Going green in the home of Willis Tower

Someone needs to tell Chicago Mayor Richard Daley that even though he dyed his city’s river green for St. Patrick’s Day, it doesn’t mean Chicago is going “green.”

But, given the inaction Daley has shown toward moving Chicago to more sustainable resources, it seems possible he hopes dyeing the Chicago River counts.
Chicagoans were promised that by the end of 2006, one fifth of their city’s power would come from electricity produced by wind farms and other renewable sources. Chicago was on a path to go green.

It is now 2009. You would think that Chicago would be running on wind power – that everyone could breathe a little easier. Chicagoans should have a city lush and full of green this and green that.

But as I was walked around the city last week, I didn’t notice any giant, spinning fans in the sky. Chicago barely has anything green – again, except for its river.
Chicago still derives nearly all its power from sources such as nuclear power plants and coal. And as many of us already know, those aren’t the “green”est resources for energy.

Instead of getting his city’s energy directly from sources like wind farms, Daley has decided that Chicago will buy carbon credits to offset the footprint the city makes. But carbon credits are only “green” if the money that is spent on them goes toward the production of sustainable energy resources. The money spent on carbon credits should go toward developing new, more efficient ways of producing energy that will do less harm to our earth.

In the case of Chicago, nearly all of the money it paid for carbon credits went to a North Carolina power plant. The plant burns wood biomass.
Even though this plant might be burning wood instead of coal, the money still didn’t help fund new and innovative development of technologies.

What Chicago needs to do is be a leader. Daley needs to stop thinking about paying to keep pollution. Rather, Chicago should spend that money to get Chicago directly on renewable energy.

Chicago is not only a role model for the Midwest but the entire country as well – and soon maybe the world. It’s the U.S. bid city for the 2016 Olympics.

If Chicago were to invest in such things as solar power or the use of hydrogen buses, there’s no doubt that other cities around the country would follow suit.

Even though Daley might say he has an ambitious plan for bringing Chicago into the “green” age, his words will fall short.

What he really needs to do is physically show Chicagoans how their city’s going green. By just buying up carbon credits, he’s not doing anything to immediately help his city.

By promoting solar panels and organic gardens on rooftops or helping the Chicago Transit Authority buses move toward hydrogen power, Chicagoans will be able to see they can turn more than their river green.