The City of Cleveland Division of Water celebrates 150 years of service (1856 – 2006). This is an outstanding organization that servers water the greater Cleveland. There are some amazing facts that we should all be aware of.

RIDE THE WIND™

WITH THE RTA

A PROPOSAL TO SUPPLEMENT THE CLEVELAND RAPID TRANSIT AUTHORITY’S ELECTRICAL POWER, AND CREATE A DYNAMIC “SUSTAINABLE” IMAGE , BY INSTALLING MODERN MULTI-MEGAWATT WIND TURBINES ALONG THE RAIL RIGHT OF WAY(ROW). 

'Non profits are not working together', is a statement I hear almost on a daily basis.  I actually don't agree with this statement.  I think this problem has been changing in the last 5 years in NEO.  There are many non-profits who have come together (without force from funders to collaborate).  I think the non-profit community has done a bad job in highlighting these collaborations to the community at large.

One of the defenses of the paint and lead industries against litigation over lead poisoning is the paint companies claim there is no way to identify which paint company made which lead paint - they claim is is all one big public nuisance and deny any responsibility.

According to new rules released by the U.S. Department of the Interior, the National Parks will begin charging fees of $150 per day to film, video and comercial photography projects, accroding to the National Press Photographers Association.  These fees  could total up to $500 per day when monitoring and additional costs are assessed. The fees took effect May 15th.

The Northeast Ohio Area Coordination Agency's (NOACA) 7th Annual Summit, "Exploring Our Region's Potential," will be held Friday, June 9, 2006. The Summit will focus on transportation, economic development, and air and water quality issues in Northeast Ohio. Lee Fisher (D) and Representative Tom Raga (R), candidates for lieutenant governor, will present their plans for economic development in Ohio and the region. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. The Summit begins at 9:30 a.m. and runs to about 2 p.m.

Location

In its second annual premiere, iNGENUiTY is a festival of art and technology taking place in Downtown Cleveland from July 13 – 16. The festival showcases the work of local artists, musicians, dancers, actors and other performers in a series of exhibits, performances and exciting venues. In its inaugural year, the festival attracted over 70,000 participants.

Location

   This documentary will be shown twice, with a discussion after each showing.
1st show 3:30
2nd show 6:00

Location

These days green wash comes in many flavors, colors, and varieties.    There are even a few colorful local examples we have been tracking for some time now at Buckeye Sustainability Institute.  Anyone have some good examples of their own they would like to share?

It astounds me to go to one of the only spots downtown with a view of the lake and see the mess built by the city, port and community leaders in just the last decade or so - and they talk about a lakefront plan, with this mess on their hands. As Steven Fong (Dean of Architecture at Kent) said, before taking on master plans, do a few smaller things well. Well, here are acres of blocked off lakefront - acres of shabby surface parking lots - a disgrace. And a road to the lake has a big concrete barrier, 8 foot chainlink fence, and unfriendly signs everywhere. We love you too.

With high gas prices making alternative fuels increasingly attractive, no alternative fuel has received as much attention as ethanol. Some hail the fuel, which can be derived from plants including corn, wheat, barley and sugarcane, as a savior of American energy policy, while others see it as a fad popularized by its heavily subsidized corporate backers."

The ODOT Cleveland Innerbelt Project's- Project Development Process (PDP) & Public Involvement Process (PIP) seem to be in limbo since the last public meeting on November 17, 2005.  ODOT's and City of Cleveland's PDP & PIP Schedule has not been followed and appears to be five (5) months behind schedule.  The "Alternatives Report" and the "Economic Impact Analysis" were scheduled to be completed in December 2005, for public review and comment.  THE REPORT AND ANALYSIS - DO NOT EXIST AT THIS TIME.  Even though the general public has been effectively removed from the public processes, a lot of activity has been going on since November 2005.  Below is a brief update on some of those activities.  Please visit www.neobridge.net to participate in this community discussion and to get the latest updates on OUR Cleveland Innerbelt Project.

I thought this was an interesting pairing - which has the better eco footprint - a hard working Ford Econoline Van or a hard playing Porsche cabrio. Unlese you need to haul lots of ladders, you get much better mileage with the Porsche... but the sustainability of the commute from Palm Beach to Shaker Heights is another matter...

If you're going to have a Hummer, the blue seems most up-beat and friendly. And I guess I'd rather see a Hummer driver shopping in East Cleveland than anywhere else... unless this is the owner of Silvermans, and he/she can afford a Hummer 'cause he overvcharges everyone... I'll see if it's there regularly

I saw two Toyota Highlander Hybrids on May 19th, 2006 - the first day I even noticed they exist - now I'm paying more attention to all the iron around me. I looked up buyer feedback online and it seems this vehicle delivers below the claimed 30 mpg, and most buyers gripe it is overpriced, but owners also feel better about themselves for trying to make a difference in the environment

About the size of the Fed Ex truck it double parked behind, and probably worse for the environment - taking road hog to new high.

Here are photos of icons of our times of environmental crisis and transformation, where humans still must fight to share the roads with Hummers, and social sonsciousness in America is at an astounding low... see what such a world looks like, starting May 20, 2006.

Here on a typical nice spring day, there are several messengers, commuters and pleasure riders around A.J. Rocco's - also featuring a "Share the Road" bike - share the love.

While looking for lead testing kits and information in East Cleveland, at Silvermans, I slipped into paparazzi mode as I spotted three future leaders of our NEO new economy, chilling on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. They let me snap their pictures, which will be worth a fortune when these guys are famous. It can happen, when we keep our kids lead free.

I was so offended by the article the Plain Dealer ran on the cover Tuesday: "Ravenous birds facing last meal in Ohio soon" that I feel the need to post some factual inormation about cormorants. It is not that I necessarily oppose reducing the population of these birds -- what the article is essentially about -- its the over the top, purple prose I find insulting. i.e. "the cormorants look like prehistoric lizard-birds designed by Edgar Allan Poe on a bad night." Is this a phrase that belongs in Cleveland's daily paper or a cheap tabloid?  Why does reporter Bill Sloat want to make us hate these birds, and does he think readers are so impressionable? Can't he just tell us the facts? There is actually an interesting story here -- about the human impact on nature.

 Celebrate the Region's Newest Waterfront Park - Wendy Park at Whiskey Island