Chicago's Green Plans Falling Short

Despite big plans to make the city a national example for environmental friendliness, some say Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's measures have failed to produce the intended results.

1 minute read

June 19, 2007, 10:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg


"As part of his high-profile agenda to transform a gritty, smog-choked metropolis into a tree-lined showcase for green initiatives, Mayor Richard Daley enrolled the city in a network of corporations and governments that pledged to curb emissions of greenhouse gases by 4 percent during the last four years. The network, called the Chicago Climate Exchange, is widely seen as a proving ground for a mandatory national system being debated in Congress."

"City officials have had some success reducing the amount of gasoline, diesel fuel and natural gas burned by government vehicles and buildings, records show. But those improvements have been more than offset by the city's surging demand for electricity, some of which is generated by burning fossil fuels that release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere."

"The city's lack of progress highlights how the mayor's environmentally friendly speeches failed to translate into aggressive action at City Hall."

Monday, June 18, 2007 in The Chicago Tribune

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