The first question the public and officials, planning commission, etc., should ask about any major building and development projects should be "how will this impact the environment" - we should score projects for their Greenness - and we need to educate the members of organizations like the Port Authority on all this - in the past, we have allowed planning to act in ignorance of the environmental impact - it is up to sustainable community leaders to make sure the future is much greener. How green? How stunning? I certainly would love to see projects in NEO getting recognized like by the Holcom Foundation... thanks for linking this in.

For now - how green is the East Bank Flats plan? Alternative energy... green buildings... runnoff management... geothermal? Anyone looking at this?

More and more I am awed by the escalation in sustainability-related activity in NEO these days.  Slowly but surely the ramp-up is happening and people are starting to awaken to realize that this IS the way. World experts in green design like Peter Garforth coming here to share their visions and we all stand to gain from the experiences.  Earth Day is nearly upon us and various grassroots organizations are collaborating to beautify and preserve our natural wonders - the collaborations have extended to include groups like East Cleveland Pastors Concerned, who have designated a Forest Hills Park Interfaith Cleanup in conjunction with the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes and other nonprofits - these conservation efforts are happening all over the region. Hybrid vehicles are all the rage and as peak oil becomes more and more of a reality we'll see unprecedented shifts to even cleaner alternative energy sources becoming the norm.  We in NEO are in great position to move ahead of these anticipated shifts and capture first-mover advantages for our region.

Let's keep the momentum going.  Let's show the world that sustainable strategies can and will uplift and transform our underprivileged communities and better our privileged ones.