For Once, in an Article About Daley, "Green" Doesn't Mean "Money"

By Margaret Lyons in News on Nov 16, 2004 7:16PM

Oh Mayor Daley, you're so forward thinking! Check you out in that fancy schmancy National Geographic article, all up in the environment. They even say you’re "leading by example." That's certainly one way to describe the City administration.

Oh, we're bitter, cynical folk here. Mayor Daley told NG that

I thought, with all the flat roofs in Chicago, you could reclaim thousands of acres for the environment and also help buildings with heating and cooling and controlling rainwater going into the sewer system.

Well done, sir. The article is about Chicago's green roof initiative, wherein low-maintenance vegetation is planted on roofs. (There's one on top of City Hall.) The plants help absorb rainwater, which prevents urban drainage systems from being overwhelmed in the case of storms; help keep buildings cooler in the summer and a little warmer in the winter; and help "mitigate a phenomenon known as the urban heat island effect." We got your urban heat island right here. Rawr.

Learn all about Chicago's Center for Green Technology and feel almost as crunchy granola as Mayor Daley. Or read Chicago magazine's riveting story on jam bands in December's issue. Now if only we could build an eco-casino…then we'd really be onto something.