Submitted by Norm Roulet on Sat, 08/14/2010 - 17:24.
2010 REALNEO Mid-Year Update at 12,594 Nodes; 25,366 Comments; and 8,984 Members... many who are Trolls
Since around the beginning of 2010, when realNEO.US had been stable long enough to have fairly accurate statistics of our web-traffic - based on over a year of tracking with Google analytics and consistent data on Compete.com - I have been providing members with regular analyses of various metrics of our web traffic, for community insight. These updates include:
Submitted by Norm Roulet on Sat, 08/14/2010 - 07:12.
As I explain to "outsiders" what obstacles to true economic development we are confronting here in Northeast Ohio, I point to the concluding half of my "Preamble: Real Co-op for Open Food, Information and Community Development 2009", where I explain "you can't manage what you don't measure. Leadership here does not want to be measured."
At that time - February, 2009 - I explained the risk from having poor local leadership was greatest then, as we had just brought into office a wonderful new President, who must stimulate bad local, state, national and global economies... we had tough battles ahead requiring good local footsoldiers, as $ billions in NEW federal funding initiatives was flowing our way.
They raise the stakes, in exploitation of the difficult economic times here, by attempting to corrupt the good will of our new President.
Submitted by Norm Roulet on Thu, 08/12/2010 - 23:35.
It is worth noting that two days after 70+ Cleveland-area citizens came together in unified citizen action and opposition against coal burning in their neighborhood of University Circle, the EPA sent out a press release that "President Obama’s Interagency Task Force on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), co-chaired by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE), delivered a series of recommendations to the president today on overcoming the barriers to the widespread, cost-effective deployment of CCS within 10 years" and "the report concludes that CCS can play an important role in domestic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions while preserving the option of using coal and other abundant domestic fossil energy resources."
That conclusion will be at the center of intense debate, experimentation and demonstration, to the tune of $10s billions, over the ten year vision of this policy statement, until some event brings such spending to a stop - science and economic reality push innovation above the industrial din of mountaintop removal and churning urban furnaces.
Federal clean coal funding is the stimulus for plans like MCCO was developing to continue burning coal into the future, and expand coal capacity to DEMONSTRATE innovative clean coal technologies (which are not yet in practice here). Such visionary science has a role in the big system of solutions for the world, but delays clean energy innovation of the type that would offer immediate human benefits in communities like Cleveland that cannot wait for the bleeding edge to arrive... too much real bleeding from environmental injustice here right now.
Submitted by Norm Roulet on Thu, 08/12/2010 - 09:08.
Environmental Health Watch Outreach and Education Director Kim Foreman testifying at the August 10, 2010 EPA License Renewal Hearing AGAINST renewing their permit to burn coal, reading into the record and excellent statement offering a holistic, realistic perspective from the Cleveland environmental community - view this video.
In an important development from the Ohio Public Utilities Commission, the Plain Dealer reports today that "FirstEnergy Corp. gets permission to burn biomass as sustainable energy source". I previously highlighted this issue on realNEO, as the environmental concerns raised about this plant revolve around developing sustainable fuel stocks for such massive biomass initiatives as the R. E. Burger power plant in Shadyside, Ohio... as burning wood is not the solution... even refuse wood from recycling. But that is all that is on the horizon, for this plant so far... "FirstEnergy spokeswoman Ellen Raines said the company is spending $200 million to re-design and renovate Burger's boilers to be able to burn a mixture of green wood chips, wood pellets and briquettes and something very similar to charcoal."
There isn't enough refuse wood biomass to go around, and the carbon foot print of deforestation for biomass is poor. That is why I propose the state of Ohio take THE global leadership position innovating agricultural biomass optimization, which I believe includes hemp. Thus, the proposal to make Northeast Ohio the Open Source Capital of the Brightest Greenest State on Earth.
John Funk of the Cleveland Plain Dealer continued his expanding coverage of the dangerous situation in University Circle that is the Medical Center Company. Outlining the timeline below, Funk highlights that "The permit, the facility's first ever, expired in 2003, and authorities have been reviewing the company's renewal application ever since" and "Built in 1932 and expanded with gas boilers as needed, the steam plant is operated by the Medical Center Co., a non-profit corporation whose board of directors represent CWRU and the major institutions that make up University Circle. The plant burns about 40,000 tons of coal per year." At issue is the renewal by the EPA of their permit to continue burning coal for five more years, which is outragous.Public feedback to the EPA is encouraged!
