Category Archives: Environment

Hungarians Debate their Nuclear Future

Posted on 03/27/2014 by Richard Esbenshade

On the weekend of February 1-2, thousands of Hungarians took to the streets to oppose the government’s plans to double the capacity of the country’s only nuclear power plant, with construction and financing by Vladimir Putin’s Russia. The plant, at … Continue reading →

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Clinton Landfill Plans an Unacceptable Risk to the Mahomet Aquifer

Posted on 03/27/2014 by Public i

By Stacy James Clinton Landfill, Inc. plans to store PCB-laden soil in its landfill above the Mahomet Aquifer, our drinking water supply! Opponents of this economically lucrative but environmentally risky venture are increasing in number as more and more people … Continue reading →

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Hidden Costs of Drought and Floods

Posted on 01/31/2014 by Gregory McIsaac

    Gregory McIsaac Climate models indicate that Midwestern US will likely experience warmer and more volatile weather in the future, with more intense rainfall and more frequent and severe droughts. Trends in this direction are already evident. The severe … Continue reading →

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Illinois and the Right to Know What’s in our Food: Labeling Genetically Engineered Food, Part II

Posted on 11/14/2013 by Lois Kain

Could this really have been the summer that the anti-GMO tipping point was reached? Has the time finally come when so many of us have gotten so fed up with our broken and unjust food system and become so vocal … Continue reading →

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Illinois and The Right to Know What’s In Our Food: Labeling Genetically Engineered Food

Posted on 10/02/2013 by Public i

Illinois has jumped into a food fight! Some even call it the food fight of our lives. It is the fight for our right to know what ingredients are in our food and to have those ingredients clearly and truthfully … Continue reading →

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GMOs Are Not the Answer

Posted on 08/01/2013 by Jessica Nolen

This past Fourth of July, a nationwide coalition of concerned mothers and their supporters joined the fight for food freedom. Mothers across the country who have been struggling with the increase in food-related allergies, autism and other health problems that … Continue reading →

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Update from Food and Water Watch

Posted on 08/01/2013 by Lois Kain

Food and Water Watch (FWW) is a national organization fighting for clean water issues ranging from contamination from hydraulic fracturing (fracking), to pollution caused by factory farms (CAFOs), to the bottled water industry. Our insidious and dangerous food system, which … Continue reading →

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Summer Classes at Common Ground’s Flatlander Classroom

Posted on 08/01/2013 by Public i

Visit Urban Bees! Led by Maggie Wachter $10 owners/$15 non-owners Saturday, July 27th, 1-3pm Min 4/Max 12 Local beekeeper Maggie Wachter will take you on a thrilling journey in her teaching apiary located just a few blocks from the Common … Continue reading →

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Trivializing the Not-So-Trivial: the News-Gazette and Mr. Khan

Posted on 05/24/2013 by Belden Fields

In its editorial of April 23, the News-Gazette took members of the U of I Senate to task. These members had challenged the decision to award an honorary degree to Mr. Shahid Khan.  Mr. Khan, an engineering graduate of the … Continue reading →

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Illinois goes to DC to Fight Climate Change

Posted on 04/03/2013 by Stuart Levy

B by Stuart Levy This February 17th, a coalition of groups, including 350.org, the Sierra Club, and Hip Hop Caucus, held a rally and march in Washington, DC to raise the urgent issue of climate change. The Sierra Club organized … Continue reading →

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Mass Extinction to Mass Abundance

Posted on 02/24/2013 by George Hardebeck

By George M. F. Hardebeck George M. F. Hardebeck is the director of Arts Restoring Culture for Healing Earth (ARCHE). He recently moved to Urbana from Cincinnati and he works on eco-cultural restoration and cultural reconciliation. We are running wildly … Continue reading →

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Obama’s Economic Legacy Could Benefit from Falling Energy Prices

Posted on 01/20/2013 by Gregory McIsaac

Energy prices have gone through boom and bust cycles in the past, and there is a possibility that current prices could decline as during in the 1980s, which fueled a rapid expansion of employment and GDP. Even though presidents have … Continue reading →

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Coal Mine Proposed for Vermilion and Champaign County

Posted on 09/08/2012 by Alice Englebretsen

Alice Englebretsen lives in Urbana and has been active in the local environmental and social issues for many years. She is currently Political Chair of the local Prairie Group of the Sierra Club, but is tracking the Sunrise Coal/Bulldog Mine … Continue reading →

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Part Two on the Proposed Keystone XL Pipeline: Environmental Considerations

Posted on 08/15/2012 by admin

By Marilyn Leger After successful careers in such divergent fields as biochemistry & immunology (at UIUC and UT-Austin) and organizational development in corporate America, Marilyn Leger now travels the U.S., Caribbean and Europe by sailboat soaking up history, exploring cultures, … Continue reading →

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A Two Part Installment on the Proposed Keystone XL Pipeline Part One: Jobs and Security

Posted on 06/30/2012 by admin

After successful careers in such divergent fields as biochemistry & immunology (at UIUC and UT-Austin) and organizational development in corporate America, Marilyn Leger now travels the U.S., Caribbean and Europe by houseboat soaking up history, exploring cultures, sampling foods (and … Continue reading →

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Proposed Coal Mine Raises Questions About Drinking Water and Salt Fork River

Posted on 05/19/2012 by admin

Press Release from Prairie Rivers Network Stakeholders and Residents Invited to Public Meeting May 23rd, 7:00 pm at Homer Lake’s Salt Fork Center to Discuss Concerns Homer, IL – Representatives of Champaign and Vermilion county residents, including stakeholders along the Salt … Continue reading →

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Save Starved Rock! Stop the Sand Pit!

Posted on 02/15/2012 by Pricilla Wallis

Starved Rock State park is located along the historic south bank of the Illinois River. Starved Rock is known for its many canyons and hosts over two million tourists a year. It has 2360 acres of natural wildlife, rivers and … Continue reading →

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The Beehive Collective to Come to Urbana

Posted on 10/02/2011 by Public i

The Beehive Collective will bring their exciting, interactive presentation to the UCIMC. Come join us for an evening of art, education, community, and fun. Thursday October 6th at 7pm Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center Long exploited as a resource-extraction colony within … Continue reading →

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UIUC Disappoints Environmental Community

Posted on 05/21/2011 by Katie Kinley

Millions of years ago, dinosaurs died off and left humans a parting gift—a vast supply of fossil fuels. Coal, natural gas, and oil are the black gold upon which society’s standard of living is built on today, and account for … Continue reading →

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Statement From Socialist Forum of Champaign-Urbana

Posted on 05/20/2011 by Belden Fields

Our Democracy Has Been Replaced By a Plutocracy The present assault on working people and the poor shows us clearly the class warfare inherent in capitalism.  The system aims to treat everything, including people, as commodities in order to maximize … Continue reading →

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