EcoWatch Journal August/September 2010 : Page 2
I am often heard saying, “Policy plays an enormous role in the future of sustainabilty and the transition to cleaner, renewable sources of fuel.” Though I still full-heartedly be-lieve in this statement, I am extremely frustrated with the lack of courage and leadership from a minority of U.S. Senators who are blocking the passage of comprehensive energy and climate legislation. There has never been a more important time to pass a bill that would jump-start the green economy, make our country the leader in green tech markets, reduce global warming pollution and protect the health of Americans and environment. You would certainly think with the worst oil disaster in American history in the Gulf of Mexico, the recent deaths of 29 coal miners in West Virginia, the hottest summer of any year on record and our continued addition to foreign oil, all our policy makers would support strong energy legislation. AWall Street Journal poll in June revealed that an overwhelming majority of people specifically support passing legislation to limit global warming pollution. Unfortunately, a small group of big oil and dirty coal sup-porters are keeping the country from passing a bill that includes an aggres-sive renewable portfolio standard and cap on carbon dioxide emissions. Of course we need to continue putting pressure on our elected officials and president encouraging this shift in energy policy by making calls to our representatives, participating in events like the Clean Energy Aerial Art (see below) and educating others about this issue. But, most importantly, while we wait for the political system to act, everyone of us needs to reduce our carbon footprint through energy efficiency and adoption of sustainable practices. On page 3 and at www.ecowatch.org, check out the pledges Burning River Fest attend-ees took at the EcoWatch booth to deepen their commitment to a healthier, more sustainable world. On page 10, read our new colum-nist’s article on Ohio legislation passed this year that strengthens the renewable energy future of our state. On page 12, another new column for our newspaper, you can learn about ways to invest your money in green technolo-gies that will help the economy and environment. We need to keep taking steps to reach our goal of leav-ing future generations with a healthy planet. Help is needed to ensure continued growth in the deployment of renewable energy projects in Ohio. On page 11, learn about the campaign to renew the Ohio Department of Develop-ment’s Advanced Energy Fund grant. Without this grant program, Ohio will be headed in the wrong direction and will see a huge decrease in new renewable energy projects. There is nothing stronger than the power of the people. Even without passage of comprehensive energy legislation this year, we can take a stand to reduce our energy usage, implement green practices in our daily life and spend our money in ways that supports the local economy. ~ Stefanie Penn Spear THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING ECOWATCH Cleveland Foundation George Gund Foundation Barry Benjamin David Cobb Jeanne Coppola Hank & Mary Doll Debbie Fleming Karl Friedrich Chris Schrader John Spofforth David & Pam Spremulli Barbara Vivo Local Activists ‘Create’ Human Wind Turbine Struggling to cope with the Gulf of Mexico oil rig explosion, the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history, about 60 Greater Cleve-landers gathered at Cleveland Public Square in July to form the shape of a wind turbine. The event was organized to urge U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and George Voinovich (R-Ohio) to vote in support of clean energy and oil spill response legislation, including a strong renewable energy standard and cap on carbon emissions. “What happened in the Gulf is tragedy that I don’t want to see happen again, that’s what brought me out here today,” said Thomas Lee, an event participant. “If we invest in energy efficiency not only are we helping to prevent future disasters, but we will also be reduc-ing our reliance on foreign oil.” In July, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) introduced the Clean Energy Jobs and Oil Company Accountability Act which would strengthen oil industry safety standards and hold BP account-able for damages caused by the Gulf disaster. The bill includes the Home Star energy efficiency retrofit program and will fully finance the Land and Water Conservation Fund, create infrastructure for electric vehicles and provide incentives for natural gas-powered trucks. The Home Star program has the potential to create more than 168,000 jobs in manufacturing, construction and retail. “While this bill is not a substitute for a bold and comprehensive plan to increase the supply of clean energy, it makes investments in energy efficiency that will put America on the path to an energy independent future and create some jobs,” said MacKenzie Bailey, Associate Regional Representative of the Sierra Club. Page 2 • EcoWatch Journal • August -September 2010 About 60 Greater Clevelanders convened at Cleveland Public Square in July to build a human wind turbine encouraging U.S. Senators to support strong energy and climate legislation. Volume IV • Issue VI PUBLISHER EcoWatch EDITOR/GRAPHIC DESIGNER/ EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Stefanie Penn Spear spear@ecowatch.org SENIOR EDITOR Thomas J. Quinn quinn@ecowatch.org CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Megan Quinn Bachman • Renee Boronka Marianne Eppig • Dennis Kucinich • Cathi Lehn Jenita McGowan • Chris Montgomery Francisco Ollervides • Karen Powell • Jon Ratner Ariella Reback • Jack Shaner • Tom Weis Brandi Whetstone BOARD OF DIRECTORS Matt Castelli • Monica Deadwiler • Piyush Dubey James Leikin • Oakland Lewis • David Lindner Sam S. Mathew • Steven Newman • Ann-Marie Potemski Thomas J. Quinn • Michelle Sheehan • Jeff Smith Donna VanRooy • Eileen Victoriano PROOFREADERS Jen Burke • Michele McBride • Rita Nagusky OUR MISSION EcoWatch encourages individuals, businesses and gov-ernments to adopt sustainable lifestyles, business prac-tices and policies. EcoWatch Journal is distributed for free throughout Ohio. We print 75,000 copies per issue. EcoWatch Journal is a venue for the sustainability com-munity to get their news out to