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Q&A with Angela Tovar, Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Chicago

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Q&A with Angela Tovar, Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Chicago

As Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Chicago, Angela Tovar has a big job: steering Mayor Lightfoot’s policy on environmental protection and climate change in addition to being a liaison between City Hall and community organizations in Chicago’s most polluted areas.

Q: What are some key points of that investment [to mitigate the effects of climate change]?

A: We’re focused on green infrastructure and flood-mitigation in vulnerable communities. And we will be planting 75,000 trees across the city over the next five years, for all the gifts trees provide, including heat mitigation. We’re supporting retrofitting for energy efficiency in low- to moderate-income housing and neighborhood-anchor institutions. And many other things—connecting residents with renewable-energy sources; finding better waste management solutions, including for organic waste; and exploring greener transportation options.

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Red Alert on Climate Change in United Nations Climate Report

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Red Alert on Climate Change in United Nations Climate Report

The very first finding in the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (UNIPCC, or simply, IPCC) August 9 report is this:

“It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land. Widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere have occurred.”

I strongly suspect that this is the first time the word “unequivocal” has appeared in an IPCC report, given the IPPC’s “calibrated language” and the fact that these reports require both scientific and political consensus. Artist Alisa Singer illustrated one thread of the evidence for human-caused climate change.

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Art Speaks Louder Than Scientific Words

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Art Speaks Louder Than Scientific Words

In early September, I had the opportunity to speak with climate scientist Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, advisor and kick-off speaker for Third Coast Disrupted: Artists + Scientists on Climate, an exhibition of newly commissioned artworks exploring climate change impacts and solutions in the Chicago area. In particular, we spoke about the challenges and rewards of communicating about global warming—sometimes described as global weirding, which is the title of her YouTube Digital Series. Dr. Hayhoe says that talking about climate change is the most important climate action we can take. How we talk about it, of course, is the key, and this became the focus of our conversation.

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What Happens When Artists and Climate Scientists Meet?

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What Happens When Artists and Climate Scientists Meet?

Third Coast Disrupted: Artists + Scientists on Climate is an exhibition of new artworks culminating a yearlong conversation between artists and scientists centered on climate change impacts and solutions in the Chicago region.

Through science-inspired sculpture, painting, collage and more, the artworks examine local impact—happening here and now—ranging from extreme heat to flooding to habitat loss and more. They also shine light on local solutions underway, like “cool roofs,” nature-based approaches to slowing stormwater, and backyard habitat restoration. Some imagine future possibilities.

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The Power of Film to Call Us to Action

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The Power of Film to Call Us to Action

Films inform, inspire and change the way we look at the world, our planet — the Earth that’s our collective home. Through films dedicated to environmental themes, One Earth Film Festival, for the last four years, has inspired viewers to take action for the environment. Two people who gained inspiration from festival films are Sally Stovall, co-founder of Green Community Connections, and Pam Todd, co-founder of West Cook Wild Ones.