In this issue…
- LEEDCo Turbine Project Open House and Comment Deadline
- Cleveland Ready for 100
- Tropical Botanist to Speak at BW
- Upcoming events
LEEDCo Turbine Project Open House and Comment Deadline
The US Department of Energy is proposing to provide funding to the Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo) to support the development of a wind demonstration project consisting of 6 turbines in Lake Erie approx. 8 miles off Cleveland. The US Army Corps of Engineers is reviewing permit applications for the proposed project. The US Coast Guard is responsible for reviewing impacts related to navigation and the USCG mission. You are invited to submit written comments on the draft Environmental Assessment for Federal agency consideration.
Written comments may be sent by Oct 10, 2017 to: projecticebreaker@ee.doe.gov
There will be an informational open house from 4 PM to 7 PM on September 6 at the Lakewood Park Woman’s Club Pavilion, 14532 Lake Ave, Lakewood.
Cleveland Ready For 100 Campaign Update
By Jocelyn Travis, Sierra Club Ready for 100 Coordinator
Thanks to everyone for supporting our Ready For 100 Campaign! We have just completed our first year of existence and continue to move forward with the goal of Cleveland becoming a 100% Clean Energy City. During this first year a Human Aerial Art Event was held to kick off our campaign, a Ready For 100 Campaign Coalition has been formed with the involvement of over thirty environmental and civic organizations from the Cleveland community, and meetings have been held with key Cleveland Council members to provide awareness to our campaign.
Numerous community tabling events have been held to provide campaign information and obtain over three thousand signatures of support on petitions to urge Mayor Jackson to commit to 100% Clean Energy. Extensive media coverage has been received on Cleveland Ready For 100 Campaign including articles written by the Cleveland Plain Dealer and National Public Radio. Finally, a clean energy dialogue titled “Clean and Affordable Energy to Create More Livable Communities For All” has been created to engage Cleveland residents on taking action to create change in their communities.
Our goal is to host several more community dialogues throughout the Cleveland area this Fall. Our Ready For 100 Campaign is represented on the City of Cleveland’s Climate Advisory Council to revise Cleveland’s Climate Action Plan and The City Club’s Sustainability Committee.
Upcoming events include: Canvass Training and Door to Door Canvassing to discuss energy efficiency and clean energy to residents. These sessions will be held every third Saturday of the month with the first session held at Sterling Library, 2230 East 30th Street Saturday, September 16. Training will be held at 10:30 am and canvass in Cleveland’s Central community will be held from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. Refreshments and debrief will be provided after the canvass.
We will host a Letter Writing Training at the Goldhorn Brewery, 1361 East 55th Street on Wednesday, August 30 at 5:30 pm. This event will provide training on writing letters to Mayor Jackson and elected officials and Letters to the Editor. Paper and envelopes will be provided.
Please sign up for events via sc.org/Cleveland or Cleveland Ready For 100 on Facebook.
Tropical Botanist to Speak at BW
By Michael Melampy, NEOSC Rainforest Committee Chair
Dr. Croat in the field; photo by Dorothy Bay.
If you are interested in tropical plants and their conservation, you will not want to miss two upcoming lectures sponsored by the NEO Sierra Club Rainforest Committee in conjunction with the Cleveland Botanical Garden and Baldwin Wallace University. On Thursday, October 19, they will host Dr. Thomas Croat who will present lectures describing his research and his concerns about tropical forest conservation. Dr. Croat is the P.A. Schulze Curator of Botany at the Missouri Botanical Garden and is one of the world’s leading authorities on the systematics and ecology of Araceae (aroids), the plant family that includes the philodendrons. He has collected more than 85,000 plant specimens around the world and maintains the world’s largest collection of living aroid plants at the Missouri Botanical Garden. His primary research focus has been the New World tropics where he has conducted extensive field work over the past five decades. He has published over 100 books and articles, including numerous contributions to the floras of different tropical countries. His book, The Flora of Barro Colorado Island, is a standard reference for tropical biologists.
Dr. Croat will deliver his first lecture at noon in Telfer Hall on the Baldwin Wallace campus. That presentation is entitled, “A Half Century Long Search for Tropical Plants,” and will describe Dr. Croat’s experiences as a field botanist doing research in remote parts of Latin America. The second lecture will be delivered at 7 p.m. in the Cleveland Botanical Garden and is entitled, “Tropical Rain Forests: Their Complexities and Their Tragic Demise.” Both presentations are open to the public. For details concerning exact room locations for the lectures, contact Michael Melampy or Cynthia Druckenbrod via email.
Upcoming Outings
CANVASS TRAINING AND DOOR-TO-DOOR CANVASSING
Saturday, September 16 at 10:30 a.m.
Discuss energy efficiency and clean energy with residents. The first session is at Sterling Library, 2230 East 30th Street with subsequent sessions on the third Saturday of every month. Details in September/October 2017 newsletter.
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BIKE GENEVA, OHIO
Saturday, September 30, 2017 at 10 a.m.
Bike 29 miles or 3 hours in Geneva, Ohio and see wineries, Lake Erie, the Grand River, covered bridges, Geneva State Park, and nature. Organizer: Dennis Plank, email, 216-939-8229.
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“TALES FROM THE TROPICS”
Thursday, October 19, 2017
Two times and locations
Dr. Thomas Croat is an eminent plant systematist from the Missouri Botanical Garden and is a leading authority on the evolution and ecology of the Araceae. His lectures are co-sponsored by the Northeast Ohio Sierra Club, Baldwin Wallace University, and the Cleveland Botanical Garden. The lectures are free and open to the public and will be held both at Cleveland Botanical Garden and Baldwin Wallace on the 19th. More info…
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WALK HINKLEY RESERVATION METROPARK (BUCKEYE TRAIL)
Saturday, October 28, 2017 at 10 a.m.
Walk 6 miles or 3.5 hours in Medina County, Ohio and see turkey vultures (buzzards), the Buckeye Trail, Whipps Ledges, part of the Emerald Necklace park, and nature. Organizer: Dennis Plank, email, 216-939-8229.
Meetings
Executive Committee meetings begin immediately after the 7 PM Conservation meeting. Upcoming excomm meeting locations:
- Wednesday, September 6 at the Brooklyn Branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library at 4480 Ridge Rd.
- Wednesday, October 4 at the Cleveland Heights Public Library at 2345 Lee Rd.
- Wednesday, November 1 at the Brooklyn Branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library at 4480 Ridge Rd.
The Energy and Fracking Committees will meet together on Wednesday, April 19, 2017, 6:30-8:30 At the Cleveland Hts Main Library, 2345 Lee Rd, Cleveland Heights 44118
Coal & Energy Committee meets at 4105 Stilmore Rd, South Euclid, Ohio 44121. Please contact Randy Cunningham at 216-631-3337 for the time and date of the next meeting.
Green Transportation Committee – Please contact Akshai Singh for more information. State Transportation are now at 7 p.m. EST on the 2nd Monday of each month. For folks interested in our efforts, follow along at Ohio for Transportation Equity’s facebook (website coming soon), or for more local work, Clevelanders for Public Transit, who also have a website.
Rainforest Committee – For details on meeting times and places, contact Michael Melampy at 440-263-6483 or via email.