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| Book Rescue |
| Our Book Rescue project "rescues" books that are no longer needed, and gets them into the hands of children in need. Please keep this project in mind when your schools gets rid of books or if you need some books for your classroom.
April 13, 2008 9-11 am
Normal Book Rescue Hours: LABOR DAY TO MEMORIAL DAY:
-Monday - Friday
9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
-Tuesday evenings until 7 PM
-The 2nd Saturday of the month 9- 11 a.m.
Location 799 Roosevelt Road
Building 2, Suite 108
Glen Ellyn, Illinois 60137
8:00AM-5:00PM
NEEDED! Reading Books -- If you are doing spring cleaning, we are in need of reading books for ages newborn - high school |
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| April 2008 Ripples
Volume 19, Issue 8 |
April, 2008 |
Dear Earth Stewards,
 Birthdays are times we set aside to honor the celebrity of the day and let them know just how much they mean to us. On Earth Day we pause to pay tribute to the planet & all its treasures. But Earth, like each of us, is always special, and needs to be protected, respected, and celebrated, each and every day of the year. Take action, on this 38th Anniversary of Earth Day; on the 136th Anniversary of Arbor Day 4/25; & every day, because Every Day really is Earth Day!
Environmentally yours, Kay McKeen
Your email address will be kept strictly to send Scarce email and will not be shared. Our newsletters come from scarce.ecoed@sbcglobal.net. Please take a minute to add this email address to your address book to make sure your spam filter does not block it. If you'd like to forward to a friend, use the link at the bottom of the newsletter.
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Calling All 2008 Earth Flag / Recertification / E-Flag Schools
 All DuPage County schools that are working to earn the Earth Flag, Recertification, or E-Flag this year are asked to please call us very soon, 630-545-9710, to schedule your awards ceremony. We are proud of you all and can't wait to award it to your school!
Below is a thoughtful reflection about this Earth Flag some of you are about to be awarded. It was written by Margaret Mead (1901-1978), distinguished anthropologist, intellectual, scientist, author, advisor to many presidents - to list a few of the hats she wore. In 1969, this unique environmental hero was even named "Mother of the World" by Time Magazine! "Mother's" own words, written not long before she died:
 The Earth Flag is my symbol of the task before us all. Only in the last quarter of my life have we come to know what it means to be custodians of the future of the Earth - to know that unless we care, unless we check the rapacious exploitations of our Earth and protect it, we are endangering the future of our children and our children's children. We did not know this before, except in little pieces. People knew that they had to take care of their own ... but it was not until we saw the picture of the Earth, from the Moon, that we realized how small and how helpless this planet is - something that we must hold in our arms and care for."
- Margaret Mead, March 21, 1977 |
EPA: "Recycle Old Pills & Electronics For Healthy Great Lakes"
 To help protect five of Earth's most precious resources, the Great Lakes, USEPA invites everyone to join the Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge and recycle at least a million pounds each of outdated or unwanted  medicines and electronics waste from April 19 - 27. Irresponsible disposal of these items is a threat to the Great Lakes - the largest source of surface fresh drinking water on earth!
In DuPage, we are fortunate to have several opportunities around Earth Day to recycle our old computers and capsules, our pills and our printers, and all old, outdated and no-longer-wanted electronics and medicines. Expired/leftover medicines, along with many more household hazardous wastes can be dropped off on Earth Weekend (April 19-20) and every weekend at the Regional Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) drop-off site in Naperville. In addition, HHW may be dropped off at DuPage County's HHW Collection in Elmhurst on May 3.
On Saturday, April 19, Sims will hold an electronics collection at its West Chicago site. And in honor of the Great Lakes Challenge, Sims will also collect electronics at Wheaton's Extravaganza, on the same day. Thanks, Sims, for TAKING ACTION on Earth Day 2008!
FYI: Anyone can participate at ALL events! Read more about the Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, West Chicago & Elmhurst Collections, in this newsletter, and in the flyers for each event (links below).
HHW permanent drop-off site details
Great Lakes Challenge Earth Day poster & more |
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Laptops For Guatemalan Children
If you have a working laptop you no longer want/need, you can still donate it through April 11 for Guatemalan children. Get details at ROE website or call us or ROE Asst. Superintendent Dr. Bookler: 630-497-5772. The computer must work, but the battery needn't, as the laptops will be converted to solar power. |
DuPage County Household Hazardous Waste Collection: May 3, 8am-3pm
Free Event, Elmhurst Public Works ~ Hotline # 630-407-6760
DPC-HHW online - Naperville site open every weekeng
For more information, open flyer for Elmhurst event |
APPROVED IL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROVIDERS (PDP # 100363)
THESE POPULAR WORKSHOPS ARE FAST-PACED, HANDS-ON AND ONE-OF-A-KIND!
