I'd like to make a suggestion to all the "environmentalists" in Northeast Ohio - the sustainabillies as well - Celebrate A/C-Free World Day and make a pledge to not use any air conditioning tomorrow, July 7, 2010, at all anywhere or at any time of the day - from 12 AM until midnight. No A/C at home - not in your car - not at work. If you live, commute, study, play or work in air conditioned places where you cannot control the temperature, realize you are a de facto prisoner of an excessively air polluting culture and environment harming the Earth. If you are able to be free of air conditioning air polluting, realize how polluted the natural air around you has become in this region, and how unhealthy this region is for those unable or unwilling to afford A/C, whether from poverty or higher consciousness. And realize very few Americans will make the "sacrifice" to live without A/C, as much as they may bitch and moan about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and other environmental catastrophe now omnipresent in this failing world. Now, know your right to air conditioning has expired, and you and your children and grandchildren had better get used to a globally warming world without relief for eternity. Burn baby burn. About "Losing Our Cool":

Also see www.losingourcool.com

In Losing Our Cool, I show how indoor climate control is colliding with an out-of-control outdoor climate. In the United States alone, energy consumed by home air-conditioning and the resulting greenhouse emissions have doubled in just over a decade; energy used to cool retail stores has risen by two-thirds. Air-conditioning is approaching 20 percent of year-round electricity consumption by U.S. homes, the highest percentage in history. But air-conditioning has shaped human life in other, sometimes unexpected ways that go far beyond the monthly utility bill.

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Air Quality Advisory Issued for Northeast Ohio 
Tuesday and Wednesday, July 6 and 7, 2010 due to Ozone

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Forecast for Cleveland-Akron-Lorain, OH Tomorrow's Forecast

Saturday, Jul 3:		Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups		Ozone

For additional information concerning the air quality forecast, contact one of the following agencies, or visit http://airohio.epa.state.ohs .

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"I wrote this song following Hurricane Katrina. The question is timeless." Charlie Mosbrook

"Who Here Will Lead Us"

Economic Impacts of Climate Change on Ohio -  July 2008
A Review and Assessment Conducted by The Center for Integrative Environmental Research, University of Maryland

CONCLUSIONS: The state of Ohio's greatest challenge is likely to be in adapting to climate change along its waterways and on Lake Erie, as this is where the most significant economic and ecological impacts will occur. Building and maintaining an alternative transportation infrastructure would allow Ohio to maintain its vibrant manufacturing industry amidst sea-shipping uncertainty, but the costs of the sort of adaptation needs to first be researched. Natural areas such as forests and lakes will suffer from climate change. The ecological integrity of Ohio’s natural landscape will be threatened in the coming century and it is recommended that management of resources be carefully monitored to ensure the wellbeing of the economic and cultural functions that depend on them. Lastly, because flooding events are likely to occur more often, preparations to prevent and mitigate floods and flood related disasters could be made ahead of time.

I have been disturbed to live in a community where pollution is a serious health crisis, and I am surrounded by smart young people, yet nobody seems to care they are being poisoned. The worst demonstration of that is the movement to put a bicycle lane along side a major pollution and so health hazard - the I-90 freeway bridge elevated high into the polluted air of the Cuyahoga River Valley, in downtown Cleveland. Clearly, there are engineering and construction cost increases to include such a feature on a freeway bridge - costs society may afford - but what are the negative externalities associated with such a bridge feature, which would encourage individuals to exert themselves in immediate proximity - within a few feet - of a known carcinogen - vehicular emissions. This would also encourage people to spend increased time exerting themselves in an elevated point above other Cleveland pollution, like the toxins from Cleveland Thermal and Mittal, also in close proximity to the bridge. As there is proof that short term exposure to such pollution increases risk of serious short and long-term health consequences, it is certain such a bridge feature would increase healthcare costs, human suffering and mortality rates in this region, as it would harm the health and shorten the lives of those who use it. To the extent the feature encourages broad public use, the harm could be very significant - the equivalent of 100s of life-years lost, and more. What is the cost of genetic mutation among our young? External costs associated with putting a bike lane on the I-90 freeway bridge would far exceed the cost of the bridge itself.

I was out documenting the air pollution from the Mittal Cleveland Works steel mill today, around sunset, and the lovely couple that lives in Mittal's backyard came over to join me, and enjoy their supper overlooking the beautiful Cuyahoga River Valley, in their backyard.

'The flame is pretty", the young man said, "but it sure pollutes".

Air Quality Advisory Issued for Northeast Ohio

Saturday, June 26, 2010 due to Ozone Concentratio

Northeast Ohio- There is potential for high ozone pollution levels Saturday, June 26, due to high-temperature conditions. Pollution may reach levels considered "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" during the afternoon or early evening hours in areas not subject to rain.

Thanks to the timely, effective intervention of the Sierra Club, the Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to hold a public hearing for citizens to discuss their concerns about the renewal of the permit for the Medical Center Company (MCCO) to burn coal in their powerplant in University Circle (above), harming residents and workers in the densely populated and economically distressed surrounding neighborhood.

