Chicago City Council October 14, 2021 Committee on Environmental Protection & Energy
A RESOLUTION CALLING UPON CITY DEPARTMENTS TO IDENTIFY & PUBLISH A
REPORT ON FLOODING SOLUTIONS
WHEREAS, The City of Chicago is in a declared state of emergency due to climate change, which continues to represent an existential threat to human existence; and
WHEREAS, Some ofthe Earth's largest carbon sinks have been deeply affected, including the ocean, which is now +/-0.62 to +/- 0.14 degrees warmer on average and is developing new dead zones, and the Amazon Rain Forest is exploited to the point it is emitting carbon dioxide rather than sequestering it; and
WHEREAS, As the atmosphere warms, rains can be heavier and yield more evaporation; and
WHEREAS, While Earth's natural environments are resilient and capable of healing if human activity becomes carbon negative, we are past the tipping point and must enact human-made innovations to forge resilient systems and mitigate the effects of climate change; and
WHEREAS, September 2021, a Hurricane Ida storm down poured over half a foot of rain in a short number of hours in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut killing over 50 people; and
WHEREAS, Extreme weather events can cause indirect chaos such as power outages, suffering and death, and more than 20 people indirectly died from Hurricane Ida events; and
WHEREAS, Chicago, once considered a haven from the effects of climate change due to its access to freshwater and moderate climate, now regularly faces extreme weather events caused by climate change; such events cause Lake Michigan's water levels to rise and fall, the lakefront to erode, and overburden Chicago's aging stormwater infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, Neighborhoods like Chatham are projected to see properties at risk of flooding increase by 120% in 15-years, and 240% in 30-years according to Flood Factor; and
WHEREAS, Albany Park has 44% of its properties at risk and those that have been effected paid $6.2 m...
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