Apparently the recent separation of Al and Tipper Gore was what led Senator Mark Kirk to oppose climate change legislation, and not political or economic considerations. Kirk told the New York Times that his rationale for not supporting climate change legislation in Illinois is the result of Al Gores' personal life, not as a result of political or economic factors. "The consensus behind the climate change bill collapsed and then further deteriorated with the personal and political collapse of Vice President [Al] Gore," Kirk said in what was described as a "brief interview." more ›

Former Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore was back in town today, stopping by a local Borders to promote his newest book, Our Choice: A Plan To Solve The Climate Crisis. But before he shook some hands, he made a stop by WBEZ where he talked with 848 about the book and his plan. It's all well and good and a cause we can get behind, but we still prefer the below call to action over either of those other options. more ›

You might say Al Gore is compensating for something. A former Vice President, Nobel Peace prize winner, Academy Award winner, New York Times bestseller, Chairman of Emmy award winning independent TV network Current TV, inventor of the Internet and expert kisser, he can also add a recent book deal and Chicago Theatre speaking engagement to his long list of accolades. more ›

The American Association for the Advancement of Science, the self-proclaimed "world's largest general scientific society", is meeting this weekend right here in Chicago for what is promising to be a huge event, starting today and running through Monday. As many as 10,000 attendees from 60 different countries will be traversing the city, attending workshops and seminars. The focus of this year's convention will be Global Warming. Says AAAS president James J. McCarthy, "Today, the warming of our planet is unequivocal, and human activities are a primary cause. Within the next few human generations, the effect of these climate changes could put the survival of many species at risk." more ›

2009 will not only bring us a new President (and hopefully a new governor), but a new speaking series at the Chicago Theatre and boy, does it look awesome. The series features an evening of conversation with the 'Stars of the Political World' at The Chicago Theatre, Radio City Music Hall in NYC and The Wang Theatre in Boston. The lineup is pretty strong and we can't take our eyes off that first one: Maher vs Coulter? It's like every Macho Man vs Hulk Hogan grudge match from our childhood amped up on amphetamines. If you see a rip in the space-time continuum somewhere around State & Lake that night, at least you'll know why. Our one caveat? No Soledad O'Brien. Man, we love her. more ›

Whaddya know, there's more going on around town than the Feds rousting Blago out of bed: more ›

With the Democratic National Convention less than a week away, those whispers about Obama picking a running mate have turned into a buzz and will soon turn into a roar. Reports are stating that Obama has picked his running mate and will announce it as soon as tomorrow. Earlier this summer, Obama's campaign rolled out an option for those on the Obama email list to register so that could receive first notice of the Veep decision. Speculation has focused on Delaware Senator Joe Biden and Indiana Senator Evan Bayh as the lead candidates. more ›

Will Smith has already said he'd play him onscreen, but first we have to get through the convention in August, an event that has its own series of rituals and traditions. One of the most high-profile of these is the biographical promo, a short film designed to introduce the nominee. Past efforts have invloved the likes of Harry Thomason (for Bill Clinton) and James Moll and Steven Spielberg (for John Kerry). Al Gore's 2000 promo was to have been directed by Spike Jonze but was eventually scuttled (it was later released on Wholphin's first issue). more ›

According to the New York Times, Chicago "is the alley capital of America." Eh, we'll take it. Because the story's all about our "green alley" initiative, which if you'll recall snagged an Innovation Award last month. more ›

The Greenbuild Expo started this morning at McCormick Place with a keynote by none other than Al Gore's president, Bill Clinton. Greenbuild 2007 brings 18,000 building professionals together for education sessions, lectures, tours of Chicago's greenest buildings, and a huge number of booths featuring new products and technology. Greenbuild says they chose Chicago because of the city's legacy of great architecture and Mayor Daley's dedication to all things green. (During his reign, the city has... more ›

There isn't total agreement on just how "green" Chicago is (though if anyone knows, it would be Blair Kamin). The city hopes to make some progress in Al Gore-ifying the city with its two new programs. more ›

According to a new study done by former grad students at UIC, students who received candy prior to filling out teacher evaluations rated professors higher than those who didn't offer candy. We know...totally shocking, right? Benjamin Jee and Robert Youmans studied 100 students in three UIC psych classes. Students who completed an evaluation sans sweet encouragement gave the professors an average rating of a 3.85 out of 5, while those who received mini Hershey’s bars... more ›

Sure, Al Gore got a Nobel Prize today, but the environment? Well, it's still pretty fucked. Nearly half of Illinois's waterways are unsafe for swimming or fishing. more ›