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Before the Deepwater Era of today, there was the Sustainabilly Era of the past decade, when environmentalism was as easy as drinking the right beer, and green-washing was punctuated by mega-conglomerate mind-control spam promoting a clean, sexy, prosperous life for all, by all simply being beautiful energy-bimbos with ecomagination.

In the Sustainabilly Era, there was a global competition of dirty energy companies seeking to seem clean and beautiful... and to make their dirty energy offerings seem clean and beautiful. Industrial powerhouses like BP and GE barraged the world with sexy portrayals of their most "Sustainable" vision for the future - our world "Beyond Petroleum" of their "Ecomagination".

Growing up before cable TV and the Internet brought global media to Cleveland, my earliest exposure to foreign TV programming was watching Britain's 1969-74 comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus, which repeated for years at off-hours on local television, and fascinated me for its absurdity. I certainly considered those who came up with that programming and provided a home market for it equally absurd, and I have always had concerns about the sanity of British leadership and the citizens raised in that culture, as a result.

My worst fears about the Flying Circus effect have been validated since the British Petroleum Deepwater Disaster has brought crisis and shame to America and Britain, and is currently destroying our global environment... BP leadership has been Dickensian in its blackness... Pythonesque in dimwittedness... BP has done little more than throw bricks at the crisis, and offers only spam as food for thought.

Note: Written in response to the Plain Dealer June 21st Editorial "Stiff Punishment For School Thief."

It should not have taken the trail of Dan Burns to conclude that the oversight at the Cleveland school district is insufficient. The major gap in the plans of the District is the lack of any objective and transparent review of the ways in which the management and governance of the District impact on schools, teaching, and community engagement.

Without these the case for what is spun as a transformation plan is weak. Anyone who has attended Board and other District meetings, read the documents, and tried to learn how the District makes decisions, has experienced warning sign after warning sign that the District isn’t yet ready to transform itself. We are in the midst of a more expensive and ambitious version of what we have seen before.

Years of governance and management dysfunction are poorly accounted for and decision makers have little grasp of their own contributions to the extreme disengagement of the District from the families and neighborhoods served.

Medical Marijuana Bill Takes Root in Ohio - State Sen. Bill Seitz supports concept, but not this bill

By Stephen Carter-Novotni

Depending on how you read the tea leaves, support for some sort of marijuana legalization might be at an all-time high among Americans.

The results of an Associated Press/CNBC poll released in April showed 55 percent of Americans opposed an end to prohibition. But when those polled were asked to compare the hypothetical regulation of marijuana to that of alcohol, 56 percent said marijuana regulation should be the same or less strict than the regulation of alcohol.

In Ohio, Democrat State Rep. Kenny Yuko of Richmond Heights, a Cleveland suburb, recently introduced House Bill 478, which would legalize the use, growth and dispensing of medical marijuana for persons suffering from debilitating conditions including cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease.

“This is a very easy remedy for therapeutic relief,” Yuko says.

Tip of the Hat and Props to the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Michael McIntyre, and his Tipoff column today - First Reporter to Recognize "A new cash crop" for Ohio.

I look forward to discussing this initiative in detail with Michael and others in the media and public, as it is important to educate the community on the economic benefits we will receive from "Growing a Bright Green NEO PAC for Legalization & Commercialization of Cannabis Crops, Products & Services".

Here is Michael McIntyre's correct and intelligent impression of our initiative to make Northeast Ohio the Open Source Capital of the Brightest Greenest State of Earth:

A new cash crop

Some Northeast Ohio boosters are pushing for a new product to revive the local economy: Marijuana. And, no, stoners, they're not talking about boosting sales of Doritos.

Norm Roulet of the RealNEO blog announced last week that a political action committee, Real Green NEO PAC, was formed to push for a November ballot issue for "enlightened legalization of cannabis crops."

 

It is safe to say the #1 financial and empowering supporter of realNEO is and has always been my wife, Evelyn Kiefer Roulet. A founding member of realNEO (member #7),  who has consistently posted some of the most interesting and globally appreciated content, she administers the Putnam Sculpture Colledction at Case (beautifully presented in Drupal), conducts art appraisals, consults in art history - maintains the brightest greenest home and garden in town - all to significantly support our large family so I may focus on realNEO and other regional and global initiatives. She has allowed this flower to grow.

Creating Stronger Schools Takes a Team: Working Together for Our Kids... Stronger Schools for Cleveland Kids

The people of Northeast Ohio should be highly concerned about our air pollution, for many reasons. A most recent reason for concern: the May 2010 study "The Effect of Power Plants on Local Housing Values and Rents" finds "3-7 percent decreases in housing values and rents within two miles of plants with the semiparametric estimates suggesting somewhat larger decreases within one mile. In addition, there is evidence of taste-based sorting with neighborhoods near plants experiencing statistically significant decreases in mean household income, educational attainment, and the proportion of homes that is owner occupied". That is a strong analytic foundation for finding much of Cleveland is statistically worth significantly less than cleaner areas of Northeast Ohio and cities in America (as also reflected in our low property values here).

