Daley stands pat on environment - Mayor denounces Tribune's record

Daley stands pat on environment - Mayor denounces Tribune's record
By Gary Washburn
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune
Published June 19, 2007


Mayor Richard Daley questioned the Tribune's record on the environment Monday, defending his administration's performance despite research by the newspaper that found city government's contribution to greenhouse gas production has jumped.

"Well, they're cutting all the trees down," Daley said, referring to wood pulp used to produce newsprint. "Go talk to the Tribune. Chop another tree down. Great."

The city "is trying to get there" in its attempts to improve the environment, the mayor said. "We are leading the way in many, many, many issues."

He cited as one example the city's push to have green roofs installed on residential and commercial buildings.

Daley often touts his concern for the environment. Several years ago, the city became a charter member of the Chicago Climate Exchange, which seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

But the Tribune reported in a front-page story Monday that surging demand to power city-owned buildings has increased electrical usage by 22 percent during the last four years. Electricity is produced, in part, by fossil fuel-burning plants that release carbon dioxide.

Daley pledged to cut emissions by 1 percent a year from 2003 to 2006 and 2 percent a year from 2007 to 2010. But records show that emission of greenhouse gases resulting from the city's electricity use totaled more than 1 million tons last year, 10 percent higher than a baseline average of emissions from 1998 to 2001.

Daley criticized the Tribune for its buildings after he was asked about the increase Monday at an unrelated event.

"We should never have built the Tribune building because it was a high-rise when it was built on Michigan Avenue," the mayor said. "They should have never [built] your printing plant in Chicago for all your [delivery] trucks in Chicago. Why are you doing that?"