Sign in

Raed Mansour

@raedmansour.com
1.8K followers 605 following 195 posts

Public health environmentalist, Openlands Board, River Park Natural Area Community Steward, Former Metropolitan Planning Council Senior Fellow & Chicago Department of Public Health Director of Environmental Innovation. ⓥ www.linkedin.com/in/raedmansour

PostsRepliesMedia
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 11/09/2026
What's up with lawn culture, dumping pesticides onto a public parkway's dead grass and placing a private sign on it? These toxins harm our parkway trees, neighbors, pets, urban wildlife, and beneficial pollinators. Lawns are ecologically dead. Stop poisoning the public right-of-way. #KillYourLawn
"Caution Pesticide Application Keep Off Thank You" yard sign with image of walking dog with a red prohibition symbol over it in the public parkway with a partially dead lawn and three trees along a sidewalk and street in the Albany Park neighborhood in Chicago.
0102
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 10/09/2026
Huge bird migration going on over Wisconsin & Midwest right now: 🐦‍⬛Wisconsin 93.1 million birds 🐦‍⬛Illinois 35.6 million birds 🐦‍⬛Minnesota 35.2 million birds 🐦‍⬛Michigan 30.8 million bird Turn #LightsOut to save migrating birds!
Live BirdCast bird migration map for the morning of September 10, 2026 estimation of over 526M birds migrating nationally, but concentrating mainly across Lake Michigan moving north to south.BirdCast screenshot of live data feed over Wisconsin showing over 93M birds having crossed, with 98M having crossed at 11:40p last night.
1176
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 26/08/2026
Drove thru CA's Humboldt forest, saw Montgomery Pass wild horses running free, as well as Sinbad herd in UT's San Rafael Swell 📸👇. Wild Free-Roaming Horses Act protects them from being killed on public lands—loophole allows commercial slaughter pipelines. Take action➡️ returntofreedom.org/take-action
Photo I took of two wild horses grazing, a pinto and and a black horse that is covered in dry mud, driving east along southern Utah's San Rafael Swell off Interstate 70 by the Lone Tree Road exit, standing in the federally designated Sinbad Wild Horse Herd Management Area.Photo I took of 5 wild horses grazing, a pinto foal and adult, a dark bay foal and adult, and a black horse that is covered in dry mud, with a beautiful skyline horizon and green wire fence in the foreground while driving east along southern Utah's San Rafael Swell off of Interstate 70 by the Lone Tree Road exit, standing in the federally designated Sinbad Wild Horse Herd Management Area.Photo I took of 4 wild horses, 2 grazing pinto and black horses and 2 pinto and dark bay foals running around with a green wire fence in the foreground while driving east along southern Utah's San Rafael Swell off of Interstate 70 by the Lone Tree Road exit, standing in the federally designated Sinbad Wild Horse Herd Management Area.Photo I took of 5 wild horses grazing, a pinto foal and adult, a dark bay foal and adult, and a black horse that is covered in dry mud, with a green wire fence in the foreground while driving east along southern Utah's San Rafael Swell off of Interstate 70 by the Lone Tree Road exit, standing in the federally designated Sinbad Wild Horse Herd Management Area.
011
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 26/08/2026
I’m not as happy as I used to be when seeing my photo of the CDC in the media because I took it while visiting a friend who was chief of staff to the director back in 2016 doing great work, and now it’s a reminder that it’s a shell of what it used to be. Read: www.smdailyjournal.com/news/nationa...
Article featuring a photo of the main entrance of the CDC I took while visiting the in August 2016 with the title, The CDC has zombie programs. Congress funds them, but few people are left to do the work.”
000
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 04/08/2026
Love walking through River Park in my neighborhood and looking at all the nicely pruned trees like this...umm...wait a minute...an invasive and non-native buckthorn?! Does anyone have a saw I can borrow? 🪚
Photo at River Park, in the Lincoln Square community area on Chicago's North Side, of an invasive and non-native multi-stemmed buckthorn that has been cared for.
