University
of Illinois at Chicago Office of Public Affairs (MC 288)
601 S. Morgan St., Chicago, IL 60607-7113, (312) 996-3456, www.uic.edu/depts/paff
| March 29, 2000 | Contact: Bill Burton, (312) 996-2269, burton@uic.edu |
EARTH MONTH 2000 AT UIC
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the first Earth Day, and the University of Illinois at Chicago has a month of activities planned for April. Highlights include the dedication of a taxonomic garden of native plant species, a Bike Week that offers free on-site tune-ups and breakfasts to bicycle commuters, and a "Great Stuff Exchange" to swap and reuse office supplies.
Distinguished speakers will address topics from urban ecology to rainforest-derived medicines to environmental pollution and cancer.
Earth Month 2000 is organized by UIC's Green Campus Council, a group of individuals, organizations, and academic and administrative departments from across campus that seeks to ensure that UIC, as an urban educational institution, is environmentally aware and responsible.
All events are free and open to the public. For more information, call 996-2517.
March 30: The Annual Scholarship Association Lecture by Robert Bieder: "The Politics of Denial: America and Global Warming," 2- 4 p.m., Student Services Building, room A, 1200 W. Harrison St. In spite of recent dramatic shifts in weather patterns, American leaders continue to find it difficult to respond to the threat of global warming. Bieder, from Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs, looks for the reasons why, focusing on the period between the Rio Conference in 1992 and the Kyoto Conference in 1997.
April 3 - 7: The Great Stuff Exchange, 11 a.m.- 2 p.m. daily, Chicago Circle Center, concourse, 750 S. Halsted St. Unwanted but useful office supplies will be exchanged. UIC's Micro/Station will also be collecting spent batteries, CD's, floppies and inkjet cartridges for recycling. The exchange is organized by the UICycle Waste Reduction and Recycling Program.
April 7: College of Pharmacy lecture by Djaja Soejarto, professor of pharmacognosy and University Scholar: "Exploring the Potential of Tropical Biodiversity to Human Health: A New Age,"12:30 - 2 p.m., College of Pharmacy, room 134-2, 833 S. Wood St. Soejarto will present his research on potentially useful medicinal plants used by primitive cultures and found in increasingly threatened areas of tropical rainforest.
April 12: Wellness In Action 2000: Earth Jam, 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., Chicago Circle Center, concourse, 750 S. Halsted St. The Wellness Center and Wellness Consortium will sponsor more than 25 health and wellness booths -- from massage and color consulting to office ergonomics and recycling -- as well as a music jam headlined by the Fabulous Janes.
April 13: "Wilderness on the Campus - and an Ecological Vision to Transform the Chicago Region," a lecture by Stephen Packard, noon - 1:30 p.m., Science and Engineering South, room 230, 845 W. Taylor St. In conjunction with the planting of UIC's taxonomic garden of native plants, Packard will speak on the restoration of healthy grasslands, forests and wetlands, and how nature relates to the suburban sprawl, clean air and the metropolitan transportation plan. Packard, of the National Audubon Society, is an originator of "Chicago Wilderness," the globally respected collaboration of 107 major organizations in 14 counties around Chicago that is restoring and changing both the ecology and economics of the region.
Photo Op April 14: UICSEED Project Dedication and Planting of UIC's New Taxonomic Garden, 10:00 a.m., lawn north of Taylor St. and east of Halsted St. Most of the plants we see around Chicago are "exotic," that is not originating from our local ecosystems. UIC's new taxonomic garden, a collaborative project of Facilities Management and Biological Sciences, will grow native plant species representing the flora indigenous to the Chicago area. Each garden plot will represent a different plant family, from the pink Gramineae to the blue Scrophulariaceae. The plants will be used both to propagate seeds to be shared with Cook County natural areas, as well as to provide an educational resource for biology students and others in the UIC community. Light refreshments and garden gloves provided.
April 17-21: UIC Bike Week - Cars and trucks create more than 40 percent of the air pollution in our region. Bikes create none. UIC Cycling Club and the Bike Working Group of UIC's Green Campus Council have planned a week of activities to encourage bike commuting to school and work, including the following:
Photo Op April 17 & 19: Free Breakfast for Bike Commuters/"Bike-o-Meter Challenge," 7:30 -10:30 a.m., East Campus plaza, west of Chicago Circle Center, 750 S. Halsted St. Those arriving by bike will be treated to free food and bike-related prize drawings. Participants can also take the "Bike-o-Meter Challenge" on stationary bikes to test biking power - rain or shine.
Photo Op April 18 & 21: Bike Tune-up and Fix-up, 7:30 - 10:30 a.m., East Campus plaza, west of Chicago Circle Center, 750 S. Halsted St. Representatives of the University Police and UIC Cycling Club will have tuning stands and tools at the Bike Week booth to diagnose mechanical problems and perform bike adjustments.
April 20: "Bicycling to Work or School," a lecture by Dave Glowacz, author of "Urban Bikers' Tricks & Tips - Low Tech & No Tech Ways to Find, Ride, and Keep a Bicycle," noon, Lecture Center F1. Glowacz will speak on the nitty-gritty of choosing city routes, carrying stuff, looking and smelling good, and beating bike theft.
April 24: Lecture by Sandra Steingraber, author of "Living Downstream: An Ecologist Looks at Cancer and the Environment," noon - 1:30 p.m., place to be announced. Steingraber is both a poet and a biologist, and her book combines gripping personal narrative with a scientific analysis of the evidence linking cancer to environmental contamination. Her focus is the people of Illinois, who daily face industrial and agricultural poisons and who strive to lessen their use.
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