WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

Although county lines parcel out the southern shore of Lake Michigan like garden plots, the environmental issues that unify people from Michigan City, Ind. to Chicago do not respect political boundaries.

The glitzy towers of downtown Chicago are filled with offices that boast impressive financial returns, but their biggest cash flow may be one they all share: the Chicago River. A new report quantifies the economic returns of river investments.

The Chicago Conservation Corps' student program has graduated roughly 6,500 students and teachers who have devoted some 150,000 hours of service since the program begin in 2006. New clubs start by auditing their trash, food waste and leaky faucets — their leak-finding program reportedly saved 1.5 million gallons last year. But many schools develop their own curricula.

Some environmentalists warn that a recent federal report on greenhouse gases doesn’t tell the full story. The Environmental Protection Agency says natural gas producers have significantly reduced emissions of methane, a potent heat-trapping gas that could decide whether the fossil fuel is a viable short-term option for fighting climate change.

 Pharmaceutical products routinely enter the ecosystem, altering the behavior of fish and tainting the drinking water supplies of 40 million Americans. To help cut back on that contamination, The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) is participating in a national drug “take-back” event, inviting Chicagoans to anonymously dispose of their unused and unwanted medication.

Thanks to an aggressive perennial plant initiative that has tied up lakefront soil with native plant roots, many areas of the Botanic Garden weathered the storm with ease.

Today Chicago opened the large gates that separate Lake Michigan from the river to relieve pressure on a sewer system swollen with runoff and waste. The city’s sewer problems may be stark in light of the severe rain, but they are not unique.