Madigan Sows Seeds of Justice
As a volunteer teacher in South Africa, Lisa Madigan witnessed first-hand what would become the final episodes of apartheid. When she returned to the U.S., she studied law so she could “effect more change.” And she came to realize something. “You don’t need to leave the country, state or city to make a difference,” she said.
This launched the career of one of Illinois’ most important lawyers.
Attorney General Madigan spoke to several hundred peers at an event hosted by Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice. This oddly-named organization, which is part of a national network of law centers, has worked for social justice in Chicago for 36 years. Because many of their efforts have been behind the scenes, most people have never heard of them.
But their recent projects could change that, and possibly make Appleseed, if not a household name, at least a great resource for residents of Chicago and Cook County. As the organization is shifting toward advocacy, the staff members have started to put their research to work, for the legal system and for voters directly.
One local Appleseed project that got high marks is voteforjudges.org. This user-friendly website gives unbiased information about judges’ qualifications from newspapers and bar associations to help voters decide on Election Day. For the November elections, nearly 800,000 people visited and over 90,000 downloaded pages from the site. Since judges make decisions every day that affect all of us, this information is vital.
Chicago Appleseed is also reviewing the Cook County Criminal Justice system in an ambitious project that began in 2005. The staff and volunteers have reviewed over 500 felony cases and interviewed hundreds of attorneys, judges, defendants and victims to find out what is—and is not—working in one of the largest court systems in the country. The next step is to figure out how to improve the system and agree on recommendations, which they expect to release in the next few months.
Madigan acknowledged the work of Chicago Appleseed and called on her colleagues to reflect, act and recommit to the ideals of social justice. The activist and attorney general challenged each of us to consider how our work could improve the lives of those around us in ways both large and small.
— Keri Lynch
Illinois’ Blueprint for Global Warming
With public awareness at a record high and “An Inconvenient Truth” winning an Oscar, it may be the perfect time to address global warming. In llinois, efforts have begun in earnest as advocates strike while the issue is hot.
“It’s global warming 24/7,” said Rebecca Stanfield, state director for Environment Illinois. “It’s a combination of Hurricane Katrina, Al Gore’s efforts and scientists’ messages about this issue.”
Stanfield released “A Blueprint for Action: Policy Options to Reduce Illinois’ Contribution to Global Warming,” which was shared with legislators as they prepared for spring session. The report details 13 strategies to begin stabilizing the state’s emissions of global warming pollutants.
“We released this report to let people know that tackling this issue is not that hard,” Stanfield said. “These strategies will improve the economy, clean the air and reduce global warming.”
Because two-thirds of Illinois’ carbon dioxide pollution comes from electricity generation (38 percent) and transportation (28 percent), these are the focus of many of the strategies. Other major sources are industrial (17 percent), residential (11 percent) and commercial (5 percent).
The suggested transportation policies include a Clean Cars program to limit emissions; tire replacements to increase vehicle efficiency; pay-as-you-drive auto insurance; employer incentives to reduce auto commutes; mass transit incentives; and renewable fuel standards for motor fuel.
Other strategies relate to energy conservation, such as stronger building codes; improved energy efficiency for appliances and equipment; combined heat and power for commercial and industrial facilities; renewable energy standards for electricity; and reducing government energy use in buildings and vehicles.
The last strategy tackles the largest source of pollution—carbon emissions from the electricity sector. Governor Rod Blagojevich visited California this year to learn about their “carbon capping” program, which is stricter than federal requirements and has been adopted by 11 states.
While global warming is a problem, it may help to also remember the issue of ozone depletion. Then, as now, the science was so compelling that two global agreements were reached within five years to phase out chlorofluorocarbons, or CFC’s. Scientists project the ozone layer will be substantially recovered by 2025.
— Keri Lynch
Photo: courtesy Association for Global New Thought
Sit Down with Peace Leaders on the Peace Train
Presidents and political candidates used to embark upon whistle-stop train tours to drum up support for their campaigns and political agendas. But in a year when the government seems— unbelievably—on the precipice of yet more military involvement in the Middle East, maybe it’s time for peace, not politics, to take to the tracks.
The Association for Global New Thought, a progressive think-tank based in Santa Barbara, CA, has partnered with the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence and an inspiring group of cultural and spiritual leaders to create a literal whistle-stop train tour along the California coast. Departing from LA’s Union Station, the specially restored chartered railroad coaches will act as the meeting venue for discussions, teach-ins, music and guided meditations. Average Joes and Jills interested in the peace movement can sit next to peace leaders and shoot the breeze about making the world a better place. They’ll get to pow-wow with Arun Gandhi (the grandson of the peaceful crusader himself), Yolanda King (daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr.), Ela Gandhi (a former member of Parliament in South Africa), Paul F. Chavez of the National Farm Workers Service Center, Dolores Huerta of the AFL-CIO, Bernard LaFayette, Jr. from the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies, and Brother David Steindl-Rast (a Viennese religious philosopher who works for Buddhist-Christian dialogue). “A classroom on wheels is an exciting way to interact with people and teach them a philosophy based on love, compassion, respect and understanding. Nonviolence does not mean simply the non-use of physical violence. It means learning to build relationships with people on the basis of love, respect, understanding, acceptance and appreciation,” says Dr. Arun Gandhi.
If it sounds a little insular, think again: anyone can register to come along. “The idea of having the living leaders of the nonviolent social change movement together in one place is cause enough for celebration and awe,” says Barbara Fields, who’s spent a year helping to orchestrate the Peace Train. “But now we’ve added to the equation the community of grassroots nonviolence activists who will take the movement into its future.” During the train trip to San Jose along the California coast—that’s 350 miles—the convoy will stop at towns along the way to chat with community leaders. By the time the locomotive workshop and “beehive-style” teach-in returns to L.A., participants will have taken part in discussions on interfaith healing, youth leadership, nonviolent policy change, the environment, family and schools—a complete foundation for building a culture of nonviolence.
