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EPA Greenversations: Raising the Flag for Air Quality Awareness in Northeast Ohio will be Transformational, and SAVE LIVES!

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Mon, 05/02/2011 - 11:13.

I strongly recommend all Cleveland-area schools be required to implement the following cheap, simple, educational program to raise public awareness of our poor air quality in Cleveland, teach area children and their friends and families about the harm of pollution, and protect our children from excessive pollution and the mental and physical damage that causes them, their families and our society and economy.

To do this properly, each school should feature modern, effective air quality monitoring equipment, offering students and stakeholders an exceptional learning experience... and better health. The flags don't even need to be physical - they may be virtual, and presented via the Internet so all parents and concerned citizens may always monitor the air quality and health of our next generation of Clevelanders.... from real Greenversations from DC:

Raising the Flag for Air Quality Awareness

Posted on May 2nd, 2011 - 10:30 AM

Last week, I joined security officer William Jones when he visited a group of students at the First Environments Day Care Center located on EPA’s Research Triangle Park campus. The purpose of our trip was to raise a yellow flag on the pole in front of the school.

When Officer Jones asked if the kids wanted to help him, they cheered in unison, “YES.”  They eagerly held the flag while Officer Jones hooked it to the chain, watched as he raised it – and promptly asked why the flag was yellow. Officer Jones explained that the yellow flag meant that the kids could play outside, “because the air quality was pretty good today– not the best like what a green flag means.”

Cleveland NORML May 2011 Meetup

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Sat, 04/30/2011 - 22:15.
05/01/2011 - 15:00
05/01/2011 - 17:00
Etc/GMT-4

Sunday, May 1 · 3:00pm - 5:00pm

Mayfield Regional Library
6080 Wilson Mills Rd
Cleveland, OH  

Location

Mayfield Regional Library
6080 Wilson Mills Road Between SOM Center & Lander
Mayfield Village, OH 44143-2179
United States

The Ohio Medical Cannabis Act of 2012 - A Message From The Campaign

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Thu, 04/28/2011 - 12:12.

The Ohio Medical Cannabis Act of 2012

A Message From The Campaign

Apr 27, 2011

For the better part of a decade, advocates have attempted to pass bills in the Ohio General Assembly to provide Ohio's sick and dying citizens with safe access to medical marijuana (cannabis). However, when confronted by this issue, our state's elected leaders simply shy away. While the effort to pass a bill in the statehouse is still being pursued, there is another way citizens can enact change.

If a group of citizens feel strongly that an issue has not properly been addressed by the Ohio General Assembly, they can propose an initiated constitutional amendment to the people for a statewide vote. This is the route we've decided to take, placing the issue before the voters on November 6, 2012.

Cannatax Demystified

Submitted by Lory Kohn on Wed, 04/20/2011 - 11:14.


Cannabis Commerce founder and journalist Lory Kohn, at KushCon II

In a nation crying for new industry, with budget shortfalls impacting every level of government, cannabis commerce is a shining star hovering on the economic horizon. Cannatax generated from cannabis commerce could provide a lifeline for embattled governments desperate to maintain vital services in the face of rising costs.

It isn’t, because demonization derived from the 1930s is responsible for marijuana “activists” settling for medical marijuana initiatives state-by-state instead of working together to overturn federal prohibition altogether – which effects legalization for every state in one fell swoop. This is a bizarre situation, where a group of like-minded citizens who overwhelmingly outnumber the opposition behaves like a minority which has to beg, plead, and cajole for “patients’ rights” instead of everybody’s rights. 

CLEVELAND ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME STREAMING Cleveland Confidential - Cheetah Chrome, Mike Hudson, Bob Pfeifer & David Thomas

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Mon, 04/11/2011 - 16:44.
04/11/2011 - 19:00
04/11/2011 - 21:00
Etc/GMT-4
CLEVELAND ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME STREAMING
Cleveland Confidential Book Tour Featuring
Cheetah Chrome, Mike Hudson, Bob Pfeifer and David Thomas

Event begins at 7:00 pm EST today (Monday, April 11th, 2011).  Copy and paste URL into your browser to enjoy the live stream:

Location

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Internet
Cleveland, OH
United States

We do not know of any coal-fired power plant in the world that has a sustainable, locally-sourced system to cofire with hemp

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Sun, 04/10/2011 - 04:32.

Potential Biomass Energy Distribution among Ohio Counties (in Billions Btu's)

I imagine the fuel purchasing administrator at Dayton Power and Light (DP&L) thought he was the target of a Tea Party April Fool's joke when he received an email first thing April 1, 2011, suggesting his Century-old, investor-owned, Ohio utility may lead an historic Constitution-oriented new American Revolution against taxation of his enterprise without honest scientific representation.

