Smells Like Green Spirit

Many of you know I moved from Atlanta to Chicago so I could be less car dependent. It’s one of my favorite things about the city: that I can walk, bike or take public transit anywhere I need to go. (I even walk to work in the winter–I love it, I feel like I’m conquering nature to walk 3 miles to work in a snow storm.) 

Today, I read in the Chicago Tribune online that apparently, Chicago is considered America’s fourth most walkable city, following by San Fransisco, New York City, and Boston. The ratings were based on things like proximity to grocery stores, drug stores, and recreation activities.

Pretty cool, huh?! 

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I grew up in Houston, and then lived in Atlanta for 8 years before I lived in Chicago. One  of the biggest reasons I moved here was so I could live in a city that had viable public transportation, which is so minimal in southern cities, it may as well be considered almost non-existent. In the south, I had to drive EVERYWHERE, and didn’t flinch at driving upwards of 50 miles a day.

It’s funny to think about it now, but when gas starting approaching $2 a gallon in Atlanta, about 3.5 years ago, I decided I was going to move to a city where I didn’t need to drive. $2 A GALLON!  What I wouldn’t give to pay $2 a gallon now!!

The only cities that I really knew of in America where public transit was an option were San Francisco, Chicago, and New York City, and so I chose Chicago.

NOW, 3.5 years later, gas has reached stunning  heights, coming up on nearly $5 a gallon.

I can’t believe it.

I still own a car, which I use for huge grocery runs, to take several loads of laundry to the laundromat, to take paintings to an art show, etc, but I’ve decided to sell my car once it permanently tops $5 a gallon.

That is just too much money.

I now own a lovely bike that looks something like this (sorry for the stolen pic)  

I live right by the blue line train, and right by several major bus lines, and I got two feet in damn good working order…so, yeah. If you know anyone who wants a cute, silver Toyota Rav4…it gets good gas mileage! But at 5+ dollars a gallon…

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This weekend at Kilbourne Park (3501 N. Kilbourne Ave, just west of Milwaukee Ave and Addison St) from 10 am to 2 pm there will be an amazing sale of organic seedlings…veggies, herbs, and flowers.

In the words of the Chicago Park District Website:

“Customers can expect more than 150 varieties of open-pollinated tomatoes, such as Aunt Ruby’s German Green Tomato, Copia, Green Zebra, and Black Cherry . There is a limited supply of tomatoes, so gardeners are encouraged to stop by early.The Kilbourn Park Organic Greenhouse accepts payment for plants by cash and check only.

On Wednesday, May 21 from 6 – 7:30 pm, the Kilbourn Organic Greenhouse will host Gardening Basics: Free Question Answer session by the Master Gardeners of CookCountyChicago – University of Illinois Extension. Bring your questions and come to this evening’s discussion such as; how to plant, when to plant, fertilizing, composting, watering, mulching. We will have several Master Gardeners available to answer your gardening questions. This program is sponsored by Master Gardeners of Cook County Chicago, a program of the University of Illinois Extension.”

Click here to visit the Chicago Park District Website

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The exhibit of the “home of the future,” a high tech and eco-friendly home designed to fit on an urban lot opened last week at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, and I had the good fortune of working in the gardens on opening day!

I wasn’t supposed to, but I snuck in the house on a break from my volunteer shift, and I tell you what…if I go missing anytime soon, it’s because I’m living in one of the upstairs closets of this chic eco-wonder.

With sensitive solar panelling, beautiful rooftop gardens containing succulents, a grill that uses the sun to cook items, an exterior that is virtually maintenance free…with shower tiles made of recycled glass, an energy system that generates more energy than it uses, a water reclamation system, and the fact that no trees were cut down for the structure of the home…this house is a high tech, heavenly haven of green living.

Sure, sure, not all of us can afford the $450,000 to $500,000 it would cost to put one of these over our heads, but it’s chock full of inspiration for one’s own home!

Out in the edible gardens right now are the early season veggies and plant like lettuce, bok choy, chives, and apparently I was the last person to learn that pansies are edible (as a sweet tasting garnish)! As the seasons change, more edible goodies will be added to the garden, which also includes several types of composting bins (one with worms), a rain barrel for watering the garden, and Earth Boxes, which many people enjoy with success, especially for gardens with not much space. Please come and visit us over at the Smart House!

Here’s a link with a video of the house just before opening day:

ABC News Video of the Smart Home

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This fall, I had the pleasure of spending time in Antwerp with some new friends who’d remodelled their adorable house in a green way. The Belgian government offers huge tax breaks for green homes, and hopefully Chicago will be offering more of this in the future. Currently, Chicago has around $1 million available for grants for solar heating, and waives the service fee of around $5,000 - $50,000 for developers installing green roofs.

