CNT Update, April 2007
CNT Update, April 2007
Quick List of Earth Month To-Do’s:
***Sign up for a Fresh Squeeze, and vote for CNT as your favorite non-profit!
A Fresh Squeeze is Chicago’s newest e-newsletters choke full of great tips and information for living green. “You Subscribe, We Donate” Campaign has gone live and A Fresh Squeeze will now donate $1 for each new subscriber to their listserv. The best part is you as the subscriber then decides which green organization wins the donation, and we sure hope you vote for CNT!
http://www.afreshsqueeze.com/wedonate.php
***Vote for I-GO Audio Emissions, and buy your tickets for the show at the Metro!
Until April 30th, you can help choose the final lineup for the CD, already featuring Andrew Bird, Koko Taylor, Mucca Pazza, Devil in a Woodpile and other amazing Chicago acts. And then buy your tickets for the CD release party at the Metro on May 31st. You’ll get a copy of the CD along with live performances by Detholz!, Palliard, Quantazelle and Madison Buchanan. Vote here!
***Send us your Climate Change mitigation ideas
CNT is working with the Chicago Department of Environment in developing a Climate Action Strategy to meet its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 20% by 2010. Send us your ideas for programs, projects, and policies to mitigate climate change and we will post to a wiki of ideas being closely examined by the city and its partners. Send ideas to matt@cnt.org.
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And now the Update…
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Sustainability News
1. Chicago Ranks at #10 for Renewable Energy
2. Creative Ways to Reduce Congestion: Higher Taxes, Lower Insurance
3. Streetcars and the Importance of Transit-Oriented Development
CNT News
1. Local Physician Wins Fellowship to Study Pedestrian Issues
2. CNT Around Promoting Earth Month
3. CNT Gives Trainings in Stormwater Best Management Practices
4. New Staff
CNT Toolbox
1. Report Spotlight: “School Safety Busing”
2. CNT in the News
3. Job Openings
Local Events
1. 3rd Annual Richard J. Daley Urban Forum
2. CNT’s Tools for Sustainable Communities Open House
3. Memorial Day Green Ride: Mini Ride for Climate
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Sustainability News
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1. Chicago Ranks at #10 for Renewable Energy
SustainLane recently released the results of a study that looked at the largest 50 U.S. cities and ranked them by the highest percentage of power produced from renewable energy sources. They determined the percentage of each city’s electricity that comes from renewables such as solar, wind, geothermal, and small-scale hydro energy.
Despite Chicago’s low ranking, there are some very innovative efforts going on to reduce the cities environmental impact. For example, Chicago is one of the cities offering a tax break for green developments with funding that is backed mostly by the U.S. Department of Environment. The city has also introduced a green bungalow initiative. Through this program, bungalows that are in the process of renovation are using eco-friendly materials and technology. Chicago also has a high standard to address the footprint that new buildings have on the environment. All new buildings must meet a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold or silver rating, which factors in energy efficiency, transit orientation and interaction with the city.
Fifteen other areas of urban sustainability were factored in to SustainLane’s study, including public transit use, air and tap water quality, planning and land use, affordability, energy and climate change policy, local food and agriculture, green economy and sustainability management.
Chicago is recognized as a leader in the green movement towards sustainability and will continue to develop pioneering technology and well as collaborate and understand what sustainability means worldwide to further its efforts.
To read more about SustainLane’s rankings go here.
2. Creative Ways to Reduce Congestion: Higher Taxes, Lower Insurance
In New York, Mayor Bloomberg recently announced an ambitious sustainability plan for the city. “PlaNYC” outlines 127 green initiatives and goals, “to make New York the first environmentally sustainable 21st-century city”. Improving public transportation, planting more than 1 million trees, and cleaning up 7,600 acres of polluted brownfields are some of the large-scale features of the plan. PlaNYC even takes cues from cities like London and Singapore by calling for a “congestion tax” that will charge drivers in Manhattan a fee during peak periods of congestion, so as to encourage public transportation usage, reducing traffic and auto emissions while raising money for transportation projects.
In another environmentally-innovative city, Seattle, legislators are considering a pilot program that encourages people to drive less and take public transportation namely in peak congestion times, by lowering their insurance rates. Providing economic incentive for people to drive less will result in cleaner air and lessen the impact of global warming, owing to reduced exhaust emissions, and less traffic congestion, freeing up additional highway capacity without the high cost of construction.
Creative planning solutions are vital when it comes to dealing with real problems like congestion and gas prices. More importantly they set us up to begin to address issues like air pollution and global warming.
3. Streetcars and the Importance of Transit-Oriented Development
Streetcars are the latest strategy for creative transportation solutions that face large and smaller cities alike. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is considering the development of a half-mile streetcar line to act as a test phase before a proposed 11-mile system is approved. And consultants say the system shouldn’t be built without transit-oriented development.
