Chicago's Green Side

Planet Green:

In green circles, Chicago gets cachet for its municipal campaign to slap a green roof on everything from City Hall to Wal-Mart. Then there's the world's first voluntary, legally binding greenhouse gas reduction and trading systems for emission sources, the Chicago Climate Exchange, which also launched here. (Find out more on these and other green projects in Chicago by digging into TreeHugger's Chicago archives).

But believe it or not, dear visitor, green roofs are just the cream on the cake. The Windy City is abuzz with eco-friendly hotels, organic eateries, and green architecture -- all accessible sans car. Before embracing the huge list of cultural offerings, check out our tips for downsizing your footprint on the biggest city in the Midwest.

Read the whole story: Planet Green

Comments

[Myshkin57]

Chicago would be a lot greener if you could get anywhere on the el in a reasonable amount of time. Try taking the red line north. It's slower than biking. Trust me, I timed taking the el and bicycling. Bicycling is much faster.

If you want to do anything with your time, you really can't take some of the el lines to get anywhere. From my girlfriend's place to downtown is almost an hour (she lives 8-9 miles away). That's ridiculous. If you go to the CTA site and search for the fastest way to get from the northern red line train stations to the downtown stations, it tells you to take the bus. THE CTA SAYS IT'S FASTER TO TAKE THE BUS FROM ONE TRAIN STATION TO ANOTHER THAN TAKING THE TRAIN!!! Ridiculous!

[mergina]

You know, i have to keep going on this topic. In a city with a lakefront that spans some 30-40 miles, to not have wind power in place in one of the worlds highest wind corridors is CRIMINAL.

WE THE PEOPLE ARE NOT ASKING FOR CHANGE, WE ARE DEMANDING IT NOW. WE DEMAND THAT YOU START DOING ALL THAT YOU CAN TO ALTER THE DEADLY CHANGES WE HAVE INFLICTED ON THIS, OUR ONLY HOME, THIS PLANET EARTH.

WE DEMAND IT.

[mergina]

Here is the extent of Chicago's GREEN. HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS SPENT ON SARCOPHAGUS CONTRETE FLOWER POTS THAT CLUTTER UP MAIN ARTERIES AND CAUSE ACCIDENTS.­....A few rooftops, including the city hall rooftop of course, that have green things planted on them....Th­ere are a lot of trees in chicago.

BUT, what chicago DOES NOT HAVE is a recycling plan in place. A city of this size that produces so much waste DOES NOT RECYCLE. It is a criminal act actually with all that we know, but it is true. Chicago, THE WINDY CITY, offers nothing to lower its carbon profile using the wind. NOTHING.

Chicago being a green city is a sham, just like its mayor and its city council. Perhaps the GREEN the are speaking of is the green that lines their corrupt pockets.

[TheJibreelaMonsters]

You know were its really green... in the Cook County coffers (highest sales tax in the nation)

[JohnKdrew]

This is FANTASTIC – we need so little room really to harvest solar energy – just the confidence to back this new energy source.. We can all help to make wise climate change resource decisions – read the emergency triage response to current climate change crises at
ActonClimate