What are some things you can do to build/remodel your home in a green way?

*Remodeling instead of starting from scratch is essential - think of all the bricks and lumber you’ll save when you use what’s already in place!

*Realize that some things might cost a little more up front, but in the long run the pay off will be huge!! This can range from small things like compact fluorescent lightbulbs to lots and lots of insulation to a more efficient water heater.

*Consider “lumber” made from materials other than wood (products made from recycled plastics exist, among others).

*Environmentally certified lumber can save forests as logging is done in a sustainable manner. For more info, visit the Forest Stewardship Council.

*Look for paint and adhesives that don’t release gases and organic materials for more breathable air around your domicile.

*Rooftop gardens insulate your home, saving on energy costs, add to your resale value, helps to reduce overall city warming, and reduces runoff that leads to water pollution. You can even grow herbs and vegetables on an accessible roof!

*Build a compost bin to reduce trash produced and generate fertilizer for your gardens.

*When buying appliances and items for the home, think about how long the items will last and how easy or difficult it would be to recycle and reuse the materials.

*Double pane windows help to insulate your home from the outside environment.

*Solar heating can be expensive, but government grants are available for them (Not sure how difficult it is to get one–more on this in a later post.)

*Disconnect your downspouts from the roof and garage to stop runoff into sewers.

For more info, click:

Energy Grants for Historic Chicago Bungalows

Energy Star

US Green Building Council

Landscape with Native Chicago Plants

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The thought of riding a bike throughout the winter in Chicago is a terrifying one to me, but many people do it, and dang it, I want to give it a shot too.

Whatcha Wearin’?

Most roads in Chicago are plowed and salted fairly quickly, so it seems the only necessary component is dressing in layers like one would for winter sports. I hear if you walk outside and only feel mildly chilly in what you’re wearing, soon you’ll warm up on the road. It’s recommended that for a serious ride you wear a “wicking layer” next to your skin and not cotton, but most of my rides would be like to a bar or to work, so I don’t think I’ll need to worry about wicking just yet. Or wiccans. I won’t worry about them either.

If where you are is “cold/wet” like Chicago, (as opposed to “cold/dry” in somewhere like the southwest), a perfect outer layer is a rain suit with ample layers underneath. Don’t overlayer though, or you’ll be drenched in sweat after a couple of miles.

Helmet liners can be purchased at bike stores, and face masks, while scary looking, keep your face warm. My friends simply wrap scarves around their faces.

Make sure your hands are amply protected! You can buy winter biking gloves at bike shops, but heavy wind proof gloves would work fine too.

Pumping those pedals through piles of snow is tiring, probably much like jogging through think sand on a beach. It’s the thought of biking on ice that scares me, though!

Studded Tires

My friends say to remain as still as possible when going over ice, don’t break, and try just to coast. Make sure you have reflectors on and a bike light while riding around at night.

But, apparently there exists something called studded tires that make even the most terrifying patches of ice bikeable. I’ve never used these before, so you should head somewhere else for expertise:

Ice Bike
Commute By Bike
Peter White Cycles
Chicago Bike Blog
Bike Winter
Chicago Bicycle Federation

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While the recycling program in Chicago can be criticized as being slightly dubious and not far-reaching enough, and while air quality is still a real problem, Chicago is determined to be America’s greenest city. 

Indeed, living carfree in Chicago is cake with its many bike-friendly roads. I walk almost everywhere, and criticize the public transit all you want, but having lived before in Houston and Atlanta, where transit is a ridiculous joke, I think it’s amazing.

Daley’s environmental commissioner Sadhu Johnston thinks cities are the salve the environment needs, compared with the sprawl and car dependency of suburbs and rural areas. He’s hellbent on making Chicago the greenest city in the nation, as well as a hub of environmental design and alternative energy production.

A few more green facts about Chicago:

*Chicago is one of the nation’s biggest users of green/renewable energy.

*Over the last 20 years, 500,000 trees have been planted and park space along the lakefront has increased.

*City Hall is outfitted with a rooftop garden.

*Several million rooftop gardens have been constructed around the city or are being planned, more than the rest of the U.S. combined.

*Chicago is investing in greener vehicles, with idling for longer than 5 minutes illegal for city vehicles.

*Chicago’s Green Alley Initiative is helping water pollution and energy consumption. (Click here to read my article about that.)

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One of my favorite things about walking around Chicago is the network of alleyways the city has weaving through the city, very fun to duck through, often laden with treasures like discarded bedside tables and old record players.

Mayor Daley is now going through with his Green Alley initiative, where alleys will now be outfitted with environmentally sustainable material. Water will be able to penetrate the permeable concrete or porous asphalt, get filtered in the underground stone beds, and rejoin the underground water table or Lake Michigan rather than becoming polluted runoff.

