Center for Green Technology

Oh yes. If you haven't heard of it, don't worry- we hadn't either. But it just might change your life. It's in Garfield Park and it was built on an abandoned/condemned site shut down by the city.

They have solar panels that provide about a quarter of the building's electricity.



Their green house has a back wall made from concrete blocks that absorbs and reheats the building, so that additional heating/electricity isn't needed.



So many things in the building are made from recycled materials. The bathroom stalls are made from old milk jugs and soda bottles. The ceiling tiles are made from newspaper. Different floors throughout the building are made from rubber tires, aviation glass, and wine corks.



They also have rain cisterns they use for watering all the plants in and around the building, greenhouse, garden, etc.



My favorite part was the photography exhibit they are featuring right now, called What We Worry About. It featured photographs that visually depicted big (mostly environmental) issues people are worried about. We were talking about how difficult it is to talk to people about big issues without overwhelming them into apathy. I think the photographs did a good job of showing those issues without throwing a bunch of numbers our way.



SOOOOO, if you haven't visited. DO IT. And if you can't, check out the website and the photography.