EcoLocalizer

The Jewel-Osco grocery chain opens its first green store today in Chicago’s River West neighborhood. The new store features not only green construction but some green items inside as well, including locally produced foods and organic selections.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the new store took five years to develop, thanks to a slew of special engineering and site use requirements. Among the challenges: building the facility 25 feet over Metra’s train tracks to provide bridge access for local residents.

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As the US federal government has failed to step up to the plate, many smaller forms of government have realized it will be in their hands to bring about environmental changes. Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley revealed Thursday details for the Chicago Climate Action Plan.

The plan will add Mayor Daley to about 800 US mayors who have adopted the Kyoto global warming protocols. Chicago’s new plan will build upon measured already in place and under way in the city, in an attempt to make Chicago the most environmentally friendly city in the US.

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Good news for Chicago middle school and high school teachers who want to teach their students about the environment and earn a bit of extra cash: the city has extended its deadline for applications to its 2008-2009 Chicago Conservation Corps (C3) Student Club.

Teachers now have until Friday, Sept. 19, to apply for the C3 Student Club program.

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File this in the “pretty cool” folder: a Chicago-based company has found a way to make paper without using trees (and it doesn’t involve recycling used tree-based paper).

GPA calls Ultra Green Film an “eco-friendly substrate” that not only doesn’t require trees, but doesn’t need water or bleach to make either. Instead, the paper is limestone-based, made of mineral powders bound together with small amounts of high-density polyethylene and a non-toxic resin.

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Re-localization is the process through which a community reverts from ever increasing dependence upon the global economic system back to local networks of economic interdependency. Localization brings production closer to consumption obviating the need to rely on long supply chains and distant markets so that communities can largely provision themselves. Local production strengthens the local economy, creates worthwhile jobs, and increases local self reliance. Refocusing the economy locally will necessarily revitalize the community, increasing camaraderie, cooperation, and support for local culture and a sense of place.

The top five reasons we need to localize:

• Make our cities more resilient
• Reduce C02 emissions
• Reduce energy consumption
• Prepare for an energy scarce future
• Create a publicly-owned safety net

In the wake of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, regional officials have become increasingly concerned about how the San Francisco Bay Area would fare if another 1906-style earthquake were to occur. The San Francisco city government and CORE - Citizens of Oakland Responding to Emergencies (as well as the national emergency preparedness sector in general) are strongly recommending that people get prepared to live for 3 days without major infrastructural support (i.e., electricity, running water, supermarkets, etc).

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As the environment continues to gain more and more attention, so does the need to stay green and environmentally friendly. We’re seeing these qualities become more and more relevant and important in a variety of fields; from automotive to architecture.

The latter has long been a focus of the green development. One need only look at the mass of stories coming out of the Middle East and Asia to see that a green focus on design and architecture is now more important than ever.

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Since high school, I have wanted a Mercedes Turbo Diesel station wagon. Nope. Not lying. I have no idea where or why the infatuation, but now, with the introduction of Lovecraft biofuels, I am not alone. Even the celebs, like Mandy Moore, are converting their old school early 1980’s diesel Mercedes to run on biofuel.

What are the benefits of converting?

• For starters, if you have a little patience and a generous Japanese restaurant nearby, you can get free fuel. While Wendy’s overall doesn’t rank high on the eco-friendly factor, my dad has nearly 100 in the South that use WVO in the form of French fry oil to run their maintenance trucks. Lighter oils - like the kind used for tempura at sushi places are the best and easiest to filter
• Reduces sulfur gas (which contribute to acid rain) emissions by 99%
• And, according to Lovecraft, takes the refineries and war out of the equation

When you run low, you can always head over to Sam’s or Costco and pick up some veggie oil to get you by to your next filling station or you can fill up with diesel interchangeably. It’s not necessarily a permanent solution, but it’s a great temporary option to help get a little extra mileage without getting gouged at the pump. Although, based on gas prices alone in LA, it would probably take you 2-3 years to recoup your costs from a professional conversion (unless we hit $10 a gallon this winter).

This post was originally published on Wednesday, June 25, 2008.

The Chicago Tribune reported earlier this month (and thanks to Treehugger for the update) that Chicago’s Mayor Richard Daley announced on a summer reading program with a green focus, named “Read Green, Live Green” program.

The program, which will run until the beginning of August, includes, according to the Tribune, a series of discussion groups aimed at celebrating nature and the threats against it. The program will be offering books, reading tours and performances for adults and children on environmental issues including climate change, energy and farming.

Children and adults will be able to explore the environment with a good read during the summer at any of the 79 Chicago Public Library branches.

Participating children will read, report on books of their choosing and have fun with green programs and projects. Children will receive a sticker for their book log for each book read, win book prizes and earn a Read Green, Live Green t-shirt by reading lots of books!The list of events for children can be found here - http://www.chipublib.org/dir_documents/SRP08_Kidsa.pdf.

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Editor’s note: Today, we’re pleased to start a content partnership with GreenSceneUSA, a site that’s provides “…a supportive, interactive, nationwide community that gives you access to everything for greening your life with style and ease.” In addition to broad information on green lifestyle, GSUSA also provides “City Scene” sections… so they seemed like a natural partner for Ecolocalizer. Today’s post, on Chicago’s Green Alleys intiative, appears here on the GreenSceneUSA site.

With 1900 miles of alleys, Chicago has more of the narrow service streets than any other city in the nation. In summer, all that blacktop radiates a lot of heat into the scorching metropolis, and during rain and snowmelt, it’s a conduit for rivers of contaminated run-off. But under Mayor Richard Daley’s Green Alley initiative, part of an ambitious citywide greening strategy, the Chicago Department of Transportation has begun resurfacing the alleys with new eco-friendly material.

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Why have gas prices risen to nearly $4 a gallon (or more) in the U.S.? Is it oil speculation? Rising demand? Or the first signs of peak oil?

Whatever the cause (and there’s good reason to blame all three to some degree), most so-called experts these days aren’t expecting oil prices to drop anytime soon. In fact, Newsweek this week features a sobering article titled, “The Coming Energy Wars,” that predicts we’ll soon see oil prices top $200 a barrel. When that happens, the authors warn, we can expect everything about our daily lives to change.

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