Just Say ‘No' to Bottled Water

By Mayre Press

These days everyone grouses about the high cost of gasoline, which passed $3 per gallon and is inching upwards to $4. So it is baffling that many consumers do not object to paying more than $9.85 per gallon for bottled water (based on about $1.25 per pint with eight pints in a gallon). When consumers pay more than a dollar for bottled water, 95 percent of the cost is for the bottle, label, lid and transportation.

According to the Beverage Marketing Corporation, Americans consumed 22.6 gallons of bottled water per capita in 2003, up from 10.5 gallons in 1993. People are willing to pay a premium price for bottled water because they perceive that bottled water (1) tastes better and (2) is cleaner and safer than tap water.

A section of the Evanston Water Division's 2006 Water Quality Report states, "...Your tap water has met all US/EPA and state (IL) drinking water standards." Further, a recent taste-test at the Farmers' Market showed that 130 participants preferred Evanston's tap water 4-to-1 over a popular bottled-water brand.

Cost and taste aside, the key reason to avoid bottled water is the bottle itself. In the United States, plastic bottles have only a 10-percent recycled rate. The other 90 percent ends up in landfills, parks, beaches and along roadways. According to a Sierra Club report, 30 million plastic bottles are discarded each day - more than 10 billion a year.

Plastic is made from petroleum, a non-renewable resource; plastic production leads to the release of a variety of chemicals. The Berkeley Ecology Center reported that most of the smaller bottles used as water containers are made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET or #1), which generates 100 times more toxic emissions than an equivalent amount of glass. In fact, the plastic industry releases 14 percent of the most toxic industrial releases, such as styrene, benzene and trichloroethane, into the air. Other major emissions include sulfur oxides, nitrous oxides, methanol, ethylene oxide and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Eleven states have "bottle bills," or container-deposit laws that require a minimum refundable deposit on beverage containers to ensure a high rate of recycling. Additionally, seven states (including Illinois) have bottle-bill legislation pending. In Illinois, the "I-CAN Bottle Bill" (HB-4080) was introduced on May 18, 2005. It was referred to the Rules Committee later that month, where it remained until it landed in legislative limbo.

An alternative to buying bottled water is to use a canteen. One contemporary version is a lightweight, reusable bottle of stainless steel with a cap made from non-leaching polypropylene plastic (#5). "Klean Kanteen" is one such product; local retailers and online shops carry others.

There are a number of steps that eco-conscious consumers can take. The first is to stop buying bottled water. Purchase a refillable/reusable anywhere that calls for a beverage on the go. Practice activism by visiting www.toolkit.bottlebill.org to learn what to do. Also go to www.lighterfootstep.com/5-reasons-not-to-drink-bottled-water.html for ideas about taking a "No Bottled Water" pledge online.

Contact Eco Gal at info@evanstonroundtable.com or ecogal247@yahoo.com

Introducing the Lindens: (Tilia) Species

By Libby Hill

Top right: native basswood leaf; Bottom right: ‘Greenspire' Littleleaf Linden in bloom - note the pointy leaf tips; Left: Linden ‘Redmond' with fruit. Note flowers and fruit dangling from the bract centers

All over Evanston around the time of the summer solstice, linden trees decorate our parkways, festooned with tiny yellow flowers that send forth a sweet aroma.

When George W. Harrison surveyed northwest Evanston in October, 1839, for the U.S. General Land Office, he found the woodlands composed of "red and white oak, ash, elm, Lynn, bur oak, hickory." All are familiar names except for Lynn. Known today as basswood or linden, Lynn is an archaic term referring to trees in the genus Tilia, all with distinctive heart-shaped leaves, fragrant flowers, and a multitude of uses. Linden is often referred to as lime, though having nothing to do with the fruit tree.

After the American elm was attacked by Dutch elm disease, maples, honey locusts, ash and linden became favorite replacements. We have learned, however, that planting too many trees of one species makes us vulnerable. The arrival of the emerald ash borer has endangered more than 12 percent of our public trees. Today's rule of thumb is that no species will represent more than 10 percent of parkway trees. American linden (Tilia americana) ‘Redmond' and its European relative ‘Greenspire' Littleleaf Linden (Tilia cordata) account for just under ten percent, two-thirds of them ‘Greenspire.'

Basswoods, natives of the northern hardwood forest, are found throughout the woody areas of our forest preserves. While some may be tall, straight and slender, most are multi-stemmed, with suckers growing from the roots. Growing on damp but never soggy ground, they are very much at home along steep banks of our rivers and streams, their exposed roots reaching thirstily down to the running water. Bark is light when young but turns dark grey and furrowed with age. The tree has alternate branching, and the simple, heart-shaped leaves, dark green on top and lighter underneath, have slightly toothed margins. The fast-growing tree may grow more than 100 feet tall with a trunk five feet in diameter.

