Go Green Illinois Meeting

Zoom

Tuesday, January 14

1:00 pm

The January meeting will focus on the topic of water. Included will be information about water treatment standards, the importance of water conservation, energy use for water treatment, lead pipe replacement, and contaminants in the water (PFAS, microplastics, etc.) and ways we can reduce them. Examples of local actions and regulations will be shared. Guest speakers to be announced.

This meeting will be on Zoom. Registration is required to attend the meeting.

A Digital Diet for Carbon Reduction
Auditorium, Highland Park Public Library
Wednesday, January 22, 7:00 p.m.
Reduce carbon to mitigate climate change by trimming your digital footprint. Rebecca Hedtler from Go Green HP provides practical steps for cleaning out areas in your digital world (photos, apps, text chains, and more) that generate carbon needlessly. Learn about other advantages to reducing your digital footprint, too. Registration coming soon!

Environmental Book Discussion:
We Are the Middle of Forever, by Dahr Jamail & Stan Rushworth
Curt’s Cafe, 1766 2nd St, Highland Park
Thursday, January 23, 1:30-3:00 pm

Join us to discuss We Are the Middle of Forever, which “places Indigenous voices at the center of conversations about today’s environmental crisis. The book draws on interviews with people from different North American Indigenous cultures and communities, generations, and geographic regions, who share their knowledge and experience, their questions, their observations, and their dreams of maintaining the best relationship possible to all of life. A welcome antidote to the despair arising from the climate crisis,” -from the publisher, The New Press. In partnership with Highland Park Public Library.

It’s the Holidays … So Let’s Talk About Consumption
By Francesca Kelly for Go Green Highland Park
I was in my laundry room folding a cheap cotton tee shirt when I noticed the label read, “Made in Pakistan.” I thought about the fact that this tee shirt, which cost about $19, was made on the other side of the world by someone earning a pittance – someone I’ll never meet. Then I thought about the ships polluting our oceans to bring the tee shirt here and the carbon footprint of all of the clothes and other goods that make their way to America.
China and America are the two leading emitters of carbon pollution; and America spends the most on consumer goods – almost 1.6 trillion dollars per year.
That may be good for the economy, but it’s bad news for the environment, because the production of goods – even “sustainable” goods – accounts for 45 percent of global carbon emissions. Add food production to that and we’re now up to 60 percent.
There are things each of us can do, and we can start right now, in this holiday season. Did you know that Americans create 25 percent more waste during the holiday period than at other times of year? Let’s bring that percentage down! Check out the tips below and consider incorporating some into your celebrations:

Even if we each change just one holiday tradition, it can help reduce our carbon footprint, and it might just make for a more peaceful, less stressful holiday. (Unless, of course, you decide you’re going to make potholders for everyone and then realize you’re running out of time to finish them and start panicking and…oh, wait, that’s just me…)
Have you got a wonderful, green holiday idea or tradition? Go Green Highland Park would love to hear it. Please post your idea for low-waste holidays on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/GoGreenHP.
Sources for this article included Columbia University Climate School, the Journal of Industrial Ecology and GreenPeace.
Find more of Francesca’s articles here.

Are You Ready When Disaster Strikes?

Hurricanes Helene and Milton have caused unprecedented damage, as well as trauma, loss and misery. We’ve been watching folks in the Southeast, especially in Asheville, North Carolina, and wondering what it must feel like to lose everything, including loved ones.

From Highland Park, the hurricane’s deadly path seems far away. And so many of us feel safe here, near the world’s largest source of freshwater, and away from hurricanes and earthquakes. Some have argued that the Great Lakes region is a climate haven.

But here’s the thing: Asheville touted itself as a climate haven, too. Up in the mountains, away from the coast…surely a safe place to live, insulated from sea level rise and hurricanes. That may be one reason why Hurricane Helene took that region by surprise.

The bad news is that no place is a climate haven. Warming oceans and rising sea levels can create storms that sit, and sit, and sit over a region, dumping record levels of rainfall, causing flooding, as we saw last year in Chicago. Drought can spark wildfires. Many rivers are at record low levels. Insurance companies may no longer want to pay for continual damage – or they may charge impossibly high premiums.

Enough gloom and doom. The good news is that there is still time to mitigate the worst effects of climate change. The Inflation Reduction Act contains the most impactful climate language and incentives America has seen in decades; and yet, it is still not enough. We have an election coming up; be sure to vote for the candidates who have plans to move us forward quickly on taxing carbon emissions, streamlining energy permitting, reforesting devastated and urban areas, and incentivizing renewable energies. If you don’t see detailed environmental policies on candidates’ websites, call and ask about them. Keep writing to your members of Congress about moving forward rapidly on the climate crisis. Join or support climate and environmental groups.

Meanwhile, on the local level: Highland Park has information about stormwater management and environmental sustainability on its website.

Highland Park has also taken part in the Priority Climate Action Plan Report, published by the Metropolitan Mayors’ Caucus. You can view that detailed and comprehensive document here.

How about you and your loved ones? Are you ready for an extreme weather event? The wonderful Red Cross offers great tips for disaster preparedness on their website; read them now so you’re ready if and when the time comes!

To prepare for a fire (which can be caused by lightning, downed wires and other weather events), read these tips from the National Fire Protection Association.

For most weather events, you are preparing for one of two possibilities: 1) having to quickly evacuate or 2) having to stay in place with no power. These require different strategies. Many people are somewhat prepared for sheltering in place, and have candles, flashlights, supplies of food and water, etc. ready to go. It’s an emergency evacuation that most of us are not ready for. Here are a few additional tips to prepare for possible evacuation.

1. If flooding is possible, move perishables and toxic items such as paint thinner or propane tanks to higher shelves or even higher floors of your dwelling.
2. Don’t forget to prepare for pets to be evacuated with you. You will need their food and supplies as well as rabies documents (or tags), and medications.
3. Keep a lidded bin or a “go-bag” that is already packed with food, water, blankets, pet/baby food if applicable, chargers, portable power packs, flashlight, first-aid kit, medications, change of clothes, copies of essential documents, and a multi-use tool that includes a can opener. Here’s more on creating a go-bag: 
4. Keep your vehicle’s gas tank or battery full.
5. Store family photos and keepsakes in waterproof containers, on a high floor if possible.
6. Scan important documents and photos now and store them in the cloud, and/or make copies and keep originals in a waterproof, fireproof safe, or in a safe deposit box at the bank.
7. Work out an agreement with friends and relatives who are a day’s drive away that if needed, you can evacuate to each other’s homes.

A few more tips on sheltering in place:

1. If dangerous weather is approaching, keep cell phones charged, as well as portable cell phone chargers charged, and do not mute; you may need to hear weather alerts during the night.
2. Know where your flashlights/lanterns are!
3. A hand-cranked solar-powered weather radio can be useful; some have built-in charging capabilities for cell phones, etc.
4. Filling your bathtub with water will ensure you will have water to flush toilets and wash hands and even to drink if necessary. Use a clean bucket to remove water from the tub to use elsewhere.
5. If authorities are urging you to leave, leave! Even if you’re survived large storms in the past, remember that record warm oceans are fueling monster storms that we have not encountered before.
   

Ready.gov has a website devoted to preparing for many different kinds of disasters. Check it out here.

We are at the point where disaster cleanup is costing us more than prevention. Again, please contact your legislators to impress upon them the urgency of mitigating climate change.

This article was written on behalf of Go Green Highland Park by Francesca Kelly. Find more of Francesca’s articles here.