Looking for silver linings: Wildlife and blue skies in cities
GreenCityBlueLake
by
4y ago
I’ve been looking for silver linings since we’ve all been forced into quarantine for more than a month. One has been the remarkably fast turnaround of air quality as cars and airplanes have been grounded. In this recent Freshwater article, I write about how we can reasonably expect to make air quality improvements permanent and how it will benefit us all. As a recent cleveland.com opinion piece put it, “we’ve destroyed the myth that telework cannot happen.” For this reason, I’m interested in how the regional transportation agency (NOACA) and the city of Cleveland will rise to the occasion and ..read more
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Climate Action on EarthDay 50: Look back and ahead
GreenCityBlueLake
by
4y ago
On May 4, 1970, college students at Kent State University were protesting the Vietnam War—which they viewed as unjust because many of the participants were people of color and from low-income families—when the governor called in the Ohio National Guard. The troops opened fire on the protesters, ending four young lives. The Kent State shootings came on the heels of another pivotal event in American history. On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans gathered to observe the first Earth Day, a peaceful protest against widespread environmental degradation. The Cuyahoga River flows through Kent and C ..read more
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Would you ProtectCLE?
GreenCityBlueLake
by
4y ago
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History wants you to participate with us in ProtectCLE, protecting Cleveland’s Living Environment. The first project under ProjectCLE is Life in One Cubic Foot. This project is ideal for families studying science at home this spring and summer. The goal is to get outside, enjoy nature and don your citizen science hat. By focusing on small areas, sometimes familiar, sometimes overlooked, we can better understand how to protect the biodiversity around us. The Life in One Cubic Foot project was launched by photographer David Liittschwager. Teaming up with The Smit ..read more
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McSweeney's tackles climate change, what we'll be like in 2040
GreenCityBlueLake
by
4y ago
Ten short stories that appear in McSweeney’s #58 “Cli-Fi” issue explore the physical and emotional landscapes of a not-too-distant 2040 A.D. A sub-genre of science fiction focused on how to live with climate change, the stories are grounded with climate science supplied by Natural Resources Defense Council, which serve as a jumping off point for stories that search for answers to questions both ordinary and extraordinary, like, what happens when we become a literal force of nature. What makes this collection resonant are the human dramas. As McSweeney’s Editor, Claire Boyle notes, “they unknow ..read more
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The Big List: Climate Action
GreenCityBlueLake
by
4y ago
Reaction to our post, Things to Try To Be More Sustainable in 2020, which was about individual actions, inspired this follow up about collective action. I wrote a caveat that acknowledged individual action for the environment won’t solve the biggest issue facing humanity, i.e. climate change. I appreciate the push-pull of debating whether individual actions have merit beyond making us feel good. My opinion is there’s intrinsic value in individual action. It is something we can control in a world that feels, increasingly, like its spinning out of control. I also feel as though taking individual ..read more
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Ten things to try to be more sustainable in 2020
GreenCityBlueLake
by
4y ago
I’m not much for resolutions, so let’s call these ‘things to try’ for the new year. The barrage of negative and worrisome reports on the climate—including the latest that holding to a safe temperature increase (1.5 degrees C) is not be achievable—will not derail my year before it begins! Now is not the time to shell up. Let’s try to engage in what we can. While individual action isn’t as effective as community-scale in making an impact on lowering greenhouse gas emissions, individuals offer hope and build a sense of inevitability for the type of system-wide changes that will. And that’s where ..read more
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We need to stop treating light rail like its a precious heirloom
GreenCityBlueLake
by
4y ago
The history of the light rail line in Cleveland is well told — it includes real estate speculators, the Van Sweringens, building their line connecting downtown Cleveland to suburban enclave Shaker Heights. Along the way, they managed to develop land into tax-revenue-producing properties like Shaker Square, and, ultimately, the Terminal Tower. Half of the rail line today operated as the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s Blue Line and its trunk, the Green Line, serves mostly low-density suburbs. The other half travels through a lot of vacant space in the city. As a result, ridership ..read more
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Frequent bus, Frequent bus all day activists urge RTA Board
GreenCityBlueLake
by
4y ago
It was a red letter day as Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s Board of Trustees heard loud and clear from Portland-based transit expert Jarrett Walker — and from the collective voice of rider advocates, Clevelanders for Public Transit (CPT) — that Cleveland’s bus system needs a redesign. “Without delay” in the words of CPT volunteer Chris Stocking who belted out a rousing rendition of Jingle Bells with the lyrics “Frequent bus, frequent bus, frequent bus all day!” to a packed Board room. RTA Board and staff, including new General Manager India Birdsong, listened as the public urged ..read more
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This is what leadership looks like
GreenCityBlueLake
by
4y ago
The search for the greenest places leads to the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh. The reputation of Phipps was solidified when it built its Center for Sustainable Landscapes in 2012. It is one of only a handful of buildings nationwide to be recognized as a Living Building, the most stringent green building rating system in the world. The voluntary, Living Building Challenge is just that — a challenge — a stretch beyond the ordinary. To whit, it requires no less than absorbing all of the rain that falls on a site, producing as much power as used, sourcing materials from 1 ..read more
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Homegrown Cleveland green space programs under microscope
GreenCityBlueLake
by
4y ago
The scaling back of a highly regarded but ‘soft funded’ urban agriculture program that has repurposed vacant land since Cleveland Botanical Garden launched it in 1996 highlights the tenuous hold that even well-organized efforts to re-conceive urban land as anything other than dwelling space or bricks and mortar business often face. It may just be coincidence that an insightful new book from Island Press, Vacant to Vibrant detailing the travails of keeping urban agriculture going and Cleveland Botanical Garden’s decision to shrink its Green Corps, a work-study program where city youth tend gard ..read more
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