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Chicago Tribune
13-04-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Earth Day celebration at Expo Center features fun, environmental awareness
Northwest Indiana's annual Earth Day celebration offered up 55 vendors at the Porter County Expo Center Saturday morning in celebration of the country's 55th anniversary of the creation of Earth Day. The mood was upbeat as families with young children and folks toting free saplings mingled among gorgeous rain barrels, electric vehicles, and exotic animals while live steel pan music filled the air. Nine-year-old Abbi Wegrzyn-Sanchez, of Valparaiso, was enjoying the live animal show with her mom and three siblings. 'I actually got super pumped,' she said after leaving the stage where she got to hold a young alligator. 'When I got on the stage, I didn't even expect he was going to pick me.' Across the room, Valparaiso High School seniors from the VHS Earth Awareness Club were offering face painting to add to the fun. The club conducts recycling at the school as well as projects in the community. Student Anthony Olivarez, who's heading to the University of Colorado Boulder as an environmental studies major this fall, said the club recently helped Meadowbrook Nature Preserve clean the seeds of native plant species for distribution. 'It's cool to see the youth,' said Keri Marrs-Baron, executive director of Porter County Recycling & Waste Reduction, which sponsors the celebration. She said food waste and plastic are the two biggest trends in the recycling world right now. Her office just started a residential food collection drive offered on Wednesdays at the Coffee Creek Farmers Market. Typical food compost items like vegetable scraps are welcome, but no bones or dairy. Down the hall in the kid zone, Boy Scout Troop 907 from First Christian Church in Valparaiso is helping children build birdhouses for bluebirds. 'It's great. I love it,' said eighth grader Christopher Szevery as he helped Memphis Rugg, a first-grader at Morgan Township Elementary School, build his birdhouse. Christopher said his troop has been preparing the materials for the past month. 'Not all of them are perfect,' he said. Memphis didn't mind. 'It's cool,' he said, saying he'd put the house 'maybe in my backyard.' The fair didn't just draw children. Ariel Bribiesca, of Valparaiso, was touring with her relatives on her day off from Pratt Industries, which makes boxes from 100% recycled paper pulp right next door to the Expo Center. Her grandma, Carmen Gonzalez, of Lowell, is a repeat visitor. She said last year she 'learned about those pods that you shouldn't use in your dishwasher because they don't disintegrate all the way.' Saturday, she collected a tick identification card. 'It was really interesting,' Gonzalez said. Even those who just wanted a good shop could do so with an array of suncatchers, jewelry and art made from recycled materials, and other eco-friendly goods such as Ink Forest Eco-Friendly Screen Printing. Owner Judy Mazzuca said she's the only woman-owned and Green America green-certified screenprinter in the country. 'The pigments are suspended in oil and they're melted on top, which is why they crack and peel,' she explained of traditional plastisol screen printing. 'You also need benzene to clean them off.' The PVC used is also a known endocrine disruptor. Water-based inks, by contrast, are suspended in water, which evaporates, leaving the ink infused into the fabric, she said. For those fired up to do something about environmental toxins, the Citizens' Climate Lobby was taking names. Gary Jump, a volunteer from Illinois, was hoping to reinvigorate the Northwest Indiana chapter, which has been without a chapter leader since last year. 'You've got to go for singles, not home runs all the time,' he said of the effort to garner more individual interest and 'get Congress to pass more legislation to deal with climate change.' Earth Day is on April 22 each year. For more information on its origin, go to
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Interior Department announces $13 million to reclaim abandoned mine lands
