In the News

Pioneer Press, July 27, 2006

On a sweltering July 18, local lawmakers and environmentalists gathered in Evanston to urge residents and politicians to fight global warming.

Environment Illinois organized a rally in the home of William and Eleanor Revelle, whose 4,000-square-foot lakefront house has been designed to minimize carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming. The home's energy-saving features include solar collectors and photo-voltaic slate that convert sunshine to energy, Eleanor Revelle said.

State Representatives Karen May, D-58th, of Highland Park and Elaine Nekritz D-57th, and State Sen. Susan Garrett, D-29th, of Lake Forest were there to highlight ways residents and state policies can cut greenhouse gas emissions.

"Because of the lack of leadership and action by our federal government, it is coming down to the local municipalities and state governments to take action," May said. "Individuals can also make a huge difference."

Illinois is the nation's 6th highest emitter of carbon dioxide, the most prevalent greenhouse gas, and the state's emissions grew by 17 percent from 1990 to 2001, according to Environment Illinois statistics.

May, who chairs the State House's Environmental Health Committee, is working to set state energy efficiency standards for household appliances. Residents can help cut greenhouse emissions by riding the bus, using bicycles, filling up their cars with Ethanol 85 fuel, turning down their air/conditioners and heaters and using energy efficient light bulbs, she said.

"The light bulbs have a dual benefit," Nekritz said. "Not only do they help the environment but they also save residents money and they last longer."

Nekritz is working to set mile-per-gallon state standards for gasoline similar to those enacted in California.

Garrett said she's focusing on ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions without butting heads with big business interests. "If we do the simple things, like have people use energy efficient bulbs, that wouldn't affect big business at all," Garrett said. "I'd also like to offer tax incentives to homeowners who purchase energy efficient water heaters and air conditioners."

Environment Illinois wants greenhouse gas emissions cut in Illinois by 10 percent within 10 years and by as much as 80 percent by 2050.

Environmental Illinois reports that 2005 was the warmest year ever recorded, and according to the National Academy of Sciences, global temperatures are higher now than at any point in the last 400 years.

Left unchecked, global warming could cause more frequent and extreme droughts, raise sea levels, cause serious future water shortages, cause more frequent and severe heat waves and cause an increase in the number and intensity of western wild fires, according to Environment Illinois.