How Biomass Energy Works - From the Union of Concerned Scientists

To many people, the most familiar forms of renewable energy are the wind and the sun. But biomass (plant material and animal waste) supplies almost 15 times as much energy in the United States as wind and solar power combined—and has the potential to supply much more.

There are a wide variety of biomass energy resources, including tree and grass crops and forestry, agricultural, and urban wastes. It is the oldest source of renewable energy known to humans, used since our ancestors learned the secret of fire.

Biomass is a renewable energy source because the energy it contains comes from the sun. Through the process of photosynthesis, chlorophyll in plants captures the sun's energy by converting carbon dioxide from the air and water from the ground into carbohydrates, complex compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. When these carbohydrates are burned, they turn back into carbon dioxide and water and release the sun's energy they contain. In this way, biomass functions as a sort of natural battery for storing solar energy. As long as biomass is produced sustainably—with only as much used as is grown—the battery will last indefinitely.

The June 15, 2010, Toledo Blade published an important editorial titled To curb Ohio's costly coal bill, fix U.S. energy policy, by Jeff Deyette, assistant director of energy research and analysis in the Union of Concerned Scientists' climate and energy program, and Alan Frasz, vice president of Dovetail Solar and Wind in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, that leads-off with an important observation most residents of Ohio find hard to believe... "When you turn on your coffee pot in the morning, the power likely comes from coal, which generates 85 percent of the electricity in Ohio. According to a new report, three-quarters of that coal comes from elsewhere".  Yes, Ohio is ADDICTED to dirty, expensive, environmentally destructive imported coal - Ohio electricity ratepayers spent $1.5+ billion in just 2008 on imported coal - Ohio is the 5th biggest imported coal junkie in America, and we have the pollution to prove it.

As the authors of this informative editorial point out:

Importing coal to produce electricity is a drain on Ohio's economy. Ratepayer dollars are diverted out of state, instead of being spent locally on renewable-energy projects and energy-efficiency measures that can provide the same electricity service while directly benefiting residents and creating jobs.

The report by the Union of Concerned Scientists, "Burning Coal, Burning Cash," ranks states that are net importers of domestic and foreign coal. Ohio is one of 38 states that depend on imported coal. The state spent $1.5 billion on net coal imports in 2008, making it the fifth most dependent state.

First Energy's Bay Shore plant in Oregon imported all of its coal, shelling out $64 million mostly to Wyoming. Most domestic coal comes from Wyoming, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Some states import coal from overseas, as far away as Colombia and Indonesia.

It doesn't have to be that way. Ohio has significant wind, biomass, and solar-power resources, and we've only started tapping into that potential. 

Dear Friend,

Two days on the Louisiana Gulf Coast last week changed me in profound and gut wrenching ways.

My throat burned and my head foggy and dizzy from the Gulf's toxic fumes, I returned home and shared my pictures and my flip-camera video with my wife, Fran, and 13-year-old daughter, Nicole.

On June 3, 2010, I reported on realNEO "our air around Northeast Ohio has been unhealthy by most standards every day for the past week, and is never nearly healthy enough" and asked "why the hell was air quality in Cleveland and so Northeast Ohio, the region, the state and the world so "UNHEALTHY" last night, while we slept, and why is it so unhealthy RIGHT NOW - and HOW UNHEALTHY really, where, as indicated above?"

The diagrams above and below are actually from today - June 16, 2010 - two weeks later. In checking the same pollution monitoring service of NOACA to see current pollution conditions, I find our regional pollution control house of cards has completely collapsed, with NOACA "near real time" pollution monitoring systems (which should be data driven and perfect) still reporting we had "SEVERE" levels of MP2.5 pollution in Northeast Ohio over the past 24 hours (see line and rose charts at bottom of diagram below) - for many hours reading over 300, leading up to these charts - yet NOACA posting an "OFFICIAL" explanation that "NOTICE:  The PM2.5 monitors are experiencing difficulty this week. Data shown is incorrect. Local air agencies are working with the monitors. In addition, high humidity is being reflected. We appreciate your patience."

A short virtual tour of Middlebury College's biomass plant, which opened in January 2009.

In exploring alternative fuel sources for the many coal burning powerplants in Ohio, biomass is an obvious alternative. Our bright green proposal is to make hemp biomass the center of a bright new economy in this state. Below is how one great university has used wood biomass (as UNC plans) to move to carbon neutrality and the forefront of bright, green college leadership. But, they don't use hemp...  no university does, yet...

From the Middlebury College website, about their biomass initiative:

A Milestone Toward Carbon Neutrality

Our biomass gasification plant represents eight years of creative collaboration among Middlebury students, faculty, staff, and trustees. It will

• cut Middlebury’s carbon dioxide output by 40 percent,
• reduce our use of fuel oil by 50 percent,
• stimulate a local, renewable energy economy.