batavia, IL 60510, just east ofKirk Rd., two streets north of Wilson St.

Another Great Ear th Day River Clean-Up

Earth Day 2007 saw VOF and WaterSentinels at it again, picking up trash andcuriosities along the Fox. This year'se fforts focused on the river banks justnorth of downtown Aurora (between theNew York St. and Illinois Ave. bridges),as well as the island north of the casino.

Led by Cindy Skrukrud, Jen Hensley,Scott Dye, and David Roberts, 21 vol-unteers from Aurora, North Aurora,Batavia, and Lisbon removed 1,072 lbs.of rubbish and flotsam. Two studentsfrom Rosary High School helped out.Also joining in on the fun was AuroraMayor Tom Weisner and AssistantChief of Staff Chuck Nelson.

by Nate Shelton

Of the collected litter, 134 lbs. of glassand plastic were separated and recy-cled. Other interesting finds includedeight tires (five with rims), two and ahalf bicycles, (wonder what happenedto the other half) a rocking horse, andmany balls (golf, tennis, soccer, basket-balls etc.). The find of the day was astill-wrapped, uncooked, horrificallyrank 14 lb. turkey.Partners in the effort were the FoxValley Park District, who picked up thecollected trash, and Aurora Township,whose parking lot was the base of oper-ations.Thanks to all who participated. For

Clean-up volunteers bagged a turkey.

more photos of the clean-up, flip to thenext left-hand page!

F r om the ChairSaying GoodbyeOn June 30, I will be steppingdown as Chair of the ExecutiveCommittee of the Valley of the FoxGroup. As some of you know, thisis my second time serving as Chairwithin the last three years. It hasbeen my honor and pleasure toonce again serve as the Chair and Iwish to thank all of the ExCommembers and other group memberswho have helped me while I havebeen Chair this second time. Yourhelp has been invaluable to me inrunning the VOF group.

Regrettably, this will be my lasttime serving as an officer of thegroup, as my wife and I are mov-ing to Colorado next year to becloser to our son, who lives in Ft.Collins, and closer to the moun-tains we love.

I hope, like us, that you will all doyour part, whether large or small,in fighting global warming, whichI believe is the single most impor-tant environmental problem of thiscentury.

I wish the VOF group all the suc-cess in the world in its endeavorsto protect and preserve the envi-ronment in both Kane and KendallCounties.

Dudley Case

Sign up to receive Sierra ClubI n s i d e r, the flagship e-newsletter.

Sent out twice a month, it features theC l u b ’s latest news and activities.

Subscribe and view recent editions ath t t p : / / w w w. . s i e r r a c l u b . o r g / i n s i d e r /

You can now receive the 21stCentury Fox electronically. We alltalk about saving trees, saving paper,being environmentally responsible.Going electronic is a great way to dojust that.To subscribe to the 21st Century Fox(VOF’s newsletter, as well as theChapter Lake & Prairie), send yourname, membership number (eightdigit # on the address label of your

Save Paper ! Save Tr ees!Save VOF Money!

I recently took over the position ofVOF Outings Chairperson. JohnEverett and I have led some localday trips, such as Hiking at Nelsonand Biking along the Fox River.We've had a good turn out and I'mgetting responses from VOF mem-bers who want to get involved.

But we need new and more leaders.To become a local leader you need

Looking for Local Sier r a Club Leader sby Julie Koivula

Sierra magazine) and your e-mailaddress to: [email protected].

If you cannot locate your member-ship number, please contact [email protected] you prefer a paper copy — andsome find it easier to read —fearnot, you will not be criticized. Thank you for doing your part.

to be a Sierra Club member, take ashort training class, and assist ontwo outings.

There are so many day activities thatcan be offered in the Fox Valley area.We need enthusiastic people with alove of the outdoors to lead trips.

If you’re at all interested, contact meat: [email protected]

Get involved! Please check theVOF Web site (sierraclub.org / c h a p-ters/ il/vof) for announcements ofnew listservs. Listservs are easy to subscribe toand just as easy to unsubscribefrom if you find they generate toomuch e-mail.

New ListservsVOF members were again presentat the yearly event, BataviaEnviron-mental Expo on Saturday,April 21. I popped in for a quickvisit and found members Te r r iVoitik (assistant to the chair), RonBedard (treasurer), and MarleneBedard (membership coordinator)managing the VOF booth.

VOF member Jon We s e n b e rg wasshowing his bike/generator/lightbulb machine, which demonstrateshow much more energy it takes forincandescent bulbs to provide thesame lumination as CFLs. T h e r ewas a line of people waiting to tryit out, many children included

Meanwhile, Craig Zabel, global

Success at Expoby Nate Shelton

w a r m-i n g / s m a r tg r o w t hchair wasin themidst ofa multi-m e d i ap r e s e n t a-tion onG l o b a lWa r m -i n g .