LOTS OF RESOURCES! LOTS OF LEARNING! LOTS OF FUN!
TEACHERS SAY THESE ARE AMONG THEIR ALL-TIME FAVORITE WORKSHOPS!
7th Annual "Shed Those Watershed Blues" 3-12 Teacher Workshop
Thursday & Friday, June 12 & 13, 2008 8 AM - 4:30 PM
Official Aurora U. title and course# Watershed Issues for Teachers, OEDC 6158
 Teachers, we'll splash around in the water at our watershed workshop (it's fun - educational too!); we'll hop on the bus, pull up our boots, get right into the river, and learn about the quality of our own streams' waters. We'll conduct water tests & identify benthic macro-invertebrates - those interesting bottom-dwelling mussels, crayfish, etc., that serve as indicators of water quality. We will even climb to the rooftops to learn - up close and personal - about green roofs.
The first day is spent in class building watershed models and more, to learn what we (and our students) can do to protect our watersheds and keep them clean. Day two is filled with visits to several watersheds and stormwater management solution sites. Jump into this class with both feet!
* $15 course fee includes AM & PM snacks and 15 CPDUs
* 1 Graduate Credit from Aurora University ($100 additional)
10th Annual Where Is Away? K-12 Teacher Workshop
Monday-Friday, June 16-20, 2008 8 AM - 4:30 PM
And 6/26, 8 AM-Noon, if taking for grad credit*
Official Aurora U. title and course # Environmental Issues and Concerns, OEDC 6979
 Let us immerse you in trash - well, in the problems, concerns and solutions that surround the "stuff" we make and buy and use and throw away, day in and day out! We'll travel by bus to explore landfills, recycling centers and other sites, to help us understand the many processes that deal with all this garbage. And we'll take time each day to experiment, build, discuss and digest where we have been and why.
* $75 course fee includes AM & PM snacks and 7 CEU's
* 3 Graduate Credits from Aurora University ($225 additional)
· If taking WIA for graduate credit, follow-up meeting is required. All lessons must be presented to fellow participants during this week so lessons can be graded & recorded within Aurora U. time limits. (A 2nd date will be chosen during that same week, by those who cannot make the 6/26 date.
Participants at both courses need to pack waste-free lunches every day.
Those taking either summer course for graduate credit will have a project to complete.
Each day will begin & end at SCARCE headquarters in Glen Ellyn. Space is limited.
These exciting workshops are presented by SCARCE, w/funding through DuPage County's Environmental Education Program. Our professional development provider number is 100363.
Click HERE register for SHED those Watershed Blues
Click HERE to register for Where Is Away? |
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UNEP "TUNZA" Project Aims To Inspire Children Through Literature
 In Swahili, tunza means "to treat with care and affection". The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) has borrowed the word for one of its special programs. The Tunza Project is a strategy that aims to inspire young people to care for Earth by providing them with information and tools - a series of planned activities; a magazine; platforms for them to share their experiences with others around the globe; and with creative literature that sparks the interest and awareness of children, their parents and their teachers.
 Divided into sections for children and teens, the Tunza website is rich with literature, from the delightful to the profound, and stunningly illustrated. Theo and the Giant Plastic Ball is a funny little story of a boy who learns a lot about plastic bags, littering, and how he was able to make a difference. Nine titles for children (i.e., Tessa & the Fishy Mystery and Ozzy Ozone: Ozzy Goes Polar), and nearly 2 dozen for teens (i.e., Meltdown, Islandsand Sport & Environment) are available. All can be purchased or downloaded, and are available in English, French & Spanish. Don't miss this must-see web site
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Whole Foods To Sack Plastic Bags Starting On Earth Day
 Congratulations are in the bag for Whole Foods. In a bold effort to encourage its customers to reuse, beginning April 22, the grocer will eliminate all disposable plastic bags from its 270 stores in the US, Canada & Britain. (Shoppers will be encouraged to bring in - or buy - their own reusable bags, but the company will continue to offer 100% recycled paper grocery bag when necessary - it is the one & only food retailer in North America to offer them.)