Smog-forming pollution from Ohio’s power plants puts children’s health and Ohio’s environment at risk

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Sun, 04/10/2011 - 02:38.

Ozone pollution on the Cleveland skyline

On Thursday, April 7th, 2011, on the Green rooftop of the Environmental Health Watch Building, Environment Ohio released a new report showing that smog-forming pollution from Ohio’s power plants puts children’s health and Ohio’s environment at risk - Environment Ohio - Clean Air Program Reports - Dirty Energy’s Assault on Our Health: Ozone Pollution - 2011-04-07.  From the press release for the news conference announcing this report:

Power plants create the ingredients for dangerous ozone pollution, commonly referred to as smog, and the report ranks which power plants emit the most smog-forming pollution in Ohio and nationwide, and highlights the latest findings about how smog impacts our health and environment.

The report comes as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is set to finalize a standard in July to help reduce smog pollution, which could save up to 12,000 lives per year. Yet Congress and industry lobbyists are working to keep EPA from doing its job by threatening to block rules that limit dangerous air pollution. Environment Ohio is urging Senator Sherrod Brown to stand up for Ohioans’ health and support the EPA.

"Memory's Witness" Woodcuts by Pamela Dodds - Opening Reception at William Busta Gallery

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Sun, 04/10/2011 - 02:11.
04/29/2011 - 19:00
04/29/2011 - 21:00
Etc/GMT-4


Crone's Lament,
Woodcut, 26 x 17 inches

 "Memory's Witness" Woodcuts by Pamela Dodds
Opening Reception:
Friday, April 29, 2011  
 
Exhibition continues through June 9, 2011

Location

William Busta Gallery
2731 Prospect Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44115
United States

Green Power Network RFP Update: for renewable energy generation, renewable energy certificates, and green power - April 7, 2011

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Sun, 04/10/2011 - 02:09.

This update contains solicitations for renewable energy generation, renewable energy certificates, and green power as a courtesy to our subscribers. Unless otherwise noted, these requests for proposals and solicitations are neither supported nor endorsed by the U.S. Department of Energy, Green Power Network.

EPA Earth Month Tip of the Day - April 8, 2011: check how much of your electricity comes from renewable “green” power sources

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Fri, 04/08/2011 - 16:16.

Earth Month Tip of the Day: It's electric.

Today's environmental tip: It's electric! You can check how much of your electricity comes from renewable “green” power sources, such as wind or solar. Green power produces less carbon emissions, reduces air pollution, and helps protect against future costs or scarcity of fossil fuels. If green power is a consumer option, check price differences from suppliers before you buy.

EPA Earth Month Tip of the Day - April 4, 2011: Heading to the beach? Check out the beach water before you go!

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Mon, 04/04/2011 - 12:37.

Earth Month Tip of the Day: Check before you go.

Today's environmental tip: Heading to the beach? Check out the beach water before you go! We Americans take almost two billion trips to the beach every year, but people who swim at the beach sometimes get sick because the water is polluted. The good news is in the state where the beach is located, you can check with the state office to find out about the beach water - before you go.

EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson on National Public Health Week - April 4-10, 2011

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Mon, 04/04/2011 - 11:21.

EPA Celebrates National Public Health Week April 4-10, 2011

Posted on April 4th, 2011 - 10:30 AM

By  Administrator Lisa P. Jackson

When we talk about environmentalism, it typically brings to mind sweeping vistas and wide-open landscapes. Some people might think of saving the whales, protecting spotted owls or preserving old-growth forests. Those things are critically important – but they only tell part of the story. When the modern environmental movement got its start in the 1960s, it took hold in our nation’s cities and was led by people concerned about pollution in the air they were breathing, toxins in the water they were drinking and chemicals on the food they were eating.

The effort to safeguard our environment started – and continues to be – an effort to safeguard our health.

DOE Announces $12 Million in Available Funding to Support up to 5 Advanced Biofuels Development Projects

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Wed, 03/30/2011 - 18:58.

DOE Announces $12 Million in Available Funding to Support Advanced Biofuels Development - March 30, 2011

To support the goal announced by President Obama today to reduce America’s oil imports by one-third by 2025, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that it will be accepting applications for $12 million in funding for laboratory or small pilot-scale projects that support the development of advanced biofuels. Successful projects will develop technologies that will be able to replace refinery feedstocks or directly replace gasoline, diesel, or jet fuels without requiring modifications to vehicles or fueling infrastructure. These projects will continue to accelerate innovations in the renewable biofuels industry as part of the Obama Administration’s efforts to build a cleaner, safer, and more secure energy future for America that ultimately breaks our dependence on foreign oil and moves our nation toward a clean energy economy that creates jobs and boosts U.S. competitiveness.