The species name americana means that it was first found and studied in America, where it is native from southeastern Canada through the eastern United States south to Oklahoma and North Carolina.

Otherwise, the common and scientific names are descriptive of the tree itself. The Genus name Tilia comes from the Greek word, ptilon, for feather or wing, referring to the shape of the bract from which the flowers and pea-sized seeds, in unlikely fashion, droop from the middle on long stalks The European species name cordata is derived from the Greek and Latin for heart, referring to the shape of the leaves. The variants linden and lime trace their roots back to Latin and Greek for pliable and flexible, describing the fibrous inner bark that can be easily worked. This inner bark, which is also found in other tree species, is known as "bast," from which comes "basswood."

Tribes from eastern north America worked the bast fibers into thread and rope, the main source of raw material for their mats, bags and baskets; they even used it to bind wounds. The wood of the basswood is white and light, making it a favorite of carvers. Among its numerous uses are piano keys, furniture veneer, boxes and Venetian blinds. Linden oil derived from the fragrant flowers is used as an herbal treatment from blood problems to stuffy noses. Oil from the seed has substituted for olive oil.

The linden is also known as the bee tree. The heavily scented and sweet-flavored flowers attract bees from whose hives a prized honey is collected.

The linden is cloaked in myths and practices of many cultures. The European Tilia cordata symbolized fidelity, fertility, protection, divine power, healing, and fortune. Tree spirits were said to be wedded to Linden trees. Important sites such as town centers, wells and meeting places were often marked by these stately, long-lived trees. In Germanic lore, the linden was associated with Freyja, the goddess of love, truth and justice, and courts were held "sub tilia," under the Linden Tree. A famous street in Berlin is Under den Linden.

A multi-stemmed-tree is unsafe for parkways, so cultivars are single-stemmed. The pyramidal shape of young trees mimics the heart shape of the leaves. They tend to branch low and have to be pruned up for safety. In winter, the trees are distinguished by scarlet buds at the end of their branches, promises of spring. These buds, like the leaves, are edible, not necessarily for dining, but there are stories of lost hikers surviving on basswood buds and other delicacies in the winter woods.

While it is not uncommon for scientific names to honor important individuals, with the linden it is the opposite. The father of our system of scientific classification is Swedish Carl Linnaeus (1717-1708). At his time, Swedish peasants and farmers had no surnames, but people who attained positions of stature such as clergymen, or needed them to register at university, invented them. When his father, Nils Ingemarsson, registered at the University of Lund, he adopted the Latinized surname "Linnaeus" after a stately old triple-trunked linden growing on Linnegard, the family farm. Carl used the name Carolus Linnaeus for his published works.

Greenspire' Littleleaf Linden lines the parkway north of the Evanston Public Library on the east side of Orrington Avenue. For comparison, American linden ‘Redmond', with larger, slightly thicker leaves, grows outside the Burger King across the street. The native basswoods in Perkins Woods have much larger leaves.

Campers from Evanston Arts Camp showed off their talent during their Parents Night Performance last Thursday. Photos Courtesy of Susan Ryan

Youth and Seniors Sought for "Charlotte's Web" Auditions

The Evanston Children's Theatre will hold auditions Sept. 4-6 for its fall production of "Charlotte's Web," based on the book by E. B. White and adapted for the stage by Joseph Robinette. Auditions are open to youth ages 8-12 as well as adults ages 55 and older. For convenience, three auditions at two different locations will be held: 4 to 6 p.m. Sept. 4 and Sept. 6 at the Levy Senior Center, 300 Dodge Ave, and 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 5 at the Fleetwood-Jourdain Center, 1655 Foster St.

Auditions are free. No appointments are necessary; just arrive no later than 30 minutes before the end of the audition session. The cast fee is $100. "Charlotte's Web" will be performed Nov. 16-18 at the Levy Center. For more information, call 847-448-8250.

First Night Evanston to Sponsor Button Design Contest for Kids

First Night Evanston, Illinois' largest New Year's Eve Festival of the Arts, will sponsor a button design contest to choose the design for this year's First Night Evanston children's admission button. All children entering first through eighth grade in the fall of 2007 who are residents of Evanston or who are attending an Evanston summer program are eligible. The winning artwork will be featured on 2,000 children's buttons produced for First Night Evanston 2008, and the winning artist and his or her family will be presented with a special certificate of achievement at an Evanston City Council meeting in the fall.

