I've got this.. dissonance to share with you.  The city recently agreed to spend a quarter million dollars for an engineering study to determine the feasibility of building an Evanston stop on the yellow line.  Now at first blush I'll admit this seems pretty straightforward; after all when did general contractors ever come cheaply?  And they're federal funds for the most part, all but fifty grand put up by the city.  So for fifty thousand bucks the city will have Parsons and Brinkerhoff, the same guys currently doing work rebuilding the World Trade Centers estimate the cost of building another train station.  The Evanston Roundtable saw it as a black and white issue; so did eighth ward alderman Ann Rainey.  Even Coleen the other day skipped over my confusion to the main question.  Where do we put the new station: Ridge, Asbury, or Dodge?

This is a trick question.  Evanston should have stops at all three locations along the line.

How then, from this perspective do you explain spending even fifty thousand taxpayer dollars to locate just one station?  After all each location once had its own station. Stilled by the Great Depression, retarded in their use by the quick and convenient automobile, the CTA closed each station in the 1940's and '50's in a bid to recreate the line as a shuttle service coined "The Skokie Swift."  The CTA has a history of the yellow line, replete with pictures of the stations at  http://www.chicago-l.org/operations/lines/yellow.html.

You might consider the changing times as need for a fresh approach to station building, one that warrants the intrusion of a New York engineering firm into the CTA's business.  After all it's hard to imagine building a stop like this on Asbury in 2010; where would you put the trees?

Had the CTA little experience in rebuilding old train stations I would consider it settled.  But the CTA recently rebuilt the Belmont transfer station, employing the respectable midwestern firm of F.H. Paschen to do the job.  And while Early Penitentiary Style isn't my idea of a commuter-friendly train station, steel, concrete and rebar should last until our great grandkids have had enough of it.  And that's just it; the CTA has simply rebuilt Belmont, but in fact is working on the entire Brown Line all the way to Kimball.  According the Chicago Reader's Ben Joravsky they're doing a pretty bad job of it too (see his recent "Arrogance on Wheels").  But if Ben Joravsky (and many community leaders in Chicago) can imagine a more intelligent, budget-friendly approach to rebuilding a whole line, Evanston can surely figure out where to put one station, right?

Right?

Or have we simply reverted to spending taxpayer dollars on consultants to organize neighbors in the eighth ward because we cannot decide on our own where best to locate a single station?  No, I haven't the stomach for such cynicism, and besides the Citizens for a Greener Evanston (www.greenerevanston.org) showed not simply can we organize to plan for city wide action to fight climate change, we can organize to act on it too.  And yes that includes Ann Rainey.

Being deeply committed to environmental matters I applaud any effort to reduce traffic congestion and our reliance on foreign owned oil distribution companies that shall remain nameless (Johnny Miller, Joe Barton - go apologize!).  Indeed the federal dollars for this project stem from the Federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, grandchild to ISTEA - the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act; born during the hopeful years of Clinton's first term.  But two hundred and twenty thousand dollars to tell us if we can build one train station where one once stood seems kind of stiff, even to a tree hugger like me.

Now do you feel the dissonance?  Heck I could settle for the opportunity to rake Rainey over the coals for political expediency, but something more important is at stake than opining our lost ability to organize as a community.  East-west traffic in Evanston during rush hour, well, it sucks.  Just visit Google Maps and go to traffic; bright red slashes across Dempster, Main and Oakton practically from the Edens to the Canal.  Now visit the neighborhoods where once the Yellow Line stations stood - preferrably using their erstwhile replacement the CTA 97 bus, or just ride your bicycle.  Asbury and Ridge are now thick with multi-unit dwellings, block after block of five story apartment buildings.  Even the modest ranch homes along East Prairie - Crawford or Kostner in Skokie would make someone from Barrington shudder with claustrophobia.  Do you see the fine retail buildings not a block or two a way, still tenanted by the small businesses that continue making America great?  Or my favorite stop - Main Street in Skokie.  You could've fallen off the platform into a barber's chair!

