A flyer promoting Earth Day Families in Motion, a family-focused event happening citywide in Chicago on April 18, 2026. The flyer has an image of a globe surrounded by clouds. Full details can be found at chi.gov/earthday

Join in the fun tomorrow for Earth Day Families in Motion! 🌎Help clean up a park, ride your bike, enjoy an Earth Day storytime, or take a play break at a Space to Grow schoolyard. Find full details at chi.gov/earthday

@chipublib.bsky.social @mayorofchicago.bsky.social

Photo of a Brown Line L train pedestrian crossing gate arm down in Albany Park as a train goes by, with graffiti on the gate hinge stating ❤️ LOVE ❤️ EACH OTHER ❤️.

❤️ LOVE ❤️ EACH OTHER ❤️

#Chicago #CTA #L #graffiti

The surprising truth about logging The value of forest ecosystems is hard to overstate. Blanketing roughly a third of the US, they supply clean water and air, absorb planet-warming carbon dioxide, and provide homes for imperiled wildlife and a tranquil place for Americans to hunt and fish.

Logging doesn’t “mimic fire.”

Fire leaves structure.
Logging removes it.

Fire creates mosaics.
Logging simplifies them.

Fire redistributes nutrients.
Logging exports them.

Fire is disturbance within ecology.
Logging is extraction from it.

Public Act 103-0837 AN ACT concerning education. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly: Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section 27-13.1 as follows: (105 ILCS 5/27-13.1) (from Ch. 122, par. 27-13.1) Sec. 27-13.1. Environmental education. (a) In every public school there shall be instruction, study and discussion of current problems and needs in the conservation of natural resources, including but not limited to air pollution, water pollution, waste reduction and recycling, the effects of excessive use of pesticides, preservation of wilderness areas, forest management, protection of wildlife and humane care of domestic animals. (b) Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, every public school shall provide instruction on climate change, which shall include, but not be limited to, identifying the environmental and ecological impacts of climate change on individuals and communities and evaluating solutions for addressing and mitigating the impact of climate change and shall be in alignment with State learning standards, as appropriate. The State Board of Education shall, subject to appropriation, prepare and make available multi-disciplinary instructional resources and professional learning opportunities for educators that may be used to meet the requirements of this subsection (b). (Source: P.A. 86-229.) Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2025.

Love that now, all Illinois public schools must teach #environment and #climatechange. Kids are the future!

www.ilga.gov/documents/le...

💚🌎💚

After a flood, mold sticks around and can make people sick

Some 70,000 homes flooded in 2023, leaving mold in many West Side homes, including in Dorothy Rosenthal’s basement. The Chicago health department offers no help to flood victims like her.

We've introduced a bill requiring certified pesticide applicators applying within 1/2 mile of schools, parks, and daycares to notify those facilities at least 72 hours in advance.

You can help today by filing a witness slip as a "proponent" here: ilga.gov/house/hearin...

Welcome home, Sweet Prince 🤍 – Imani has also returned to Montrose! 🤍⭐️

The boys are back in town. Let's go!!!

📸: Chicago Piping Plovers (Imani and Pippin, Montrose Protected Beach, April 13, 2026)

This April, we honor the rich history, vibrant culture, and enduring contributions of the Arab American community. Our nation is stronger because of your leadership and heritage.

Happy Arab American Heritage Month!

Cherry blossom tree across from the Museum of Science in Chicago.

Close up photo of a cherry blossom flower.

Chicago in the spring never disappoints 🌸

How about preventing continued harms to environment and health so we can make sure our water, air, land, and energy are not wasted on the hopes and dreams of short-term benefits.

Flooding in Chicago is getting worse. Here's why.

Blamed in part on climate change, the threat of water ponding in your yard or your basement is growing, a Sun-Times/WBEZ investigation has found, putting health, homes at risk.

And to make things worse, the recent push for more corn ethanol from growing, refining, to burning in engines increases ozone. And this is coming from liberal states too so at some point, people have to take responsibility for their contribution to air pollution, regardless of politics.

As an FYI, Chicago has been a serious nonattainment area for ozone for years and those generators do create NO2 and VOCs which are primary precursors to ground-level ozone, but I have not seen any slowdown in issuing permits because of this.

They have to test them according to code. Here’s a good summary: ps.buckeyepowersales.com/wp-content/u...

In my experience, rarely denied that I know of because they must submit plans and have air mitigation strategies submitted when applying. That’s true for everyone applying. The problem is the cumulative effects of about 8,000 air permits in the city and which neighborhoods pollutants concentrate in.