Transit-oriented development and streetcars go hand-in-hand for creating dense urban communities with diverse transit options-not only streetcar-oriented-but also biking and walking. Cities like Myrtle Beach and Portland see them as viable and attractive mass transit option offering a more flexible approach to many of the transportation issues that urban areas face. What sometimes prevents heavy-rail development-infrastructure and costs-makes streetcars more appealing. Light-rail is easier to build, less expensive and, as is the case now, often does not require federal funding. Instead, private funders see it as a sustainable way to attract commercial and residential development around transit zones.
If you’re interested in learning more about the streetcar revival, including the chapter on history written by CNT’s Scott Bernstein, you can order a copy of “Street Smart: Streetcars and Cities in the 21st Century”, by filling out an order form here and emailing or faxing back.
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CNT News
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1. Local Physician Wins Fellowship to Study Pedestrian Issues
Dr. Kyran Quinlan, MD, MPH, from the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Chicago has been awarded a two-year Physician Advocacy Fellowship from the Center on Medicine as a Profession. CNT sponsored Dr. Quinlan’s recent application for a fellowship to study pedestrian issues in Chicago, as he will be working closely with CNT’s Pedestrian Program.
As part of CNT’s mission at making communities more livable and sustainable, pedestrian advocacy is an important tool. Working to create walkable neighborhoods provides many health, environment and economic benefits. Walkable communities are better places to live: they are more accessible and safe for residents, including children, seniors, and those without cars; more convenient because residents can shop and run errands close to their homes; and environmentally healthier with fewer car trips, less traffic congestion, less noise and cleaner air.
Read more about CNT’s programs to make communities more walkable, like Walkers Win! @ http://www.cnt.org/tsp/trans/ctaqc/ww/.
2. CNT Around Promoting Earth Month
Kicking off with “Step it Up”, CNT was all over this past month promoting all that is green. At “Step it Up”, CNT’er Peter Haas got the crowd charged up with a poem from Carl Sandburg and a call-to-action to Congress, Illinois, Cook County and Chicago alike. Read more about “Step it Up” and it’s goal of calling on Congress to “step up” their climate change agendas and reduce 80% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
I-GO was all over town, showing off its low-emissions fleet at the Alternative Transportation Festival at the University of Chicago and signing up new members who wanted to ’step up’ their actions at the “Step it Up” rally.
Rounding out some exciting events was the Green Festival at McCormick Place. This was the place to be to learn about the most innovative and cutting-edge green technologies, products and services, with over 300 exhibitors. I-GO CEO Sharon Feigon and CNT’s Jacky Grimshaw, Vice president for Policy, Transportation & Community Development were two of the featured speakers at the event.
The next place to find CNT is in Evanston on Sunday, May 29, as a co-sponsor for Evanston’s Earth Day. More info here.
3. CNT Gives Trainings in Stormwater Best Management Practices
One of the biggest obstacles in achieving widespread implementation of the sustainable low-tech solutions to stormwater management issues known as “green” infrastructure is actually training the engineers and municipal planners who will use the methods. These innovative technologies and how to design with them was part of a recent training held by the Delta Institute. CNT presented the Green Values Calculator, one of the tools in CNT’s stormwater toolbox, and guided conference participants through an exercise using the calculator when formulating initial stormwater management designs.
Participants were given a real example from the Champaign/Urbana area and asked to re-envision the stormwater management design in order to maximize use of green infrastructure. An analysis of the site was done with the Green Values calculator to identify the costs and benefits of implementing BMPs on the site. Bill Eyring, senior engineer at CNT, presented results that showed that the developer of the site could diminish the required land for stormwater detention by 55% and save $150,000 in construction costs if (s)he used a combination of green infrastructure techniques: 50% native vegetation on the lawn, rain gardens at all roof downspouts, vegetated swales, and permeable pavement for sidewalks, patios, and driveways.
The City of Chicago’s new stormwater ordinance (effective Jan 2008) will require on-site stormwater storage for regulated developments and CNT has developed a version of the Green Values calculator that is specific to the regulations set out in the ordinance, and can be used by developers to estimate different ways of meeting the new requirements by using green infrastructure BMPs. The same cost/benefit comparison of a conventional system vs. a green system that is available in great detail on the Green Values calculator is laid out in the Chicago version.
For more information or to get started calculating the benefits of your own stormwater management project, visit greenvalues.cnt.org.
4. New Staff
Beth Sholtis is linking her business background and sociology undergrad degree by planning and promoting CNT’s Tools for Sustainable Communities open house. She is learning how to incorporate sustainable development practices into a traditional business mindset, as she prepares to begin a master’s degree in urban planning.
Joe Grant, recent graduate of the University of Chicago, is working on new ventures that promote CNT’s mission through the marketplace.