I was pumped to see VOF's interac-tive presence was able to generateso much interest and excitement.

Kudos to all who worked so hardon this project.


A River Still Runs Through Him

The Valley of the Fox Group recentlyhad the pleasure of sharing riverclean-up duties with our dear friendand biggest fan, Scott Dye. He is stille ffervescing with enthusiasm and stilltraveling the states supporting cleanrivers and streams. It only seems fit-ting to honor our friend Scott withsome kind words.

When Scott Dye, Director of theWater Quality Monitoring andEnforcement Program, walks into aroom, you know it. He is a "big olefarm boy," as he likes to refer to him-self, with a big ole passion for healthystreams and rivers. When he talks,you immediately feel the rush of hise n t h usiasm move upon you, like astrong wind.. He a cheerleader of sorts for Sierra Club’s Water SentinelPrograms, and his passion for healthywater runs as deep as the streams hem o n i t o r s .

What he told the Water Sentinels afew years ago, he repeated again. Hetold them he was proud of the workthey were doing. He had never seensuch a hard-working bunch of folks.He thanked each and every one fortaking on this formidable task.

Before Scott became a water sentinel,he was farmer. He once said that oneday he will return to farming. Scott’sfamily owns a 130-year-old farm inPutman County, Missouri. His motherwas born in the house that graces theland at the family farm. As a child,Scott tromped around the streams bedsexploring the water beneath him. "I’vebeen walking down streams beds sinceI’ve be walking," he proudly states.

How he moved from farming toactivism is a wonderful story. In 1993,Premium Standard Farms’ hog factorymoved in next door to the Dye’s fami-ly farm. It was then Scott’s passion forthe water began to churn, and hebegan to monitor the stream near thefarm. He was concerned about the"open dune cess pits" at the hog farm.Thirty-three other family farmers inthe community joined him, forming

by Barbara Vrchota

the Missouri Stream Team #714. T h egroup still monitors today.

His views about the hog farm were notlooked upon kindly, and he was firedfrom a job he had held for some time.It was fate. The self-proclaimed "Hell-fire-breathing environmentalist" wasoffered a job with Sierra Club that verysame day. As part of his job, he t r a v e l sthe country encouraging other watersentinels. He feels the sentinels are aforce to be reckoned with. They striveat cleaning up our waterways. T h e r eare over 1000 volunteers taking over1100 water samples in over 86 streams.

Scott gives every water sentinel volun-teer the stamina to continue their jobs,with a big pat on the back, lots ofpraise and his heartfelt thanks. FranCaffee once described him as a "water

guru.’Monitor, director, cheerleader,guru, all describe Scott, but deep downhe is still a Missouri farm boy with abig ole passion for getting his feet wet.

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C L U B . O R G

Subject:

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Message:

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IL-VOFNEWS

[your name]

Earth Day River Clean-Up

VOF Calendarof EventsFor more information about out-ings and hikes, see the Outingssection of the Lake & Prairie.All meetings are held at the BataviaPublic Library at 7 p.m. the 2ndMonday of each month except July,August and December. The public isinvited to attend.

Check the website for o u t i n g s !

S e p t e m b e r 10 - Annual Open HouseCome meet new Leaders, hearwhat the committees are doing andmaybe find the special area whereyou want to get involved. Open tothe public. Refreshments served.

O c t o b e r 8 - Membership meeting with AuroraMayor Tom Weisner as speaker.

N o v e m b e r 12 - Membership meeting. Speaker to be announced.

2007 VOF VIPsAll VOF leaders can be reached by e-mail by using the followingexample: fir stname.lastname@ illinois.sier raclub.or g

Officers:ChairDudley Case* (RESIGNING) [email protected] ChairFran Caffee [email protected] VACANTTreasurerRon Bedard* [email protected] Committee Chairs:Fund Raising VACANTLobbyingGene Schultz [email protected] Bedard* m a r l e n e . b e d a r d @ i l l i n o i s . s i e r r a c l u b . o r gOutingsJulie Koivuta j u l i e . k o i v u t a @ i l l i n o i s . s i e r r a c l u b . o r gPolitical VACANTPrograms VACANTWebmasterMike Hanlon [email protected] Editor/PublicationsBarb Vrchota* [email protected] Issue Committees:Clean Water and Clean AirRon Bedard* [email protected] River DamsRon Gilkerson [email protected] Gilkerson [email protected]

Global Warming/Smart Growth Craig Zabel [email protected] Top Removal Wen Marcec [email protected] EnergyJon Wesenberg [email protected]

Special Assistants to the Chair:East Aurora, Terri Voitik [email protected] Aurora, Fran Caffee [email protected]* Elected. All other positions were appointed.21st Century Fox is published quarterly by the Valley of the Fox Group of theSierra Club. Send all submissions to Barbara Vrchota at bvrc h o t a @comcast.net. Deadline for the next issue is August 1, 2007.The Valley of the Fox Group meets the second Monday of every month (exceptJuly, August, and December). All public meetings are held at the Batavia Libraryat the southeast corner of Route 31 and Wilson Avenue. Call 630-208-9567 oranyVOF ExCom member for directions.