Whole Foods, committed to ongoing consumer education, invited SCARCE to its Willowbrook store recently. Team member Steve Kenny brought in the Energy Bike, and helped shoppers and employees see & feel for themselves just how much energy it takes to "pedal up" an incandescent bulb versus a CFL on the Bike.
Did You Know? Worldwide, 500 billion plastic bags are produced every year (close to 1,000 bags for each person on the planet). About 4 billion of them end up as litter. |
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June 5: UNEP World Environment Day
 The slogan for UNEP's World Environment Day 2008 is "Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy." This year, the UNEP is inviting individuals, businesses, organizations, and governments to focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. UNEP even lists its "12-Step Program" highlighting initiatives and resources that encourage low carbon economies and lifestyles (energy efficiency, alternative energy sources, reduction and reuse, resource conservation, etc.).
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HS Sustainable Design Students Take Show On Road
 DuPage County will host the 2nd Annual Sustainable Design HS Challenge Tuesday, April 8. The students will have completed the green building models they designed, with the advice and guidance of Chicago-area green architects. All 116 participating students will be on hand to show off their projects from 9-11:30am outside the County Board Room at the DPC building, at 421 N. County Farm Road in Wheaton. Last year, more than 5 dozen students stepped up to the challenge and thoroughly impressed the Board Members and everyone who had the opportunity to speak with them and to check out the amazing projects they created. The public is welcome to drop by! 630-545-9710.
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ANYONE IS WELCOME TO PARTICIPATE AT ALL OF THESE EVENTS
~ NEED NOT BE CITY OR COUNTY RESIDENTS ~
èè RECYCLING EXTRAVAGANZAS çç
èè Wheaton: Saturday, April 19, 9am-3pm
Commuter Parking Lot, Liberty & Carlton ~ Contact# 630-545-9710
In honor of USEPA's goal to keep 1,000,000 pounds of electronics out of the landfill, SIMS will collect electronics at Wheaton's Extravaganza. Thanks, SIMS!
For information, open flyer
èè West Chicago (Electronics Only): Sat, April 19, 8am-2pm
SIMS, 1600 Harvester ~ Contact # 630-231-6060
For information, open flyer
èè Glen Ellyn: Saturday, April 26, 8am-noon
Commuter Parking Lot at Duane & Lorraine ~ Contact # 312-353-3962
For information, open flyer
EARTH DAY ACTION:"Let each one reach one"
High Schools volunteers needed to:
* Reach out to neighbors, family, friends, church - inform them of these events, and
* Gather their recyclables - as well as your own - and drop them off
* Call to HELP OUT on Extravaganza Days! 630-545-9710 |
EARTH DAY ACTION:Adopt an "Adopt-A" Program With Class
Why adopt an animal?
þ encourages desire to learn
þ helps to create special bonds between people and animals
þ helps zoos/conservation organizations in their wildlife research, preservation & conservation efforts
þ helps directly support animals & their habitats - locally and/or globally
þ Willowbrook Wildlife, Glen Ellyn: Rather than an adopt program, WW has a "wish list" of ongoing needs, such as equipment, tools, food, enrichment toys, & medical supplies
þ You really CAN be a monkey's uncle!
Animal Adoption Agencies
Audubon Nature Inst. Adopt-Animal
Brookfield Zoo Share the Care
Cosley Zoo Animal Adoption
Lincoln Park Zoo Adopt-An-Animal
Shedd Aquarium Breeding Success
Willowbrook Wildlife Wish List
Why adopt a highway/road/schoolyard/park?
 þ It gives people a sense of pride, responsibility, ownership in their school/community environment
þ Did you know IL has the 3rd largest road system in USA? 1,700 volunteer groups collect 32,000 bags of trash each year! Even w/this tremendous effort, IL spends $12.5 million annually on litter pickup!
þ Check if your town has a program to adopt a park/road/parkway
Highway Adoption Agencies
Illinois Adopt-A-Highway
Lisle Adopt-A-Road
 Why adopt a rainforest?
þ Contribute to small conservation groups in tropical countries that work to stop rainforest destruction
þ Donations support sustainable management and purchase of tropical forest lands
Rainforest Adoption Agencies
Rainforest Alliance Adopt-A-Rainfores
Nature Conservancy Adopt-An-Acre Today
 Why adopt a tree?
þ Free program helps children achieve greater appreciation of trees and their contributions to our lives. For 6th-8th graders; focus is on tree anatomy and physiology.
