Preserve Periodical ROCKFORD, IL: Magazine WHAT IS HAPPENING DURING THIS CLIMATE CRISIS? Taking a deep dive into Rockford, IL and the surrounding towns, one can pinpoint the possible causes of climate change and how the city is tackling the growing problem. Rockford is just below the Wisconsin and Illinois border and about 2 hours Northwest of Chicago. It is best known for sock monkeys, the Rockford Peaches (an all woman baseball team), and factories and manufacturing plants. As explained in an article on the Go Rockford website, an website with information regarding the history and attractions in Rockford, IL, “Rockford's 20th Century industry revolved around machine tools, heavy machinery, automotive, aerospace, fastener and cabinet hardware products, and packaging devices and concepts” (Rockford IL History, gorockford.com). In other words, Rockford was and is still a hub for many factories for a vast amount of products and services. Rockford is also home to the Rockford Airport and Rockford Speedway. Rockford is filled with great amenities and buildings, but what type of damage to the environment is going on in the shadows? How is Rockford contributing to climate change, and how is this change in climate Figure 1 Image from the Rockford Public Library www.preserveperiodical.com affecting Rockford? 1 Magazine Preserve Periodical WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW? A local factory located right below the Wisconsin-Illinois state line went up in flames within the past few years. The factory, Chemtool, was a chemical plant that dealt with many substances. This factory was located in Rockton, IL which is just north of Rockford. At the time of Figure 2 the fire, the area was Image from chicagotribune.com and Scott Olson/Getty Images evacuated because there was concern regarding what chemicals were released into the air. These emissions were not only concerns for the residents of the area and how their health could be affected, but groups focused on natural preservation became worried of how the fire could affect wildlife and the environment. Natural preservation groups such as Severson Dells, located just south of Rockton, voiced their concern for the animals not only in their park but in surrounding areas. The park published an article just after the fire and explained that “when an event such as this fire occurs there is the potential to dramatically affect our environment and everything and everyone that lives in it” (Translating the EPA reports on the Chemtool Fire, seversondells.com, 2021). Though they are still researching the exact impact of the fire on the wildlife, the city of Roscoe has detected a large emission of carbon dioxide that came from the explosion. www.preserveperiodical.com 2 Preserve Periodical Magazine WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW? Figure 3 Image from wifr.com Groups protesting the preservation of the Bell Bowl Prairie are strong stakeholders in the changes in the region that have large impacts on climate change. The community has concerns that animal and plant species could be negatively affected by the urbanization of the prairie. Seeing that the prairie was home to multiple species on the endangered animal list, building an extension of the airport on this land would likely wipe these species out of the area. Research shows that when a species disappears from an ecosystem, the ecosystem can be affected by the absence of the species in instances where the natural food chain is disrupted. The impact the animal or plant had on the ecosystem no longer exists. Therefore, surrounding species are forced to adapt and sometimes suffer. www.preserveperiodical.com 3 Preserve Periodical Magazine HOW IS THE STATELINE TRYING TO HELP? The Rockford Mass Transit District has published an extensive plan in which they illustrate how they are going to utilize the public buses to decrease emissions from transportation. They explain that “By transitioning to electronic vehicles and employing other emissions reduction measures, the transportation sector has the potential to drastically reduce GHG emissions.” (Climate Action Plan, RMTD.com, 2022). By converting a large percentage of buses from running strictly on gas to gas-electric hybrids, emissions that are released by gas powered vehicles reduce dramatically. Gas powered transportation is one of the large contributors to climate change and damage to the atmosphere. This is why carpooling, hybrid and full electric cars, and public transportation are becoming more prevalent modes of transportation. Also, by making buses more accessible and available, more people are able to utilize public transportation rather than calling a car service or using their own vehicle. This hopefully will lower the amount of cars per person used on a daily basis. Figure 4 Image from rmtd.com www.preserveperiodical.com 4 SOURCES https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/? url=https%3A%2F%2Frmtd.org%2Fwpcontent%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F07%2F2022_03_30_CAP-FinalReport.pdf&data=05%7C01%7Chsherbon%40uwm.edu%7Cb934da3ced7 3425104bd08db2fd1035f%7C0bca7ac3fcb64efd89eb6de97603cf21%7C 0%7C0%7C638156346964959981%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJW IjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D %7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=VLwYgkLxhk01duEFb0j6rxUenEVoR80KhIt u%2FR60rig%3D&reserved=0 https://www.seversondells.com/blog/chemtool?format=amp https://gl.audubon.org/news/bell-bowl-prairie-provides-habitat-rareand-threatened-species-wildlife-and-nature-birders https://www.weather.gov/lot/hydrology_education_climate https://www.gorockford.com/about/history/ Climate Change and Cancer – C-CHANGE | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health https://roscoenews.com/sites/default/files/7499/files/202207/emissions-estimate-report.pdf
