Environmental justice Archives

What a Long, Strange Garden Trip It’s Been

June 11, 2022June 14, 2022 Mike Nowak Bird Conservation Network, Breeding Bird Trends in the Chicago Region, Chicago Audubon Society, Depave Chicago, Depave Portland, improving water quality, Judy Pollock, mitigating heat islands, Peggy Malecki, Sinnissippi Audubon Society, Sounds of the Mississippi Flyway, The Mike Nowak Show, The Water Lab

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:12:52 — 63.3MB)

On our final show (for awhile), we talk about the Depave Movement across the world. Katya Reyna from Depave Portland and Mary Pat McGuire of Depave Chicago report on their respective programs. Judy Pollock and Bob Fisher from the Bird Conservation Network comment on the results of a 22-year study of breeding bird trends in the Chicago region. We’ll also play some music from Birdsongs, Volume 1-Sounds of the Mississippi Flyway by Micky Torpedo.

Climate change Conservation Environmental justice Insects Native plants Tree Care

Doug Tallamy on Fighting to Save Trees and Natural Areas

April 9, 2022April 16, 2022 Mike Nowak carbon sequestration, David J. Nowak, Doug Tallamy, Homegrown National Park, Jeannette Hoyt, native plants, Peggy Malecki, Save Bell Bowl Prairie, Save Jackson Park, The Mike Nowak Show, tree loss due to Obama Presidential Center, USDA Forest Service

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:57:07 — 56.3MB)

Author and educator Doug Tallamy returns to the show to talk about the importance of protecting and creating spaces to promote biodiversity. Jeannette Hoyt from Save Jackson Park and David J. Nowak from the USDA Forest Service in Syracuse, New York, discuss the damage done to local ecosystems–and urban neighborhoods–by removing large swaths of trees, which is happening with the construction of the Obama Presidential Center on Chicago’s south side.

Biology Climate change Conservation Environment Environmental justice Gardening Holiday Insects Native plants Natural sciences

Prairie Uprising on the Horizon

November 20, 2021November 22, 2021 Mike Nowak Chicago Rockford International Airport, Christmas cactus, climate change, Dan Kosta, environment, Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves, gardening, Hippeastrum v. Amaryllis, keeping holiday plants alive, native plants, Peggy Malecki, Save Bell Bowl Prairie, The Mike Nowak Show

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:03:08 — 58.1MB)

Two months ago, not many folks had ever heard of Bell Bowl Prairie in Rockford, Illinois. Now, it is at the forefront of a prairie uprising. Amy Doll from Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves and Chris Benda, the Illinois Botanizer, bring us up to speed on the latest developments to save this valuable remnant prairie. Dan Kosta from Vern Goers Greenhouse in Hinsdale, Illinois, has advice on which holiday plants to buy and how to keep them healthy.

Climate change Environment Environmental justice Gardening

Solutions for a Planet on the Brink

November 6, 2021November 8, 2021 Mike Nowak Bell Bowl Prairie, climate change, COP26, Dr. Allan Armitage, eco-influencer, environment, gardening, GreenTown Rockford, Peggy Malecki, Sustain Rockford, sustainability, The Mike Nowak Show

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:04:51 — 60.2MB)

Horticulturist Allan Armitage stops by to talk about his latest book, which isn’t about gardening at all. The latest attempt to stem the tide of climate change is happening at the COP26 Conference in Glasgow, Scotland. Mike, Peggy and Rick DiMaio will attempt to make sense of the proceedings, not that anyone can. GreenTown Rockford happens next week, and we’ll preview it with Brad Roos from Sustain Rockford.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:07:57 — 61.1MB)

Hog CAFOs in Illinois and other states continue to be a threat not only to the animals confined in them, but to the well-being of rural communities. In Illinois, one proposed factory farm could threaten Mahomet Aquifer, which provides water for at least 500,000 citizens in the center of the state. Members of the Socially Responsible Agriculture Project and Illinois Coalition for Clean Air & Water talk about the dangers of CAFOs and whether citizen action can stop them in their tracks.

Clean water Environment Environmental justice

Get Yer (Coal) Ash Out of the Vermillion River!

July 31, 2021August 2, 2021 Mike Nowak America's Most Endangered Rivers, American Rivers, Andrew Rehn, coal ash contamination, Earthjustice, Eco-Justice Collaborative, Jennfer Cassel, Middle Fork Vermillion River, Pam Richart, Peggy Malecki, Prairie Rivers Network, The Mike Nowak Show, water quality

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:02:15 — 58.4MB)

In a victory for clean water, Dynegy recently agreed to remove toxic coal ash from the floodplain of the Middle Fork of the Vermillion River in east central Illinois. Pam Richart from Eco-Justice Collaborative, Jenny Cassel of Earthjustice, and Andrew Rehn from Prairie Rivers Network explain how that happened only after years of work from a broad coalition of concerned groups and citizens.

Environmental justice

What a Long, Strange Garden Trip It’s Been

Doug Tallamy on Fighting to Save Trees and Natural Areas

Prairie Uprising on the Horizon

Solutions for a Planet on the Brink

Hog CAFOs Threaten Quality of Rural Life

Creating New Lives for Rescued Farm Animals

Melinda Myers Reveals Fall Gardening Secrets

Last Chance for a Clean Energy Deal in Illinois?

A Bad Week for Chicago’s Public Parks

Get Yer (Coal) Ash Out of the Vermillion River!