Obama Administration’s Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future Equals Blueprint for a Secure Future for the Hemp Economy in America

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Wed, 03/30/2011 - 17:13.

As a citizen interested in clean energy and renewable fuels, who lives in an environmental injustice hotspot, heavily polluted by fossil fuel emissions, that needs cleaner energy solutions in our region, I have been excited to see President Obama and his core department leadership - especially Department of Energy Secretary Chu and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Jackson - embrace and champion the urgency of moving America beyond our dependency on ecologically-destructive fossil fuels, toward development of a sustainable, localized, environmentally, socially and economically positive biomass and biofuels energy economy, which shall include industrial hemp grown in the United States of America once again, beginning in 2011.

From the conclusion of a speech by President Obama, at Georgetown University, today, on the Blueprint for A Secure Energy Future for America:

We’re already paying a price for our inaction.  Every time we fill up at the pump, every time we lose a job or a business to countries that are investing more than we do in clean energy, when it comes to our air, our water, and the climate change that threatens the planet that you will inherit -– we’re already paying a price.  These are costs that we are already bearing.  And if we do nothing, the price will only go up.

So at moments like these, sacrificing these investments in research and development, in supporting clean energy technologies, that would weaken our energy economy and make us more dependent on oil.  That’s not a game plan to win the future. That’s a vision to keep us mired in the past.  I will not accept that outcome for the United States of America.  We are not going to do that.  (Applause.)

See Change Reports: The US market for medical marijuana is worth $1.7 billion in 2011 and could reach $8.9 billion in five years

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 21:33.

March 24, 2011: MSNBC reported -  Medical marijuana becoming blockbuster drug... Annual sales near $2 billion and rising in states with tolerant laws:

Medical marijuana is now a $1.7 billion market, according to a report released Wednesday by See Change Strategy, an independent financial analysis firm that specializes in new and unique markets. The figure represents estimated sales of marijuana through dispensaries in states with medical marijuana laws. It is the first time a definitive dollar figure has been given to the emerging medical cannabis industry.

To put that number in perspective, sales of medical marijuana rival annual revenue generated by Viagra, a $1.9 billion business for Pfizer.

Case Think: 15 years after being effectively removed from the US market, the prolific danger of leaded gasoline becomes clearer

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 17:18.

Thanks to Laura McShane for pointing out an excellent article on lead poisoning research at Case Western Reserve University, in the Fall/Winter 2010 Think Magazine - with multimedia features - on-line at Getting the Lead Out: Fifteen years after being effectively removed from the U.S. market, the prolific danger of leaded gasoline becomes clearer

This reports on Childhood lead exposure and uptake in teeth in the Cleveland area during the era of leaded gasoline - a recent Case Western Reserve University-affiliated analysis of the lead burden of Cleveland children through the period when leaded gasoline was introduced and later phased out (from about 1930 to 1990), surfacing critical implications.

Comparison of relative temporal changes in lead concentration in tooth enamel and lake sediments, and relative changes in the total amount of lead additives to gasoline
Comparison of relative temporal changes in lead concentration in tooth enamel and lake sediments, and relative changes in the total amount of lead additives to gasoline. Maximum absolute values and symbols are:  4.94 μg/g (teeth, smoothed data, uninterrupted line), 72.7 ppm (“new core Lake Erie sediment, triangles), 41.1 ppm  (Graney et al., 1995 Lake Erie sediment, open circles), and 253,000 mt of lead additives to gasoline produced in the US, closed circles (see Methods).

An important announcement from the publisher of The New York Times - "as we introduce digital subscriptions"

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Thu, 03/17/2011 - 17:24.

An important announcement from the publisher of The New York Times

Dear New York Times Reader,

Today marks a significant transition for The New York Times as we introduce digital subscriptions. It’s an important step that we hope you will see as an investment in The Times, one that will strengthen our ability to provide high-quality journalism to readers around the world and on any platform. The change will primarily affect those who are heavy consumers of the content on our Web site and on mobile applications.

This change comes in two stages. Today, we are rolling out digital subscriptions to our readers in Canada, which will enable us to fine-tune the customer experience before our global launch. On March 28, we will begin offering digital subscriptions in the U.S. and the rest of the world.

