Your Chicago / CURRENTS
We Are So In
After the Trump Administration’s decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement, Mayor Emanuel vowed, “We are still in.” He wasn’t kidding—so far Chicago has met 40 percent of the 2025 goal—and we work toward a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable city every day. Read on for eight incredible ways we’ve stepped up our efforts to protect the environment. AMANDA HANLEY 1
We’ve embraced clean energy
As the fastest-growing sector in the U.S., clean energy is the source of 120,000 Illinois jobs—and the momentous Future Energy Jobs Act, passed in 2016, has resulted in an upsurge of solar panels. (Good news: If you don’t have appropriate roof space, community solar alternatives will soon be available.) Currently, the city procures coal-free electricity, and by 2025, all Chicago public buildings will be powered by 100 percent renewable energy.
Clockwise from top: The Field Museum’s 99.4 kilowatt photovoltaic solar array sits atop its roof. Urban monarchs float downtown. One of Chicago’s many Divvy stations.
We’ve made “good” food a priority
As one of the nation’s top cities for urban agriculture, we have more than 500 urban farms and community gardens and 64 farmers markets spread among our neighborhoods. Gotham Greens operates the world’s largest and most productive rooftop greenhouse in Pullman, and Lawndale’s upcoming Farm on Ogden will serve as a food production and farmer-training hub, bringing fresh fruits and vegetables to food deserts. Chicago is also a hotbed of thriving food startups, including Simple Mills, MightyVine, and Phoenix Bean/ Jenny’s Tofu, and the Good Food Accelerator and The Hatchery, opening this year, will help launch future enterprises.
We value the nature that surrounds us 3
Amid a park boom, the latest nature attractions include Northerly Island, Maggie Daley Park, Big Marsh, and the Burnham Wildlife Corridor. Additionally, 327 playgrounds were created or modernized so every child lives within a 10-minute walk of a park. The city’s Building on Burnham plan aims to protect 2,020 acres of natural areas by 2020; treekeepers work tirelessly to care for urban trees besieged by invasive buckthorn and emerald 32 M ARCH /APR I L 2018 M A K E IT B E T T E R
KAREN BEAN © THE FIELD MUSEUM; ABIGAIL DERBY LEWIS; AMANDA HANLEY
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