As 2021 draws to a close, it seems appropriate to take a look back—to update some of the stories and follow up on some public policy issues I’ve covered for the eNews over the past year. Such a review calls, too, for a brief assessment and a look toward the future. The opinions expressed are mine, not those of One Earth Film Festival or its governing board.
It’s time to look back and celebrate all the things we’ve accomplished together this year. Here’s 2021 by the numbers.
4,046 attendees at 26 film watch parties
At each of the virtual events during the main Fest Season in March and during Earth Week in April, we learned about the climate crisis, were presented with more than 250 action ideas, and pledged to take action.
As Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Chicago, Angela Tovar has a big job: steering Mayor Lightfoot’s policy on environmental protection and climate change in addition to being a liaison between City Hall and community organizations in Chicago’s most polluted areas.
Q: What are some key points of that investment [to mitigate the effects of climate change]?
A: We’re focused on green infrastructure and flood-mitigation in vulnerable communities. And we will be planting 75,000 trees across the city over the next five years, for all the gifts trees provide, including heat mitigation. We’re supporting retrofitting for energy efficiency in low- to moderate-income housing and neighborhood-anchor institutions. And many other things—connecting residents with renewable-energy sources; finding better waste management solutions, including for organic waste; and exploring greener transportation options.
Between now and the end of this year the City of Chicago will be moving aggressively toward the conclusion of a three-year process of reevaluating the city’s relationship with its utility partner, Commonwealth Edison.
Other municipalities across the country may want to take note and look to Chicago as a model on the transition to clean, renewable energy.
The goal of the reevaluation is to re-engineer and modernize the City’s electricity delivery system to meet the demands of the 21st century. As part of a much broader agenda known as Resilient Chicago, launched in 2019, the City is reevaluating what's known as the Electric Utility Franchise Agreement (henceforth referred to as ‘the FA’), which has been in effect since 1992 and expired at the end of 2020. (It is still in force under a clause that allowed for a period of transition at expiration.)
What’s happening in Chicago, right now, is a very important, very big deal.