“Gandhi used every means possible to approach his goal,” continues Arun Gandhi. “A ‘Peace Train’ seems an ideal way to attract people.”
To register or for more information, visit agnt.org/peacetrain.
— Lucinda Michele Knapp
Spinning Worm Poop into Greenbacks
Picture the CEO of a multi-million dollar company. Now picture a 20-year old guy in the basement of an old office building shoveling organic waste into worm bins. Same guy.
Tom Szaky /zake-ee/, a freshman at Princeton University in 2002, started the groundbreaking TerraCycle, Inc. in just that way. He was inspired by friends who were using worm castings (that’s “poop” to you and me) to grow “really nice plants,” as he likes to say, in their basement. It gave him a vision of using organic material that people throw away to produce plant fertilizer, and on a grand scale. “People thought we were nuts,” he says of his fellow Ivy Leaguers’ opinion of him and his partner, John Beyer.
Chances are they don’t think so anymore. The company’s sales have quadrupled every year since 2003, with advance 2007 orders pulling in a cool $7 million. And Szaky says that they hope to be at $40 million in sales in 2009. With businesses across the nation scrambling to go “green,” Szaky’s company, based in a warehouse in Trenton, New Jersey, isn’t just zero-waste, it actually consumes waste. TerraCycle uses organic garbage to feed its “armies of worms,” then liquefies the poop and packages it as garden products carried by “bigs” like Wal-Mart, Whole Foods and Home Depot.
Szaky was so dedicated to using post-consumer waste that in 2003, when the company was struggling, he turned down a cool million in funding. “We had $500 in our bank account and no other prospects for funding, but they wanted us to move away from garbage as our source.” So Szaky walked away. As it stands, the company gets its worm food in the form of stinky garbage from local school cafeterias, supermarkets and food retailers.
Not only does TerraCycle start with garbage, it uses recycled soda bottles for packaging. “We couldn’t afford packaging. That’s how we got the idea to use used soda bottles.” So they went out cruising dumpsters. “One of us got arrested in the process,” says Szaky. “It turns out it’s illegal to dumpster dive in New Jersey.” The company gets around that law by paying five cents for every bottle collected by schools and other nonprofits.
For CEOs who resist the green revolution, Szaky, now 25, has a wake-up call. “Either they’re going to become green or they’re going to be taken out by a company like mine,” he says. “It’s their choice.” Visit terracycle.net for their full product line.
— Monica Woelfel
Tax Breaks for Going Green
Thinking about buying a hybrid car but are feeling daunted by the additional cost? What about adding insulation to your home? Or purchasing higher efficiency appliances but find yourself hesitating for the same reason? Well if your home was updated, or if your Alternative Fuel Vehicle (AFV) was put into service between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2010, you could get your share of the over $14 billion in tax breaks that Congress has set aside for going green.
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 grants tax credits to qualified home improvements such as adding insulation, replacement windows and high efficiency heating and cooling equipment. The maximum amount of credit for the 2-year period of January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2007 for all updates combined is $500. However, qualified solar water heating, photovoltaic systems and fuel cell systems installed within this 2-year period can be credited up to 30 percent of their cost and are not limited by the $500 home improvement cap. Note that not all Energy Star products and services automatically qualify for tax credits; in the end it is the IRS who decides.
Tax credits of up to $14,000 are available for AFVs put into service between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2010. This includes hybrid gas-electric, diesel, battery-electric, alternative fuel and fuel cell vehicles. For AFVs put into service before 2006 you can also get up to $3,400 in credits plus a one-time “clean fuel vehicle tax deduction” of up to $2,000.
Additional incentives for renewables can be found in the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE). Some incentives for Illinois under the Renewable Energy Resources Program (RERP) include property tax exemptions for eligible solar energy systems (active, passive, wind and geothermal) and rebates of up to 30 percent (up to $10,000) of an individual solar system’s cost. The State also offers a rebate of up to 80 percent of the additional cost of an AFV. Eligible fuels include E85, biodiesel blends, natural gas, propane, electricity and hydrogen. Unfortunately, hybrid vehicles are not eligible.
Going greener isn’t going to bruise your bank account after all. Even if your energy efficient purchase doesn’t qualify for a federal tax credit or state incentive program, they will pay you back over time in lower fuel and energy bills. For complete tax credit qualification and eligibility guidelines, visit IRS.gov and for additional information on state incentive programs, visit dsireusa.org.
— Kara Zamora
Don’t Get Mad, Get Active
Do you know where your taxes are going?
According to an analysis of the the 2008 Federal budget done by the New York based War Resisters League, 51 percent of your federal tax dollars are allocated for military spending. That’s half of every tax dollar you spend.
The figures are federal funds, which do not include trust funds—such as Social Security—that are raised and spent separately from income taxes. What you pay (or don’t pay) by April 15th, 2007 goes to the federal funds portion of the budget. The government practice of combining trust and federal funds began during the Vietnam War, thus making the human needs portion of the budget seem larger and the military portion smaller.
The federal government distorts how our income tax dollars are spent because they include Trust Funds (e.g., Social Security), while the expenses of past military spending are not distinguished from non-military spending. This means that in their pie chart, military spending only amounts to 21 percent. To avoid being confused, simply remember that the government needs about a trillion dollars a year, altogether, to “defend” the nation.
See the report at warresisters.org. Support the Peace Tax Fund bill to allow 100 percent of your taxes to fund non-military programs, 888-732-2382, peacetaxfund.org.
