Chicago Steps it Up – Will You?
Kicking off a busy week of Earth Month related activities, hundreds of
people gathered at Daley Plaza last Saturday to tell Congress to “step up” their climate change agendas and reduce 80% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. For this National Day of Climate Action, people gathered in all 50 states in more than 1400 places around the country.
Hog Butcher for the World;
Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat;
Player with Railroads and the Nation’s Freight Handler;
Stormy, husky, brawling
City of the Big Shoulders.
In 1916 Carl Sandburg described Chicago’s reputation as gritty and industrial. The city has come a long way from its industrial-powered roots and today is one of the leaders in developing tools to mitigate the greenhouse gas emissions it has become so known for producing.
CNT’s Peter Haas spoke at the rally of plans underway for measuring Chicago’s impact on climate change-an area where there is an opportunity to raise awareness to the fact that economic prosperity shouldn’t come at the cost of the long-term health of future generations and the planet.
Drive less. Demand green energy. Plant native vegetation. These are just some of the ways we can “step it up” and lower our own carbon footprint. I-GO sponsored the event and was on hand signing up new members who wanted to start right away.
Peter ended with a vision for a new Chicago: “We may no longer butcher hogs, or stack wheat, but we still are the freight handlers of this nation, and we still have big shoulders and can build the tools to address the biggest issue of our time – climate change.”
You can read Peter’s full speech here.
