Chatter from the chair

By Connie Schmidt

Happy New Year and thoughts of Spring! Boy, November and December were easy on us, and then real winter set in with snow and COLD temperatures. BUT even so, events continue, and leaders of RPG are hoping for an exciting new year. 

Policy! It feels great to live in a state where Clean Energy Legislation passed, and now we wait and watch as implementation begins. Members of the State-wide Clean Power Team of Sierra Club will be trained as ambassadors to present the benefits and expected practices of the new law. Environmental justice communities are first on the list to receive the benefits, but there are aspects of the law to add clean energy resources for transportation and electrification to most any area. Contact me if you want to be an ambassador or if you want to have a presentation once the ambassadors are trained.

Programs! One benefit of our new Zoom world is that we can invite folks from across Illinois to join our presentations and share them more widely. We had a great turnout for Tim Milburn’s “Decoding the Alphabet of Clean Energy” as he interpreted the complicated Global, National, State, and Regional efforts for Clean Energy initiatives. Read the article in this newsletter for more details on this informative program. In February we will hear about “The Liver of the River” in a great talk from the DuPage Forest Preserve on the importance of Mussels, and then, THEN….in March the fabulous and amazing author of Bicycling with Butterflies will visit with us. Look for articles in this newsletter on these two programs, as well. 

Politics! Get involved. That pretty much covers this topic. The primary election is later than usual, taking place in June this year. Boundaries have changed with the new census, so you will need to review your ballot to get to know some new candidates. As always, we will be doing some endorsements at various levels of government, so watch for news on them, and reach out to others or me on the Ex-com to learn more. 

I’m really hoping that we will have some in-person events soon. Our calendar will keep you updated. Soon we will be posting workdays for our site in Glen Ellyn on Glacial Ridge (Part of Churchill Woods). Hopefully, some outings with our amazing leaders here in DuPage will also be scheduled, and of course, if you care to be involved in any of our other activities, reach out to the names on our website. Welcome to 2022 - a year of forward movement in the race to protect our environment for ALL our residents here in DuPage.