010
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 29/07/2026
On of my most favorite summer sounds in Chicago, the humming of dog-day cicadas. 🔊
020
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 18/07/2026
Same, never grew up with it ever being like this, and I lived in Chicago’s SE side which was full of steel mills and heavy industry at the time. AQI reached 747 last night and was the #1 worst AQ in the world. The new norm for Chicago, in addition to the “normal” pollution + heat. #climatechange
EPA AirNow app screenshot of a Hazardous AQI for Chicago.IQAir screenshot of top most polluted cities in the world with Chicago ranked number 1.
141
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 16/07/2026
Chicago AQI: 597 PM 10! Official US AQI scale tops out at 500—a public health emergency. This year, we had a drought, record tornadoes & rains, and now this. Add a hotter, drier world fueling large, intense & longer fire seasons. A glimpse of the climate future we’re failing to prevent.
Screenshot of the EPA AirNow air quality app for Chicago, IL at 3 PM CDT, July 16, 2026 which is at an AQI of 597 for PM 10.
0135
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 01/07/2026
I’ve never seen two pigeons fighting over using a birdbath. It’s hot out there. Keep your birdbaths filled with fresh water. 🥵
2 pigeons fighting in a small birdbath on a deck.
010
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 27/06/2026
Good news, @govpritzker.illinois.gov signs protections against federal environmental rollbacks. @ilepa.bsky.social initiated bill will prevent the IL Pollution Control Board from being required to automatically adopt weakened federal environmental rules.
News Release image from ILEPA stating:  "Statement from Director Jennings on Gov. Pritzker Signing Protections Against Federal Environmental Rollbacks Illinois EPA Initiated bill will prevent the Illinois Pollution Control Board from being required to automatically adopt weakened federal environmental rules
SPRINGFIELD – Today, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) Director James Jennings issued the following statement commending Governor JB Pritzker for signing House Bill 5070 into law:
“Longstanding environmental protections have repeatedly come under attack by the Trump administration, necessitating action at the state level to ensure Illinois’ environmental regulations remain intact and Illinois residents are protected. I am especially grateful to representative Williams and Senator Ellman for their partnership in championing this effort in the General Assembly.

“HB 5070 prohibits the use of expedited rulemaking processes before the Board to implement any new federal standards that are less stringent than Illinois’s existing clean air, clean water, safe drinking water, and hazardous waste standards. This will ensure Illinois maintains its strong environmental protections that are legally supported and based on sound science.”
030
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 23/06/2026
Congrats! I was looking at that same photo when I got home and wondering where it is too! There is only one in the photo but there is one chick under the parent, but that would be a trick question. They are in this photo too but it was way too hard to find them - they look like stones!
Photo of Sleeping Bear at a wider angle to show the depth of the protected area for the piping plovers.Photo of a parent and chick piping plover at Sleeping Bear in a beach covered with stones.
120
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 22/06/2026
Find the #PipingPlover. #SleepingBear
Photo off the shore of Lake Michigan in Sleeping Bear with a camouflaged endangered piping plover sitting within a rock filled shore in front of the sand dunes.
2142
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 10/06/2026
🐞Plants got hammered by aphids. 🐞Nature balances this out-ladybugs keep aphids in check. But warm weather, less trees, pesticides & leaf cleanup (habitat loss), aphids had a head start. 🐞Released 750 native convergent lady beetles & let nature take its course. Make room for nature to do its thing.
Photo of a false sunflower seedling covered with aphids.Holding a container full of native ladybugs in front of a planter full of false sunflower seedlings.Ladybugs on a false sunflower seedling going to work on aphids.A pot of false sunflower seedlings free from aphids a day after the ladybugs were released.
000
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 26/05/2026
Birds keep our ecosystems healthy, from fertilizing and seeding to keep forests and people healthy by eating insects, think #OneHealth. They aren't separate from us and the environments we depend on for our very own livelihood. Below, I rescued a stunned warbler that crashed into a window.
