It would be nice to see the paper, since it is in an electronic format, spotlight some of the other things that Evanston has, showcasing our combination of talent that has come out of ETHS and Northwestern – that would cover talent in music and on the screen. Fred Simon, phenomenal recording jazz pianist; Howard Levy, piano and harmonica player who was at Northwestern; Steve Rashid, radio host and jazz guy; the Cusacks, Stephen Colbert, the Pivens, and the whole cast of characters that come through Lonnie Stonitsch’s Family Action Network. You could have video or more audio segments with the paper, just like they do on The New York Times’ website.
Further, we have a long way to go on climate action change and since we’re next to one of the largest bodies of freshwater globally, focusing on taking care of Lake Michigan is key. What I would like to see is:
1. Incentives given for people who: bike around town … [use] smart lights, compost, [oppose] leaf blowers and conserve on power at home. Possibly, this could be tracked by bringing box covers from smart lights, bringing compost to the Evanston Ecology Center, having stations around town to check into and in each case there will be some sort of small reward. It could be money towards free parking, or some sort of card that after X number of these deposits in the environmental bank account you get something at a participating Evanston business or grace from a parking ticket or some such. You can come up with a list of incentives that’s created by Evanstonians of what they’d like to see.
2. I would also like to see us ramp up on solar and wind power here. The Earth is heated up enough and it is humid enough in Evanston. This is another way to lessen our ecological footprint.
3. Maybe there is a way to take/transport bathwater to water outdoor plants. New systems would have to be created for this and if you live in a high-rise this would be a entrepreneurial endeavor for maybe some of the Northwestern students at the startup “Garage.”
4. How about composting toilets?
– Brooke L. Murphy Roothaan
Thank you, Brooke! Temps in the 80s on October 1 should remind everyone of the climate emergency we are already living in. To your great list, I would add incentives for reusable bags at stores. The current plastic bag ordinance mistakenly allows excessive use of those extra-thick plastic bags and must be reconceived and rewritten. Education about how environmental sustainability benefits public health for everyone should go along with all of these actions.