Interfaith delegates raise a “Peace Flame” during a pre-Parliament ceremony. Photo: Marlyn Gutierrez
Interfaith delegates raise a “Peace Flame” during a pre-Parliament ceremony. Photo: Marlyn Gutierrez
(BARCELONA, SPAIN) — People from all corners of the globe gathered on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea to celebrate life and religion at the recent Parliament of World Religions.
Among them were a handful of representatives from Chicago’s Jain community, who descended upon the conference in Barcelona to deliver messages of peace and non-violence to approximately 8,000 people of various faiths.
Jainism is based on the belief that all creatures are interdependent and that non-violence should be practiced in all actions, words and thoughts.
“Jains are the minority, and [Jainism] is such a powerful religion that the world needs to hear about the message of non-violence,” said Hema Pokharna, a researcher at the University of Chicago and member of the Jain Association in North America (JAINA) Interfaith Committee, who was at the event. “We want everyone to hear not [only about] the Jain beliefs but also the possibilities of peace.”
The gargantuan July 8-13 event was organized by Chicago’s own Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions, and was the fourth event of its kind. The inaugural event, held in Chicago in 1893, is widely regarded as the beginning of the inter-religious movement worldwide.
The recent Barcelona gathering focused on themes of peace, sustainability and justice and highlighted religious and spiritual traditions with well-known and emerging leaders. There were more than 400 programs, including morning meditations, displays, off-site performances and a film festival.
The Jains led prayer services and sponsored a variety of discussions and lectures, including one by Mandakini Pokharna and Hema Pokharna. The two Jain sisters from Chicago conducted an interactive workshop titled “Dealing with Anger Compassionately.”
The Chicago area is home to about 5,000 Jains, and one of the most extravagant Jain temples in the country is located in west suburban Bartlett.
“The parliament is very, very important for the Jain community,” said Jyotindra Doshi, a Chicago Jain and speaker at the event. “Many spiritual leaders and religious scholars came to this program to talk about peace, and that way, people can change their minds for non-violent activity.”
Doshi, former president and youth secretary for the Jain Society of Metropolitan Chicago, held two lectures: one discussing religion’s influence on Mahatma Gandhi and another teaching meditation as a means of inner happiness. “The Jain beliefs [are similar to] the Parliament’s philosophies,” he said. “We are coming here for non-violence and for peace activities.”
Jains are required to respect four main vows: truthfulness, no theft, monogamy and modesty with possessions. Each of these vows, if broken, could cause others to react with violent actions, words or thoughts. “It’s not only for Jains but for all people,” said Doshi. “If we want happiness then we should go the non-violent way. It is very important for spiritual leaders to educate the general public ... That’s the reason I came [to the Parliament].”
— Dan Cohen
WITH THE recent release of an energy report that ranks Illinois as one of the best places in the country to harvest solar energy, it’s time to look at sunshine as something more than just a place to have fun in this summer, said Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn.
Quinn is chairman of Illinois’ first Renewable Energy Task Force, which was set up by Governor Rod Blagojevich to spare Chicagoans the same dark fate that resulted when New York’s power grid failed last summer.
“We have more recoverable solar energy than Los Angeles,” said Quinn. He added that the arrival of August usually results in the year’s hottest, or “peak days,” for the power grid at the very time it’s best to stay off of it to avoid a blackout.
Quinn pointed to Chicago restaurant owner Salvador Lamas as an example of a small business owner who took advantage of government programs promoting alternative energy systems.
Lamas, the owner of Taco Burrito King at 5413 W. Belmont Ave. in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood, received a rebate of $5,000 from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s Renewable Resources Fund. The federal government also gave him a 10 percent investment tax credit when he installed a solar-powered energy system.
Lamas celebrated the June grand opening of his new restaurant with a buffet-style feast that featured Margaritas and menu items like tacos bathed in his “hot-as-the-sun” salsa. But the hottest item on display was the new solar thermal energy system designed to naturally heat 500 gallons of water to 120 degrees each day.
