On March 12, 2008, Cleveland Plain Dealer deputy editorial page director Kevin O'Brien published a snide, pointless editorial taking the position global warming is over-hyped. His conclusion is a Russian scientist predicts the world is entering a new Ice Age, which trumps Global Warming, so do nothing about Global Warming. I googled the Russian scientist O'Brien references - Oleg Sorokhtin - and came across a February 25th National Post column, by conservative Canadian columnist Lorne Gunter, to which O'Brien's March 12th column is so similar as to be plagiarism, in my book.

The Cleveland City Council Chamber is a grand room, with wood paneling, curved seating and a colorful mural above President Sweeney’s high backed seat. 

Cleveland City Council should rescind its involvement in AMP-Ohio's proposed coal-fired utility in southern Ohio. A fifty year commitment to coal is the wrong direction, for Cleveland Public Power (CPP), its customers and the environment. Instead, CPP should develop a comprehensive plan for energy need and energy sources, that includes efforts to reduce demand through conservation, insulation, wind, solar and other alternative sources.

Attending the Cleveland City Council subcommittee on CPP all day yesterday brought things to my mind that wouldn’t have aligned in my head if I hadn’t sat and listened to the back and forth for hours.       AMP OHIO is negotiating with Cleveland in BAD FAITH.    

Solar and Wind Powered Street Lights In Tokyo

On January 10, 2008 Bill MacDermott addressed an audience of about 30 at Webtego in Cleveland, Ohio.  

Technology is such an important wildcard in the social consciousness picture, whether we speak of the most innovative approaches to community development using WI-FI and FOSS in tandem or we celebrate some of the latest advances in product development.  While bumbling bureaucratic banter restricts radical progress at the nexus of environment and technology (current Ohio legislation insiduously inculcates clean coal and nuclear power measures as green and renewable technologies and considers a 35 MPG mandated standard by 2020 significant) some very innovative R&D experts have launched their media campaign to expedite progress by demonstrating how very close we are to a 100 MPG standard.  I was heartened by a full page ad which recently manifested via a variety of media outlets - I happened to catch the one in this week's issue of US News and World Report.

Realneo's frequent blogger Bill MacDermott will be the moderator on January 10, 2008 at the Mid Town Brews' colloquia on solar energy.  Everyone welcome!

The US designed and built Clipper  turbines are a radical departure from the direction turbine engineering is headed in Europe. 

Pacific Northwest is example of energy boom — and worried biologists

By year's end, more than 1,500 turbines will be churning out electricity in the windy gorge. Until now, most of the projects have gone up in wheat fields — cultivated land that long ago drove away the rodents that raptors hunt. But as wind energy developers move into wilder areas along the ridge of the gorge, near canyons and shrub-covered rangeland, birds could be at risk from the 150-foot blades of giant turbines.

While Bill Mason and Richard Stuebi and the Cuyahoga Energy "Task Force" have lunches in the Thompson Hine Key Center and talk about their "Study" of about 10 wind turbines about 3 miles out in Lake Erie off of Cleveland - turbine towers are being trucked NOW NOW NOW East on I90 through Ohio to installation locations where they will produce electricity TOMORROW, TOMORROW, TOMORROW.

But that's ok, because Cuyahoga has a well padded and vibrant economy - so we can afford to reach for the iconic lake wind MOON and let our more practical and hungrier neighbors put their money into the real thing. 

Picked up from CoolCleveland.com Mittal Steel & Your Health Join Cleveland area doctors, nurses, and community leaders for a public hearing on the topic Wed 11/14 at 6:30PM at Tri-C’s downtown Metro campus in room CC10. Light refreshments will be served. Come to find out why 375 Cleveland area doctors and nurses have written to Cleveland’s biggest polluter, Mittal Steel, urging pollution prevention. Dr. Kathleen Fagan from University Hospital's Swetland Environmental Health Center will speak at the event paneled by Dr. Anne Wise, Kim Foreman, and Dr. Dan Brustein. For more information or ridesharing contact Liz Ilg with Ohio Citizen Action at 861-5200. http://www.ohiocitizen.org

POST NO BILLS: The County Commissioners are using our tax money in a blatant and hypocritical propaganda campaign intended to sway public opinion after their vote to demolish the Breuer Tower.

Ontario, Canada has recently exempted all bicycles which sell for less than $1,000 from Provincial sales tax.   Toronto, the largest city in the Province of Ontario, has  sophisticated bike transportation management - an official part of the City government.

While looking on Green City Blue Lake for a posting on the Breuer, I came across an interesting article by Marc Lefkowitz called "Warm up to district geothermal in Cleveland", which writes "Representatives from Case, UCI, Cleveland Clinic, city of Cleveland, Flats East Bank and Neighborhood Progress, Inc.— which is considering geothermal district power at its St. Luke’s development—met yesterday (October 22, 2007) at the Cleveland Foundation" to discuss "The economics of district-wide geothermal". It seems these groups are exploring large scale geothermal projects to help meet large energy needs, like for University Hospitals.

I walked out on the Lorain Street Bridge with one photo in mind (red socks hanging out to dry - I’ll get that photo blogged tomorrow) - and then up the bridge slope comes a fellow with no legs powering his wheel chair with his arms. 

The afternoon was warm and the sun intensely bright.  I began to get a head ache behind my right eye.  Cleveland’s central city rose starkly over a Vermont like grove of golding trees.