Evanston and Skokie shouldn't wrangle over which neighborhood deserves a cherished train stop.  These neighborhoods have fruited, just as the operators of the Chicago Rapid Transit Company dreamt they would almost ninety years ago.  Contact Ann and Coleen - they're quite responsive.  Ask not where to build the train station, but where to build the first train station in what should prove a busy string of stations relieving congestion and improving the air quality of Skokie and Evanston alike.

High-Speed Rail Funds On-Track for Illinois

During his January 27^th State of the Union address, President Obama spoke of a renewed commitment to developing a national high-speed rail network. Those who advocate for such routes in Illinois are enthusiast.

Chicago will be the hub of the Midwest Network, which is to receive $2.62 billion of the federal funds to establish high-speed rail corridors in some U.S. regions. Here are the breakdowns for the Midwest projects:

• $1.1 billion for routes connecting Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City;
• $823 million for a corridor to include Minneapolis/St. Paul-Madison-Milwaukee-Chicago;
• $400 million for projects in Ohio;
• $244 million for a Pontiac-Detroit-Chicago corridor;
• $17 million to reduce congestion on existing routes in Iowa, with additional funds for a planning study.

Specific improvements include an overhaul of track, signal systems and existing stations, and the implementation of positive train control technology.

Investing in the country's infrastructure was a recurring theme of the President's speech. A total of $8 billion was pledged for high-speed rail and those projects are expected to generate thousands of on-site jobs.

American Public Transportation Association (APTA) President William Millar released a statement praising the Obama Administration for taking this historic step. “Investing in high-speed rail is essential for our country’s future. Not only will high-speed rail provide faster and quicker travel, but it will create American jobs now while building a new industry with hundreds of thousands of long-term, sustainable jobs.”

He added that, “… ensuring that America remains an economic engine with good, “green” American jobs, high-speed rail is also essential so that we can move toward a sustainable, modern transportation system that meets the environmental and energy challenges of this century. 

The Chicago-based Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC) commended the Obama Administration for the diverse selection of high speed-rail projects and its national approach to awarding $8 billion in stimulus funding.

“The 13 projects chosen represent critical first steps toward building a modern, national, passenger rail infrastructure and are the first significant passenger rail investments in nearly a century. These projects encompass 31 states. They enhance connectivity through a variety of technologies in the most environmentally responsible mode of regional transportation,” noted Howard Learner, ELPC president.

I have a guilty secret to share. It has been over a year since I've offset the carbon from my air travel. Work takes me all over the country, though less frequently in the past year, and as you now know air travel also injects more CO2 per trip into the air than your typical drive into the country. There were several reasons for this lapse. Like most folks my pocketbook wears a lean and mean look after its sixth month on a fiscal diet. I'd hoped to convince management they should front the cost to do their part, but am reserving the sustainability self-righteousness for green product development. Lastly I'm still pissed off about iron dumping. You may have heard of this; to help offset carbon emissions some companies, in addition to planting forests, have taken to seeding oceans with ferrous oxides to stimulate phytoplankton growth. Yes, phytoplankton; the first step in that enormous aquatic food ladder that puts something resembling “Chilean Sea Bass” on your plate at Oceanique on Main St. Contrary to what you might think I LOVED this idea, and invested in it for offsets until bad press shut down the company.

So I've been skimping on the offsets, and feeling guilty about it. This weekend I finagled a Thursday to Monday business trip to Fort Lauderdale. Between calls I tried lounging on the beach, trying my best to enjoy the “unusually” cool weather, and plugging away at Tom Freidmans “Hot Flat and Crowded;” Northwestern's book of the year. I knew the general contours of his argument – we've got to change, fast, to survive and thrive in a changed world. But the facts and his ability to master them – the irreversible loss of biodiversity, the climatic chaos, political instability and petroleum based autocracies encrusting the globe like cancer – made me feel profoundly the loss we've inherited from our parents, and pass on to our children. Occasionally I put down the book to comb the soft sand. Interspersed with the shells and brown seaweed I found rounded pieces of plastic in faded hues of brown, blue and white; had to collect more than one tattered cigarette filter from the mix. Walking, holding these objects in one hand, the Friedman in another, I wondered how I could explain the difference between them to my daughter; wondered if her children would think seashells naturally came in hues of brown, blue and faded white polystyrene.

