Chicago’s Greenheart Shop is declaring that Black Friday will be Green Friday this year at their store, which sells Fair Trade, eco-friendly and socially conscious gifts, food, clothes and accessories.

Greenheart, a non-profit cultural exchange and storefront (at 1911 W. Division) will be serving free Fair Trade wine, cocoa and snacks to shoppers. Visitors can also see a make-your-own gift wrap demonstration. The event, on Friday, Nov. 27, when shoppers traditionally swarm the stores keeping retails in the black, will run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Those who can’t attend can still buy Greenheart products online.

The goodies sold at Greenheart benefit disadvantaged workers, coops in developing nations and support ecologically sound growing methods, like shade-grown cocoa. They include:

• 

  Clutch made of recycled saris.

  Purses and clutches made from recycled saris, such as this one made by a family of artisans near New Delhi, India, through WorldFinds, a Chicago-based organization that partners with fair trade organizations, women’s self-help groups, and small families of artisans in India, Nepal, and Indonesia.

• Beeline Honey, an all natural raw honey produced by (bees and) Sweet Beginnings, LCC, a social enterprise and transitional job program of the North Lawndale employment network in Chicago. The program helps people who face barriers to employment, particularly those with histories of criminal conviction. The Beeline enterprise helps workers establish a work history and learn productive work habits.

• Eco-friendly gift wrap that is 100 percent tree-free. Made out of recycled cotton rags, each sheet of gift wrap
  

  Wrapping paper made of recycled rags.

  offers unique colors and patterns. Customers can specify a color preference for these 22 x 32-inch sheets of wrap made by Artisans at the Eco Friendly Papers workshop in Rajasthan, India, who collect cotton waste, such as rags, and turn it into a pulp.

The shop also sells soy candles, women’s dresses, baby accessories, reusable water bottles, Fair Trade cocoa and more.

To read more about Greenheart and its work around the world, see the history on their website.

The Greenheart storefront is open  M-F 11-7; Sat 11-6; Sun 12-5; products are available online.

This Saturday is International Day of Climate Action — a chance for everyone to take a stand on behalf of the planet and possibly participate in one of 4,300 actions that are planned in 171 countries.

With participation numbers like that, the number “350″ is becoming a popular rallying cry.

“We had no idea it would go viral like this. It seems far-fetched that you could get that many people to rally around a scientific data point, but the number just keeps climbing. It shows just how scared of global warming much of the planet really is, and how fed up at the inaction of our leaders,” said Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org.

Added Matt Fitzgerald, a organizer for the group: “We’ve been hearing from the politicians and the corporations, now we’re hearing from the people. And in over 170 countries they’re calling for a Copenhagen agreement that sets us on a rapid path to 350.”

350.org began the International Day of Climate Action campaign not only to wake up politicians, but wake up the world. The group wants everyone to know about and understand the number 350, which signifies the level many scientists have identified as the safe utmost limit for CO2 in the atmosphere, in parts per million.

Here are a few unique events around the US:

Austin

• Get Clean to Get Green

The Guadalupe Neighborhood Development Corporation’s (GNDC) extremely affordable, net-zero energy subdivision is truly raising the bar for local, affordable, community-based development. This large infill project involves subdividing approximately 7.2 acres into four tracts, which will be developed into both multi-family condominiums and single-family homes. Currently the land is vacant, and remediation of the brownfield is starting Saturday. Every unit on this property will have net-zero energy bills. A large portion of these units will be affordable to extremely low-income households. Join in and get dirty.

• Education Stroll

Join in a moving forum that will not only be good for you, but for the planet. Participants will take a walk in their neighborhood or across the city to talk with people about the urgent need to reduce our carbon emissions so we can quickly scramble back to 350ppm. Walkers/educators are asked to carry signs illustrating important concepts and will stop in businesses along the way (where appropriate and arrangements have been previously made) to speak with larger groups. Spread the environmental word.

Chicago

• Chalk Walk

Columbia College Chicago will be celebrating the arts and bringing awareness to the environment. The college will demonstrate how one can make their own paper by reusing old paper and turning it into pulp. Later, each person will be given a piece of chalk in to use to trace their “carbon footprint” on the sidewalk. Participants will make a pledge, write something meaningful, and decorate their footprint however they would like. There will be volunteers and organizations showcasing art and visual displays along the walk. There will be art stations, tables, and anything else participants want to use to express themselves.

• Go Go Green

The 2009 Go Go Green 5K will raise awareness about the urban ecosystem and educate the community on eco-friendliness on Saturday at Diversey Harbor. People of all ages are welcome. Participants are encouraged to bring household recyclables, old batteries and gym shoes to the race. The race begins at 9am.

Dallas

• Boomer Green Teams

Volunteers will be saving money while saving the environment for area senior citizens. Participants will be installing free compact fluorescent light bulbs for low-income senior citizens. This simple task will reduce electricity consumption and carbon emissions.

Los Angeles

• Eat Locally, Think Globally

Enjoy socially responsible fine dining, with locally sourced foods and wines at unique sophisticated venues. Created and produced by Chef Rico Mandel & Helen McHugh, their new concept “Restaurant without Walls” blends the social consciousness of environmental awareness with a luxurious gourmet culinary theme at specially contracted, interchangeable locations.

New York

• Dance to Save the World: Studio 54

Join 250 movers and shakers at Studio 54, for StartingBloc’s second annual Fellow-run fundraiser, BLOC PARTY II. This year they will be celebrating “social innovators”, presenting an inaugural award to Majora Carter, an environmental justice and green jobs pioneer from the South Bronx who has worked on climate change initiatives most of her career.

