EcoWatch Journal October/November 2010 : Page 1

oct -nov 2010 05 Combined Sewer Overflow 06 Stop Asian Carp 08 Food Incubators 09 Bioneers Cleveland 14 Deadly Legacy of Coal www.ecowatch.org ECOWATCH 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY EDITION FIVE YEARS GREEN BY CHRISTOPHER JOHNSTON During the last five years, Ohio’s major cities have implemented significant green initiatives that have already demonstrated productive and lasting impacts for the Buckeye State. Moreover, many of these initiatives are now serving as models for solution-based sustainability practices throughout the U.S. For Cleveland, the first serious and formal green effort started when Mayor Frank Jackson launched his Office of Sustainability in 2005 “to help the city save money and reduce its ecological footprint.” The office immediately Join for a chance to WIN an iPod touch! identified and implemented dozens of sustainability initia-tives in several categories, including local food, renewable energy and energy efficiency, buildings, water and trans-portation. There are two primary initiatives at the core of Jackson’s efforts that have elevated the city into a national leader-ship role. First, the innovative Sustainable Cleveland 2019 project is the first of its kind in the country, and several other cities are considering a similar endeavor. Cleveland hosted the first summit in 2009 for nearly 700 attendees and facilitated an ensuing year of roughly 200 professional volunteers on 15 working groups. The city also identi-fied 40 percent new participants to expand the SC2019 network for the second summit this past September, and the mayor commissioned and completed a sustainability and economic strategic plan for the future. Second, on March 31, Cleveland City Council approved legislation which made Cleveland a national leader in pro-moting self-help for its regional economy by providing CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 JOIN ECOWATCH TODAY! CELEBRATE ECOWATCH’S 5TH ANNIVERSARY BY MAKING A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION. VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT ECOWATCH.ORG OR FILL OUT THE FORM ON PAGE 3. Cleveland,Columbus and Cincinnati— National Leaders in Sustainability

Five Years Green

Christopher Johnston

Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati— National Leaders in Sustai During the last five years, Ohio’s major cities have implemented significant green initiatives that have already demonstrated productive and lasting impacts for the Buckeye State. Moreover, many of these initiatives are now serving as models for solution-based sustainability practices throughout the U.S. For Cleveland, the first serious and formal green effort started when Mayor Frank Jackson launched his Office of Sustainability in 2005 “to help the city save money and reduce its ecological footprint.” The office immediately identified and implemented dozens of sustainability initiatives in several categories, including local food, renewable energy and energy efficiency, buildings, water and transportation. There are two primary initiatives at the core of Jackson’s efforts that have elevated the city into a national leadership role. First, the innovative Sustainable Cleveland 2019 project is the first of its kind in the country, and several other cities are considering a similar endeavor. Cleveland hosted the first summit in 2009 for nearly 700 attendees and facilitated an ensuing year of roughly 200 professional volunteers on 15 working groups. The city also identified 40 percent new participants to expand the SC2019 network for the second summit this past September, and the mayor commissioned and completed a sustainability and economic strategic plan for the future. Second, on March 31, Cleveland City Council approved legislation which made Cleveland a national leader in promoting self-help for its regional economy by providing Incentives—bid discounts on competitively bid contracts and evaluation credits on professional service contracts—to local companies that compete for city work. Additionally, Cleveland became one of the first cities in the nation to provide these same incentives to companies which buy at least 20 percent of their contract amounts from regional food growers. The Green Plus Program is the approved certification program for businesses which wish to be certified sustainable by the city. Looking to the future, Andrew Watterson, Cleveland’s sustainability chief, says: “We have to continue what we have been doing for the last five years, which is to improve the way we do business, reduce the cost of government entity, help promote creating a sustainable economy, make this a business-friendly and people-friendly city. But we do need to get more than just the city onboard with figuring out how to accomplish those goals.” Columbus’s serious sustainability efforts date back to January 28, 2005, when Mayor Michael Coleman launched the “Get Green Columbus” program by issuing a “Green Memo.” The document details a series of strategies to meet economic development goals and ensure a healthier environment. The memo contains six categories that include strategies for collaborating with city agencies and community leaders, improving recycling efforts and reducing solid waste, protecting air and water quality, and promoting green business and the greening of Columbus. Currently, Columbus is leveraging a $7.4 million Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to implement seven projects, such as a lighting retrofit for 27 fire department stations and exterior building efficiency renovations and replacement of antiquated HVAC systems for its police stations. Other projects include replacing all pedestrian crossing signals with LED (light-emitting diode) lights, installing bike stations downtown, assisting the Center of Science and Industry with energy efficiency improvements to its building, developing a Compressed Natural Gas and electric vehicle fleet and infrastructure for city vehicles, and expanding an already sizable Community gardens program. Echoing Watterson’s comments, Erin Miller, environmental steward for Columbus, says Ohio’s state capital has the green will, thanks to Coleman’s leadership and commitment, but it will need more resources. Columbus recently issued both a report on the effectiveness of its first five years of green projects and “Green Memo 2” as a strategic plan for the next five years with goals for economic development, livability, and educating and engaging the community. The key for Miller is the immense impact of such far-reaching municipal commitment to sustainability practices. “It’s important for cities to lead by example, and to show businesses and residents that you can have economic prosperity and save tax dollars and resources and save the environment at the same time,” she says. Five years ago, most residents of Cincinnati would have found it hard to believe that the “Queen City” would become a leader in green initiatives, reveals Steve Johns, sustainability coordinator for the city. Similar to Cleveland and Columbus, though, the election in 2005 of a sustainability- conscious mayor, Mike Mallory, changed everything. In Mallory’s nearly five years as mayor, the city has reestablished the Office of Environmental Quality, instituted a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Tax Incentive program and LEED policy for government buildings, adopted a Climate Protection Plan, launched “green street” pilot projects and led financing efforts for the city’s streetcar project. Currently, the city is implementing two major initiatives of its Climate Action Plan—enhanced recycling and $14 million of energy efficiency improvements to more than 60 city buildings and facilities. Other organizations are also leading Cincinnati’s green movement including the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance, a nonprofit organization that provides education, expertise and innovative financing to make Cincinnati more energy efficient, as well as Cincinnati’s educational sector where Cincinnati Public Schools, University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati State Technical and Community College are leaders in green building and design. Other notable greening the city partners include the Cincinnati Zoo, Cincinnati Parks and the local transit system Metro. According to Johns, while the government’s implementing of the 80+ initiatives found in the Green Cincinnati Plan continues at a good pace, the greater challenge is finding ways to get the greater community involved. “Over the next couple of years, our energy will be, no pun intended, in figuring out how we can help an individual home owner or business learn about some of the things that we’re using, such as state grants or federal tax credits,” he says. Johns adds that the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance, for example, offers some federal grant money to subsidize energy audits for individual home owners and nonprofit organizations to get people started. During the last five years, cities throughout Ohio have become more green-minded. For instance, the Keep Akron Beautiful program started in 1981 to implement comprehensive litter prevention and beautification program for the city, but more recently the nonprofit organization has updated its programs to encompass more green initiatives such as developing effective recycling promotion. Still in their infancy, these programs have fairly quickly brought about a new approach to sustainable living at the citywide, business, and individual resident levels. Johns, however, emphasizes that people shouldn’t try to do everything at once, which can be overwhelming and, at times, immobilizing. “Start by picking those two or three things that make sense to you,” he advises. “Then once you’re comfortable with those, try reaching the next level.”

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