[paulgraham]

We’re quickly approaching the 40th anniversary of the Cuyahoga River fire. Cleveland, Ohio is commemorating that watershed event by celebrating the re-birth of a much greener city. For those unaware, the Cuyahoga River fire was an unfortunate incident that occurred on June 22, 1969 when some molten steel fell from a passing train into a slick of industrial waste floating on the water’s surface. This led to a groundbreaking piece of legislation that sparked a major environmental movement. Cleveland has since taken great strides in becoming a green city on a blue lake!

Positively Cleveland is dubbing 2009 "The Year of the River," and has compiled a list of 75 green reasons to love Cleveland along with eco-friendly ways to celebrate summer at Positively Cleveland - H2Ohio.

[paulgraham]

Hey, today marks the 40th anniversary! For anyone who might be in the area today, I just wanted to invite you all to come out to the River Re-Birthday Party (a bring-your-own picnic event) from 2-8pm in Heritage Park. There will be games, drumming, dance, history and river lore. As well as a chance to win new t-shirts that say, "Ending 40 Years of Cleveland Jokes." Haha!

[bruceralph]

Lots of cities are wrapping themseleves in the "green" banner these days and Cleveland's list seems as good as anyone elses. These are positive starts. The list I would like to see for cities would include sustainable population targets, reduction of coal plant emmissions, protection of ecosystem diversity and completed bike path and passive recreation systems. This requires direct approaches from city and other government planners.

[paulgraham]

I agree, those are all important things every city should make a priority...

Here's a graph you might be interested in, which shows where we're excelling and what needs some work in Cleveland's efforts to go green: Greenwala - Green City on the Blue Lake

[paulgraham]

A few Cleveland/green news items you might be interested in...

Would you like to become more involved with the local green movement? You might be surprised to find a large number of environmentally conscious jobs in Ohio. Here's a list to get you started: Ohio Green Jobs

A recycled art community forming in Cleveland! I came across this website which spotlights some of the cool things people are doing: Keeping It Green--Recycled Art in Cleveland, Ohio

Good news for Clevelanders and visitors of Cleveland seeking out locally grown and prepared foods. Local Food Cleveland is a new online social networking site aimed at helping people connect with the local food culture. It includes a "Buy Local Food" guide featuring interactive maps of more than 80 farmers markets, restaurants, caterers, and more in the Northeast Ohio region!

[chris1203]

You know, I live within 45 minutes of Cleveland, and I just heard a news report on the "fire on the lake" recently. I must have not been paying attention to it when I was a kid. I'm glad that Cleveland is taking the lead in a lot of environmental issues.