All those diesel backup generators have to be tested weekly and then longer monthly and must have an air permit for all the pollution they generate, not to mention they cause a lot of noise, and create numerous complaints in dense areas like Chicago.

You love Plovers too?! Let’s chat…
Curious about the tiny shorebirds that call the Montrose Protected Beach home each Spring-Summer? Join your Chicago Piping Plover Monitors 🧡 this Saturday, April 11, from 9-11 AM to learn how we all can share the shore with Piping Plovers and other shorebirds.

Graphic of a blue sign depicting OneHealth—environmental health, animal health and human health—that says in Orange “prepared for the next pandemic”.

Each day during Public Health Week, @defendpublichealth.bsky.social will be highlighting two of the 10 planks in our People’s Health Platform.

This morning we are focusing on PREPARING FOR THE NEXT PANDEMIC.

That family tree is a testament to the dedication of Tamima and all involved to protect them - great work! I miss Monty & Rose, but this brought back some fun memories volunteering.💚

A 10-point vision to rebuild public health we all should be on board with!
#NPHW

Strongest El Niño in a century? What this rare phenomenon could bring. The chances for a planet-warming super El Niño this year are rising, according to an updated model forecast issued by ECMWF on Sunday.

A new forecast indicates there’s a high chance for a supercharged El Niño this year, which could push temperatures to record levels.

A warming patch of water in the Pacific Ocean influences what areas experience droughts, floods, declining sea ice and more.

⚠️ 🦠 ⚠️ 🔬 ⚠️

🛟 Surveillance of endemic & emerging communicable diseases are one of the core #publichealth services.

🛟 In other words, it's the continuous, systematic collection, analysis, & interpretation of health data to monitor disease trends, detect outbreaks early & guide interventions.

#NPHW

NPHW LOGO

It's National Public Health Week! Join us April 6-12 as we recognize the many ways public health has improved our daily lives, safeguarded our families, expanded our life spans and strengthened our communities www.nphw.org #NPHW

Farmers & gov already know the harms, unfortunately.

Reminds me when gov & industry lobbyists didn’t want to impact skilled trades & engineering preferences by allowing the continuation of lead water pipe installments until 1986, 12 years after lead paint was banned.

And no amount of lead is safe.

Flooded Fields, Polluted Environment Millions of Midwest corn acres in flood plains fuel climate emissions and contaminate water

New story map from @albine14.bsky.social for @ewgofficial.bsky.social on cropland in flood plains in the Midwest. We found over 4.2 million acres of cropland in flood plains in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. 1/3 storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/e8f8...

Warming winters lead to more nitrate pollution in the drinking water near farms Pollution levels in Iowa's water have been abnormally high this winter. That's forcing the state's largest city, Des Moines, to run an expensive nitrate removal system that they usually only use in th...

More ethanol. More corn. More fertilizer. More nitrate in your water.

Policymakers keep pushing for more, more, more, but don't have the courage to make ag actually address its vast pollution problem.

So they'll ask for more of your money to fund failed voluntary conservation.

Climate-Fueled Wildfires and Dust Storms Drove Up Air Pollution Around the World Last Year - Inside Climate News A new report shows air pollution threatens the majority of the world’s population, while information gaps increase the risks.

With my colleague @keertigopal.bsky.social, I wrote about a new report on global air pollution--that shows how climate change is making it worse. insideclimatenews.org/news/2403202...

U.S. Forest Service unveils extensive closures of research facilities Cost-cutting move is expected to cause resignations and turmoil

What will happen to the 82 USFS experimental forests around the country? Many sites have decades-long experiments that are tracking how forests are changed by timber harvesting practices and climate change. As I say here, “you can't just pick up an experimental forest site and move it to SLC.”

How Herbicide Drift from Farms Is Harming Trees in Midwest Researchers are starting to pay closer attention to the widespread damage wrought by agricultural herbicides. Drifting sprays may not kill trees, shrubs, and other nontarget plants outright, but exper...

Proud that our research on widespread herbicide damage to trees is being covered by @yalee360.bsky.social

And our findings have been backed by @illinoisdnr.bsky.social's 2024 study, which found herbicides at 97% of forest, prairie & wetland sites tested across Illinois e360.yale.edu/features/her...

Data centers are creating ‘heat islands’ and warming the land around them by up to 16 degrees | CNN The vast data centers that power artificial intelligence are so energy hungry that they’re heating up their surroundings, according to new research. It’s an alarming finding given the number of data c...

Just wait until these eyesore monstrosities want to come to your neighborhood. Goodbye trees. Expect to hear a constant, electrical humming, warmer temperatures and higher energy bills. Fight like hell to keep data centers out of your area.