The Strength that Will Carry Momentum Forward

The following video by Graham Veysey summarizes the proceedings of the Sustainable Cleveland 2019 Summit hosted by Mayor Jackson.

I have heard multiple Clevelanders state their frustration about the lack of visible results that have come out of the Sustainable Cleveland 2019 Summit so far.  But what I say to them each time is that this is a 10 year project.  And we are responsible for the results.

Innerbelt Bridge Access for Everyone

A message brought to you from GreenCityBlueLake, Ohio City Bicycle Co-op, Cleveland Bikes and Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative:

“The Ohio Department of Transportation plans to build a new, $450 million I-90 bridge through downtown Cleveland.  Although all of us should be able to use it, the existing plans do not include pedestrian and cyclist access.  We need your help to change this.”

“Thirty highway bridges across the U.S. have safe and attractive bike and pedestrian amenities on them.  It can happen in Cleveland with your input.”

Let your public officials know you support access for all on the new bridge.  Here are three ways you can help:

1. Learn more about the issue, including important public hearings and who to contact, by logging on to www.gcbl.org/innerbelt
2. Send your comments in support to bridge@greencitybluelake.org and we’ll forward them to decision makers.
3. Or call ODOT Innerbelt Project Manager Craig Hebebrand at (216) 581-2100.

This is not just another road building project, this is an urban redevelopment.  To read more about why bicyclist and pedestrian access to this bridge is critical for creating a more sustainable Cleveland, and for a history of the Ohio Department of Transportation’s fight against the community’s request for a separated bike/pedestrian lane on the bridge, I highly recommend that you read GreenCityBlueLake’s articles on the subject.

We need your help to support this once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve Cleveland’s inner city quality of life and sustainability.

SustainLane’s Local Action Challenge – Most Active Cities

Cleveland is currently the second most active city in the nation on SustainLane’s Local Action Challenge.  With a whopping 284 points, we are beat only by Colorado Springs (which currently has 686 points).

SustainLane is hosting the Hopenhagen Local Action Challenge to empower people to be more environmentally responsible on the local level.  Cities set up their own challenges and residents take pictures of themselves completing the challenges for points and prizes.

The challenges that Cleveland has set up for itself include: Change a Light Bulb (or two), Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (& Compost), Use Less Water, Adjust your Thermostat, Spread the Word, Calculate your Carbon Footprint, Drive Less, Eat Lower on the Food Chain, Plant a Tree, and Buy Efficient Appliances.  These are all incredibly doable and we still have time to complete more challenges before the end of the contest!

GreenLight Zine’s Release Party Tonight!

GreenLight Zine is hosting the release party for their 6th issue – The Environmental Justice Issue - tonight at Bela Dubby in Lakewood!  GreenLight Zine is an online and printed magazine that aims to educate and empower young people around important environmental issues.

Music at the release party will be provided by the likes of… Letters to the Moon, American War, RandomStereo, Ancestors, Unwelcome Guests, Wisdom Tooth!

Festivities begin at 9pm – see you there!

“I will stay if…”

Share your ideas for a better Cleveland this Wednesday, Nov. 18th, from 5:30-8:30pm at the Speakeasy below Bier Markt (1948 W. 25th St. in Ohio City).

The event is hosted by the Great Lakes Urban Exchange (GLUE) and will include special presentations from:

• Matt Zone, Ward 17 Councilman
• Randell McShepard, Policy Bridge Board Chairman
• Lillian Kuri, Program Director for Architecture, Urban Design and Sustainable Development at The Cleveland Foundation

For more information on the Cleveland edition of GLUE’s “I will stay if…”, click here.

Raise your voice and let the city know what it must do to keep you.

The Local ‘Hopenhagen’ Challenge

Check out SustainLane’s Local Action Challenge – Hopenhagen to make your city a more sustainable place for everyone.  I just signed up and will be looking to win points for Cleveland through lightbulb changing, composting, bike riding, and much more.