April 9 (UPI) -- The U.S. Interior Department said Wednesday $13 million in grants are being disbursed to reclaim abandoned mine lands in an effort to revitalize coal communities. "Restoring these abandoned mine lands is an opportunity to invest in communities that helped power our nation," said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum in a statement. "By streamlining the process and cutting unnecessary red tape, we are making sure these resources reach the states quickly and efficiently. This investment is a testament to our commitment to revitalizing coal country and ensuring American families reap the benefits of a stronger, more resilient economy." The Interior Department action includes $8.6 million to Tennessee, $3.1 million to North Dakota and $1.3 million to Texas. The Interior Department said abandoned mine reclamation projects "offer long-term economic benefits by transforming previously unusable lands into viable sites for new development." The announcement comes on the heels of Tuesday Trump administration executive actions to "unleash" coal rather than regulate its pollution. Trump said Tuesday, "We're ending Joe Biden's war on beautiful, clean coal once and for all, and we're going to put the miners back to work!" The environmental group Green America maintains that so-called "clean coal" is a myth. "While some policymakers support "clean coal," coal can never be clean. It is harmful to both people and the planet," Green America said in a website statement. "Coal combustion releases the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) during combustion." The Biden administration's Energy Department announced in October 2024 a much larger $428 million investment in clean energy projects in coal communties as it sought a transition to clean energy. Biden's Interior Department in March of 2021 also made more than $260 million available for coal communities struggling with falling demand for coal. Coal fired power plants cause environmental pollution in both air and ground water that led the Environmental Protection Agency in April of 2024 to finalize new rules to reduce that pollution. Ignoring climate change science, Trump is doing the opposite, loosening coal mining restrictions. Several executive orders were signed Tuesday with the intent of reinvigorating the coal industry, including possible new coal mining on federal lands. The Interior Department said Tuesday it is now committed to "a renewed focus on coal."
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Lifestyle
- Yahoo
Fashion experts warn of troubling trend causing sharp increase in clothing prices: 'The quality … has gone down'
Luxury designers are becoming even less accessible to ordinary people due to a growing fashion trend. According to The Conversation, luxury fashion brands saw a 5% decline in growth in 2024. While this number may seem small, the cause of the decline is concerning. More affordable fast-fashion brands have caused mid-tier brands to increase prices because they want to be seen as more aspirational. In turn, high-end brands have also increased their prices to sometimes outrageous levels. For example, some Chanel bags have reached €10,000 (about $10,400). Even the prices in the secondhand market have doubled. Dupes are another cause of the price hikes. Walmart recently released an Hermès Birkin dupe. At $80, it's proving to be extremely popular. According to The Street, it's already sold out on Amazon. Dupes make luxury brands want to separate themselves from the look-alikes and pump prices higher to encourage exclusivity. Luxury brands tend to be made with better materials, so they last longer. You may think that the affordable, cute top you got on the internet was great because you didn't have to spend much money on it. However, you'll be surprised to find out what you actually bought. According to the University of Pennsylvania, "To make clothing more accessible and cheaper, the quality of the materials has gone down." These clothes are made from much cheaper materials, including synthetic fibers such as acrylic, spandex, polyester, rayon, and nylon. "Around two-thirds of all textiles today are made of plastic or have some plastic component," the University of Pennsylvania added. "Plastic fibers shed microplastics, and the lower quality they are, the more they will shed." While that item of clothing seems cheap, it doesn't last long, which means it isn't a good investment. What's your primary motivation in shopping at thrift stores? Cheaper clothes Trendier items Reduced environmental impact I don't thrift Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. The University of California explained that most items from fast-fashion companies last only 10 wears and then end up in landfills. This exacerbates the problem because it encourages more purchases. These clothes are also harmful to the environment. When you wash clothes from a fast-fashion company, microplastics come off them, and when the machine drains, those microplastics get dumped into rivers and oceans. According to Green America, 35% of global microplastics come from washing machines. Once in oceans, they can stunt the growth of marine animals and make it harder for them to eat. While breaking up with fast fashion may seem impossible, you can save money by buying higher-quality clothes — $200 or more annually. As for those worn-out fast-fashion clothes, you can send them to companies such as Trashie to recycle. In return, Trashie will give you rewards from companies such as Chewy, Uber Eats, and Allbirds. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