They say there's an island the size of Manhattan floating midway between Honolulu and Tokyo made entirely of plastic, and I believe them. Perhaps my grandchildren will consider it the eighth wonder of the world, or just a convenient land bridge to replace the flights they can no longer afford to take. I don't know, but in the meantime I'll find some spare cash, I'll take responsibility for what I've done. And while I like the idea of growing phytoplankton, the idea of investing in better insulation for low-income homes in Evanston, or feasibility studies for an offshore wind farm intrigues me even more. So I hope this year as you travel you too will consider something for the Evanston Climate Action Fund; to offset our carbon, and invest in our community – our children's only sustainable future.

To learn more about offsetting air travel using the Climate Action Fund, read this greenairtravel wmasthead.pdf by Evanston resident Eleanor Revelle, first published in the Evanston RoundTable. 

Mom I wanted to thank you publicly for the wonderful gift you gave Lois for Solstice.  The Bamboo Sunshine Dollhouse by Hape gives her hours of enjoyment, and us a new way to think about home.  You bought it knowing my sustainable preferences - a consideration that in itself I treasure.  To whit

• Bamboo construction: An oriental grass Bamboo grows twice as fast as hardwoods, sequesters twice as much CO2 and - get this - harvesting is actually healthy for the plant (it's grass after all).  It's lightweight, durable, and requires few if any pesticides.  Folks are building homes of the stuff -
  
• No volatile organic compounds: no benzene, methylene chloride, hexane, toluene, trichloroethane, styrene, heptane, and perchloroethylene was used in painting, polishing or finishing this house, much less in making the family figures, furniture etc.  Less plastic toys makes for less VOCs in Lois' air - that's good, considering their long term effects on health.  Wish I could say the same for my carpet..
• Recycled packaging: Almost all cardboard packaging with printing in soy based inks - a great way to eliminate your holiday carbon footprint.
• Solar powered LED lighting: Yes, the solar panel attached to the home does work.

HaPe claims such innovative products will help "shape the child's relationship to the world and its resources."  More to the point, such products help us parents to consider our interdependence with the natural world.  These Models encourage us by showing we can phase out VOCs in our homes, go solar (or at least in northern Illinois, solar thermal), and begin composting and recycling.  More to the point Mom, their availability demonstrates the world won't collapse if we don't use petroleum to make it.  Industry and commerce will continue to grow as we move away from our reliance on fossil fuels.  After all, little girls will always want doll houses.

So go ahead President Obama do your worst!  If you implement a carbon tax, we'll consue our way around it, and be HaPe doing so.

PS the Gen X side of me would have you note HaPe and most companies have a long way to go before becoming completely "green."  HaPe makes its products in China, a country notorious for its reliance on coal for heating and manufacturing energy - among other things.  And their model family of five will even under green conditions consume more resources than a family of three.  But you've got to start somewhere.  HaPe is off to a good start, pointing us in the right direction.

I'm not sure whether to post this opportunity under Environment and Sustainability or log it with Affordable Housing.  Frankly the Weatherization and Energy Assistance programs at CEDA Neighbors at Work (1229 Emerson in Evanston) does both -

IHWAP: The Illinois Home Weatherization Assistance Program will evaluate the warmth of your home and make necessary home improvements to keep you warm through the winter.  Better yet, the improvements they make (some upwards of $20,000) will also help keep you cool in the summer.  Either way they'll increase the value of your home.

LIHEAP: Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program will literally pay your electric and heating bills for you!  Better yet if you apply for LIHEAP you'll also be eligible for IHWAP.

Springfield doesn't have the money for these programs: it's coming from the Fed and trickling into the coffers of the Community and Economic Development Corporation of Cook County.  Not for the fortunate, these programs aim to warm those living at 150% of the poverty level.  If you think that's cushy, look at the income requirements on the website and think again.  The good news: you can apply for both of these with Julie Prior, Outreach Services Coordinator at CEDA Neighbors at Work - (847)328-5166 Ext. 5422.  Tell her where you heard about it!  The bad news: processing these requests can take upwards of three months!  Collect the required paperwork for each program (on their website above) and call for your appointment today!