Here’s what SustainLane had to say about the Challenge:

As global decision-makers prepare to hammer out a new climate treaty at the December 2009 Climate Conference in Copenhagen, the Hopenhagen movement inspires local, on-the-ground action in communities across the US. Grab a camera, and join the movement. Take SustainLane’s Local Action Challenge, and win prizes every week!
Each point you earn is an entry into that week’s drawing for prizes from green business sponsors. Earn points by completing challenges from your city’s list.

Sign up and make a difference for your community!

Rust Belt to Artist Belt

How can we use art to improve the quality of life in our post-industrial cities?

The Community Partnership for Arts and Culture (CPAC) launched a multi-year initiative in 2007, called Creative Compass, to help artists gain access to affordable housing and business space and to encourage them to become active contributers to the revitalization of our urban neighborhoods. 

For the past two years, CPAC has hosted the conference From Rust Belt to Artist Belt to “explore how industrial cities are using artist-based community development to change the stories being told about their communities.”  This year’s conference took place on Sept. 17-18, but make sure to attend their upcoming events and join their network.

Watch the following lecture about how artist Lily Yeh used art to improve the quality of life for impoverished neighborhoods around the world:

(Watch Part 2 and Part 3 of this lecture)

“In the most devastat[ed] place – that’s the place most ready for transformation.  I see abandoned lot[s] as endless resources for us to create innovative way[s] to create our new future.” – Lily Yeh

Bioneers 2009

This past weekend, Bioneers Cleveland showed the national plenary speakers of the 2009 Bioneers Conference, in addition to hosting workshops and tours focused around sustainability and Northeast Ohio’s local food system.

Here are some of the national speakers from the conference…

Michael Pollan, author of Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food:

(Watch Part 2 and Part 3 of this lecture)

Annie Leonard, creator of “The Story of Stuff”:

(Watch Part 2 and Part 3 of this lecture)

Jerome Ringo of the Apollo Alliance:

(Watch Part 2 and Part 3 of this lecture)

Want more?  Visit the Bioneers Facebook page to see the other national plenary addresses.

The 2009 Bioneers Conference in Cleveland

Bioneers Cleveland will hold its third annual Bioneers Conference next weekend on November 5-7 at the Cleveland Convention Center on Thursday, and at CSU’s Maxine Levin College of Urban Affairs on Friday & Saturday.

Bioneers Cleveland is a ‘beaming site’ (meaning it shows the national plenary speakers on screen) for National Bioneers, which is a 20-year-old nonprofit headquartered in Santa Fe, New Mexico that prides itself on popularizing sustainable solutions for both people and planet.

According to the Bioneers Cleveland website:

This year’s conference will focus on Northeastern Ohio’s Local Food Systems.  The conference will examine creating sustainable, healthy food opportunities, and the interconnections between: water, energy, transportation, education, economics, community development, and culture as well as showcase the impact by production, distribution, nutrition, and financial viability of growing, selling and eating local food. 

For three days Bioneers Cleveland will highlight many of the projects that have made Cleveland second in the nation for its urban food systems by hosting tours, workshops and plenary addresses from the national conference site in California (via DVD) including Michael Pollan, an award-winning journalist and author of Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food.

I learned so much while attending last year’s Bioneers Cleveland Conference, and I highly recommend that you attend, even if you’re not a sustainability nerd like me.

Click here for more information about the conference and to find out more about the plenary speakers and workshops available.

Autoworkers and the New Green Economy

The following video series is an interview by theRealNews.com called “Autoworkers ‘Challenge the Logic of Capitalism’.”  Not only Detroit, but many post-industrial Great Lakes cities  house legions of autoworkers and other industrial laborers currently in need of stable work.

Autoworkers have a unique set of skills that could be extraordinarily useful for building the technology necessary for capturing and transporting renewable energy.  Sustainability nerds, of course, call this the transformation of ’blue collar jobs’ into ‘green collar jobs.’

Read this article about how the company Infinia has employed autoworkers to refurbish Stirling engines for solar dishes.