Evanston publishing climate change information on website

Evanston+mayor+Steve+Hagerty+speaks+at+a+panel.+Hagerty+joined+an+effort+by+Chicago+mayor+Rahm+Emanuel+and+11+other+mayors+nationwide+to+post+climate+change+information+on+their+cities+websites+starting+Sunday.

Daily file photo by Katie Pach

Evanston mayor Steve Hagerty speaks at a panel. Hagerty joined an effort by Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel and 11 other mayors nationwide to post climate change information on their cities’ websites starting Sunday.

Ben Pope, Summer Editor

Evanston started publishing climate change research conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency on the city’s website Sunday, community engagement coordinator Patrick Deignan announced in a news release.

The research, which includes general information about the nature and causes of climate change as well as more specific data about yearly climate change-related trends, was removed from federal government websites in late April. The EPA’s climate change page currently contains a notice that it is being updated to “reflect EPA’s priorities under the leadership of President Trump.”

In response, Chicago, Evanston and 11 other cities across the United States are now publishing the information on an open-source website and encouraging other cities and institutions to do the same, according to a release.

“Thank you to Mayor Emanuel and the City of Chicago for organizing this important effort,” Evanston Mayor Steve Hagerty said in the release. “Working together, communities both large and small can have a huge impact on climate change. I’m pleased that the City of Evanston can play a role in restoring public access to years of climate change research.”

The announcement is the latest addition to Evanston’s track record of high attentiveness towards environmental issues.

In 2006, the city joined the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement and, by 2013, Evanston had successfully reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 13 percent, wrote Hagerty in a public letter last week.

Last month, moreover, Evanston shifted the goals of its Office of Sustainability “back to its original purposes of energy efficiency, water and waste reduction, renewable energy and climate change” by appointing Kumar Jensen as sustainability coordinator, city manager Wally Bobkiewicz told The Daily.

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