We are thrilled to announce that One Earth Collective and Laurie Casey of COOP are both recipients of the Village of Oak Park’s 2023 Green Awards, recognizing outstanding efforts in sustainability and environmental stewardship in the community.

Chicago’s West Side has a new Queen of Mac. Shawnie Jones, chef and owner of a catering business, created the delectable recipe, “Mac’Alicious Macaroni” – which utilized Gouda cheese, sour cream and a premium grade butter to make it stand out – to win the Best of the West Mac & Cheese Cookoff. 

On November 5, five students from the Chicago area youth-driven advocacy group It’s Our Future (IOF) will fly to Egypt to take part in COP27, the UN Climate Change Conference in Sharm El-Sheikh. It's Our Future, a program developed by Seven Generations Ahead and supported by One Earth Collective along with other partners, connects youth climate activists and empowers them to advocate for climate solutions in their schools and communities, and for a healthy livable future for all.

I like to travel and enjoy taking pictures of my surroundings. Photography has always been a passion of mine along with pursuing a career in nursing. One of my goals is to make a change in the world by sharing issues and letting others know so they can make a difference with me. Writing the Clean Future Blog about environmental issues and reviewing films about pollution help me broaden my knowledge. I hope we all will think about our actions and use our voices.

Both the Film Fest and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) aspire to address a vexing question: how do we all—scientists, advocates, policymakers and public—communicate the deep significance of anthropogenic (human-caused) global, biological and geophysical change?

It’s what you’ve been waiting for. . . our 2022 lineup of tide-turning films is here! All screenings are free (with a suggested $8 donation) and open to the public. Seventeen virtual events will screen during the week of March 4-13. If the Omicron surge cooperates, we will be adding up to 15 in-person events—they will be offered at the same times and days as the virtual events.

For over 40 years, Chicago’s People for Community Recovery (PCR), has advanced the cause of social and environmental justice. PCR’s initial mission was to press for repairs in Altgeld Gardens, a Chicago Housing Authority development on the South Side of Chicago. However, under the leadership of Hazel Johnson, known in many quarters as Mother of the Environmental Justice Movement, PCR turned to the more serious problems of urban environmental pollution when the group learned that the Southeast side of Chicago had the highest cancer rate in the city.

It’s time to look back and celebrate all the things we’ve accomplished together this year. Here’s 2021 by the numbers.

4,046 attendees at 26 film watch parties
At each of the virtual events during the main Fest Season in March and during Earth Week in April, we learned about the climate crisis, were presented with more than 250 action ideas, and pledged to take action.

As 2021 draws to a close, it seems appropriate to take a look back—to update some of the stories and follow up on some public policy issues I’ve covered for the eNews over the past year. Such a review calls, too, for a brief assessment and a look toward the future. The opinions expressed are mine, not those of One Earth Film Festival or its governing board.

Lake Michigan, one of Chicagoland’s great treasures, is connected to the Mississippi River by a series of waterways, including the Little Calumet River, which flows through several south-side Chicago neighborhoods, carrying nearly two centuries of African American history. The African American Heritage Water Trail honors this history and the remarkable stories of African American freedom seekers and trailblazers who traveled, lived, worked, and overcame enormous obstacles around this river and its banks. Please stop right now and visit this beautiful website, where you’ll find everything you need to understand the trail and the stops along its way.

As Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Chicago, Angela Tovar has a big job: steering Mayor Lightfoot’s policy on environmental protection and climate change in addition to being a liaison between City Hall and community organizations in Chicago’s most polluted areas.

Q: What are some key points of that investment [to mitigate the effects of climate change]?

A: We’re focused on green infrastructure and flood-mitigation in vulnerable communities. And we will be planting 75,000 trees across the city over the next five years, for all the gifts trees provide, including heat mitigation. We’re supporting retrofitting for energy efficiency in low- to moderate-income housing and neighborhood-anchor institutions. And many other things—connecting residents with renewable-energy sources; finding better waste management solutions, including for organic waste; and exploring greener transportation options.

Between now and the end of this year the City of Chicago will be moving aggressively toward the conclusion of a three-year process of reevaluating the city’s relationship with its utility partner, Commonwealth Edison.

Other municipalities across the country may want to take note and look to Chicago as a model on the transition to clean, renewable energy.

The goal of the reevaluation is to re-engineer and modernize the City’s electricity delivery system to meet the demands of the 21st century. As part of a much broader agenda known as Resilient Chicago, launched in 2019, the City is reevaluating what's known as the Electric Utility Franchise Agreement (henceforth referred to as ‘the FA’), which has been in effect since 1992 and expired at the end of 2020. (It is still in force under a clause that allowed for a period of transition at expiration.)

What’s happening in Chicago, right now, is a very important, very big deal.