In the News

News Sun, February 1, 2007

WAUKEGAN -- The battle against global warming starts here.

That was the message the Environment Illinois Research and Education Center stressed during presentations Wednesday in Waukegan and Chicago.

The group unveiled its new report outlining 13 strategies and legislative initiatives that it claims could reduce pollution that causes global warming by as much as 25 percent by 2025.

Asserting that scientific consensus has ended doubts as to whether global warming is a threat, the group and several politicians supporting its goals are urging quick action at the state level and in local counties, townships and communities.

"We have policy tools in Illinois to begin immediately tackling the global warming crisis heads on," Environment Illinois Director Rebecca Stanfield said during a meeting Wednesday afternoon in Waukegan City Hall.

The recommended policies, most requiring legislative action, are aimed at reducing local production of greenhouse gases. The group's proposals are being championed by area legislators.

State Sen. Terry Link, D-Waukegan, said he has already talked with the Senate leadership about the initiatives, and that he expects at least some of them to see action during the Legislature's spring session.

State Rep. Kathy Ryg, D-Vernon Hills, and state Sen. Susan Garrett, D-Lake Forest, both are currently sponsoring proposed legislation similar to some of the proposals from Environment Illinois.

Garrett is sponsoring the Green Governments Illinois Act, which would assist all levels of government in adopting energy-saving policies. Ryg is sponsoring legislation that would establish efficiency standards for furnaces.

At the meeting Wednesday, Ryg said that while some federal officials may be trying to stifle concerns about global warming, people at the grassroots level are already on board in the effort to attack the problem.

"We know there are efforts to counteract the real science of global warming," Ryg said. "What I find really exciting is that our constituents are really interested in this. That speaks volumes about the public concern about global warming."

Waukegan Mayor Richard Hyde noted the city has already signed onto the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, and has worked with Midwest Generation in an effort to get the company to reduce emissions at its lakefront coal-fired plant.

"Talk is cheap," Hyde said. "Now that you've started this and got senators and representatives (involved), that's a start. Let's not talk about it anymore, let's do it."

County Board Chair Suzi Schmidt said the county is already engaged in many of the recommended policies, including the planned construction of a "green building" to serve as the county's new permit center in Libertyville.

County Board member Robert Sabonjian of Waukegan said local participation is the key in helping address a worldwide problem.

"This is the level where stuff gets done. This is the hands-on level," he said. "How much longer are we going to befoul our own nest before we can't live in it anymore?"