A stunned warbler I rescued from the ground and placed in my hand until a bird rescue came and got them that crashed into a panel of windows that appear transparent.
25616
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 07/05/2026
Objects in mirror are happier than they appear. "You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us.” - Robert Louis Stevenson Happy birthday in doggy heaven my little pup. #DogSky
Jack Russell Terrier with head out the back window of a vehicle seen through the side view mirror while driving.
040
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 02/05/2026
💚 #EarthWeek because Ana Garcia-Doyle, ED of #OneEarthFilmFestival is a gem & showcases the most inspiring films. Privileged to be part of panel for In Our Nature movie w/Chicago's very own Quilen of Southside Blooms, Myrna of CEJN & Filmmaker/Actor/Humanitarian NK leading the discussion! #GenWe 🌎
000
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 02/05/2026
Great end to April. I'm part of a policy working group of tree advocates, Openlands & Morton Arboretum that presented to the City of Chicago Urban Forest Advisory Board & they voted YES for us to develop a #HeritageTree ordinance to protect trees that have the greatest #publichealth & eco benefits!🌳
Photo of the entrance to Chicago City Hall with city and US flags and an Arab American Heritage Month banner hung over the entrance.Photo of glass doors and wall entrance to Chicago Conference Center.
020
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 01/05/2026
Kids using calculus to solve for love. I think it equals a dog.
Chicago blue sidewalk chalk that states a heart (+D) L + L with a dog paw drawn onto a sidewalk in Albany Park, Chicago.
030
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 01/05/2026
I like this ceramic tile mosaic as part of an unofficial tactical repair to improve the walk. Sort of feels like an archeological find that tells a story, celebrating the scars of Chicago instead of covering it back with cement.
Photo of a blue and white ceramic tile mosaic mending a corner of a cracked sidewalk on Dearborn St in the Chicago Loop.
050
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 24/04/2026
Trees cool the air and provide shade, lowering AC costs and helps prevent hospitalization and death. Ex. a catalpa street tree in Chicago last summer. Air temp=101° F, pavement=123° F and under the tree=83° F, a difference of 18° F and 40° F, respectively. 🌳 #ArborDay #UrbanHeatIsland
Photo of a catalpa street tree in Albany Park, Chicago on the left and on the right a series of three photos of a temperature gauge starting on the top reading 101 degrees F air temperature, 123 degrees F on the asphalt, and 83.4 degrees under the catalpa tree - a difference of 17.6 degrees F and 39.6 degrees F respectively. Showing how urban heat islands can be mitigated with tree shade and cooling of the air around the tree.
1155
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 23/04/2026
behavioralscientist.org/why-dont-peo...
Graph screenshot from article, “Why Don’t People Return Their Shopping Carts? A (Somewhat) Scientific Investigation”

https://behavioralscientist.org/why-dont-people-return-their-shopping-carts-a-somewhat-scientific-investigation/
010
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 17/04/2026
❤️ LOVE ❤️ EACH OTHER ❤️ #Chicago #CTA #L #graffiti
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 ❤️.
061
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 15/04/2026
Love that now, all Illinois public schools must teach #environment and #climatechange. Kids are the future! www.ilga.gov/documents/le... 💚🌎💚
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.
020
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 11/04/2026
Chicago in the spring never disappoints 🌸
Cherry blossom tree across from the Museum of Science in Chicago.Close up photo of a cherry blossom flower.
0267
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 31/03/2026
Can we have an honest conversation about why we can’t afford to fund education, public health, healthcare, mental health, SNAP, hunger, housing, homelessness, transportation, scientific research, climate mitigation, etc?
011
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 20/03/2026
Chicago yesterday joined a coalition of 24 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 12 cities and counties to challenge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s unlawful attempt to rescind its 2009 Endangerment Finding. www.chicago.gov/city/en/dept...
It’s page of suit of coalition of states, counties, and cities across the country mount legal challenge in opposition to EPA’s unlawful rollback.

“COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS; STATE
OF CALIFORNIA; STATE OF NEW YORK; STATE
OF CONNECTICUT; STATE OF ARIZONA; STATE
OF COLORADO; STATE OF DELAWARE; STATE
OF HAWAI‘I; STATE OF ILLINOIS; STATE OF
MAINE; STATE OF MARYLAND; STATE OF
MICHIGAN; STATE OF MINNESOTA; STATE OF
NEVADA; STATE OF NEW JERSEY; STATE OF
NEW MEXICO; STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA;
STATE OF OREGON; JOSH SHAPIRO, IN HIS
OFFICAL CAPACITY AS GOVERNOR OF THE
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA; STATE
OF RHODE ISLAND; STATE OF VERMONT;
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA; STATE OF
WASHINGTON; STATE OF WISCONSIN; DISTRICT
OF COLUMBIA; UNITED STATES VIRGIN
ISLANDS; CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE, NEW
MEXICO; CITY OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS;
CITY OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS; CITY OF
CLEVELAND, OHIO; CITY OF COLUMBUS, OHIO;
CITY AND COUNTY OF DENVER, COLORADO;
HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS; CITY OF LOS
ANGELES, CALIFORNIA; MARTIN LUTHER KING,
JR., COUNTY, WASHINGTON; CITY OF NEW
YORK, NEW YORK; CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN
FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA; and SANTA CLARA
COUNTY, CALIFORNIA,
Case No. -____
Petitioners,
v.
UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY and LEE
ZELDIN, Administrator, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency,
Respondents.
021
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 16/03/2026
Been working on extreme heat a while. Many told me to stop overreacting while pointing at some community group successes. Yeah, I have been working with them because not a lot is being done. 🔥2025 ranked as 4th warmest year & 2026 looks to be continuing the trend, in winter, with another heatwave.
Screen shot from X of a repost from the National Integrates Heat health Information System of the National Weather Service posting an image of the U.S. showing over half of the nation will be experiencing a deadly heat wave stating in the post, “Many location across the lower 48 will experience quite the temperature whiplash over the next week. 

Daily record-tying/breaking highs will be possible for southern California and the Desert Southwest today and into the weekend before even more widespread record-breaking heat wave arrives next week. “
020
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 17/02/2026
Here’s a clear fingerprint of climate change-increasing frequency of fire weather watch alerts in Chicago. Extreme winter warmth and winds➕snow packs with less water causing a drought ➕ dry air cause vapor pressure deficit pulling out plant and ground moisture making dormant vegetation drier🟰🔥
Apple weather app Severe Weather Alert - Fire Weather Watch screenshot stating severe weather event possible in Chicago starting on 2/18/2026.
030
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 09/02/2026
My partner is Puerto Rican and Bad Bunny’s performance was like a joyous love letter to her, she was beaming. It was an unapologetic and homegrown show. Let’s live this everyday: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”🇵🇷
040
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 03/02/2026
Great meeting fearless, independent journalist @abbymartin0.bsky.social at her documentary Earth's Greatest Enemy about world's biggest polluter. Raw, emotionally jarring & eye opening. Required viewing for anyone that cares about health, enviro & #climatechange. Touring now earthsgreatestenemy.com
Poster image depicting an evil character embracing earth surrounded by military artillery and aircraft, for the documentary, titled Earth's Greatest Enemy - a film by Abby Martin.Selfie taken with partner and Abby Martin inside the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago.
011
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 19/12/2025
Are they serious? How about we try stopping the cause. This is the very definition of a scorched-earth policy. “Dimming the sun to cool the planet has long been a fringe idea. But this year’s AGU featured dozens of talks and posters covering the once-taboo topic.” www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
Morpheus sitting on a chair explaining the world as it is now to Neo, stating, “It was us that scortched the sky.” From the movie Matrix.
