Earth Day: Chicago Green Drinks Edition

How did I spend the actual Earth Day, April 22?  At work, of course.  I wish I could tell you that I attended some rally or something.  I fed my worms at my desk an apple core - that should keep them happy for a while.  How did I spend my Earth Day evening?  I attended Chicago Green Drinks with well over 100 other folks.  It was standing room only tonight.  Let’s just put it this way, if the speaker had pyrotechnics and the place caught on fire - my charred corpse would still be there (with a Fat Tire beer in hand).

Tonight was a special Green Drinks and one that I have been looking forward to for a long time.  I kinda felt bad going without my wife, but she was unable to attend because we didn’t have a babysitter and the event is all the way in the city and I was already there for work.  Why have I been looking forward to this one?  Sadhu Johnston was speaking.  He is the Deputy Mayor of Chicago and the first Chief Environmental Officer for the City of Chicago.

This is the third time I’ve seen Sadhu speak in person.  The first was at the Green Festival last year.  I’ve also seen him on Sara Snow’s show on Discovery Health.  The topic for the evening was the “state of the environment” for the City.  What have they been working on, what’s coming up, etc.  So let’s get in to the meat of the presentation.

The City of Chicago announced today a program to start collecting and recycling pharmaceuticals.  Currently, since pharmas are controlled substances, they have to be collected in a controlled environment.  I can just imagine a drop-box in the middle of the city and homeless folks walking around with issues from the little blue pills they took.  Yes - I just painted that picture in your head.  So to get the party started, the collections will be held at police stations throughout the city.  There haven’t been any major retailers who have agreed to collect these items - meaning Walgreens, CVS, etc.

Energy - On Saturday, you may recall from my posts that we attended what the city is calling “mega events.”  These are large scale household recycling events.  More than 3,500 people showed up.  That’s insane - but so great!

Sadhu also reported that the City is getting 20% of its power from green sources.  On top of that, they have a proposal out for a 1megawatt solar installation at a city pumping station. 

Climate Change - 70% of Chicago’s energy spent is on buildings.  20% is on mobile (buses, cars, etc).  They hope to reduce these emissions 80% by 2050.  That’s an enormous undertaking and is going to take a lot of little steps.

There is a program underway to help retrofit older buildings.  Many new buildings are already being LEED certified and building green.  You can get expedited permits if you build within sustainable standards.  The Merchandise Mart is one of the first old buildings to sign on.  If you’re not from here, the Merchandise Mart is so large that it has its own zip code.  They have realized a 12% reduction in energy which is amounting to approx. $12 million in savings.  If you don’t think the little things matter - listen to this.  They found that something as simple as cleaning their dust mop heads has saved them time, energy, and man power.  A clean mop works better and they don’t have to mop as often.

The last climate change intiative that Sadhu spoke of is called “transit oriented development.”  This is simply building housing and communities around transportation nodes.

There were more facts and figures and Q&A.  Many people are concerned over residential recycling in the city.  First off, the blue bag program doesn’t work.  Everyone is aware of that.  There is a bin system that is being rolled out, but it’s slow going due to infrastructure and just plain logistics.  Residents can get a grant of $75/year to help offset the cost of hiring a private company to haul your recycling waste.  If you live in an apartment building, this can make it very affordable and thus reduce your garbage going out to the curb.

Overall, I was happy that I attended the event.  I always enjoy Green Drinks and it’s enlightening to go and see so many people show up.  You really feel part of a community and know that Chicago is serious about the environment.  We’re one of the greenest cities in the country and getting better all the time.  Going to the event also affords me the opportunity to read and blog on the train while going home (like right now).