Category Archives: Environment

The Legacy of Local Environmentalist Bruce Hannon

Posted on 05/03/2024 by Robert Hirschfeld

“The rivers are the place where nature still exists.” – Bruce Hannon, 2017 interview for Prairie Rivers Network’s 50th Anniversary. Bruce Hannon, the founder of Prairie Rivers Network (PRN), passed away on Sunday, February 18, 2024. Bruce’s accomplishments are too … Continue reading →

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Canada Goose Population Control: Homeowner Associations Become Experts

Posted on 05/02/2024 by Karen Medina Viktoria Ford and Penny Hanna

Spring is a good time to consider the giant Canada goose and methods of population control that are legal and humane. Canada geese (Branta canadensis maxima), like all waterfowl, are protected at the federal level by the Migratory Bird Treaty … Continue reading →

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Carbon Capture, Illinois’ Biggest Coal Fired Power Plant, and the Prairie Research Institute

Posted on 07/18/2023 by Andrew Rehn

Carbon capture has become the divisive hot topic in Illinois climate policy over the last year. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) included substantial subsidies for carbon capture that have created an industry gold rush looking to build and operate carbon … Continue reading →

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Rescuing the Embarras River

Posted on 05/01/2023 by Brenda A. Koenig

Tucked into the southwest corner of the University of Illinois’s Urbana-Champaign campus, just beyond student housing and mostly hidden by roadside grasses, a ditch runs along a solar farm and through research farmland. This is the humble beginning of the … Continue reading →

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Remembering David Monk

Posted on 02/10/2023 by Glen Martin

David Monk, 91, died on December 2, 2022. For a detailed account of his life and accomplishments, refer to the News-Gazette article published on July 13, 2022, soon after he went into hospice care. It is not easy to summarize … Continue reading →

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Sola Gratia Farm Grows Good in CU

Posted on 12/31/2022 by Fiona Munro

Here in Central Illinois, we’re surrounded by prime farmland—miles and miles of crops, primarily corn and soy, growing on some of the most fertile soil in the world. And yet, approximately one in seven adults and one in five children … Continue reading →

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The Inflation Reduction Act: Historic Climate Legislation with a Lifeline to Fossil Fuels

Posted on 11/04/2022 by Lan and Pam Richart

With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in August, many environmental advocates and others concerned about rapidly rising global temperatures breathed a collective sigh of relief. The US finally is taking historic action to address the climate crisis. … Continue reading →

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West Virginia v. EPA: SCOTUS Decision Not Necessarily a Blow to Climate Action

Posted on 09/18/2022 by Eric Freyfogle

Supreme Court rulings, once announced, sometimes take on curious lives. Understood in one way when released, they can, as precedent, shape the law in other, unexpected ways. The Supreme Court’s opinion in West Virginia v. US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), … Continue reading →

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Illinois Responds to “Code Red” Climate Alarm

Posted on 11/15/2021 by Amanda Pankau

  IPCC Issues a Code Red for Humanity “Code Red for Humanity” has become the new rallying cry for climate action. The phrase was coined by United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres in reference to the August climate report, released … Continue reading →

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Victory! Dynegy Will Move Its Ash

Posted on 09/23/2021 by Pam and Lan Richart

No More “Cap and Run” After a multi-year campaign calling for the clean-up of coal ash along the Middle Fork of the Vermilion, Illinois’ only National Scenic River, Dynegy Midwest Generation, owner of the coal ash, has finally agreed to … Continue reading →

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This is going to take more than windmills: Addressing Trauma at the UN Climate Summit

Posted on 12/24/2019 by Kate Insolia

Climate activists from around the world converged on New York City during the United Nations Climate Summit in September, 2019, and I was lucky enough to be invited to contribute to this historic moment. There were scientists, lawyers, architects and … Continue reading →

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University and High School Students Collaborate to Host September 20th Climate Strike

Posted on 12/24/2019 by Anya Kaplan-Hartnett

Between September 20 and 27, over 6000 protests took place in 185 countries as part of the Global Week for Future. Students walked out of classes, workers went on strike, and millions gathered to demand climate justice and take action … Continue reading →

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After Statewide Coal Ash Victory, the Fight for the Middle Fork Continues

Posted on 11/02/2019 by Lan Richart

Protecting the integrity of our natural resources requires multigenerational vigilance, perseverance and dedication. Successes are rarely quick and easy, and generally only mark milestones in an unending quest to preserve what we hold dear. Such is the story of the … Continue reading →

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Faith in Place: Twenty Years Protecting the Earth and All Who Depend on It

Posted on 06/13/2019 by Cindy Shepard

At the dedication of a community garden, in a smallish county seat, I met Robyn, whose high school class had sown and nurtured the vegetable seedlings that we planted that day. She told me: “My special-needs students learn so much … Continue reading →

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Unacceptable Levels—Our Body Burden, Our Planet Burden

Posted on 05/08/2019 by Lois Kain

Our planet is drowning in synthetic chemicals. Our bodies have become synthetic chemical processing plants. A 2005 Environmental Working Group study of umbilical cord blood revealed that babies are born already pre-polluted with over 200 industrial contaminates. Hundreds of the … Continue reading →

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No Time to Wait: Let’s Make a Green New Deal!

Posted on 04/12/2019 by Patricia Simpson

As a series of intergovernmental panels and the March 15 global wave of student strikes remind us, the environmental crisis is no longer a thing of the future. It is our here and now, exacting a toll on the world’s … Continue reading →

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Think Heliocentrically, Act Locally

Posted on 04/12/2019 by Robert E. McGrath

“We are building solar at all scales.” Scott R. Tess, Urbana’s Environmental Sustainability Manager The Big Picture Solar power from photovoltaic (PV) panels has been around for a long time now, and the technology is definitely ready for prime time. Here, … Continue reading →

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A New Option to Finance A Clean Energy Future for Everyone

Posted on 12/11/2018 by Robert E. McGrath

While renewable energy technologies have made tremendous strides in recent decades, financing and investment options for those who want to go green have remained scarce. The Clean Energy Credit Union (CECU), chartered by the American Solar Energy Association in 2017, … Continue reading →

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Air Pollution in Champaign-Urbana

Posted on 05/04/2018 by Jacquelyn Potter

By Jacquelyn Potter Why Should We be Concerned? Our most immediate necessity for life is breathing.  It’s the process of taking in life-giving substances and releasing metabolic by-products; therefore, clean air is vital for survival.  It’s only when substances are … Continue reading →

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Ban Fracking in Illinois this Year

Posted on 03/26/2018 by Lois Kain

By Lois Kain Lois Kain lives in Urbana and is a member of Food and Water Watch and Sierra Club. Illinois has so far avoided the damages that inevitably result from horizontal, or directional, High Volume Hydraulic Fracturing (HVHF), known … Continue reading →

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