Being the first day of the meteor shower, I crawled out of bed early to get a glimpse. i had heard that the pre-dawn hours would give the best show. Unfortunately, there was simply too much light pollution and clouds to see a thing. Since I was up early, though, I had time to dress up a little for my first day at the green summit-Sustainable Cleveland 2019: Building an Economic Engine to Empower a Green City on a Blue Lake. I have been looking forward to this for weeks and was glad to be included in it.
First off, it is being held in the Cleveland Convention Center. I have been to an event there before, and I know that it really does not work for conventions. The building is in dire need of updating and refurbishing, and then would still not work very well for the modern conventions that Cleveland hopes to attract. That being said, this was the first time I had seen the inside of the main auditorium and it is beautiful; a little tatty, perhaps, but beautiful all the same. I want a new convention center, but I hate to see this gem destroyed the way that Playhouse Square was nearly torn down, and the way the Cleveland Hippodrome actually was. Once it is gone, it is gone forever and we will never get it back. While there is so much open property around Cleveland’s downtown, why should we be tearing down old world craftsmanship. Why not start over and use a lovely piece of property that is currently a surface lot. Better yet, why not use the stalled Flats project land that is already bull-dozed and ready for use? Anyhow, I digress…
The day started with a little coffee and a chance to say hello to all the hardest working “greenies” in the city. Andrew Watterson got us all seated. With a group of 500-700 people, Andrew and his team deserve a medal for getting this thing together. He introduced Mayor Jackson, who spoke about the need for this summit and why he had called on all of us to be there. We are at a critical time, and to really remake Cleveland, we need the community to come together and do its part. This isn’t just about government or non-profits, it is about big business, small business, educators, the media, youth, students, technical sectors and even the arts. I was glad to see all those groups (and more) represented in the room. Mayor Jackson’s remarks were followed by Barbara Snyder, the president of Case Western Reserve University.
The most inspiring 15 minutes of the morning came from Van Jones, from the White House Office of Environmental Quality. Some of the things he said blew me away, and reminded me why i voted for Barak Obama. This kind of thinking could not have come from the previous administration. He talked about his 1 year old son. If over the previous year, their son had a fever of 1 degree, he and his wife would be concerned. Two degrees and they would be anxious. Three and they would be on the phone to call the doctor. After all, this child of theirs is a finely designed system. It takes care of itself. If something goes wrong, something needs to be done before it is too late. Like a child, our planet is a finely tuned system that will take care of itself. But something is wrong, and as the temperature goes up, we should be truly concerned. Of course, he was eloquent and thoughtful, and I cannot quote him word for word. Since some people say we cannot worry about the environment, while we are concentrating on the economy, Mr Jones explained why we cannot afford not to act to save the environment. If we continue on this path, we are likely to see water levels on Lake Erie drop. That would mean a loss of over $1 billion in commerce on the lake. We could potentially lose $5 billion in farming and agriculture; another $5 billion in forestry; and untold billions in loss of revenue from tourism. He did praise our efforts so far: Ohio is in the top ten in the country for green jobs; we are #7 in patents for clean energy technology; and rank in the top 20 for venture capital in clean tech. We need to grow our green economy to create jobs because, “the best social program is a job. Nothing stops a bullet, like a job.” Truly inspiring.
Between speakers, we worked in groups during break out sessions and reported back to the crowd. We were treated to students who had won awards, who read us their prize winning essays on green subjects. Nothing gives you hope more than the next generation creating a buy-in! Other speakers included David Cooperrider of the Fowler Center and Weatherhead School of Management (who spoke about the return for investors of green businesses like GE, and Whole Foods was over 1000% while the S&P returns were only about 125%), Dr Peter Senge from MIT, and Marc Lautenbach GM of IBM. The day was finished off with an innovation panel with Miquela Craytor (Sustainable South Bronx), Lynette Young (City of Atlanta), Jeff Baldassari (of Bedford-based Taylor Companies), Catherine Gutowski (GE) and Ray Anderson (Interface). It was the perfect way to round out the day. I like hearing what other cities and companies are doing that is cool and exciting.