þ Check this one out for Arbor Day!
Tree Adoption Agency
Univ. of IL Extension Adopt-A-Tree
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Gym Shoe Collection: April 22-May 20
 Schools, churches, individuals - everyone is welcome to donate gym shoes. Gym/Athletic/Tennis Shoes - any brand, any condition; "light-up" shoes are okay. NO spikes or cleats; NO dress shoes/slippers/sandals, NO anything that is not a gym shoe. Drop off: April 22 - May 20 at SCARCE in Glen Ellyn. Call to let us know you plan to Collect: 630-545-9710. Inspire your students to action: borrow our kits with AWESOME videos/DVDs that show the demanufacturing process of gym shoes and samples of products made from recycled "NikeGrind". Details on our Shoe Rescue Web Page
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Earth Month Action: HS volunteers are needed to:
Inform family, friends, neighbors, school, church, businesses about the event.
Collect and drop off the shoes if they cannot.
Help sort, count, pack, move boxes & remove batteries from light-up shoes.
Call 630-545-9710 to volunteer.
End of Year Action:
Recycle glue bottles; organize locker/desk leftover; donate old books
þ  Join Elmer's Glue Crew: Gather empty Elmer's Glue sticks & bottles. Drop off anytime between 4/22 and end of school year at your nearest Wal-Mart. Save the bottles! Save the sticks! Save the planet!
þ Conduct a school-wide desk/locker leftover collection: Call us for simple guidelines.
þ Donate no longer wanted/needed text, reference, & library books: Books are always needed in schoolrooms - around the corner and around the world. 1,370 textbooks were just sent to a secondary school we are helping to stock in Ghana. Three million gently-used, no-longer wanted/needed books have found new homes (in 25% of the world's countries!) since 1992, when our Book Rescue first opened its doors.
 Needed are: K-12 texts; reference books such as atlases, thesauruses, and especially dictionaries (English, foreign language, dual language, picture); and newborn-12th grade storybooks and other library books (board books, children's, HS classics).
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May 6: World Asthma Day
 One of the most common chronic diseases, affecting 300 million worldwide and on the increase especially among children, is asthma. To raise awareness and improve asthma care, World Asthma Day (WAD), was created in 1998. WAD has since become one of the world's most important asthma awareness and education events.
June 9 marks two years since IL passed a law reducing idling from diesel-engine vehicles. This law reduces diesel emissions and soot levels which are harmful to the health of both people and the environment. Both of these days go a long way to help clear the air around our children.
Schools throughout greater Chicagoland have adopted no-idling policies for parents dropping off and picking up their children. If yours isn't one, don't sit "idly by" - get your motor running and get everyone at your school to turn off theirs! Initiate a no-idling policy to take effect on World Asthma Day. Click for more about World Asthma Day.
 THANKS IN ACTION:Celebrate both events - thank your school bus drivers who no longer idle to help protect our children. On May 6, kids can write thank you notes or draw pictures for their drivers. Homemade (yellow/bus-shaped) cookies also express warm & yummy gratitude, when appreciative parents & kids hand over the goodies to their bus drivers.
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Green Building - Foundation For Great Teacher Tour
 Interest in everything green is at an all-time high. On 2/29, 25 teachers leapt at the chance to attend a Leap Day Green Building Workshop. They spent most of the day visiting "green buildings" - places built (or adapted), keeping in mind the environment and the consequences to it, throughout both design & construction. Tour sites: Chicago Center for Green Technology, Villa Park Police Station, Lyman Woods, Tellabs, and COD's new Early Learning Center.
 The bus itself was an earth-friendly vehicle belonging to West Chicago Park District. WCPD Superintendent of Parks Jesse Felix chauffeured and educated the group about the bus, which has run successfully on bio-diesel for 3 years. The district also uses synthetic oil in all its engines which, explained Felix, "not only protects the engine better but reduces the oil change rate from 3,000 to 6,000 miles between changes."
All in all, it was an edifying day for the teachers; they learned about conserving resources; healthy indoor air; flooring, roofing, fabrics and other building & design products made from recycled materials; energy efficiency and more about this important new approach to building design - to use in their own homes and to bring back to their students.