Lamas said the decision to install the solar panels was easy. “Our gas bill was extremely high so, when we were building, we looked for ways to reduce energy cost,” he said.
By channeling the solar heat, the system saves 5,000 BTUs of natural gas each day. “I care for the environment,” Lamas said. “Wasting fossil fuels is my biggest pet-peeve.”
The solar heating equipment and installation cost $30,000, but Lamas expects to recoup that in energy cost savings after the first five to six years of the system’s 30-year-lifetime.
“All that you lose with this system is a great big energy bill,” said the system’s installer, Brandon Leavitt, of Chicago-based Solar Services Inc.
Leavitt said he fears that worsening state financial woes could threaten programs that help local business owners invest in solar power. But, “The state has to make a commitment to renewable energy in all its forms,” Quinn said.
To learn more visit www.chicagosolarpartnership.com or call Solar Services Inc., 847-677-0950 to see if solar energy is right for your business.
— Erin Meyer
YOU DON’T see too many “Save the goldfish” bumper-stickers or T-shirts but that’s not because 12-year-old Kevin Pratt hasn’t been trying to raise awareness to this cause.
Despite Kevin’s best efforts, Goldfish Day on August 15 will still be marked in the north suburban community of Glenview with the release of live goldfish into a chlorinated municipal pool.
The village board voted unanimously to carry on the nearly half-century long tradition despite the opposition of the Springman Middle School student who arrived to witness the board’s June vote, still clad in his grass-stained white pants, black cleats and Velcro baseball gloves. Kevin had left his baseball game at the top of the fifth inning to continue his objections to the event. He began his efforts in April by collecting 200 signatures on a petition that called upon the park district to substitute vinyl goldfish for the live ones.
The annual event typically draws as many as 1,200 residents, who gather around Roosevelt Pool, 2239 Fir St., to mark the end of the swimming season. Park officials then ceremoniously dump approximately 1,000 live goldfish into the pool for children to retrieve with nets and buckets and bring home as pets.
However, last year after witnessing hundreds of goldfish die, Kevin decided to challenge the tradition, pointing out that the fish suffer and die from exposure to chlorine and trauma. Kevin suggested that if the board used vinyl fish in the pool, the children could then exchange them for live ones.
Board President John Winand praised Kevin for raising “the sensitivity level of the board.”
However, the board did not adopt Kevin’s plan and opted instead for Commissioner William Casey’s measure that required park district employees to provide de-chlorinated water for the captured fish, and pamphlets on how to care for them.
The measure was a step in the right direction, but still not enough to satisfy Kevin, who does not plan to attend Goldfish Day this year.
“Every animal, no matter how small, is due respect,” he said.
— Elena Velkov
COOK COUNTY Forest Preserve Commissioner Mike Quigley has vowed that he will fight for the preservation of every single acre of the 68,000 acres of protected land in the county’s forest preserves.
Quigley has spearheaded an effort to change the district’s codes to limit the use or selling of county forest preserve lands.
“We’re not a land bank,” he said.
Quigley is pushing for passage of a measure that would close loopholes in the code, originally drafted in 1913, that recently have been used to allow development to slowly creep into the preserves.
“Basically, we’re tightening up the language,” Quigley said, pointing out that the board has approved proposals that allow its land to be used or sold for everything from radio towers to town signs. Last spring the board approved a proposal by Dominican University to buy enough land to allow the school to extend its driveway into the surrounding woods.
“Unfortunately, some members of the board don’t see a problem with selling small portions of land,” he said.
While such purchases may seem small, when you add them all up, the impact is significant, especially since the district is in the “slowest (land) acquisition time” in its history, Quigley said.
The forest preserves also help filter the area’s air and water and act as a flood-control measure.
“If the water doesn’t stay in the wetlands, it ends up in your basement,” he said.
Besides following the mandate stated on the district’s website to “restore, restock, protect and preserve” the land, Quigley said it’s important to keep the wooded areas intact and open to the public, so they can be used as an urban escape.