Sexual harassment complaints may be made to Barbara Vrchota, 630-820-0181.

Goodbye to Tom

Don’t Forget!Valley of the Fox Group meets at the Batavia Public Library on the secondMonday of every month from 7-9 p.m. except July, August and December.

Many of you know that, for severalyears, my husband Tom Caffee andfellow VOF member, Water Sentinelmonitor and my first assistantalways, was under treatment forprostrate cancer. Tom passed awaypeacefully on April 21. We like tothink of it as Earth Day Saturday.

I wish to convey grateful "thankyou’s" to so many of you who con-tacted us and prayed for our strength.

In his memory, VOF planted aScarlet Oak at Blackberry HistoricalFarm in Aurora where Tom had thedream retirement job, running thetrain during the summer; spendingtime with so many school childrenand their families.

The next time you are at BlackberryFarm, check the picnic area near thetrain station, there is a plaque therehonoring a person known not forwhat he did but for who he was.

Fran, Beth and MaryFran Caffee

The following have assumed ExCom status but officers had not been selectedat press time: Jan Mangers, Terry Murray. Check VOF website for update.


A River Still Runs Through Him

The Valley of the Fox Group recentlyhad the pleasure of sharing riverclean-up duties with our dear friendand biggest fan, Scott Dye. He is stille ffervescing with enthusiasm and stilltraveling the states supporting cleanrivers and streams. It only seems fit-ting to honor our friend Scott withsome kind words.

When Scott Dye, Director of theWater Quality Monitoring andEnforcement Program, walks into aroom, you know it. He is a "big olefarm boy," as he likes to refer to him-self, with a big ole passion for healthystreams and rivers. When he talks,you immediately feel the rush of hise n t h usiasm move upon you, like astrong wind.. He a cheerleader of sorts for Sierra Club’s Water SentinelPrograms, and his passion for healthywater runs as deep as the streams hem o n i t o r s .

What he told the Water Sentinels afew years ago, he repeated again. Hetold them he was proud of the workthey were doing. He had never seensuch a hard-working bunch of folks.He thanked each and every one fortaking on this formidable task.

Before Scott became a water sentinel,he was farmer. He once said that oneday he will return to farming. Scott’sfamily owns a 130-year-old farm inPutman County, Missouri. His motherwas born in the house that graces theland at the family farm. As a child,Scott tromped around the streams bedsexploring the water beneath him. "I’vebeen walking down streams beds sinceI’ve be walking," he proudly states.

How he moved from farming toactivism is a wonderful story. In 1993,Premium Standard Farms’ hog factorymoved in next door to the Dye’s fami-ly farm. It was then Scott’s passion forthe water began to churn, and hebegan to monitor the stream near thefarm. He was concerned about the"open dune cess pits" at the hog farm.Thirty-three other family farmers inthe community joined him, forming

by Barbara Vrchota

the Missouri Stream Team #714. T h egroup still monitors today.

His views about the hog farm were notlooked upon kindly, and he was firedfrom a job he had held for some time.It was fate. The self-proclaimed "Hell-fire-breathing environmentalist" wasoffered a job with Sierra Club that verysame day. As part of his job, he t r a v e l sthe country encouraging other watersentinels. He feels the sentinels are aforce to be reckoned with. They striveat cleaning up our waterways. T h e r eare over 1000 volunteers taking over1100 water samples in over 86 streams.

Scott gives every water sentinel volun-teer the stamina to continue their jobs,with a big pat on the back, lots ofpraise and his heartfelt thanks. FranCaffee once described him as a "water

guru.’Monitor, director, cheerleader,guru, all describe Scott, but deep downhe is still a Missouri farm boy with abig ole passion for getting his feet wet.

Visit th eVal ley o f th e

Fox We bSite!

h t t p : / / w w w.s i e r r a c l u b . o rg /

c h a p t e r s /i l / v o f

Sign Up for

th e Valley of

th e Fox

L i s t S e r v e !

To: IL-VOFNEWS

@ L I S T S . S I E R R A

C L U B . O R G

Subject:

[leave blank]

Message:

SUBSCRIBE

IL-VOFNEWS

[your name]

Earth Day River Clean-Up

VOF Calendarof EventsFor more information about out-ings and hikes, see the Outingssection of the Lake & Prairie.All meetings are held at the BataviaPublic Library at 7 p.m. the 2ndMonday of each month except July,August and December. The public isinvited to attend.

Check the website for o u t i n g s !