a broad audience. The articles in the newspaper are written by people working toward a sustainable world and focus on solution-based sustainability projects happening throughout our state. ARTICLE SUBMISSION EcoWatch Journal relies on the sustainability movement to provide the content for this newspaper. Visit www. ecowatch.org and click on ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS for details. Submitting an article does not guarantee it getting published. EcoWatch reserves the right to edit all material for clarity, length and content. E-mail submissions to: spear@ecowatch.org DEADLINE FOR THE OCT/NOV ISSUE: SEPT 1 INTERESTED IN ADVERTISING? Donna Theberge at 440-824-0319 or donna@wisegroup.com EcoWatch, Inc. is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization. EcoWatch Journal is published six times a year and distributed free throughout Ohio. Copyright ©2010, EcoWatch, Inc. All rights reserved. For reprinting in other publications or electronically, permission must be granted by EcoWatch and proper credit given. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher or editors. EcoWatch Journal is printed on 100% recycled, non-bleached newsprint. Inks are soy based. When finished reading EcoWatch Journal please pass it on to someone else or recycle it. EcoWatch 720 Literary Rd. • Cleveland, Ohio 44113 216-387-1609 www.ecowatch.org Photo by Jim Diener, Sierra Club
Letter From The Editor
I am often heard saying, “Policy plays an enormous role in the future of sustainabilty and the transition to cleaner, renewable sources of fuel.” Though I still full-heartedly believe in this statement, I am extremely frustrated with the lack of courage and leadership from a minority of U.S. Senators who are blocking the passage of comprehensive energy and climate legislation. There has never been a more important time to pass a bill that would jump-start the green economy, make our country the leader in green tech markets, reduce global warming pollution and protect the health of Americans and environment.<br /> <br /> You would certainly think with the worst oil disaster in American history in the Gulf of Mexico, the recent deaths of 29 coal miners in West Virginia, the hottest summer of any year on record and our continued addition to foreign oil, all our policy makers would support strong energy legislation.<br /> <br /> A Wall Street Journal poll in June revealed that an overwhelming majority of people specifically support passing legislation to limit global warming pollution. Unfortunately, a small group of big oil and dirty coal supporters are keeping the country from passing a bill that includes an aggressive renewable portfolio standard and cap on carbon dioxide emissions.<br /> <br /> Of course we need to continue putting pressure on our elected officials and president encouraging this shift in energy policy by making calls to our representatives, participating in events like the Clean Energy Aerial Art (see below) and educating others about this issue. But, most importantly, while we wait for the political system to act, everyone of us needs to reduce our carbon footprint through energy efficiency and adoption of sustainable practices.<br /> <br /> On page 3 and at www.ecowatch.org, check out the pledges Burning River Fest attendees took at the EcoWatch booth to deepen their commitment to a healthier, more sustainable world.<br /> <br /> On page 10, read our new columnist’s article on Ohio legislation passed this year that strengthens the renewable energy future of our state. On page 12, another new column for our newspaper, you can learn about ways to invest your money in green technologies that will help the economy and environment.<br /> <br /> We need to keep taking steps to reach our goal of leaving future generations with a healthy planet. Help is needed to ensure continued growth in the deployment of renewable energy projects in Ohio. On page 11, learn about the campaign to renew the Ohio Department of Development’s Advanced Energy Fund grant.<br /> <br /> Without this grant program, Ohio will be headed in the wrong direction and will see a huge decrease in new renewable energy projects.<br /> <br /> There is nothing stronger than the power of the people. Even without passage of comprehensive energy legislation this year, we can take a stand to reduce our energy usage, implement green practices in our daily life and spend our money in ways that supports the local economy.<br /> <br /> ~ Stefanie Penn Spear
Local Activists 'Create' Human Wind Turbine
Struggling to cope with the Gulf of Mexico oil rig explosion, the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history, about 60 Greater Clevelanders gathered at Cleveland Public Square in July to form the shape of a wind turbine. The event was organized to urge U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and George Voinovich (R-Ohio) to vote in support of clean energy and oil spill response legislation, including a strong renewable energy standard and cap on carbon emissions.<br /> <br /> “What happened in the Gulf is tragedy that I don’t want to see happen again, that’s what brought me out here today,” said Thomas Lee, an event participant. “If we invest in energy efficiency not only are we helping to prevent future disasters, but we will also be reducing our reliance on foreign oil.”<br /> <br /> In July, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) Introduced the Clean Energy Jobs and Oil Company Accountability Act which would strengthen oil industry safety standards and hold BP accountable for damages caused by the Gulf disaster. The bill includes the Home Star energy efficiency retrofit program and will fully finance the Land and Water Conservation Fund, create infrastructure for electric vehicles and provide incentives for natural gas-powered trucks. The Home Star program has the potential to create more than 168,000 jobs in manufacturing, construction and retail.<br /> <br /> “While this bill is not a substitute for a bold and comprehensive plan to increase the supply of clean energy, it makes investments in energy efficiency that will put America on the path to an energy independent future and create some jobs,” said MacKenzie Bailey, Associate Regional Representative of the Sierra Club.<br /> <br />
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