“We’re turning our environment into a concrete jungle,” he said.
To get involved, visit the Friends of the Forest Preserves website at www.fotfp.org.
— Elena Velkov
IN THE “Windy City” buildings are constructed to withstand powerful gusts, but now city officials are looking into ways of channeling the force of these winds into a renewable energy source for City of Chicago buildings.
One place the city is looking to is Mendota Hills Wind Farm in Lee County, Ill., which generates 125 million kilowatt hours of energy annually. That’s enough electricity to power 15,000 homes for a year.
“City officials are looking for a third party to distribute the energy,” said Sadhu Johnston, assistant to Mayor Richard M. Daley in green initiatives.
The initiative is part of the Department of Environment’s plan to shift 20 percent of the city’s energy needs to renewable sources by 2006, according to Johnston. He said the city is halfway to that goal with 10 percent of the electricity pumped into city buildings derived from wind and solar power.
The city’s Department of General Services, which manages and operates all city buildings, started to purchase renewable energy from ComEd in 2001, said Johnston. At that time most of the power came from methane gas extracted from landfills.
Chicago is moving to a more sustainable world “step-by-step,” Johnston said.
Nationally, only eight percent of total U.S. energy consumption comes from renewable energy sources, according to the Chicago Solar Partnership Website. Most cities across the country are powered by burning coal for energy.
Illinois has 22 coal-burning plants, which impacts air quality, according to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. City officials are intent on decreasing the state’s reliance on energy derived from coal and nuclear power.
Mendota Hills Wind Farms, which boasts 63 turbines spread across 2,600 acres, produces energy without spewing pollution into the air. The turbines are powered by wind-driven metallic panels that extend about 85 feet out from 213-foot-high towers.
The Chicago Solar Partnership advocates using renewable energy in an effort to reduce both energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions.
For more information on the city’s energy plan and green initiatives, visit www.cityofchicago.org/Environment
— Elena Velkov
MOST PEOPLE in the market to build a new house or business might feel a bit uncomfortable with an architect who describes his work process as “chaos.” But while architect Gregory Splinter’s unconventional methods may initially make some of his clients uneasy, many end up raving about the buildings that result.
Splinter uses what he calls the “contemplative design method” that employs prayer, inner silence and stream-of-consciousness drawings to reach his architectural designs.
“I just had these movements and feelings that there should be an integrated balance between the instinctive side of the brain and creating architecture,” said Splinter, who has 15 years of experience in residential and commercial design, historic restoration and church renovation.
Tony and Angie Macasaet said they were initially puzzled by Splinter’s stream-of-consciousness drawings when they approached him to design a shopping market that allows local artisans, farmers, and organic merchants a place to sell their goods in the southwestern Wisconsin town of Viroqua. But they plowed ahead because they felt a “natural, immediate bond” with the architect when he described his work ethic as one that melded his personal values with his occupation. Eventually Splinter’s stream-of-consciousness renderings featuring abstract images began to make sense to the couple and they were happy with the resulting “public market.”
“All that dynamic energy you can see in Gregory’s drawing is occurring in a real life way in the building,” said Tony Macasaet.
Splinter likens his design process to the big bang theory where order reveals itself through chaos: “It’s an act of making the drawing more and more rational.”
After meeting his clients, Splinter spends 20 minutes in silent prayer to help him create a color stream-of-consciousness drawing that he said represents his relationship with the client. He then searches for structure and order in the abstract drawing to offer his clients a holistic representation of their lives.
Just as a beautiful lotus flower grows from the mud, Splinter’s beautiful designs spring from his seemingly chaotic abstract drawings.
“The paradox there is that out of that nothingness comes a real somethingness,” said Splinter.
Visit www.beautiarch.com for more information about Splinter Associates. Visit www.viroquamainststation.com for more information about Tony and Angie Macasaet’s public market. Splinter may also be reached at 608-872-2317 in Wisconsin, 312-588-0991 in Chicago.
— Moira Bartel