I had the bad fortune to need to drive around NEO this afternoon, so I was exposed to some of the dumbest people on Earth, all over town, and their socially repugnant Hummers and other gas guzzlers, and the poor behavior of many NEO drivers in general. The First Hummer was some jerk cruising around town at probably 8 MPG, yacking away on his cell phone... probably busy trying to rule the world...

 The following story with its links ran in CASE Daily (Case's online newpaper) today. Do feel like you have entrepreneurial genes? I think I do! Please post your thoughts
"Do genes influence who will be entrepreneurs?"

ABC News (Reuters), June 5, 2006
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2041245

For so many reasons, University Circle and its institutions and the surrounding neighborhood are core to what I value in NEO, and I look forward to seeing all that continually expand in significance to me, the region and world. But, University Circle is a small geographic domain, which must be optimized for 21 organizational stakeholders, and their 1,000,000s of stakeholders, including everyone associated with Case, University Hospitals, the VA, CIA, Cleveland Museum(s), Institute of Music, Orchestra, etc., and all others in the community.

In visioning for a better region and future here, consider a broader interpretation of University Circle from the small cultural, healthcare and university center of Cleveland to the center of the entire University Community of NEO.

Sustain-a-palooza - April 18 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Adelbert Gym – will highlight what Case and others in Cleveland are doing to create a more sustainable environment on campus and in the area. A central component of the event will be spotlighting faculty and student work and research. Bring your old cell phones, ink jet cartridges and eyeglasses for recycling, and enjoy food, entertainment and door prizes. Those interested in volunteering should contact susan [dot] woolf [at] case [dot] edu or call 368-4330 by the end of today.

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Northeast Ohio is about to see an explosive, high profile, living, learning and enlightening force hit the scene and landscape, as area filmmakers, learning institutions and the public come together to create NEO Central - a bleeding-edge collaborative media arts center for NEO now and the future.The center will be based on like-minded initiatives around the world, and will provide shared film/media education, incubation, production, distribution, business and technology resources, and facilities, which are currently located in the historic landmark Gillota Building at 300 Central Viaduct (Carnegie) and will be expanded significantly as part of an area economic development plan. More on all of this is found in the links below, which will grow...

I'm pleased to say the 03.21.2006 Excellence Roundtable featuring Steven Fong gave PD Architecture Critic Steven Litt a chance to catch up with Dean Fong, and be the first to learn huge news for this region... See http://www.cleveland.com/weblogs/entertainment/

KSU dean wants architecture grad program moved to Cleveland
Kent State University will move its entire graduate program in architecture to Cleveland "as soon as possible."

So says Steven Fong, the new dean of KSU's College of Architecture and Environmental Design.

Fong, who assumed the post at KSU in December, described his plans publicly for the first time Tuesday in an interview following a public forum at the university's Urban Design Collaborative in Cleveland.

March 21, 2006, REALNEO and the Kent State University Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC)  hosted a wonderful open-house and Excellence Roundtable featuring, Steven Fong, the Charter Dean of the KSU School of Architecture and Environmental Design, which is based in Kent, Ohio, of which CUDC is part. In prime roundtable form, the attendees were as diverse and remarkeable as is Steven, driving a fascinating hour and half brainstorm through Steven's world of fantastic projects that he's worked on around the world, down to today's reality of NEO, viewed from 30,000 feet down to the streets.

Fantastic new article on the World Business Council for Sustainable Developments website  regarding biofuels  that I wanted to make you aware of.   It is freely available to those with internet access. If you dont have internet access, you dont know, unless you bring trees into the mix.

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Pictured from left to right: Julius Ciaccia- Director of Public Utilities, Councilman Matt Zone, Andrew Watterson- Cleveland Sustainability Manager, and David Beach- Director, Ecocity Cleveland.

