PlanItGreen convened its annual Institutional Leaders Forum on Dec. 5 to highlight efforts by organizations that promote sustainability and help put the brakes on climate-related impacts. And while it is customary for River Forest Village President Cathy Adduci and Oak Park Mayor Anan Abu-Taleb to attend the forum, they were in the city preparing to […]
PlanItGreen’s mission to educate organiz
Since being selected for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar in Your Community Challenge earlier this year, the PlanItGreen solar team met with leaders of local organizations to help them better understand “the whole concept of solar,” says Gary Cuneen of Seven Generations Ahead, which is spearheading PIG’s solar initiative. The most recent presentation was held for the Communityworks […]
Why solar? Why now?
Since 1990, global surface temperatures have warmed at a rate of about 0.15°C per decade according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), within the range of model projections of about 0.10 to 0.35°C per decade. The U.S. is seeing more extreme weather, including flooding, droughts and wildfires, which cost taxpayers billions of dollars […]
GreenTown comes to Fox Valley
Seven Generations Ahead and Fox Valley Sustainability Network core partners Kane County, the City of Aurora and a5 Branding & Digital co-hosted GreenTown Fox Valley 2017 in late April at the Two Brothers Roundhouse in Aurora. The intensive day featured 10 breakout sessions and keynote speeches by Jack Darin, executive director of the Illinois Chapter of […]
PlanItGreen team visits renewable energy...
At the invitation of the Institute For Sustainable Communities, PlanItGreen team members who are involved in energy issues attended a “Turning Energy Data Into Action” workshop at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colo. The April 3-4 workshop was part of the Solar In Your Community initiative of the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Program. […]
Process and progress on making community...
The status of bringing solar power, community solar and its related economic and environmental justice benefits to Oak Park, River Forest and the rest of Illinois is still in the early stages. The Future Energy Jobs Bill, including the Solar For All Illinois program, signed into law last Dec. 7, will take effect on June […]
Connecticut group finds inspiration in S...
Daphne Dixon has come to know Seven Generations Ahead well over the last nine years. It was in 2007 that the Connecticut resident, after completing a master gardener’s program, started thinking about starting an organization that would “educate people about what they can do around sustainability,” she says. Dixon began with Google, looking—virtually—“around the country […]
Energy Jobs bill paves way for community...
On Dec. 1, the Illinois General Assembly passed the “Future Energy Jobs Bill” (SB2814), the most comprehensive energy legislation of its kind in more than 20 years. A few days later, Gov. Rauner signed the bill. The bill had been headlined as a subsidy, or “bailout,” for the nuclear power plants that Exelon has been […]
PlanItGreen sees a future in community s...
Solar power is mainstreaming into the United States’ electric grid, shedding its label as an “alternative source” in just a few years. More than 1 million buildings in the United States, and about 1,000 in Illinois, have a solar power system on their property. With utility-scale installations, solar power is near 3 percent of U.S. […]
Fox Valley Sustainability Network secure...
Since launching earlier this year, the Fox Valley Sustainability Network (FVSN) has been hosting public forums built around different aspects of sustainability. The forums consistently draw dozens of municipal officials and topic experts from across the region. In July, the Grand Victoria Riverboat Fund in Kane County approved a $34,000 for Seven Generations Ahead that will support a series […]