• Climate at the Cathedral

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine invites the community to come join in ringing bells, delivering messages and taking photos to commemorate IDCA. The cathedral will ring its iconic bells 350 times.

Anywhere

• Twitter Hour

Maybe you do not have a couple of hours to get out this Saturday. It is OK. You can still make a difference from the comfort of your own home. Twitter has swiftly become the new communication tool for people everywhere, even celebrities and politicians. So TWEET it.

President Barack Obama is one of the people with the most power to create a positive outcome at the upcoming Copenhagen meeting. Let him know that 350 ppm target is the only way to stop the planet tipping into climate crisis. From 12-1 EDT, send “USA MUST formally adopt the 350ppm CO2 target at Copenhagen 09 – the ONLY WAY to prevent runaway climate change NO EXCUSES!” All the tweets sent to President Barack Obama need to contain the same message, to create maximum impact, according to 350.org.

It is not too late to join an event or even register your own. Either way, make this Saturday about something much larger than yourself.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

GreenTown: The Future of Community is a one day conference that aims to help small, medium or large communities become more sustainable.

Featuring speakers like Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and hosted by Columbia College Chicago and sponsored by the City of Chicago, GreenTown will take place this Thursday in downtown Chicago at the Film Row Cinema. The conference, which is put on by a5 inc. and Seven Generations Ahead, is in its second year and is a carbon neutral event.

The purpose of GreenTown is “to bring together the public and private sector to discuss and determine ways to create sustainable communities. We have mayors and city managers, city council members and public works directors mingling with planners, architects, landscape architects and providers of product and services that can make healthier communities,” said John Harris with a5 inc.

The conference will feature five key environmental aspects, largely based on the climate action plan, including:

• Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
• Transportation
• Adaptation to Climate Change
• Design and Building
• Waste Reduction

This event showcases national and local leaders who are at the forefront in sustainable urbanism, transit-oriented development, brownfield and riverfront re-development, green building, renewable energy, municipal food scrap recycling, zero waste schools, local food systems and more.

The event’s key speakers include:

• Richard M. Daley – mayor of Chicago, Illinois, that began Chicago’s environmental movement in 2006 with increased rooftop gardens, park space, and renewable energy use.
• Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. – named one of TIME magazine’s “Hero’s for the Planet”, currently serves as the Vice Chair and Chief Prosecuting Attorney for Riverkeeper and Chairman of Waterkeeper Alliance
• Bob Dixson – mayor of Greensburg, Kansas, the town that was wiped out by an f5 tornado two years ago that is aiming to be the model green community by sustainably rebuilding.

It is not too late to register. GreenTown Chicago is open to anyone. There are discounts given to companies that have more than one person attending, as well as non-profit organizations, and students.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

By Hosea Sanders and Sylvia Jones

CHICAGO (WLS) — More people are deciding to save energy by installing solar panels — even while the debate continues over whether they are worth the investment. One way to live green while saving money is to conserve energy. If you’ve ever wondered whether solar panels are really the best way to do that, you can find out through an upcoming “solar tour.” >> Read the full story

President Bill Clinton will deliver the keynote speech today to kick off annual Climate Leadership Summit for members of the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment. Six hundred fifty college and university presidents have joined the effort, a comprehensive global warming initiative through which schools are committing to neutralize greenhouse gas emissions on their campuses, dedicating research and programs to the development of climate change solutions, and training their students to address the climate crisis upon graduation.

Approximately 250 higher education leaders are expected to attend the summit in Chicago.

“The sustainability and climate efforts on college and university campuses nationwide are a great start and an inspiring example for all of society, but they are not happening fast enough to match the speed and severity of climate disruption,” Michael Crow, president of Arizona State University and a co-chair of the ACUPCC Network, said in a statement. “We’ve come together this week to get down to business to figure out how to accelerate the pace and success of our efforts.”

The event helps university and college presidents, business officers, facilities managers, and other higher education leaders determine how to better access financing to support climate and sustainability efforts and create or expand their climate action plans.

In addition to President Clinton, other speakers include Martha J. Kanter, US Undersecretary of Education; S. Richard Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chairman of the US Green Building Council; Peter M. Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline and founding chair of the Society for Organizational Learning; and Janine Benyus, biologist and author of six books including Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature.

Fourth Emerald Gala
Chicago
May 16, 2009 — 6pm-midnight
Swissotel
U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) – Chicago Chapter hosts the Fourth Emerald Gala, the preeminent celebration of the sustainable building movement in Illinois, attracting over 600 leaders of the green building community. The USGBC – Chicago Chapter will recognize the 2009 Natural Leaders Award recipients. Awards will be given in the following four categories – Intent to Matter, Re-Generation, SMALL feet/ large FEAT and Environmotion. Award winners respectively are Environmental Law and Policy Center; Vincent Iturralde, principal of Tarkington School of Excellence; Saint Xavier University; and Uncommon Ground. Tickets are available for purchase on the USGBC – Chicago Chapter’s website or by contacting the Chicago Chapter office at 312-245-8300. Please RSVP by May 1, 2009.

Openlands’ Green Teachers Network
Chicago
October 18, 2008 through April 29, 2009, 9:00am
There are four workshops during the school year when teachers can meet and receive information about how to turn an outdoor garden, or even a sunny classroom space, into a living laboratory at 25 E. Washington #1650
Cost $80.00
Emily Rice Openlands 312-863-6260