Chicago

Chicago Listed Among Best US Cities to Live In to Avoid Worst Effects of Climate Change: Report

As Chicago continues to battle an historic late-season heat wave, the city is apparently being considered one of the best U.S. cities to live in to escape the worst effects of climate change.

Researchers studying which cities can best "temper the effects of climate change" told Business Insider the city was noted for its ability to adapt to natural disasters.

An urban-planning professor at Portland State University, who is among the research group studying which cities will be best prepared for such situations in the next five decades, told BI the results so far are based on factors including policy and politics, community organization and infrastructure. 

The publication reports Chicago was studied for how well it handled heat waves, and researchers found that Chicago's organization and community building make it a "good candidate for future resilience."

The report comes amid an unprecedented stretch of late-season heat in the city.

According to the National Weather Service, Chicago has never seen five consecutive days with high temperatures at or above 92 degrees this late in the year. The previous streak of four or more days in a row was seen Sept. 16-19 in 1955, according to the NWS.

The hot temperatures broke numerous records over the last several days.

Chicago has been in the climate change conversation for months after Mayor Ramh Emanuel signed an executive order in June formalizing Chicago's commitment to adopt the guidelines of the Paris Agreement on environmental protections. 

"Chicago has proven you can create jobs while reducing your carbon footprint, and we will continue to do both," Emanuel said in a statement on the order, which committed the city to the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to levels equivalent to or greater than 26 to 28 percent reduction from 2005 levels by 2025.

One month earlier, Emanuel created a new city website called "Climate Change is Real," resurrecting information about decades of research on the impact of climate change that the mayor claimed was "unceremoniously removed" from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's climate change website on April 29. 

“We are going to ensure Chicago’s residents remain well-informed about the effects of climate change. And I encourage cities, academic institutions and others to…follow suit to ensure the important information does not disappear,” Emanuel was quoted as saying in a press release.

Also in April, thousands of people marched through downtown Chicago and outside Trump Tower on Saturday to demand action to prevent climate change and protect the environment.

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