All designs should relate to the 2008 theme of First Night Evanston's 15th Anniversary. Crayon, colored pencil, marker, and paint are all accepted media. Interested persons can call 847-475-NITE (6483) or visit www.firstnightevanston.org to get a copy of the official rules and entry form. All entries must be postmarked by Aug. 31.

Eye on Evanston

Good News

By John Macsai

Evanston will be visually enriched by the new building for the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation (JRC) on the southwest corner of Dodge Street and Mulford Avenue. The designer, Ross Barney/Architects, is also responsible for the Levy Senior Center, across the street. Carol Ross Barney is one of Chicago's most creative designers and is a perfect match for a creative congregation. Reconstructionism, a movement developed from the 1920s through the 1940s, is characterized by inventive services.

Ms. Ross Barney has been the designer of many thoughtful projects, including the Mirrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, which replaced the building destroyed in a bombing; the Barrington Library; the James I. Swenson Science Building at the University of Minnesota, Duluth; and many other noteworthy structures. All of Ms. Ross Barney's work is characterized by unorthodox solutions, such as our local World Savings Bank in Evanston at 2287 Howard St.

JRC presented a difficult design challenge because the zoning ordinance allowed only 32,000 square feet for a building, while the program required 42,000 square feet. Consequently, all functions were re-examined many times to find a fair balance between educational, communal and worship spaces even though the group agreed to continue to hold High Holiday services at the First United Methodist Church on Hinman Avenue.

In allocating functions in this vertical scheme, the most frequented areas are on the lower two floors, while the sanctuary is placed on the third floor. This organizes all offices, early-childhood spaces and a small chapel on grade level, and eight classrooms and the library on the second floor, reserving the top floor for the sanctuary/social hall, with its high ceiling and adjacent reception area and kitchen.

Vertical movement, a key issue, is via two elevators and a wide, festive staircase in the front that reveals itself behind the glass façade like a symbolic arrow pointing diagonally up.

The exterior, where it is not fenestrated, is clad with wood planking -- a fortunate choice of natural material. My only reservation is the awkward "box" that contains the entrance vestibule and is glued to the back of a stone arch - the exterior continuation of the interior pillars in the lobby.

Sustainability was also an important consideration of the design. Using not only sustainable materials but also strategies such as light harvesting and water conservation, the building should qualify for a LEED Gold certification.

The congregation, through its board, worked closely with the architect to achieve a design that balances the limitations of a small site with an ambitious program. In choosing an architect of Ms. Ross Barney's talent, the congregation was well rewarded. An imaginative building that works for the user and enriches the community depends upon the choice of a talented architect. Clearly Ms. Ross Barney fills that description.

Library Outreach Programs Make Literacy Fun

By Victoria Scott

Rick Kinnebrew knows more than one way to get children's attention. And as he interacts with audiences that range from rapt preschoolers to rapping preteens, the outreach librarian for the Evanston Public Library (EPL) has to have a lot of tricks in his book bag.

While kids think of them as fun, his activities have a serious goal: literacy.

Summers, Mr. Kinnebrew travels to camps and parks. At City-run day camps like Arts or Ecoquest or Fleetwood-Jourdain, he is able to tailor his program to the audience. But at the parks, where kids drop by to play or to eat a free box lunch provided by the City, he says, he brings "a mixed bag of books" - and a grasp of psychology.

"I see what lets [kids] in or keeps them out," says Mr. Kinnebrew, who is known on the circuit as "Mr. Rick." Older kids who might act disdainful in front of their friends feel freer to appreciate stories in the company of a younger sister or brother, he notes. Preschoolers respond to storytime (books read aloud). But he says storytelling "requires a strong visual imagination" and is best reserved for children older than 5 or 6.

His predecessor gave away books to every participant but noticed some children left them behind. So at the end of his visits Mr. Rick invites the children to put their names into his big glass jar, and he draws the names of a few lucky winners. "Scarcity creates value," he observes.

During the school year he takes storytime on the road to various childcare facilities. Library volunteers also deliver a bag of books - usually one a month - to home daycare facilities.

When EPL made outreach a priority in the 90s, they committed to covering the desk when Mr. Kinnebrew is out. Since they are rather "thinly staffed," he says, that decision involves other librarians and even the supervisor filling in for him.

If things go as planned, Mr. Kinnebrew will be away from the library desk even more this year. In the wake of a very successful early literacy program developed by his EPL team in cooperation with District 65 Headstart and The Child Care Center of Evanston last year, he and two other EPL children's librarians will train school librarians to replicate the program at three District 65 pilot schools.