Thanks Jesse Felix & West Chicago Park District for the bio-fueled bus
You helped make the "well-structured" tour a "skyscraping" success |
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Fundraiser News Flash
 Important Update Re: Inkjet Cartridge Recycling: STARTING NOW: Do not mail off inkjet cartridges in "AAA Environmental" envelopes; the company has gone out of business. Inkjet cartridges, cell phones and DVDs may be sent to EcoPhones, a recycling/fundraising organization. The company provides mail-in boxes; shipping is free. For a current price list and more information, visit EcoPhones at
 "MeGoGreen": A New Green Resource & Fundraiser Opportunity: MeGoGreen (MGG) is a new business, based on a simple philosophy: "one person (me) can take a few small steps (go green) to impact the local community; and many individuals taking those small steps can add up to an entire community of positive change."
MeGoGreen created a local green search engine, a consumer savings guide and local business directory to make it easy for residents and businesses to 'go green' in many aspects of their daily lives. The company works with local schools and non-profit organizations to market and sell MGG coupon books. This Chicagoland company has also just expanded to include Madison WI.
MeGoGreen: |
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2008 HS Essay Contest: Greenhouse Gas Mgmt. Actions: What Can Students Do?
Deadline: Friday, May 16
Air & Waste Management Association is sponsoring a contest, in an effort to encourage high school students to consider careers in science & engineering, where they could positively impact important environmental issues. Persuasive essay: 6 pages or less. Prize: $400. Click for contest details |
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"Live Green" Public MS Teacher Grants
Deadline: May 15, 2008
Discovery Education & GM: $1,000 grants to 40 public middle school teachers "who inspire their students to learn about & embrace green technologies in support of living green" w/the most innovative ideas.
Subject: Science, Math, English/Language Arts, Art or Music
Focus: Environment (water, electricity, fossil fuels) or Renewable Energy Initiatives (wind, solar, bio-fuels, geothermal & waste heat, hydrogen energy, cleaner coal). Questions? Call Lori Wingerter: 313-665-2946
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The Irreplaceable Faces Of Global Warming
Irreplaceable: Wildlife in a Warming World is a campaign to bring people face to face with the animals and plants that are threatened by global warming. Check out this powerful photo display |
 Take A Chance To Win HGTV's New Green Dream Home
Everything environmental is so popular, you can't open a newspaper, flip through the pages of a magazine, or turn on TV without "seeing green"! Home & Garden Television Network is even sponsoring a contest to win a gorgeous "Green Home" in Hilton Head, SC. This is an HGTV first-of-its-kind green sweepstakes worth $850,000, featuring a new home, complete with eco-friendly appliances, furnishings, and landscape, and a new GMC Yukon Hybrid. Hopefuls can enter once a day through May 9th, for a chance to win. |
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 Mark Your Calendar: 2008 VIP Dates
2005-2015 United Nation's International Decade for Action: Water For Life
2008 U.N. International Year of Planet Earth
2008 U.N. International Year of Sanitation: 2 issues to be addressed: Water Quality & Wastewater Treatments
April 1 Deadline: Wetlands Writers' Challenge for 7th-9th graders
April 8 Green Building HS Design Challenge Presentations at DuPage County Building, 421 County Farm Road, Wheaton
April 19 Wheaton Recycling Extravaganza, Commuter Pkg. Lot: Liberty & Carleton
April 20 noon-4pm Fullersburg Woods Earth Day Festival for all ages, 630-850-8110
April 22 Gym Shoe Rescue Begins
April 22 Elmer's Glue Crew Recycling Program Begins
April 22 38th Earth Day
April 25 136th Arbor Day
April 26 Glen Ellyn Recycling Extravaganza
April 26 9am Annual Earth Day Trail Cleanup of Illinois Prairie Path, Great Western Trail and Southern DuPage County Regional Trail
April 30 Nomination Deadline: Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes
May 1 Deadline: Kane-DuPage Soil & Water Stewardship K-12th Poster Contest
May 3 8am-3pm DuPage County, IEPA, Elmhurst HHW Collection: Public Works Garage
May 6 World Asthma Day
May 15 Deadline: Live Green MS Teacher Grant
May 16 Deadline: Air & Waste Management HS Essay Contest
May 20 Gym Shoe Rescue Ends
May 30 Deadline: Wetlands Illustrators' Challenge for K-6th graders
June 5 World Environment Day
June 7 Naperville Recycling Extravaganza
June 12-13 8am-4:30pm 7th Annual Shed Those Watershed Blues MS/HS Teacher Workshop
June 16-20 8am-4:30pm 10th Where Is Away? K-12 Workshop
June 26 8am-noon Lesson presentations for teachers taking WIA for grad credit |
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