Created from recycled materials, the green alleys will reflect heat (rather than absorbing it) in the summer and stay warmer in the winter, and the alleys will even be outfitted with new lighting to conserve energy. Congrats to Mayor Daley for helping Chicago get greener and greener!

For more info:

New York Times Article

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In North America alone, around 30-35 million trees are sold for the holidays…luckily though, the jolly trees are a recyclable, renewable source of holiday joy as typically around 3 seedlings are planted for every Christmas tree cut down, and as around 93% of Christmas trees purchased are estimated to be recycled.

Recycled Christmas trees are used for a variety of purposes, including for chipping (for mulches and to line trails), for enrichment of fish habitats, for the reduction of beach line erosion, for the stabilization of the shorelines of lakes and rivers, and for the management of river delta sedimentation.

 Although perhaps the best idea for the holidays is a living Christmas tree that is planted in your yard, dug up for the holidays and then replanted, choosing a real Christmas tree over an artificial one means using a recyclable product versus a likely unrecyclable artificial tree, and supporting North American businesses. (Most Christmas trees are grown in Oregon, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Washington whereas most artificial trees are produced in China.)

For more info and pro live Christmas tree propaganda, visit the website of the National Christmas Tree Association.

And, here are a list of locations to drop off your Christmas tree in Chicago:

Bessemer Park: 8930 S. Muskegon Ave.

Devry Institute: 3401 N. Rockwell

Forestry Site: 900 E. 103rd St.

Garfied Park: 100 N. Central Park Ave.

Grant Park: 900 S. Columbus Dr.

Humboldt Park Boathouse: 1440 N. Sacramento Blvd.

Jackson Park: 6300 S. Cornell Dr.

Kennedy Park: 11320 S. Western Ave.

Kelvyn Park: 4438 S. Wrightwood Ave.

Lake Meadows Park: 3117 S. Rhodes Ave.

Lincoln Park: Cannon Dr. at Fullerton

Margate Park: 4921 N. Marine Dr.

Marquette Park: 6700 S. Kedzie Ave.

McKinley Park: 2210 W. Pershing Rd.

Mt. Greenwood Park: 3721 W. 111th St.

North Park Village: 5801 N. Pulaski Rd.

Norwood Park: 5801 N. Natoma

Portage Park: 4100 N. Long

Riis Park: 6100 W. Fullerton

Rowan Park: 11546 S. Avenue L

Sheridan Park: 910 S. Aberdeen St.

Warren Park: 6601 N. Western Ave.

Wentworth Park: 5625 S. Mobile Ave.

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This is the first blog in a series about car sharing companies, featuring I-Go!

My friend Jen and her husband Ryan have lived all over the US, from Chicago to Ann Arbor Michigan to D.C. to the east coast, all without a car. In addition to bikes and feet and public transit, they told me they use car sharing services. Wondering just how that differed from a car rental service, I thought I’d do some investigation.

Car Sharing Around the World

For a list of cities and companies where you can find Car Sharing, I’m going to guide you to the website www.carsharing.net, because this blog series will focus on car sharing in Chicago.

And on with Car Sharing…

The three major car sharing companies available in Chicago are Zipcars, I-Go, and Flexcar.

Car sharing differs from car rental services because you reserve and pay for cars by the hour, and they differ from carpool services because you have the car all to yourself for the length of your reservation.

Car sharing encourages less car usage and thus less traffic and pollution in cities. Can’t argue with that! Increased driving also funnels funding of public funds more towards highway and road construction and repair at the detriment of alternatives such as funding for public transportation.

I-Go, You Go, Let’s All Go to I-Go!

I-Go hails itself as Chicago’s only non-profit car sharing service. It was created by the Center for Neighborhood Technology, which strives to “invent and implement new strategies which make urban communities more livable and environmentally sustainable,” and they offer 100% low emission vehicles.

Once you join I-Go, it takes about 5-7 business days until you can start reserving cars, and there’s an annual membership fee of $75.

One of the rules of I-Go is that you must return the car to the location you picked it up from, but there are I-Go locations all over the city.

There are a list of added benefits to becoming an I-Go customer, such as the waiving of Flexcar fees in other cities and discounts at places like Ikea, G Boutique and the Apartment People.

I-Go Pricing

There is a one time membership fee of $75, and then each subsequent year costs $25. There are no monthly fees.

The Standard Plan costs $6 an hour, plus 50 cents per mile, or the Standard Plus plan, which costs $8.25 an hour, with 25 free miles.

The hours between midnight and 6 a.m. are always free for you night owls.

Contact Info

Website: www.igocars.org
Phone: 773-278-4446
Their Wicker Park Home Location: 2125 W North Ave

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