030
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 21/06/2025
000
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 21/06/2025
Today is #ShowYourStripes Day. ⚠️Chicago is under an extreme heat warning, and this isn’t just summer for some, it can mean life or death. Our op-ed from 2 years ago still holds true, To prepare for extreme heat, let’s collaborate and learn from our communities. chicago.suntimes.com/2023/6/21/23...
Temperature line graph of Chicago from 1850 to the present showing more frequent heat events.
252
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 19/06/2025
Extreme heat is the number one weather related cause of death. It's a silent killer for older adults, in certain diseases, socially isolated without AC, and more. Help Chicago save lives and develop heat policies and programs by taking this survey: northwestern.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
032
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 15/05/2025
6/6 Scientists used to reserve warnings to journals, but now their alarms are public, being arrested, fired, even deported. Here we are, protesting together, risking it all, community and scientists, against the very people hurting us & the planet. Change always starts with us. Let's make it happen!
000
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 15/05/2025
(5/6) Their editorial should add that more scientists are joining environmental activists. It's a new era of environmental activism, especially when it intersects #socialjustice and #humanrights. Scientists don't live in a bubble, their diversity cuts across all types of cultures and religions.
110
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 15/05/2025
(4/6) Environmental activists aren't new, from Carson's Silent Spring in 1960s to Hazel Johnson, mother of #environmentaljustice in 1970s, activists fought long. But corps & gov ignored them, until they got bigger, and science caught up with activism, risking elections & profits - that scares them.
100
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 26/04/2025
Take a tree walk in your neighborhoods, visit your local parks, forests, arboretums, and gardens - a lot of people work hard to bring nature to your front door. If you don't have them, don't just get mad, advocate. #ArborDay 🌳
060
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 25/04/2025
Public trees are beautiful, especially when requested or planted by community because they get to shape the character of their neighborhoods. #ArborDay 🌳
030
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 25/04/2025
City trees are amongst the best trees, performing numerous ecosystem services, saving money while making you healthier. This catalpa tree by my home provides shade and cools the air. It was 123 degrees on the unshaded asphalt but sitting underneath it cooled the air by 40 degrees! #ArborDay 🌳
030
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 25/04/2025
The Sherman in Sequoia National Park is the largest tree on earth by volume, is 275 ft tall, 2.7 million pounds, with a trunk circumference of 100 ft, and is about 2,200 years old. #ArborDay 🌳
020
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 25/04/2025
I'm posting pics of trees all day! They are proven to improve life on earth for every living thing. Happy #ArborDay 🌳 Seeing sequoias for the first time was mesmerizing and there is this calm that washes over you when you walk amongst these giants.
Walking through sequoia's in the Giant Forest in California.
130
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 24/04/2025
It’s one of the few charts this administration has that trends up.
040
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 21/03/2025
If you love nature, plants, biodiversity, birds, public health and helping our urban environment, then support #CoyoteAwarenessWeek and learn about their numerous ecological benefits here projectcoyote.org/inspire/coyo... #WorthMoreAlive #ShootwithCamerasNotGuns #OneHealth #WorldRewildingDay
An urban coyote sitting up by a tree in Graceland Cemetery, Chicago, IL.
052
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 26/02/2025
50 years ago today, I became a #UScitizen. We immigrated from Jordan to Chicago’s SE side for a better life. Even though I've felt the sting of hate, I also witnessed our resilience and power of our contributions; we build, we innovate, we help make it better for all. And will continue to do so.
Union League Chicago magazine photo cover of me with my mom and sister in front of many U.S. table flags after becoming citizens.
020
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 11/02/2025
Thank you volunteers of River Park, Friends of the Chicago River, and Chicago Park District!
020
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 11/02/2025
And ofcourse, some of life that calls this home...
120
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 11/02/2025
Together, we are building community through nature for all.
110
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 11/02/2025
Preserving this ecosystem is not only vital for environmental health but also for our own well-being.
100
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 11/02/2025
The intrinsic bond we share with nature underscores the significance of maintaining the Chicago River as a thriving habitat for wildlife, pollinators, and native plants.
110