On October 11, 2005, the NEO Excellence Roundtable will feature City of Cleveland Sustainability Programs Manager Andrew Watterson to discuss successes and opportunities for our core city and region to lead the country and world as an environmentally-friendly and sustainable community. In a presentation Andrew made on "the State of Our Environment", at a recent meeting of the Ohio League of Conservation voters, I learned Cleveland is already a leader with sustainability, in many important ways, by adding hybrid vehicles to the city fleet and enacting an anti-idling policy intended to reduce emissions and fuel consumption (by 10%)... see Hotel Bruce for details. Andrew mentioned plans for wind turbines in the city and indicated many other exciting developments ahead - please join us on Tuesday the 11th, from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM, at the City Club to discuss these important issues with our "Sustainability Czar".

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An E4S Third Tuesday Networking Event

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

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EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio – Midwest BioFuels, LLC and American Merchandising Services announced today availability of B5 Biodiesel fuel at the Munson Mini Mart located in Munson Township, Ohio. Opening of the retail pump will be celebrated at the Munson Mini Mart on Saturday, August 6th from 1 pm to 3 pm.

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Herb Crowther assembled an excellent and diverse panel of experts with a range of backgrounds, affiliations and interests related to the future of "energy" and implications on Earth and here in NEO - "scientists, entrepreneurs, energy specialists, economic development and community development professionals". The session flowed as follows:

"Prelude to the
New Energy Debate in Northeast Ohio"

From TransTech and the New Energy
Roundtable (NER)

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A Biofuels Primer, Phil Lane, Analog Motors, LLC

Ed Morrison, Director of REI, introduced the speaker, Phil Lane. Phil has been attending Tuesdays@REI sessions and he offered to give this presentation on Biofuels. Ed proceeded with a short synopsis of some of the objectives of REI and the Tuesdays@REI series. A major objective is the creation of open networks within the NEO region. Colleges and Universities will serve as nodes in this network and promote innovation in our traditional industries, sustainable enterprise, and creative industries.

"A Biofuels Primer"

A presentation on the history and potential of biofuels in the energy equation. Topics will trace timeline from the pre-WWII chemurgy movement to current developments such as algal biodiesel and biomass pyrolysis for hydrogen production. Incorporating concepts that include well-to-wheel efficiency, end-of-vehicle-life landfill mandates and integrated biorefineries, a path towards sustainable economic development will be explored within the framework of industrial ecology.

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Every home and business owner in NEO can be part of the sustainability and green building movement by being smart about energy efficiency - demand side management. The E4S champions described below can help us live and work smarter - we just need to be smart enough to get in touch with them first!

To find Ohioans walking the walk to make NEO a Green region by a blue lake, one needs look no further than the non-profit organization E4S. Learn more about this fantastic organization and contribute related insight here

Developing a sustainable community, defined by the UN as "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". How we may accomplish this for future generations of NEO is developing here!

As NEO looks toward sustainable development, our scientific research and engineering community should become involved in Earth friendly technology development - an interesting example was just reported out of MIT, showing fuel cells in a green light.

People who complain there aren't leaders in Northeast Ohio fighting each day to improve our economy and quality of life are themselves ignorant and to blame for the problems in this community. Innumerable exceptional, dedicated, capable and effective leaders fight day in and out to improve everyone's lives here, every day - it is the people who do not participate actively in this process who are our region's "quiet crisis"?. Each day we have opportunities to be solutions - visit the REALNEO calendar frequently to get up to speed and learn where, when and how to make differences in the future of this community, participate in forums on-line, find and share insight with our community leaders, and take personal responsibility, now.

Important outside speaker is making presentation on the
history of the electric vehicle, to contextualize for the future - overflow
crowd at Case... mix of students and others - shows this is a topic of great
interest. Interesting the event comes just an hour after the close of the Wind
Power Conference - the time for sustainability in NEO has come.

Notes from on-site:

Numerous NEO researchers and entrepreneurs are interested in developing a bioenergy industry here, and signirficant progress is being made - follow and report on developments here!

Alternative Energy is a global opportunity, to improve economies and ecologies, and NEO is taking an aggressive approach by developing enterprises and resources in this cluster. This book explores economic development and entrepreneurship related to Alternative Energy!