The Burnham Plan laid the groundwork for our city’s green space and set aside the lake shore path. Thank Daniel Burnham every time you see green in Chicago.
Environment
How Green Is Our City: Chicago’s Urban Green Space
With 8.5% of urban acreage devoted to parks, Chicago has a wide range of green space options. Which is YOUR favorite?
Dear Divvy, Thanks for Getting People up on Bikes!
More bikes on the road means greater visibility, safety and public support for all bikers and all of those results are fine by moss.
That’s (NOT) Garbage: Reduce, Reuse … DIVERT Waste
The “three R’s” we learned about in school still pertain today. How do our municipal programs to “divert” waste from landfills work toward zero waste
That’s Garbage: Talking Trash About Waste Generation
The USA generates 251 million tons of trash a year – that is 42 times more than the Great Pyramid at Giza. Where does it come from … and go?
How We Operate: Finding Beauty in the (Honesty of) Reclaimed Building Materials
In the collage above are just a SMALL SAMPLE of our favorite uses of reclaimed wood in moss projects (from top left): Bowling Alley Bench, Begyle Tasting Room, Brew, Bar Pastoral, 2 Sparrows, and Erie Street Loft. Keep reading to see why and how we seek to use reclaimed wood products as often as possible. It is a truth pretty universally acknowledged […]
Today, Let's Drink to Clean Water … and Then Do More to Protect Our Water Supply
Monday’s Chicagoist headline, “It’s Okay to Drink the Water, Chicago,” is accurate but perhaps a little dismissive of the larger issues about drinking water which should be raised in all our minds by the recent drinking water scares topping news across the country. This weekend’s public drinking water ban in Todedo, Ohio follows the ongoing […]
If They Build it We Will Park – So Why Require More Parking With Every New Construction Project?
Bring on the predictable outrage, folks, but we’re about to do it … we’re about to say … There is WAY too much free parking available in Chicago. We should stop building more of it! For all the hoopla over the (admittedly) terrible parking meter deal made by Mayor Daley and regardless of the sticker […]
How Green Roofs, Green Space, and Green Design affect the Heat Island Effect in Chicago
Despite a relatively cool summer here in Chicago this year (thanks, I guess, Polar Vortex), we’ve all battled heat waves rolling off parking lots or struggled to arrive un-sweatily at our destinations more often than we’d like. And every summer – warm, hot or baking – is warmer here in the city (and the surrounding suburbs) than […]
Combined Sewer Overflow: How a Using Rain Barrel can help Keep Sewage Out of the Chicago River
Did you know that when it rains in Chicago we dump raw sewage into the Chicago river? No one is happy about it … but its no accident.
How Air Conditioning Works, When You Need It and When You Don’t
How Air Conditioning works in your home and how it came to be so pervasive. Find out more about this pervasive element of your summer life.
Beat the Heat WITHOUT AC: Passive Cooling and YOU
Now we remember what summer heat in Chicago feels like. To keep cool without overheating the environment, here are a few passive cooling ideas to consider.