Climate Change Activities Heating Up
By 2030, Chicago could be up to four degrees Fahrenheit warmer and basking (or baking) in double-digit temperature increases by the end of this century. Extreme heat abnormal to our region’s ecosystem would become more common and storms more severe and with greater impacts. Despite greater precipitation levels, the Midwest would actually be a drier climate and suffer drought due to the increased evaporation associated with warmer areas. The potential scenarios and subsequent dominoes falling would affect our lake levels, water quality, rivers, ecosystem, plant life, and energy use. The impact of these changes would be dramatic-affecting all aspects of Chicagoans quality of life.
But, the picture painted above doesn’t have to come to fruition. As part of his goal for a green Chicago, Mayor Daley is focusing attention on the effects of climate change. The City itself has already taken steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from municipal operations and adapt to changes in climate; and Chicago is now demonstrating even greater leadership by facilitating a more comprehensive plan to determine how the entire community can reduce its contribution to global warming. The City’s Department of Environment and the Global Philanthropy Partnership are collaborating on the Chicago Climate Task Force that brings together representatives from business, civil society, government, and labor, as well as a top researchers working in the field of climate change. The Task Force is charged with preparing an action plan for Chicago-a plan for all who produce, work, and live here.
To initiate the process, the Task Force will consider research that will use a variety of data sets to create a baseline calculation of Chicago’s existing emissions from multiple sources-from planes, trains, and automobiles to electricity, industry, and waste.
Here is where CNT comes in. . .
CNT is leading up the City’s mitigation research team. In addition, CNT President Scott Bernstein is a member of the Task Force. CNT will be focusing on documenting the current greenhouse gas footprint of Chicago, projecting future emissions under business as usual, and creating a menu of emission reduction opportunities. Because the City of Chicago is depending upon this research to guide its climate planning, CNT is in a unique position to help support wise decision making for the future of the region by providing robust, peer-reviewed information.
The Chicago climate change effort will identify cost-effective opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Chicago and then assign emissions values to the proposed emission reduction programs. The study will include a description of the necessary scale at which these changes would have to be implemented, as well as their economic impacts. CNT is encouraging all those with emission reduction ideas for Chicago to submit them for the research team’s consideration. At a recent meeting of the initiative, participants generated ideas such as banning the sale of incandescent light bulbs within the City, mandating energy efficient education in school curricula, and higher fees on automobile licensing. It appears the desire, creativity, and energy is being harnessed in the right direction-that could lead to cooler days ahead. If you have ideas for programs or policies that Chicago could pursue to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions please submit them to Matthew Cunningham at matthew@cnt.org.
