Date: Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Time: 4:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Song of the Day: "Brother Can You Spare A Dime?" - Dedicated to Blogger Henry X Sysack, still going strong - his latest creation posted above, now showing on Pearl Road.

"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime," lyrics by Yip Harburg, music by Jay Gorney (1931)

 

They used to tell me I was building a dream, and so I followed the mob,

When there was earth to plow, or guns to bear, I was always there right on the job.

They used to tell me I was building a dream, with peace and glory ahead,

Why should I be standing in line, just waiting for bread?

 

I thought I would take today to write about the state of the Gulf of Mexico due to British Petroleum's stupidity. Because they decided to tell the people on the oil rig to speed up progress, they became reckless and stressed and made a mistake. When the rig exploded, not only did it cause a HUGE oil spill, but it also killed 11 workers.

As a result of old science, politics and industry dominating energy, health and environmental planning and development of Cleveland, Northeast Ohio, Ohio and America, citizens here must confront the realities of too much pollution in our air today, with certainty of growing air pollution worldwide in the years ahead. As such, the United States Environmental Protection Agency's 2009 Integrated Science Assessment for Particulate Matter finds our pollution causes cardiovascular and respiratory problems and death... topping a long list of cumulative harm pollution causes people and society. Integrated Science Assessment for Particulate Matter forms the scientific foundation for the review of the primary (health-based) and secondary (welfare-based) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter (PM) in America, and "accurately reflects “the latest scientific knowledge useful in indicating the kind and extent of identifiable effects on public health which may be expected from the presence of [a] pollutant in ambient air”".

As I've long written on realNEO, Northeast Ohio has a pollution crisis and does a poor job or monitoring our pollution, putting citizens' lives in danger. How much in danger is the subject of this lengthy EPA analysis. In short, you are certainly being harmed greatly by the high levels of PM clearly released into the air in Northeast Ohio, especially near major roadways and coal burning facilities that are source points, like Mittal and MCCO. For example: "Epidemiologic studies that examined the effect of PM 2.5 on cardiovascular emergency department (ED) visits and hospital admissions reported consistent positive associations (predominantly for ischemic heart disease [IHD] and congestive heart failure [CHF]), with the majority of studies reporting increases ranging from 0.5 to 3.4% per 10 μg/m3 increase in PM 2.5".

I am going to expand this post, but for now, consider the suburban model of schooling children and the "urban" model of schooling children.

If you live in the suburbs--your school facility is modelled after a prison.  You drive your kids to school or they drive themselves.  The school is set back far from the street so the noise and spill out of noisy kids can not offend.

earthquakes  - other disasters - warnings - yogi and guys typical warners other species weather spirits etc.

to enlarge hold the ctrl key and click the += key - to reduce hold the ctrl key and click the - _ key

When I first came back to Cleveland in 1992--I met up and had the good fortune to work with many amazing people who have made an enormous difference in changing the environment here.

I just want to say thank you today--especially to Tim Donovan.  For twenty plus years, Tim has toiled to make folks appreciate the Cuyahoga River Valley.  I don't take this for granted.

Not unexpectedly, the PD has given a ringing endorsement to Dr. Eugene Sanders and his Transformation Plan in today's editorial section.

http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/06/cleveland_schools_nee...

Some of my comments on this from cleveland.com:

<Not every thing wrong with Cleveland schools is the fault of Dr. Sanders. There are some positive, constructive aspects of the Transformation Plan, too.

I made a follow up to a posting about ODOT Vegetative Screening Site Plans relating to the Inner Belt Bridge realneo.us/content/odot-vegetative-screening-site-plans-tremont-west-side-highway-embankment#comment-23230

The Cleveland Plain Dealer missed a nice opportunity to pick up on a major social injustice issue today when they announced with much stupidity and little diagnosis "Lakeview Road in East Cleveland picked as area's worst road: Road Rant"... leading to the usual cackles from the cleveland.commies about how my city should be rototilled and dissolved into Oz... while the big story is why Lakeview Road is the worst road in Ohio, as that is the fault of adjoining property owners MCCO and University Hospitals. Those parasitic corporate charities, along with RTA, if I recall right, have for years been using THEIR TAX-EXEMPT blighted brownfields on either side of Lakeview at Euclid as staging areas for their ego-tripping across Greater University Circle, all leading to MCCO plans to build a $250-300 million coal-fired powerplant AT Lakeview and Euclid, for University Circle institution use... already approved by Cuyahoga County and the City of East Cleveland... now all boarded-up. Work on the Euclid Corridor, the Ireland Cancer Center, and MCCO expansion, featuring a period of years of heavy construction equipment access, has abused our tax-base, roads and trust entirely. All while University Hospitals and MCCO contaminate the neighborhood by burning coal. And the ignorant, disrespectful, inaccurate Plain Dealer declares this EC's fault. This is the PD's fault!

Popular personality and speaker Tony Robbins talks about what makes people do what they do. In addition to a priceless exchange between Robbins and former Vice President Al Gore, who was in the audience, the talk focuses on the emotional and psychological strengths of people, and how they direct action. The thread that runs through the talk is the conviction that giving is the most important and fulfilling action in life.

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/96

Researchers found U.S. made cigarettes contain more cancer-causing chemicals than some cigarettes brands made elsewhere around the world.

“Die when I may, I want it said by those who knew me best that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.”  - Abraham Lincoln

And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; / Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; / In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Yesterday, a brawl broke out at Progressive Field between students of Lincoln-West and Rhodes high schools; according to the Plain Dealer's Mark Puente.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/06/brawl_breaks_out_near_progress.html

The chart above presents some of the most important data in the world for citizens to understand about the future physical and economic health and well being of all people on Earth, and for all life on Earth - the Total Levelized Costs of Electricity including TS&M shown in Exhibit ES-11 is the cost breakdown from the ASSESSMENT OF POWER PLANTS THAT MEET PROPOSED GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION PERFORMANCE STANDARDS - November 5, 2009 - REVISED 4/22/2010 that demonstrates that all the technologies available and in immediate development to burn coal to generate utility scale power at the emissions standards set for California are more expensive than generating electricity by wind - significantly more expensive. Solar has better economic value than coal as well.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) just conducted a comparison of the relative impacts of various financial, technological, and wind resource variables on the LCOE from utility-scale wind projects and found a base case range of $54-74/MWh.

This is an open letter of thanks to Norm Roulet.

Norm, you have endured a nightmare experience while trying to bring accountability and open networking to NEO. 

You have been treated inhumanely and your ideas have been stolen and misused.  Yet, gradually, everyday--we see your tools being put to use. 

Why do I hate the leadership of OHIO?!?!?!

Why the hell was air quality in Cleveland and so Northeast Ohio, the region, the state and the world so "UNHEALTHY" last night, while we slept, and why is it so unhealthy RIGHT NOW - and HOW UNHEALTHY really, where, as indicated above?

Here is a thought--from one of the founding fathers of NEO--John G. White:

Annual Archwood Street Fair

This has been going on for so many years that no one seem to remember when it first started..

Sat-Sun June 5-6 2010

9-6 PM Some start early and some will fold up early.

Over 45 homes

Wear your shopping shoes for this annual fun filled event!! Come hungry there will be plenty of food vendors tempting you with their culinary skills!!