The one point that Dr. Senge spoke about really reflects my personal feelings about sustainability. We really need to think about whole systems when it comes to “green.” It is no longer about this product or that. Even Coke had missed that the sugar that they bought had its own carbon and water cost. It takes nearly a ton of extracted materials, per day, per person to maintain the lifestyle of the average American. It is devastating to think of all the natural resources we use, and how much we simply waste. Europe is ahead of us. Did you know that in most European countries, when a car reaches the end of it’s life, it must be recycled by the company that manufactured it. It changes the whole equation when a company has to deal with its own product when it is dead. It is this shift in thinking that we need to adopt if there is to be real and lasting change to the way that we do business.
All this and it is only Day1!
We are still waiting for more comments for the giveaway for a framed print. Go 
We have spent most of the last week visiting various locations in central Ohio. Relatives from Kansas were visiting and we had a grand time showing them various things around Cleveland and Columbus. A lot of things were discussed about this great region that we live in. It was mentioned how lush and green Ohio was. Of all the things that were likely to come up, that is not one I was expecting. It is true, though. Perhaps that is why I find it so easy to live here. Like Portland, Oregon, Ohio is a pretty green state. There are plenty of trees and nice hills and foliage. Growing up in the windswept plains of central Kansas, I love to be near my trees. Another discussion, we had was the rich heritage that Ohio can claim. In the Victorian age, Ohio was a rich and the region very important. Just travel to any small town and see the quality of buildings that are till standing. Every town has a public square and and most a courthouse that rivals Cleveland. Nearly every small town we visited had a row of fine mansions that was the heart of the industrialists of the area. What can we do to bring this type of prosperity back to Ohio? Our attempts to reinvent the region as a new green economy could make all the difference.
I try to drive less and walk more. We could sell the car. Many people live without them. We live in Cleveland, though and I have to get around. I cannot run our business or even really get as much done in life without one. However, we drive a fuel efficient car. We try to walk more and shop locally. We combine trips and try to carpool when we can. I also bought us bikes, and hope to bike more. Being aware of the amount of gas we use is important and allows us to make decisions about when and where we will go. While not driving at all is the greenest thing, that is not going to happen. Buying a hybrid would be green, but using an old car that is still functioning and getting over 30 mpg and not having to build a new car just for us is even greener, in my opinion. When the car no longer gets decent gas mileage, or starts to fall apart, then we can make that decision.
This weekend the difference between Cleveland and Cleveland Heights was made glaringly obvious. I attended the Cain Park Art Fair. The park had recycling cans available throughout the area. Judging by their appearance, they have been serving the public for a while now. Moreover, the visitors and exhibitors alike were dutifully dropping their cans and bottles inside and I didn’t wee a single wadded up wrapper or paper make it in. That means the residents of Cleveland Heights know what they are doing. They have been schooled on at least the basics and they understand that a recycling program must be followed or it will not work. In contrast, if you put a recycling bin at nearly any Cleveland area event, and it is half full of garbage and dumped out anyhow.
This is a great event (more on this later, as well-I am trying to stay on topic). But for a Cleveland event that was based on ingenuity and new ideas, why could I not find a simple recycling bin for a water bottle ANYWHERE? The irony was not lost on me. Besides the vendors and their waste, I saw a lot of attendees looking around for their spot to dump their can and choosing the garbage-it wasn’t really a choice anyway. So for a city that is promoting ingenuity, we couldn’t be enough on the edge to even put out a recycle bin? More than that, we keep talking about a Green City on a Blue Lake, but we aren’t going to take the step of requiring permit holders for public events to even provide a single recycle bin? Now that is downright lazy if you ask me. So, here is my plan. I am attending the Cleveland Sustainability Summit in August. It is going to be a big deal. I request that everyone send their councilperson and the mayor a brief not asking them to start curbside recycling thorough out the city and to mandate public events permits issued with recycling bin requirements.
