(Chicago, Illinois) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Mary A. Gade celebrated Earth Day 2008 with crowds gathered at Daley Plaza in Chicago.
Gade encouraged everyone to participate in the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge that runs through the end of April.
While some events were held last weekend, many of the challenge electronic and pharmaceutical collections are this Saturday, April 26 across eight states.
During the event, Gade and other EPA officials dropped their unwanted medications into a collection barrel.
Gade noted how far the fight to protect the environment in America has come over the past 40 years - reminding Chicago residents there was a time when it was necessary to turn on their car headlights to navigate through steel mill pollution that hung thickly in the air on the south side of Lake Michigan.
Gade reminded those gathered of the times when American rivers caught fire from industrial pollution in big cities like the infamous blazes on the Cuyahoga River in Ohio.
Gade thanked the city of Chicago, the Chicago Police Department, the U.S. General Services Administration, the U.S. Post Office, the state of Illinois, the Illinois EPA and many others for working with the USEPA to make the challenge possible and for helping to ensure the busy collection sites operate without a problem.
The city of Chicago has another pharmaceutical collection scheduled this Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 pm on Goose Island at the Household Chemicals and Computer Recycling Facility, 1150 N. North Branch St.(Goose Island), Chicago.
Gade is the EPA Great Lakes National Program Manager and EPA Region 5 Administrator.
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Flow of the River EPA Blog on Chicago Earth Day event:
http://flowoftheriver.epa.gov/greatlakeschallenge/2008/04/earth-day-in-re.html
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Earth911:
http://earth911.org/blog/2008/03/14/epas-great-lakes-2008-earth-day-challenge...
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EPA Region 5 Office in Chicago, Illinois
Mary A. Gade, Regional Administrator, Great Lakes National Program Manager
The Regional Administrator reports directly to the EPA Administrator in Washington, D.C.
312-886-3000
gade.mary@epa.gov
http://www.epa.gov/region5
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The interfaith Earth Healing Initiative:
http://www.earthhealinginitiative.org
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Cuyahoga River fire: On June 22, 1969, industrial pollutants on the Cuyahoga River caught fire in Cleveland, Ohio, drawing national attention to environmental problems in the United States. Fires occurred on the Cuyahoga River in 1868, 1883, 1887, 1912, 1922, 1936, 1941, 1948, and in 1952.
Photos of numerous fires on Cuyahoga River:
http://web.ulib.csuohio.edu/SpecColl/croe/accfire.html
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Lake Michigan south shore steel mills pollution in 1970s caused car headlights to be needed in South Chicago, East Chicago, and Gary:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/10/us_steel_joins.php
http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/638.html
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Illinois EPA David Walters
217-785-8604
david.walters@illinois.gov
http://www.epa.state.il.us
Ill EPA Spring HHW collections:
http://www.epa.state.il.us/land/hazardous-waste/household-haz-waste/hhwc-sche...
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AGL website:
http://www.greatlakes.org
April 26, 2008
City of Chicago
Unwanted Medications
8 to 3 pm
Chicago Household Chemicals and Computer Recycling Facility
1150 N. North Branch on Goose Island
Chicago, Ill 60622
312-744-7672
Alliance for the Great Lakes
Lyman Welch, Alliance for the Great Lakes water quality manager
312-939-0838 ext. 230
This event is being sponsored by the Alliance, IEPA, EPA and the City of
Chicago. At the event, anyone can bring (at no charge) unused or expired
prescription and non-prescription drugs including inhalers and mercury
thermometers for collection for proper disposal.
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EPA Press Release:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/dc57b08b5acd42bc852573c90044a9c4/bb2...
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