GreenDrinks is a monthly event hosted by Foresight Design, “Greens” from around the city gather for networking, discussion, and informal mingling. This month, the event was extra special as it featured five Chicago mayoral candidates: Danny Davis, Miguel del Valle, John Hu, Carol Moseley Braun, and Patricia Van Pelt Watkins.(Please note that although all candidates were invited some were not in attendance).
The proposed City-wide “Styrofoam” ban and other green initiatives gained tremendous visibility tonight through this forum. The second candidate to speak, John Hu, discussed banning “Styrofoam” in the city as part of his green platform and even mentioned NFC’s appearance in Saturday’s Chicago Tribune (see article HERE). Others to follow also mentioned Styrofoam--Carol Moseley Braun mentioned the benefits of the ban in respect to waste reduction.
Follow up questions probed deeper into the candidates’ commitment to green issues. This included proposals for eradicating the dreaded polystyrene!!
No Foam Chicago shared our message with the audience as well as the candidates, and showed that banning polystyrene is not preposterous or unnecessary. On the contrary, NOW is the time to turn the tide! John Hu followed up on our question regarding how to combat CPS's "styrofoam" use. We are especially happy about this exposure after gaining a new partner is ACE (more info HERE) and spending Saturday morning educating student leaders from Chicago Public Schools. All on top of the Trib article!
The candidates presented environmental issues they plan on championing as well as some thoughts on how to implement them. Through the speeches, it is evident that communication from government to citizens and businesses needs to continue to grow. Citizens--in all areas of the city--need more education regarding the problems we face. Incentives for pursuing green initiatives need to be provided for individual citizens. Funding sources should also be explored. Some candidates discussed potentials for privatization and the inherent risks involved (noting the Parking Meter Scandal) and government provided subsidies for recycling, water use, and other measures. Several candidates also discussed expanding measures to harness the creativity of the public to propose new solutions. Issues such as chemicals leaching from “Styrofoam” into children’s food and the presence of food deserts in certain areas showed the combination of the ‘green’ movement with human rights.
