Tag Archives: justice

Addressing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Chicago Campus Buildings: A Report

Chicago, climate, justice, , ,

With about 70% of climate-destabilizing greenhouse gas emissions in Chicago coming from buildings, it is important to know which ones are among the highest emitters, so that we can make the changes necessary to meet the goals in Chicago’s Climate Action Plan. 

As I learned while working with my team at the Climate Reality Project’s Chicago Metro Chapter, university buildings are among Chicago’s top emitters of climate-warming gasses per square foot. Seven university buildings ranked among the top ten most emissions intensive buildings in the city in 2021!

We recently released a report, Addressing Greenhouse Gas Emissions on Chicago Campuses, which relies on data from electrifychicago.net. That website allows users to get specific, publicly available energy usage and emissions information for individual large buildings that owners are required to report to the city under the Chicago Energy Benchmarking Ordinance. The website also helps users rank and group buildings to allow for better understanding of the data.

Using that excellent resource as a starting place, we identified a number of college and university campus buildings that are making outsize contributions to the climate crisis, as well as multiple institutions of higher education that have failed to comply with the benchmarking ordinance in recent years. We also uncovered a systemic failure on the city’s part to enforce the ordinance – foregoing as much as $30 million in potential fines.

We issued the report to spur universities to decarbonize their buildings by improving energy efficiency and by moving away from fossil fuels like methane gas. The report also highlights actions at the state and city level to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provides strategies for students and others concerned about climate change to work toward emission reductions.

The Climate Reality Project’s Chicago Metro Chapter is an all-volunteer group of Chicago area activists working to catalyze local solutions to the climate crisis since 2017.

To improve our electric grid, transportation system, and buildings, I support the ICJC platform.

Chicago, climate, justice, , ,

This week, the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition announced a comprehensive legislative platform to boldly and rapidly accelerate the state’s climate, equity, and clean energy goals.

The platform is a set of bills (the Clean and Reliable Grid Act, the Clean and Equitable Transportation Act, and the Clean and Healthy Buildings Act) that will lower greenhouse gas emissions, create green jobs, and improve health and safety in our communities. Together, these bills would be transformative in helping us work toward climate stability, financial security, fairness across communities, and health statewide.

If you live in Illinois, I invite you to join me in supporting the ICJC platform.

Ror folks who don’t live here, with your help, the ICJC’s work can serve as a model for related efforts elsewhere!

Upcoming Food, Family, and Justice Conference

food, justice, philosophy, ,

I’m excited to be presenting “Unjust Social Structures and Plant-Based Caregiving for Kids” with my co-author, Jeremy Fisher, at the upcoming “Food, Family, and Justice” conference June 21-23, 2024.

Even more exciting for me, though, are the amazing presenters from around the world who are slated to share about a whole bunch of fascinating, important, related topics! I’ve got my eye on multiple sessions by folks whose work I’ve read and enjoyed, but who I’ve never had the good fortune to meet before.

This conference will be a hybrid of remote and in-person presentations at John Cabot University in Rome, Italy. My heartfelt gratitude to the organizers and sponsor (the Society for Applied Philosophy) for pursuing the hybrid format, which makes participation possible for those of us who are minimizing travel for environmental, health, family, financial, or other reasons!

Book recommendation: Solidarity, by Leah Hunt-Hendrix & Astra Taylor

book recommendations, justice,

I can’t tell you how many times, over how many years, I’ve said, “Why don’t people write/talk/study about solidarity more? I want to read a book about solidarity! When is someone going to write a good, detailed book focused on solidarity?”

Well, the universe (or more specifically, Astra Taylor & Leah Hunt-Hendrix) listened and granted my wish!

Solidarity: The Past, Present, and Future of a World-Changing Idea is a great place to look for a more-than-introduction to the important concept of solidarity. Whether you are an activist, a historian, a philosopher, or just an engaged member of a community (large or small), this book almost assuredly has something that you didn’t already know about and that is worth thinking about some more. I know that I’m going to be returning to it again and again!

Chicago: Clean and Affordable Buildings Ordinance (CABO)

Chicago, climate, justice, ,

In Chicago, about 70% of greenhouse gas emissions come from our buildings. Part of that is because here, it is common to get heat our homes and cook our food with gas appliances (unlike in some other parts of the country where I’ve lived).

To make matters worse, because of repeated, record-breaking rate hikes, 1 in 5 of Chicagoans are behind on gas bills. And in some neighborhoods, up to 50% of households are in chronic debt due to high gas bills. But if folks switched from using gas to electricity, they could save $15,000 to $20,000 over 20 years, according to a study by NRDC.

Burning gas inside your home or business is not only expensive, but it is also detrimental to your health. For just one example of the harms it can do, 1 in 5 cases of childhood asthma in Illinois is attributable to cooking with gas.

The good news is that a Clean & Affordable Buildings Ordinance (CABO) is being considered by City Council. This ordinance would insure that (with a few exceptions) new buildings and substantial renovations to existing buildings would have to meet a strict indoor emissions standard.

CABO is just a first step away from reliance on fossil fuels, and it is supported by a coalition of more than 50 consumer, community, environmental, environmental justice, and faith organizations as a way to lower utility costs, improve public health, create jobs and reduce pollution.

For more information, and form for contacting your alderperson in support of CABO, check out the Citizens Utility Board Q&A.

Upcoming Talk: “Justice in the Cafeteria”

food, justice, philosophy, travel,

On September 14th, I’ll be giving a talk with my co-author, Jeremy Fischer, at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario called “Justice in the Cafeteria.” Here’s the abstract:

School meal reform efforts generally center around health, financial accessibility, and environmental sustainability, all of which are important. However, key ethical and political aspects of school meal programs have not received adequate attention in public discussion. We argue that whether school meal programs provide animal-based foods is a matter of justice for kids and for the society in which they live. Our child-centered arguments against providing such foods offer animal advocates and others who have a stake in the school meal debates a motivationally potent resource for their advocacy—without presupposing any particular view about our duties to animals.

Since COVID isn’t over, I’m doing what I can to minimize the risks of the trip for everyone concerned, but at the same time, I’m looking forward to a bit of a philosophy road trip, spending some time in Canada, and the chance to meet some friends from the APPLE reading group in person!