Board Meeting Notice

A friendly reminder that there is a MWRDGC Board Meeting at 10:00am on Thursday, June 16, 2011. The Board Meetings are held in the Board Room at 100 East Erie Street, Chicago. All members of the public are welcome to attend. Click here for Board Meeting details and agenda.

Excellence in Protecting our Water Environment Award

I presented my 2010 Excellence in Protecting our Water Environment Award to Food & Water Watch for their exceptional leadership in protecting our food and water environment. Emily Carroll accepted the award on behalf of the organization.


I also presented an award to Robert Johnson, S.E., P.E., for his exceptional leadership throughout the years in educating our children in engineering.

Reducing Pesticides on MWRD Land

I presented a motion that was passed at the District’s May 5th, 2011 Board Meeting to develop a policy to reduce, restrict, and ultimately eliminate the use of chemical pesticides on District-owned Land through the use of sustainable pest control practices. Pesticides are linked to a variety of known adverse health effects in people as well as environmental impacts to water, soil, air, and wildlife. Sustainable pest control practices depend on effective long-term solutions that emphasize prevention and methods that cause the least harm to people and the environment. The reduction and ultimately the removal of pesticides through the adoption of sustainable pest control practices will reduce the run-off of pesticides in our watershed and promote public health and the environment. The policy will be developed in the next couple months and presented again for board approval. This is an important step for the District to be a leader in environmental issues.

Sunscreens and Cancer

New study raises concerns about many sunscreens actually accelerating cancer risk. Read about it here.

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day! I hope everyone takes a moment today to give back to our beautiful earth.

Check out this Earth Day post about how blue is the new green

Green Family Festival

I attended the Green Family Festival that was held at the Irish American Heritage Center on April 17th and 18th, 2010. I was on the advisory board for the festival, which was an Earth Day Celebration for families to share natural, healthy ways to raise children and positively impact their communities and the environment. It was a fun, interactive and educational festival for families with children of all ages. In the picture above, I am with the organizers of the festival: Tim McDonnell, Executive Director of the Irish American Heritage Center, Mary Johnson Gorski of the Irish American Heritage Center and Co-Chair of the festival, and Marybeth Rebedeau of the Green Parents Network and Co-Chair of the festival. I presented a MWRDGC resolution to the organizers in honor of the Green Family Festival. I appreciate and applaud their dedication to organizing the festival and promoting healthy, happy homes.


At the festival we had Chef Carole Nyitray cook up some tasty Asian carp dishes. In the picture above we are tasting the Asian carp tacos. Chef Carole also made Asian carpcakes, and Asian carp chowder.


I moderated the Asian Carp Update Panel at the Festival. Speakers on the panel included Ed Staudacher, Civil Engineer with the MWRDGC, Steve Pescitelli, stream biologist for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Colonel Vincent J. Quarles, Chicago District Commander for the US Army Corps of Engineers, Mike Weimer, Assistant Regional Director for US Fish and Wildlife, and Todd Main, Senior Policy Advisor for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. We discussed the current state of the Asian carp issue here in Illinois.


I also helped organize the Environmentalism and Religion: An Interfaith Discussion Panel which was moderated by Tim McDonnell, Executive Director of the Irish American Heritage Center. Featured on the panel were Jill Zenof, Director of the Gan Project, Father Thomas J Loya, STB, MA pastor of the Annunciation of the Mother of God Byzantine Catholic Parish in Homer Glen, IL, Reverend Doctor Velma E. King, and Sheikh Kifah Mustapha an Imam and the Associate Director of the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview, IL. The panel discussed the role that different religions can play in promoting environmental stewardship.

National Pesticide Forum

On April 9th and 10th, I attended Greening the Community: The 28th Annual Pesticide Forum in Cleveland, Ohio. The Forum was organized by Beyond Pesticides and focused on pesticide-free communities, opportunities for a green economy, organic lawns and community spaces, pesticides and health, Great Lakes and water, and much more. It was a very informative and eye-opening conference.