solar energy

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Oak Park Church Preaches the Green Gospel

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Oak Park Church Preaches the Green Gospel

Editor’s note: Euclid Avenue United Methodist Church will host an in person double feature for the One Earth Film Fest at 6:30 p.m. Friday, March 10: “The Falconer” + “Mardi & The Whites.” Doors open 45 minutes early to enjoy refreshments, visit with community partners, check in/register, and get best seats. Free registration here.

Located just 20 minutes by bicycle from Frank Lloyd Wright’s celebrated house in Oak Park, Illinois, Euclid Avenue United Methodist Church is the Village’s epicenter of sustainability initiatives. The 22,500-square-foot church was built in 1900 and remained the same, more or less, until the early 2010’s, when its leaders bit the green bullet. By 2014, they had completed two major energy-saving upgrades to the building. 

From Shoe Factory to School: This Green Building's in a Class by Itself

From Shoe Factory to School: This Green Building's in a Class by Itself

Historecycle has emerged from fall hibernation with renewed energy, like an aging building newly retrofitted with LED lights. For the past several months, we’ve been Sherlock Holmes-ing a few “mystery” structures we’ve discovered, to dig into their murky past. And the rigorous pursuit of historical data has been like a shot in the arm.

Take, for example, the former B. & B. Shoe Company factory, which dates to at least the 1920s. Located in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood, B. & B.’s workers used sewing machines to turn out footwear by the hundreds, starting most likely in the 1940s. By 1992 the three-story brick building had been sold to the current owners and reopened as the Catherine Cook School.

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Electrifying Our Old Oak Park Home: Going Solar

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Electrifying Our Old Oak Park Home: Going Solar

As bad news about climate change continues to frequent the headlines, it can feel hopeless. What could we, a single household, possibly do to make a meaningful contribution to such a huge, global problem? Should we recycle more? Stop eating meat? Stop using plastic bags?

We’re often told these kinds of actions help. But if we step back and look at the bigger picture, it becomes clear that these kinds of efficiency and lifestyle changes won’t be enough. Climate scientists and the UN have told us we need to get to net zero emissions by 2050. Is there anything more we could possibly be doing to ensure a more sustainable future for our kids?

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How Community Solar Saves Us Money While Helping the Planet

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How Community Solar Saves Us Money While Helping the Planet

Like many other Oak Parkers, our family tries to live in an environmentally responsible way. We compost food waste, eat meat-free and organic, and drive electric cars. When we lived in a single-family house, we imagined installing solar panels on the roof, but it wasn't practical or, at the time, affordable. When we downsized into a condo, we faced the challenge of getting buy-in from our fellow owners to add a rooftop solar array, and the available space would have been too small to make much of a dent in our building’s electricity consumption.

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A Big Dose of Climate Reality in Oak Park

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A Big Dose of Climate Reality in Oak Park

On November 20 and 21, three of Climate Reality Project’s 1600 worldwide events were held in Oak Park. The Climate Reality Project, a global non-profit organization founded by Al Gore, is tasked with explaining the science of climate change and the already-existing solutions to the current crisis to people all over the world.

The first of three “24 Hours of Reality: Truth to Action” presentations in Oak Park was held at Oak Park River Forest High School. Sponsored by the school’s Environmental Club and young leaders of It’s Our Future, the after-school talk was given by Lisa Albrecht, an experienced climate change educator and owner of the local business All Bright Solar.