April 22, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information, contact Ibis Antongiorgi, Press Secretary to Cook County Board President Todd H. Stroger, at 312-603-0396 or by email at iantongiorgi@cookcountygov.com. 

Cook County Earth Day Efforts Part of Larger Commitment to Environmental Responsibility

Earth Day education effort part of Stroger administration’s larger commitment to expanding sustainable practices across County operations. See below for thumbnails and links to high-resolution photos.

CHICAGO, IL – Employees of the Cook County Department of Environmental Control spend Tuesday distributing literature and discussing strategies for more environmentally sustainable living to hundreds of visitors in the lobby of the County Building. The day-long educational effort was designed to coincide with Earth Day 2008.

Hundreds of visitors typically pass through the shared ground level of the County Building and City Hall each day, and Tuesday’s tabling gave visitors access to practical information about both County environmental efforts and broader strategies to cut pollution and enhance the environment.

That included the chance to sign up to get a free home radon testing kit.

Cook County Board President Todd H. Stroger has made environmental responsibility part of a core commitment of his administration, where efforts range from expanding the County Highway Department’s use of recycled rubber tires in road-building projects to working to expand the use of swales and other water-saving techniques in culverts the County maintains or oversees.

“Many people don’t know that the Cook County Department of Environmental Control works every day to cut exposure to toxic chemicals and hazardous waste,” said President Stroger, whose office oversees the Department. “We do work on issues that range from asbestos abatement and radon detection to promoting recycling and retrofitting our fleet of vehicles with lower-emission technology. We’re a critical part of the state-wide air quality monitoring network. And as one of the largest governments in the United States, every effort we make to lead the way in providing our services in a more sustainable way is a critical part of the larger effort to bring fundamental improvements to daily business practices across the country.”

Besides expanding its use of recycled rubber tires in road-building projects, which is expected to take thousands of tires out of the waste stream each year, Cook County has adopted other strategies to cut its carbon load on the environment over the long term, such as an ongoing and highly successful effort to shave millions of dollars off the County’s future energy bills by embracing lower-cost lighting and heating technologies, including state-of-the-art fluorescent bulbs and green building technologies and requiring all county renovation projects to maximize energy efficiency.

Other efforts include a recent $103,297 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region V office to Cook County for a project to cut diesel emissions from the county's vehicles. The Midwest Clean Diesel Initiative grant will be used to retrofit at least 30 vehicles with equipment that will reduce diesel emissions, including the retrofitting of at least 26 vehicles with diesel oxidation catalysts, and the retrofitting of four vehicles with diesel particulate filters. As part of this effort, the county is also seeking to partner with various organizations to heighten public awareness of the issues surrounding vehicle emissions and provide information and tools to aid them in becoming partners for clean air. Diesel emissions contain large amounts of nitrogen oxides and fine particles – in effect, soot – which are precursors of the lung irritant ozone. Fine particles can aggravate respiratory and heart diseases, affect lung function and structure, and ratchet up rates of a variety of illnesses, from asthma attacks to respiratory distress.

“Our Earth Day station included information about current hot environmental topics as well as environmental initiatives and issues that Cook County regulates,” says Kevin Givens, Director of the Cook County Department of Environmental Control. “Our goal is to help people learn to be more proactive about strategies to cut pollution and environmental degradation, and to develop a broader understanding about the role that Cook County plays in making our region a healthier, more environmentally friendly place to work and live.”
 
Literature included information on what asbestos is, why it’s dangerous, and how to test and determine its presence in your home or business; the perils of radon and how to determine if this naturally occurring toxic gas is in your house; strategies to expand public commitment to the ‘Three R’s: Recycle, Reuse, Reduce’; the identification and prevention of mercury hazards, ways to conserve natural resources, particularly water; how to compost; the history of earth day; and how to become an environmental activist.

For more information, contact Ibis Antongiorgi, Press Secretary to Cook County Board President Todd H. Stroger, at 312-603-0396 or iantongiorgi@cookcountygov.com. 

To learn more about getting a free radon home testing kit, contact Martha H. Jones in the Cook County Department of Environmental Control at 708-865-6186.

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