As part of PlanItGreen’s (PIG) initiative to increase education on environmental issues and solutions, it holds regular lunch and learn sessions that provide institutional and community leaders with expert information and facts on various sustainability topics. In 2018, PIG hosted six lunch and learns covering topics like water, energy efficiency, native plants, solar, and more. […]
Getting to the heart of better soil thro...
Organized by Seven Generations Ahead, SCARCE, the Illinois Food Scrap Coalition, and Dupage and Kane Counties, the “Getting to the Heart of Better Soil Through Composting” zero waste forum took place Feb. 14 at the Cantigny Golf Club in Wheaton. The forum focused on the benefits of compost for improving soil quality for landscape and under […]
Solar, renewable energy forum features m...
SGA and the Fox Valley Sustainability Network hosted a Solar and Renewable Energy Forum at Waubonsee Community College in Aurora on Jan. 18. Among the topics that various speakers covered were financing options for community solar projects in Illinois, the different kinds of solar projects on the horizon, the Future Energy Jobs Act and municipal […]
Resilient Communities Forum offers clima...
The Resilient Communities Forum on Jan. 31 at the 19th Century Club drew 175 residents from Oak Park and River Forest. They heard from municipal and environmental leaders on ways nations and communities are addressing the challenges of climate change. PlanItGreen helped organize the event, which featured a presentation by SGA executive director Gary Cuneen […]
PlanItGreen carving a solar path to comm...
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 […]