In case you do not know, Cleveland has a Chief of Sustainability. His name is Andrew Watterson and he reports directly to the Mayor. He was integral in putting together the Sustainability Summit last August and in developing next year’s summit. He sends out a newsletter to members of the summit, and keeps informed about goings on in Cleveland as it pertains to being a Green City on a Blue Lake. Here are some of the things that you should know from this week:
Cleveland is getting a lot of press for its endeveours to get energy from the wind. If you haven’t see these articles, check out
“Ohio awards $13 million for wind and solar projects”: by John Funk
“Lake Erie wind turbine project spreads beyond Cuyahoga County”: by John Funk and
“NorTech carves out role in promoting advanced energy projects”: by Tom Breckenridge
If you aren’t following the Green City Blue Lake blog, you are missing out! They maintain a calendar of events, and there is a great article on the proposed new I-90 bridge, and the efforts of some citizens to add bicycle and pedestrian access. some say it is a crazy idea, as it is a freeway bridge, but that is simply not true! There are nearly 30 other bridges doing the same thing around the country. There is a rally in Lincoln Park tomorrow (Dec 6) at 2pm, and I hope to see you there!
If you haven’t heard, President Obama is going to do what Bush didn’t do, and that is meet with leaders from around the globe to talk about climate change. The event will be held in Copenhagen, and Obama will be in good company. Also in attendance will be our very own Matt Zone, who will represent Cleveland in the National League of Cities. I hope Barak takes the time to learn how it is being done in Cleveland!
Ahead of the summit, a group SustainLane is getting people involved locally. Out of all the cities in the country, Cleveland beat out places like San Francisco and Atlanta to rate as number 2 in the nation. That is high praise indeed! From their newsletter;
Ever since we partnered with Hopenhagen to launch the SustainLane Local Action Challenge, we have been amazed at the outpouring of action from people in communities all over the country. So while we wait with our fingers crossed to see what happens in Copenhagen, let’s take a look at what people are doing on a local level to make their own communities a little greener.
They have a list of ideas for people to in= implement ot help reduce their carbon footprint. They are giving away prizes to those who upload a photo of themselves doing some of the things on the list for their city. Each city has a list that is tailored to their particular regional needs-something that is often forgotten in the discussion of actions that need to be taken. Check out Cleveland’s list and take part!
Lastly, but really firstly, Cleveland has released its report on the August summit. Check it out to find out all the cool stuff that we were involved in. There are some great pictures-my favorite is of Michele Kilroy of the local chapter of USGBC. Find out what you missed and get excited aobut next year!
Tags: climate change, Events, Sustainability Summit, Watterson, Wind Power
The “big guys” at Lincoln are really pushing green right now. My boss told us in one of our weekly meetings recently that there is a strong push from the top down to focus on ways to make our processes greener, as well as our equipment, with the end result of our more eco-conscious customers choosing our product versus less-efficient offerings from the competition.
While I know it’s primarily about market share where Lincoln is involved, now that corporate knows there is money to be earned from marketing to this growing trend, they will spare no expense in heading down that path.