The Reason Chicago's Air is Among Worst in Nation
5/15/2023
350 News
350 and People vs. Fossil Fuel Organize June Action Against Big Banks
On Friday, June 9th, 350 Chicago, in partnership with People vs. Fossil Fuels, will take part in an action in Chicago demanding that President Biden use his executive powers to end the era of fossil fuels. The action also will demand that Chase Bank, the biggest funder of fossil fuels, end their support of fossil fuels. The event will take place Friday, June 09, 2023•11:00 AM at Richard J. Daley Center• 50 W Washington St, Chicago, IL. For more information, contact info@350chicago.org.
350 Chicago Monthly Speaker Series Returns!
350 Chicago is re-starting it’s Monthly Speaker series! After the long winter of Covid-19, it is time to start gathering in person to work the problem. In the past, we’ve invited speakers to come to our Monthly meetings and speak to us about various issues. This was on Saturdays. We are trying to decide if we will follow this same model. But in the coming months, 350 Chicago will sponsor speakers on such topics as: Regenerative Farming, GHG Emissions Saved by Weatherization and Sealing up of Buildings, Renewable Energy, and a host of other topics. Look for an announcement of dates, times and venues soon!
In Brief
EV Charging Station Build-out
The White House announced that companies who make and install electric vehicle chargers “must make them usable by all EV brands if they want to receive federal funding.” The bi-partisan Infrastructure law provides funding for the building of 500,000 EV chargers along American highways by 2030. Agreeing on one universal charging design has been something EV makers have been discussing for a few years now. Worry over being able to find a charging station that will fit their car, has kept many Americans from purchasing an EV. Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu, said the administration’s goal is “a national network of chargers that will work for everyone, everywhere, no matter what type of car or state they're in." To receive federal funding, the chargers also need to be manufactured in America.
Community Geothermal Systems
A diverse Illinois coalition, led by Blacks in Green, is working on a Community Geothermal pilot project with West Woodlawn, a disadvantaged community on Chicago's south side. The technology, which takes advantage of the Earth's constant underground temperatures for heating and cooling buildings, is often thought of as an option for individual homes; but the West Woodlawn project will create a system that shares heating and cooling between buildings — making the project more energy efficient and affordable for homeowners. (PrairieRiversNetwork, 2/8/23 posting)
Environmentalists Push Carbon Capture Regulation at the Capitol
Legislators introduce bills to regulate the carbon capture and sequestration industry in Illinois. The Carbon Dioxide Transport and Storage Protections Act, Senate Bill 2421 and House Bill 3119, are sponsored by Sen. Laura Fine, D-Glenview and Rep. Ann Williams respectively. Advocates say passage of the legislation is needed swiftly with more companies looking to build CO2 pipelines in Illinois, "We are woefully unprepared and unprotected without critical regulatory safeguards to adequately protect our communities from this growing scale and threat," said Christine Nannicelli, senior campaign representative with Sierra Club Illinois. (Environmentalists push carbon capture regulation at Capitol, State Journal-Register May 2, 2023)
Why is Chicago’s Air so Bad?
by Carter Robinson
I’ve been spending more time outside lately as Chicago has started to thaw, and I have been loving the fresh air! But I do have to ask, how clean is this fresh air? Looking into it, Chicago typically ranks pretty high for air pollution, and some regions of Chicago have the third highest concentrations of fine particle air pollution in the nation (more on that in a minute). So, why is our air so polluted? The issue is complicated, so we are going to look into some of the causes of air pollution, why they are prominent in Chicago, and what effects this pollution has on humans, our ecology and climate change. This is part 1 of our series looking into Chicago’s air pollution.
Let’s start by defining air pollution. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines air pollution as “contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment by any chemical, physical or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere”. Many sources of air pollution are also drivers for greenhouse gas, linking air quality to climate change. Air pollution also has negative impacts on nature’s ecological health, which can indirectly drive climate change. Last, but not least, air pollution has negative health effects on humans. This page has more information on common pollutants and their effects on health.
