Something that really bothers me is the hypocricy that is often bred when big issues like the environment come up and people want to do something about it but don’t want to pay the price in order to make a significant change in the equation of how things work. One very good example of this is the debate over the new initiative that Mayor Daley has begun to draw up for Chicago. Mayor Daley wishes to make the city “go green” in the model of cities like New York and Seattle. The plans hav not even been drawn up yet and people are already protesting even the idea at this time. They say that the timing is not right for the drastic changes needed in order for the city to become more environmentally friendly to any significant degree.
I believe that there is no “wrong time” to be trying to improve the world in which we live. Although I have not agreed with the practices of Chicago’s mayor many times, I do believe that he is trying to do something good, even if it is just to improve the citie’s imaga and put it among other cities in the world that have gained better reputations by “going greeen.”
I believe the problem that people have with investing money in the environment is that they cannot visibly see any changes in the short term. When they spend money towards new roads or better schools, they can see the road or building being built, but when they use money for the environment, they have to trust some obscure reports that say things are improving, and these may not come until a year or two later. I believe that this skepticism must be fought against with education. We need to teach people that if we do not make the changes necessary to minimize the impact of human activity on the environment, then the planet will be used up and will no longer be liveable. We need to give the people who make these decisions vivid images on how drastically life would change if the status quo is not changed.
Daley’s plan so far calls for two high-profile concepts. The first is the addition of wind turbines to be fitted on top of Sears Tower in order to harness the power of the strong winds that blow at the top of one of the tallest buildings in the world. The other is the builing of a “green roof” on top of the Merchandise Mart. Now the plan wishes to drop the key greenhouse gas levels by 25 percent from their 1990 levels according to early reports. To do this, however, a a major chain of improvements must be made to the cities’ transportation system, around 2.7 billion in all, and this is after CTA has floated several major budget-cut scenarios.
Although there is much early opposition to this plan, I believe that it is a very important step to improving not only the environmental impact of the city collectively, but also the quality of life in the city, as the air will become cleaner and improvements to the transportation system will make city travel more enjoyable and safer. I sincerely hope that this plan is set into motion and that people come to realize that although they may have to sacrifice much for the sake of the planet, it is worth it in order for our posterity to take care of the planet as we have not yet done.
