[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 125 (Friday, September 29, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1934]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        CHICAGO: WORKING TO CREATE A 21ST CENTURY ENERGY POLICY

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 29, 2006

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, as the summer vacation season comes to a 
close and the winter heating season begins, I urge my colleagues to 
take a moment to consider the need for a serious investment in 
alternative energy policies. With global warming, unrest in the Middle 
East and stagnating wages that are stretched thin by high fuel bills, 
both the environment and our country stand to gain from increased and 
aggressive promotion of renewables and energy efficiency.
  Important steps have already been taken by state and city governments 
to support the use of renewable energy sources. The Apollo Alliance, an 
organization that promotes policies which meet the concerns of green 
environmentalists and blue-collar workers alike, has cited Chicago, 
Illinois, as being one of several forward-thinking cities that has 
already acted to put numerous energy-efficient policies in place. Noted 
by the Alliance were Chicago's comprehensive solar power, 
environmentally-friendly public transportation, location efficient 
mortgages, and green roofs initiatives.
  As what the Alliance calls a ``model'' solar-powered community, 
Chicago is working to promote photovoltaic cells and has attracted the 
solar manufacturer Solargenix to the city; a facility that employs 15 
people full-time and manufactures 30-40 solar collectors a day. Solar 
factories such as Solargenix's and a recently-built photovoltaic field 
which will be used to help generate electricity (``Solar Panels Could 
Power Backup Plant,'' Chicago Tribune, September 21, 2006) contribute 
to the city's already-installed 2 MW of solar power.
  Illinois is one of the country's top five ethanol-producing states, 
and it is no surprise that Chicago has environmentally-friendly 
transportation policies as well. In addition to ethanol, the city is 
exploring another alternative: the hydrogen fuel cell. As Merriman 
Curhan Ford & Co. mentioned in their May 2005 industry report, fuel 
cell buses already run on the streets of Chicago. Such public buses are 
doubly efficient: decreasing the amount of cars on the road, as well as 
not producing any negative greenhouse gases themselves. The Apollo 
Alliance explains the Chicago Transit Authority takes its concerns for 
the environment even further, partnering with the Park District and 48 
other municipalities to purchase green power. Commonwealth Edison, the 
awarded bidder, with the help of the Environmental Resource Trust 
(ERT), plans to sell ``green tickets'' certified by the ERT and to 
create a fund to further finance the resource and development of 
renewable energies with the proceeds.
  Simply encouraging citizens to use public transportation can greatly 
decrease the amount of greenhouse gases emitted from a given city, no 
matter what fuel is used in such transportation. Chicago has found that 
location efficient mortgages (LEM), mortgages that allow the purchaser 
to take out greater amounts of money, borrowing against the future 
money he or she will save by using public transportation, are 
particularly efficient in this respect. To further promote such 
mortgages and energy efficiency, Chicago also offered the first 100 LEM 
borrowers a voucher for $900 toward the purchase of an EnergyStar 
refrigerator or washer/dryer set.
  Chicago's Department of Environment also participates in green city 
planning through the creation of the City Hall Rooftop Garden Pilot 
Project in 2000 as part of the EPA's Urban Heat Island Initiative. This 
green roof project helps alleviate Chicago's carbon emissions by 
requiring a certain percentage of roof space be allocated to green 
roofs. The program's pilot project, the City Hall's garden, has 
successfully dropped the temperature on the roof surface and the 
surrounding air temperature--lowering cooling costs and demand for 
electricity in the summer and providing insulation to reduce heat 
energy needs in the winter. Green roofs also improve air quality by 
absorbing and converting carbon dioxide, producing oxygen, and removing 
airborne particulates.
  The Apollo Alliance has recognized the many steps that Chicago has 
taken to make our Nation energy-independent and environmentally-
friendly. We need to build and expand on their success. We need a 21st 
century energy policy that uses wind power, solar power, biomass, and 
geothermal energy in our homes and businesses; and ethanol and 
hydrogen-driven vehicles on our streets. City planning must be 
rethought to prevent urban sprawl and encourage the use of public 
transportation. Chicago and other cities have shown us that we can take 
a new direction on our energy and environmental future--it is time that 
Congress act forcefully to do so as well.

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