Jessica Simoncelli, a recent graduate of Tufts University, is serving as an intern at CNT. She is helping to market CNT’s consulting tools and seeking projects where the tools might be applied in municipal or regional planning agencies in the Midwest.
Interns Jocelyn Driessen and Mollie Nye will be helping I-GO staff summer festivals.
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CNT Toolbox
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1. Report Spotlight: School Safety Busing: Serious Safety Hazards in Cook County, 1980-2006
Since 1980, as part of the School Safety Busing program, school boards across Illinois have been documenting Serious Safety Hazard Findings and submitting them to their IDOT district office for approval. Thousands of forms were submitted in the last two-and-a-half decades representing an opportunity to document and assess safety hazards affecting children in Illinois: Where do we find most approved hazards? What kinds of approved hazards occur most frequently? Are there particular locations that have a high concentration of approved hazards?
The answers to these questions offer valuable information towards improving conditions for walking and biking to school. In the report, CNT sought to answer some of these questions and identify less obvious questions that may need to be addressed. In January CNT presented this report to Illinois Department of Transportation.
Download the report here
2. CNT in the News
“Your Neighborhood Green Think Tank”. Recently CNT was described as this by the special Chicago Life section of “The New York Times”. CEO Kathy Tholin sat down and talked about where CNT has been in 30 years and where it plans to go.
http://www.chicagolife.net/content/interview/Your_Neighborhood_Green_Think_Tank
One of the greatest qualities of I-GO car-sharing is the mutual benefits to you and the environment. The “Chicago Sun-Times” recently ran an article about the ‘accidental environmentalists’ who became I-GO members to reduce the impact on their wallet only to learn and support the reduced impacts on the environment as well.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/transportation/352300,CST-NWS-greenshare22.article
CNT’s Transit Future has been launched, complete with a new website and regular newsletters. It has been getting attention as a “strong push to improve the CTA”. Read more about it at the Neighbors Project blog.
http://neighborsproject.blogspot.com/2007/04/cta-project-updates.html
3. Job Openings
CNT, Development and Communications Assistant
CNT Development-Communication-Assistant.doc
Andersonville Development Corporation, Managing Director
Position announcement – Mg Dir 071.doc
Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, Community Liaison/Sunday Parkways Organizer
http://www.biketraffic.org/content.php?id=1225_0_3_0_C
Safe Routes to School, various part-time State Networking Organizers
http://bikesbelong.org/page.cfm?PageID=400
City of Park Ridge, Urban Forester
Ad – Urban Forester-Inspector.pdf
Natural Resources Defense Council, California Smart Growth/Location Efficiency Advocate
http://www.planetizen.com/node/23739
Walk San Diego, Executive Director
http://www.walksandiego.org/
STPP, Executive Director
http://www.cnt.org/jobs?job=stpp-executive-director
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Local Events
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1. 3rd Annual Richard J. Daley Urban Forum
On Wednesday, May 2, 9-4:30, the University of Illinois-Chicago welcomes keynote Speaker Robert E. Rubin, Former Secretary of the United States Treasury, to lead the 2007 Richard J. Daley Urban Forum “Building the Future City”, which will examine the roles that major infrastructure projects will play in developing and sustaining future cities. Speakers will discuss how these projects can be financed, their impact on the environment, and their ultimate costs and benefi ts. They also will discuss how cities should deal with decaying infrastructure that cannot be renewed, and examine how decisions made now will affect the future economic and social vitality of a city and the lives of its citizens.
Event will take place in the Illinois Room, Student Center East of the UIC Campus, 750 South Halsted Street. Breakfast/Registration begins at 7:30 AM. For more information or to register, visit www.RJDUrbanForum.uic.edu. $25 per person, Free to all students, cost includes continental breakfast, lunch and parking.
2. CNT’s Tools for Sustainable Communities Open House
CNT will be hosting an open house highlighting our innovative tools available to support sustainable communities. Come see our LEED-certified Platinum building while you learn about our various tools: calculators, GIS analysis, market innovations, planning and research. We will be giving tours of our building and conducting mini workshops.
Thursday, May 10 from 3:00-7:00 at the Center for Neighborhood Technology, 2125 W. North Ave. For more information, go to http://www.cnt.org/events/toolfair07
3. Memorial Day Green Ride: Mini-Ride for Climate
Two global warming experts are riding across the country to raise awareness of the global warming crisis in a Ride for Climate. They will join us to tour some of Chicago’s efforts at mitigating global warming such as green buildings like CNT, recycling facilities and more. The ride will take place at 9AM – Monday, May 28, 2007 (Memorial Day) and will be about 35 miles at 10-14 mph pace. Starts at Waveland Clock Tower 3700 N. Lake Shore Drive in Lincoln Park. Please wear your helmet.
Questions to Kathy Schubert (773) 248 5499 or kangarookathy@yahoo.com. This is a joint ride of Chicago Cycling Club and Cycling Sisters.
