By Destiny Seaton You may remember, last year the Environmental Defenders were able to get 13 villages, cities, townships, and parks to sign up for the 2022 National Wildlife Federation’s Mayors’ Monarch Pledge. Those 13 pledges represented 28 percent of all the pledges made in Illinois, more than any other county. The Defenders are proud […]
By Mills Guanci Environmental Defenders of McHenry County The clay-colored sparrow was declared extirpated in Illinois, meaning that no more of these birds are considered to be living in the entire state. That, however, is untrue. Randy Schietzelt, a retired professor of biology and member of the Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board, knew of a […]
By Kaina Gonzalez Let’s look at Earth Month a bit differently this year by evaluating how we can each reduce our energy use and how that reduction will improve the overall health of the environment while we also learn about ways to utilize incentives to reach energy-efficiency goals in 2023. Becoming energy efficient, or using […]
By Destiny Seaton According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 14.5 million tons of plastic containers and packaging was generated in 2018. Additionally, a new study was recently published in the scientific journal Plos One that reveals evidence of microplastics in human vascular tissue. Obviously, we have a plastic problem, and the problem has reached McHenry […]
By Scott Kuykendall As we move deeper into winter, snow is not the only thing that falls onto our paved surfaces. Vast amounts of road salt and other de-icing chemicals are aggressively dropped onto our roads, parking lots, sidewalks, and driveways in an effort to improve safety. Most de-icing materials contain chloride, which is highly […]
Overwintering monarch butterfly populations have been steadily declining for years, with a 90 percent decrease in eastern populations and a 99 percent decrease in western populations in recent years. Thankfully, a recent analysis of citizen science observations, conducted by the North American Butterfly Association, shows that successful summer breeding could be making up for the […]
By Destiny Seaton With the recent passage of The Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, many of us are wondering how we can utilize the new laws to make our homes and businesses more sustainable. While the state statute is a broad, 900-plus-page bill with many different incentives for various climate actions, solar energy is one […]
By Bethany Bellavia While plastic is a common and readily available material used in a variety of industries and products, it has an overall negative impact on the environment and a significant carbon footprint. Plastic is frequently recycled improperly, causing plastic pollution, with as much as 275 tons entering the ocean each year. This plastic […]
First, I hope this Green Scene column finds this readership well and well-adjusted to this stay-at-home reality. While my office is in the Woodstock Square Mall, I, like many others, have been working from home, which is in the southeast corner of McHenry County in Algonquin. While the Environmental Defenders’ in-person events remain canceled or […]
By Cynthia Kanner, executive director of the Environmental Defenders of McHenry County Fifty years ago, a group of concerned people started an organization called Defenders of The Fox River. The group, soon joined by a new chapter in Crystal Lake, made it their mission to raise awareness about the importance of protecting our environment, and […]
Larry Lough is editor of The Independent and reports local news.
Janet Dovidio has been a freelance correspondent for The Independent for eight years.
Susan W. Murray wrote for The Independent, covering various beats, from 2005 to 2008.
Tricia Carzoli is a freelance writer and photographer that on community news.
