(Friday) Green Gathering: Better Late Than Never Edition

(Okay, so it's on a Sunday this time, but you get the idea. It's been a busy weekend here in Chicago:)

Without further ado here is our collection of the week's best links on green parenting and eco-friendly off the mainstream news that we think are worth highlighting, (with a little green window shopping thrown in here and there.

Ever wonder what it's like to walk from Chicago to Milwaukee? Neither do we frankly, but that didn't stop us from getting excited about reading how one Chicago resident, John Greenfield, recently did just this and lived to write about the "longest walk of his life"  on his blog.

Greenfield's telling makes for a very interesting look at these two Midwestern cities. Most importantly it reveals how society has become so reliant on automobiles that a person doing the most natural of things like walking could be viewed as an oddity.

The cover story in Windy City Times reports that a LGBT high school may be in the planning stages for Chicago teens, proposed by the Little Village Social Justice High School. The school intends to be inclusive of all teens regardless of sexual orientation. No word on where or when the school will open.

The debate on vaccinations continues this week in the local media. Julie Deardorff, who writes the Trib's "Julie's Health Club" blog, is a strong proponent of questioning vaccines for children. Recently Deardorff, who is mom herself, wrote:

"Questioning in itself is not a bad thing, especially since the Internet has ignited an information explosion, some of it inaccurate.

It does, however, reflect a larger crisis of confidence in public health officials and policy, which has developed partly because so many new, seemingly unnecessary vaccines have been added to the schedule and because no one can explain what causes, how to prevent or how to treat the new childhood disorders: asthma, allergies, attention deficit disorder and autism"

A segment from WBEZ radio produced by Gabriel Spitzer just this week in contrast asks the question "Vaccine Choice, or Risky Move?"  In it, Catherine Counard of the Cook County Department of Public Health describes parents who choose to avoid vaccines in pretty harsh tones.

"This is not a personal choice that they’re making. They’re making a choice for the entire community. Because they’re putting others at risk. And if their children become infected and expose a newborn infant who then dies, that’s a pretty serious consequence."

And lastly, a new L.L. Bean store will open soon in South Barrington, with a grand opening Friday and special round the clock hours. Another major retailer opening a store in a suburban shopping center, big deal right?  However, a gang of free nature related activities surely sound enticing. They include birds of prey demonstrations from the Illinois Raptor Center, and hands-on activities with the Kohl Children's Museum of Greater Chicago, Chicago Wilderness, Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, Chicago Botanical Gardens, and the Chicago Zoological Society.

The article reports L.L.Bean will also contribute $10,000 to the new South Barrington Conservancy to develop educational nature trails throughout the 35 acre lightly wooded prairie and wetland area. If you're one of the initial bunch of customers on Friday, you'll be in luck, they're giving away gift cards to the first 500 customers.

Comments

[Mallory]

I cannot believe someone walked from Milwaukee to Chicago! His story sounds incredible and I love all of his pictures of different stops he made. Thank you for putting all this news together for everyone. I never would have heard about that story.

-Mallory
Is your family connected?
http://wherefamiliesconnect.com

[Christine]

Thank you Laurie. It's great to know about L.L.Bean's contribution to Chicago Wilderness, too. And thanks so much for the tip about the gift cards.

[Laurie Brooks]

So happy to hear your mention of the South Barrington L.L.Bean store. I just thought you might like to know that the store is also a "green" store - built to the USGBC's LEED design. It's L.L.Bean's 7th LEED built store. We are contributing $10,000 to the conservancy and $15,000 to Chicago Wilderness. The line for the gift cards (valued $25-$500) usually starts the night before and we make sure the people in the line overnight are taken care of. It's a lot of fun! Hope to see you there. Thank you.