The program, called LEAP, for Literacy Education at Play, was funded with a $10,000 grant from the Evanston Community Foundation. It has two components, one for parents and one for children. The EPL team visited each class once a month, seeing a total of about 200 children last year.

The children's Play Literacy sessions took place in the classroom. They began with one of the librarians reading a book on a theme - for example, "Pizza at Sally's." Following a regular pattern, the librarians called forth what the children already knew about the topic and introduced specialized vocabulary (dough, knead, pepperoni, etc.).

Two team members modeled play, using the theme - and props like paper hats and a pizza made of felt -
to sequence steps such as taking orders, making the dough, choosing ingredients and baking the pie in an "oven" made from a box. Then they exchanged roles, the children becoming pizza makers and the adults, customers.

"They are very ready to play," says Mr. Kinnebrew of the children. "We even see a crossover where they believe it's real."
It is their opportunity, he says, "to try with no chance of failure - a risk-free environment. That's liberating."

Embedded in this activity, and in others mimicking construction and a doctor's office, flower shop, laundry and post office, is early literacy: "the things kids know about reading before they learn to read," says Mr. Kinnebrew.

No flashcards are involved, he emphasizes: "This is fun, and children learn better when they're active. Play is the child's work."

While the children played, the parents participated in a parent education program developed by the National Institute of Health and the American Library Association. "Every Child Ready to Read" has a national track record in changing how parents interact with their kids over books, according to the brochure.

For the coming school year Foundation 65, the District 65 non-profit organization, has provided money to pilot LEAP with kindergartners at Dawes, Lincoln and Willard Schools. Further support has come from Kiwanis and Woman's clubs, the Hanson Family Foundation and the Justin Wynn Memorial Fund, says Mr. Kinnebrew.

Meanwhile he and team librarians Martha Meyer and Laura Antolin are awaiting word on their application for a large grant from the State of Illinois that would allow them to return to pre-K classes and Headstart for more literacy education.

BOOK REVIEW

"Divisadero"

A Book Review By Sue Brooke

"Divisadero" by Michael Ondaatje, author of "The English Patient," is a finely crafted novel about love, family and the effects of violence on people's lives.

The book begins in the 1970s, when Anna, Claire and Cooper, all reared by the same man on a farm in northern California, are teenagers. After Anna's mother died in childbirth, her father, knowing he had a motherless child, took another orphan home from the hospital as well. He thought of them as twins, Claire and Anna, born the same day of mothers who died in childbirth. A few years earlier he had taken in Cooper, now 4, a neighbor boy who had witnessed the brutal murder of his parents.

The trio's tranquil childhood ends abruptly when the father finds 16-year-old Anna in bed with Cooper. He nearly kills Cooper in a rush of anger, then grabs Anna by the neck and drags her into town. She stabs her father with a piece of glass to protect Cooper. Then, terrified of his anger, she flees, hitchhiking out of her father's life forever. After this cataclysmic day, only Claire is left in the household.

Time passes, and Cooper becomes a gambler in Lake Tahoe. Claire, now an investigative reporter, one day happens upon Cooper, who has been badly beaten. He is involved with other gamblers and a singer with a drug habit, but Claire is determined to rescue him.

The second half of the book tells a different but parallel story, linked to the first by Anna's consciousness. Anna is living in an old farmhouse in France, much like the one she grew up in. She has become absorbed in researching the life of Lucien Segura, a reclusive French writer from an earlier time. Lucien fell in love with the young bride of a much older man who moved next to Lucien's farm. Like Anna and Cooper, she and Lucien are at first like brother and sister: Lucien teaches her how to read, and his mother teaches her how to smile. Then the Great War erupts, and nothing is ever the same again.

Anna tells the story as the girl "who used to be Anna." Having once lived on San Francisco's Divisadero Street, she brings two meanings to the title, "Divisadero." On the one hand, the word comes from the Spanish word for division, since the street at one time was the dividing line between San Francisco and the fields of the Presidio.

On the other, it derives from the word divisar, meaning "to gaze at something from a distance." With Anna, readers can contemplate the modern story from the perspective of the older one and search for meaning in the mirror images the author sets up.

FILM REVIEW

"The Bourne Ultimatum'"

A Film Review By Joe Linstroth

Just when it looked like the action genre had been hijacked and left for dead by the likes of Michael Bay and a legion of semi-retired pro wrestlers, "The Bourne Ultimatum" comes along and makes watching serious butt-kicking fun again.

The third installment of the Bourne Trilogy, "Ultimatum" follows super-assassin Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) as he attempts to find out who turned him into a lethal killing machine before the spooks responsible shred him like a classified document.