In yesterday's Tribune, John Kass discovered the existence of "freegans." Like Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens trying to describe the Internet, Kass ridicules the movement as "equal parts youth, privilege, guilt and Al Gore's wackier environmental pronouncements mixed with bits of what your socialist professors told you in college but you can't remember, exactly" while theorizing (via his assistant) that most freegans embrace the philosophy because "(i)t's all about getting dates." more ›

ComEd will again be giving a $2 discount on Compact Flourescents as a part of their aptly named ComEd Discount CFL Bulb Program. See? Energy conglomerates don't want the earth to die, you silly environmentalists. more ›

October in Chicago makes us feel like kids again. This month, the Mayor’s Office of Special Events and the Park District have filled the calendar with Halloween-themed activities perfect for the toddler set and their kid-at-heart parents. Here are our favorites in the lead up to the big holiday. The park district (along with Walgreens) is sponsoring events to get you in the spirit at over forty different neighborhood parks from Bessemer to Oz throughout... more ›

Just so you know, nobody is going to let you forget about global warming for more than five minutes. Whether it's Al Gore's tears, your alderman's lightbulbs, or Blackle, somebody's always got some new way to save the earth and they want to bend your ear about it while they are driving home. The newest thing you should be worried about? How global warming is going to affect your health. more ›

Who didn't pump gas today? Well, most people we know would raise their hands, because we are all hardcore green-living fanatics who live by the code of Al Gore, and we walk everywhere, but some people live and die by that bubbling crude, oil that is, black gold, Texas tea. Today was "Don't Pump Gas" day, but unfortunately, when we rolled out of bed this morning a little late and turned on the TV, we... more ›

We know this is blasphemous and all, but we've gotten a little tired of hearing about global warming lately. Each passing day bombards us with another article about switching incandescent lightbulbs for the ones laced with mercury that can be disposed of as easily as, say, batteries, another "green issue" of Jane or Bop or whatever and another quote about the dire situation from a presidential candidate, we're terribly sorry, probably don't even recycle. That's... more ›

We've always considered ourselves to have quite a bit of confidence in our city, stepping onto the pavement this morning, seeing happy people and their dogs, we couldn't help but smile and take a deep breath of some long awaited warm air. It's always important to stay on top of the game though, so this weekend we thought we would take a stab at improving on this. We agree with the Chicago Center for Green... more ›

Do you remember when Olestra came out? And how it was going to make snacking guilt-free, since it replaced the fat in your favorite snacking products? We do. And we also remember how we decided that the guilt was better than the nasty side effects from eating those potato chips. Thanks to The Bleeding Heart Bakery, now we can snack guilt-free once again, since everything in the bakery in 100% certified organic. Not only... more ›

Friday night, Chicagoist sat in the Kroc University Theater of the Adler Planetarium to hear Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" presentation given by someone with PhD style credibility, Dr. James Sweitzer. The majority of the presentation had the same slickness of Gore's documentary without the cut scenes of impending doom (though the excessive rumbling of traffic above the theater was slightly ominous). However, in lieu of soliloquies about being a boy on a farm,... more ›

People living in Wards 5 and 8 should be feeling extra smug today, since as of April 1, they can recycle using Chicago's Blue Cart program. Say "sayonara" to frustrating blue bags and "hola" to your new friends, blue carts. more ›

Austinist gets arty with an interactive guide to SXSW, loved some local art galleries and a new art exhibit and lamented the possible loss of "Friday Night Lights" production to New Mexico. Bostonist was happy they finally found an Anna Nicole Smith connection to their fair city and that an Apple Store was opening up. They were less happy that new rules have been established limiting underage shows and that their Governor is spending... more ›

You know that extra car you have lying around? The one that only half works, requires lots of maintenance and doesn't get driven that often? Yeah, us neither (we rely on the lovely services of the CTA). But if we did, we would be pumped about an event that Zipcar is having next Monday, Feb. 26, at the Music Box Theatre called "Drive-In, Don't Drive Out." Drivers who bring in their old Pintos, Yugos and... more ›

We'd like to start this week's run-down by wishing a very happy birthday to parent blog Gothamist, which turned four on Friday. If it wasn't for them, the rest of us wouldn't be here. They celebrated their birthday by nabbing an interview with Entourage star Adrian Grenier, who misses NYC public transportation when he's working in LA. They also reported on NYU students protesting a band whose name is also known as a slur,... more ›

One of our fellow employees, a lifelong Chicagoan, brought a book to work one day. Unaware that taking in external knowledge was allowed at our office, we took a gander. It was a pictorial book about the Cows on Parade exhibits from 1999, before we ourselves became a permanent fixture in the city. While we thought the cows themselves kind of cheesy (no pun intended), we enjoyed the idea of public art on such a... more ›

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Don't get us wrong, we're enjoying the unseasonably warm weather. But, you know, we saw that Al Gore movie, and it has us a little concerned about global warming. So it's nice to see some signs of winter. more ›