S e p t e m b e r 10 - Annual Open HouseCome meet new Leaders, hearwhat the committees are doing andmaybe find the special area whereyou want to get involved. Open tothe public. Refreshments served.

O c t o b e r 8 - Membership meeting with AuroraMayor Tom Weisner as speaker.

N o v e m b e r 12 - Membership meeting. Speaker to be announced.

2007 VOF VIPsAll VOF leaders can be reached by e-mail by using the followingexample: fir stname.lastname@ illinois.sier raclub.or g

Officers:ChairDudley Case* (RESIGNING) [email protected] ChairFran Caffee [email protected] VACANTTreasurerRon Bedard* [email protected] Committee Chairs:Fund Raising VACANTLobbyingGene Schultz [email protected] Bedard* m a r l e n e . b e d a r d @ i l l i n o i s . s i e r r a c l u b . o r gOutingsJulie Koivuta j u l i e . k o i v u t a @ i l l i n o i s . s i e r r a c l u b . o r gPolitical VACANTPrograms VACANTWebmasterMike Hanlon [email protected] Editor/PublicationsBarb Vrchota* [email protected] Issue Committees:Clean Water and Clean AirRon Bedard* [email protected] River DamsRon Gilkerson [email protected] Gilkerson [email protected]

Global Warming/Smart Growth Craig Zabel [email protected] Top Removal Wen Marcec [email protected] EnergyJon Wesenberg [email protected]

Special Assistants to the Chair:East Aurora, Terri Voitik [email protected] Aurora, Fran Caffee [email protected]* Elected. All other positions were appointed.21st Century Fox is published quarterly by the Valley of the Fox Group of theSierra Club. Send all submissions to Barbara Vrchota at bvrc h o t a @comcast.net. Deadline for the next issue is August 1, 2007.The Valley of the Fox Group meets the second Monday of every month (exceptJuly, August, and December). All public meetings are held at the Batavia Libraryat the southeast corner of Route 31 and Wilson Avenue. Call 630-208-9567 oranyVOF ExCom member for directions.

Sexual harassment complaints may be made to Barbara Vrchota, 630-820-0181.

Goodbye to Tom

Don’t Forget!Valley of the Fox Group meets at the Batavia Public Library on the secondMonday of every month from 7-9 p.m. except July, August and December.

Many of you know that, for severalyears, my husband Tom Caffee andfellow VOF member, Water Sentinelmonitor and my first assistantalways, was under treatment forprostrate cancer. Tom passed awaypeacefully on April 21. We like tothink of it as Earth Day Saturday.

I wish to convey grateful "thankyou’s" to so many of you who con-tacted us and prayed for our strength.

In his memory, VOF planted aScarlet Oak at Blackberry HistoricalFarm in Aurora where Tom had thedream retirement job, running thetrain during the summer; spendingtime with so many school childrenand their families.

The next time you are at BlackberryFarm, check the picnic area near thetrain station, there is a plaque therehonoring a person known not forwhat he did but for who he was.

Fran, Beth and MaryFran Caffee

The following have assumed ExCom status but officers had not been selectedat press time: Jan Mangers, Terry Murray. Check VOF website for update.

Announcements and EventsJuly 13 - 15, 2007. ChicagoPitchfork Music Festival volunteers needed.Raise awareness of global warming solutions, earn money for Sierra Club, and earn a free ticket to one of the hotest music fes-tivals in the nation.

Contact Colleen Sarna at (312) 251-1680 x6 or [email protected]

August 5, 2007. Chicagoland Ravinia Festival FundraiserLast year’s event was a huge success. Please join us again as we enjoy a buffet dinner, casual conversation and the Chicago Sym-phony Orchestra.

It’s an all Beethoven featuring Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.

Plus Leonore Overture, No. 3, Op. 72a and the Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58.

To receive final details (ticket price, times, etc.) please send your name and contact information to Douglas Chien at (312) 251-1680 x3 or [email protected]

August 25, 2007. Fox River ValleyRolling on the River volunteers needed.Spend the whole day or just a few hours in the beautiful Hoover Outdoor Education Center near Silver Spring State Park where

Sierra Club will have a table of fun activities for the kids and information for all.

Contact Christine Favilla at (618) 462-6802 or [email protected]

Inspiring Change 2007: An art exhibit and benefit raising awareness about global warming. Left to right: Kate Coyle, Sara DelGado, and Illinois Chapter Director Jack Darin.Special thanks to Sara Delgado for organizing the event and Jeane McGrail, with the River Prairie Group, for securing the won-derful gallery space. Visit www.illinois.sierraclub.org for a slide show of the people, artists and works presented.

Documents

Connect, Engage, Act - Sharon M Weinstein€¦ · engage, and get into action with the multitude of opportunities to plug into your personal yen. It’s easy to coordinate with others