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City Council Committee Approves Climate Emergency Declaration

CHICAGO (CBS)-- The Chicago City Council on Monday voted to fight back and protect Chicago from record high lake levels.

Ald. George Cardenas (12th) confirmed that the Climate Emergency Resolution passed out of the Environmental Protection Committee. He said the City Council is going to work with Cook County and the State of Illinois to change the way the city behaves and reduce our carbon footprint.

CBS 2 has been showing the damage along Lake Michigan for weeks.

For some time now, the answer to the ever rising water's been concrete barriers and big walls.

But last month, a couple of aldermen introduced the idea that the city should be considering this a climate emergency.

Members of the Committee of Environmental Protection and Energy plan to sit down at noon Monday and listen to testimony about the consequences of abrupt climate breakdown.

Lakefront erosion, citywide flooding and severe unseasonal weather, these are the problems included in a resolution explaining why lawmakers believe this is a climate emergency.

It wasn't long ago we showed you huge waves tearing up big chunks of asphalt on the trail near Fullerton Drive.

The committee's plan mentions solutions like zero greenhouse gas emissions and removing all excess carbon from the atmosphere in Chicago, hoping it will help the situation.

The declaration will still have to be approved by the full City Council. But the vast majority of aldermen are co-sponsoring the resolution.

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