Today, we are looking at the role industry has in spreading pollutants in Chicago. Whatever industry does, what is shocking is that there is little to no enforced legal requirements or economic motivations for companies to follow Chicago’s environmental regulations. As the system is set up currently, the Office of Sustainability within the Department of Public Health is supposed to monitor companies and respond to community complaints relating to all environmental pollution concerns. The department then has the legal ability to issue daily fines and citations for violations, issue abatement orders to force companies to cease operations until the health violation has been resolved and can suspend or deny certificates of operation to companies that operate in a way that is detrimental to public health and safety. To put it shortly, the department of public health has significant legal teeth to punish industrial polluters. So why do we see so much industrial pollution?
According to the report “Ineffective by Choice” by the group Neighbors for Environmental Justice, the department rarely uses its powers, and at most issues slaps on the wrist. The report dives into the history of Chicago’s enforcement of environmental laws over the past 20 years, and comes to many startling conclusions. First, since the Department of the Environment (DE) was disbanded under Mayor Emanuel and enforcement of environmental laws was moved to the Department of Public Health (DPH), citations issued fell by almost 90%. Second, DPH has a public policy of not citing companies repeatedly for ongoing violations while that company already has a hearing date for previous citations, despite the law allowing daily citations for as long as the violation continues. Third, if companies force year-long negotiations on their citations, it is likely the city will drop the charges or significantly reduce the fine.
Put all that together, and companies are motivated to blatantly violate air pollution laws with little risk of receiving a citation. When companies do receive a citation, they spend years in court delaying outcomes, while continuing to pollute without consequence. By the end of the process, companies typically come to a settlement with the city with a significantly reduced fine. On top of all this, the settlement agreements often wipe the record ‘clean’ for the company, which allows companies to apply for additional permits with no legal resource for the city to deny them. Some big company names that received press attention for playing this system are Norfolk and Southern Railroad, Southside Recycling and General Iron. The power to issue daily citations, apply abatement orders or deny certificates of operation is almost never used. The enforcement of industrial pollution laws is ‘ineffective by choice’, and this leads to high levels of harmful air pollution. Read the report to learn more. Then contact your city council representative and tell them to act!
Bell Bowl Prairie Bulldozed
by Miki Graf
On March 9th, five acres of Illinois’ precious dry gravel prairieland were bulldozed as part of the Rockford International Airport expansion project. The Bell Bowl Prairie, a small native prairie located alongside the Rock River in Rockford, was home to many threatened and endangered plant and animal species, including the state endangered Prairie False Dandelion, and the federally endangered Rusty Patched Bumblebee. Despite its small size (about 12-14 acres before the bulldozing), the Bell Bowl Prairie was categorized as a high quality natural community by the Illinois Natural Areas Inventory (INAI) and was one of the rarest types of grasslands due to its unique soil composition. In total, less than 0.01% of original prairie now remains in the so-called “Prairie State”. Yet another vital carbon sink destroyed, exacerbating the climate crisis.
Since the airport announced its plans to destroy the ancient prairie in 2021, environmental groups and activists had been organizing and fighting to protect the Bell Bowl Prairie: speaking out at Rockford City Council Meetings, showing up at the airport’s board meeting, rallying, and organizing a phone zap calling on Governor Pritzker to take action and protect the prairie. Although these demands were ultimately ignored, we can continue to hold elected officials accountable and remain informed and active in the protection of the remaining acres of Bell Bowl Prairie (which is still in the care of the Rockford International Airport), and other prairies in Illinois.
Learn more about Illinois prairies and support prairie conservation:
Listen to the In Defense of Plants podcast episode on the Bell Bowl Prairie
Attend a native plant sale and purchase plants that are native to Illinois
Visit one of Illinois' prairies, or attend a guided prairie walk
Volunteer to help restore and conserve the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie
Follow Save Bell Bowl Prairie on Instagram for updates