I'm certain more people than ever in history are interested in the subject of global air pollution monitoring by analyzing corn

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Tue, 03/15/2011 - 13:15.


U.S. Fossil Fuel Carbon Dioxide Map (red = most polluted, blue = least polluted)

I'm certain more people than ever in history are interested in the subject of global air pollution monitoring, as a deteriorating cluster of nuclear power plant disasters in Northern Japan are already contaminating the Earth's atmosphere with deadly radioactive emissions, which will blow across the Pacific Ocean and in other directions to all points downwind until they settle back to Earth, on us, our land, in our water, and into our food-streams.

From the Wall Street Journal's Monday, March 13, reporting about nuclear fallout from the meltdown in Japan, which has taken many turns for the worst since then...

If the Japanese nuclear core were to melt, certain radioactive materials, such as iodine, strontium and cesium, would also be released. These particles are one-quarter the size of a grain of salt and can be carried by winds. The larger the grains, the more quickly they would fall out of the air.

U.S. import prices rose 1.4 percent in February, the U.S. BLS reported today, following a similar 1.3 percent rise in January

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Tue, 03/15/2011 - 11:25.

The  U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics just released its U.S. IMPORT AND EXPORT PRICE INDEXES – FEBRUARY 2011 - reporting ongoing significant price increase trends in core sectors of the global economy - like US import and export food and energy prices - that indicate US annual inflation in the double-digits for many products and services impacting daily life in America... like the price of gasoline, milk and bread. The impacts worldwide - especially in developing countries - will be staggering... radicalizing.

Kendall Law Group Investigates The Lubrizol Corporation Acquisition for Shareholders

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 16:36.

Kendall Law Group Investigates The Lubrizol Corporation Acquisition for Shareholders

DALLAS, Mar 14, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

Kendall Law Group, led by former federal judge Joe Kendall, is investigating The Lubrizol Corporation (NYSE: LZ) for shareholders in connection with the proposed acquisition by Berkshire Hathaway Inc. The national securities firm's investigation seeks to determine whether Lubrizol and its Board breached their fiduciary duties by entering into the agreement without properly shopping for a deal that would provide better value for shareholders. If you are a Lubrizol shareholder and would like additional information about your rights, contact the Kendall Law Group at 877-744-3728 or by email at skendall [at] kendalllawgroup [dot] com.

On March 14, 2011, the companies announced the definitive merger agreement under which Lubrizol would be acquired by Berkshire Hathaway, in a transaction valued at approximately $9 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Lubrizol stockholders will receive $135.00 in cash for each share of Lubrizol/LZ common stock held. According to Thompson/First Call, analysts have set a price target as high as $148.00 per share for Lubrizol stock. Earlier this year, Lubrizol reported higher-than-expected fourth quarter profits and issued a "bullish forecast for 2011," with Chief Executive Officer James Hambrick stating: "I reiterate my deep confidence in our ability to deliver an eighth consecutive record year of earnings." The firm's investigation seeks to determine whether Lubrizol and its Board negotiated a deal that provides the best value available to shareholders.

EPA's 2005 National Air Toxins Assessment looks at human health impacts from estimated, chronic air toxin exposure

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 06:14.

EPA's 2005 National Air Toxins Assessment human cancer risk from estimated, chronic inhalation exposures based on emissions data from the 2005 National Emissions Inventory for hazardous air pollutants, assuming these emissions remain constant throughout one's lifetime
EPA's 2005 National Air Toxins Assessment looks at human health impacts from estimated, chronic inhalation exposures based on emissions data from the
2005 National Emissions Inventory for hazardous air pollutants, assuming these emissions remain constant throughout one's lifetime

On March 11, 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent a press release (below) and held conference calls supporting release of the fourth update of the National Air Toxics Assessment (NATA) - a computer tool that helps federal, state, local governments and other stakeholders better understand the potential health risks from exposure to air toxics.  The EPA  states: "the National Air Toxics Assessment (NATA) contains 2005 emissions data submitted primarily from the states for 178 pollutants. Models are used to make broad estimates of health risks for areas of the country.  The tool is not designed to determine actual health risks to individuals living in these areas." "Because the data submitted varies from state to state, it is also not possible to use the data to compare risks between different areas of the country."

As someone who lives in Cleveland, Ohio, which the Federal EPA and their NATA prove is highly polluted and unhealthy, I truly appreciate access to all environmental data management and mapping services the EPA may provide, as real-time as possible. These federal government tools offer citizens access to information that allows us to make better life-decisions - like where to live - and empowers us to be better environmental stewards - like shutting down coal pollution in our own backyards.