Bourne suffers from amnesia and is tormented by murky flashbacks of his "training." "Something happened to me and I need to know what it was," he says, between frenetic chases over rooftops, on motorcycles and through crowded train stations.

Joan Allen returns as Pam Landy, a CIA officer with a conscience and plenty of experience tracking the world's most dangerous man. "We are 9 hours behind the toughest target you have ever tracked," she tells the team as they trace Bourne's globe-trotting with the latest satellite technology.

David Strathairn ("Good Night, and Good Luck") plays Noah Vosen, the leader of the CIA team assigned to make sure Bourne, who is the last remnant of the clandestine Treadstone program, disappears. Noah dispatches silent assassins, or "assets," who try to stop Bourne before he finds his way back to where his old life ended and the killing began.

For almost two hours, the film tears across the globe, bouncing from Moscow to Manhattan, Madrid and Tangier.

Director Paul Greengrass ("United 93", "Bloody Sunday") who also directed the second installment, "The Bourne Supremacy," is largely responsible for the success of the Bourne series. Mr. Greengrass shuns the steady-cam in favor of rapid-fire editing and handheld cameras that bob and spin for nearly two hours. The effect is intensely visceral, as the cameras get so close to the action that every breath can be heard and the chaos and adrenalin of hand-to-hand combat can be felt in the seats.

Matt Damon also deserves credit. He manages to create a sympathetic character out of a killing machine who can dispose of a man as easily as a mechanic changes a tire, and, thankfully, without a witty pun to punctuate the death.

It has been a while, perhaps since "Bourne Supremacy," that an action movie has managed to suspend disbelief for the entire duration of the film. And since rumors have it that this is the last of the Bourne movies (even though the conclusion leaves it open for more), it might be a long wait before another quality action flick hits the big screen.

Runs 1 hr. 51 min.
Rated PG-13 for intense violence.

FILM REVIEW

"The Simpsons Movie"

A Film Review By Brian Murphy

Don't fret, Simpsons fans, the Bumblebee Man makes it onto the big screen, along with a multitude of other regulars from the television show. In fact, the virtual universe of colorful characters is so dense it is like a Sims game.

Since the cartoon's inception in the late ‘80s as a short on "The Tracy Ullman Show," to its becoming a half-hour sitcom on Fox in 1991, creator Matt Groening and his writers have been continuously adding charismatic characters to the cast.

"The Simpsons Movie," however, has the secondary cast of players take a back seat to focus on its titular, naughty nuclear family: Bart, Marge, Lisa, Maggie and Homer Simpson.

Like the show, "The Simpsons" movie has witty but slight political undertones. In this case, religion, environmental polluters, Hollywood actors and the government all take their shots to humorous effect.

When Lake Springfield becomes a cesspool of pollution, Lisa takes matters into her own hands to clean it up. However, she cannot stop her own father, Homer, from dumping waste from his pet pig into the water, which results in catastrophe. President Schwarzenegger is advised to put a glass dome around Springfield in order to contain the disaster.

Inevitably, a lynch mob is formed by the townspeople to enact revenge. The Simpsons escape and travel to the clean air of Alaska. Upon discovering that the government is going to blow up Springfield, four of the five fugitives decide to return to help their friends and neighbors. Homer must decide whether to stay in Alaska or return to be a hero.

The jokes and their set-ups come rapid-fire; not much screen time is wasted without the promise of a chuckle. Even the introductory 20th Century Fox promo is interrupted by Ralph Wiggum singing along with the orchestral music, "Da da da daaaah!"

The film throws some great jabs at Fox (its own TV broadcasting station), with a brief news ticker at the bottom of the screen; at the media (Kent Brockman titles his report on the doming of Springfield "Trappacino"); and even at the audience (Homer stands up during an "Itchy and Scratchy" movie and tells the audience, "You're paying to see something you could see at home for free. Suckers!").

Mr. Groening and crew even take advantage of the freedom of the big screen venue, pushing the envelope a little in terms of bawdy humor: Someone flips the bird, there is an erotic take on a Disney scene and someone's genitals are shown. Keep in mind, people - they are animated genitals.

Fans of the show will doubtless love the film because it gives them what want. Casual fans will enjoy it, too.

Even Green Day and Tom Hanks come along for the ride, making very funny cameos and poking fun at themselves.

With such Simpsons rhetoric as "D'oh," "Hello everybody," "Don't have a cow, man," etc. having entered the lexicon of its generation, the phenomenon that is "The Simpsons" does not appear to be weakening any time soon. And during tender moments, such as when Homer looks at his baby and says, "Maggie! What a great little accident you turned out to be," we are very glad for that.

Running Time - 87 min. Rated PG-13