The article is included in entirety below to protect this information for public health and safety...
"I don't know about Cleveland, man, there is nothing going on," Noah said Sunday, lamenting the options for his off day on a typical cloudy and chilly spring day. "It's bad, man."
"NO GOING OUT IN CLEVELAND MAN - IT'S ALL FACTORIES. DO YOU LIKE IT - DO YOU THINK CLEVELAND IS COOL?"
Submitted by Norm Roulet on Mon, 08/09/2010 - 19:55.
This excellent article on the MCCO coal burning powerplant in University Circle - Old-fashioned Ohio coal still being burned at tech-savvy University Circle institutions - by the Plain Dealer's John Funk speaks for itself... and is truthful to the best of my knowledge... and I learned some important new information. Thank you John Funk! I've included the entire PD article below in the interest of public safety.
Thank you Mattie and the Sierra Club for making all this happen - love the conclusion... "The solutions are not as forth coming as some might think," Reitman said. "You can't just put up a wind turbine and call it warm." Now to get a timeline in writing from MCCO for all aspects of their planning to move off coal, WITH CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT!
The tall smokes stacks at the back of the Case Western Reserve University campus belong to the Medical Center Co., a non-profit that has been burning coal for nearly 80 years to heat CWRU and much of University Circle.
Submitted by Norm Roulet on Mon, 08/09/2010 - 01:22.
August 9, 2010 Ohio EPA AirNow web portal air pollution current conditions for Northeast Ohio - 1:00 AM Report Unhealthy For Sensitive Groups in Cleveland and surrounding communities, as it was all prior day and last night... now?
Good Morning real NEO - last night the air was unhealthy... were your windows open?
It seemed like a beautiful Sunday night for sleeping with the windows open but you should not have last night. You should have known better. Did you know the air pollution would make you unhealthy last night? Were you warned it would be unhealthy today?
Submitted by Norm Roulet on Sat, 08/07/2010 - 13:11.
As it is time for realNEO to assign a new administrator, I recommend to the membership Ramzi Harb (see below), who is a world class technologist, programmer and musician... the drummer featured here
I sent this out by email to the following realneo members who came to mind for feedback on some technology changes immediately brought upon the REALNEO.US technology committee today - I did not mean to exclude any members of the general realNEO/realcoop community and encourage each of you to comment or email me at norm [at] realneo [dot] us if you want to help address these issues and be active with the Tech Committee for REALNEO.
Let's make this a truly great new day in realNEO!
Most active realneo members and supposed board and officers, etc...
Most active realneo members and supposed board and officers, etc...
I've included here people who are likely realneo/realcoop board members as I have requested a board meeting for over a year and now it seems we just need to get down to business.
It seems Jeff S is no longer on tech support and I'm determining if anyone is - I have people who can cover this so I just want facts.
Aneesh P. Chopra Assistant to the President and Chief Technology Officer Associate Director for Technology Executive Office of the President Office of Science and Technology Policy Washington, DC 20502
Dear Mr. Chopra,
We met briefly at the City Club of Cleveland and I requested your card to follow-up regarding an investigation into irregularities in our environmental monitoring data and technologies in Ohio.
I am preparing to report on these concerns to the EPA, in writing and during a permit renewal hearing in Cleveland, August 10, 2010, highlighting the fact that the citizens of Cleveland, Northeast Ohio and the world have been denied accurate, actionable air quality data here for so long, and our air quality monitoring systems are so poorly architected, it is safe to say we have no idea how polluted and polluting we are. As such, no permits to pollute further should be issued here.
To: "Reitman, Mattie" <mattie [dot] reitman [at] sierraclub [dot] org>
Mattie,
I'm actually preparing my report on all this for the CIO (CTO) of America, who I have met and have direct access - he is a young Googlie techie Indian-American who embraces open source and innovation of the world through technology - what I am realizing is there has been an intentional crippling of the entire nation's environmental monitoring - this stuff the EPA is using is the worst implementation of IT I have ever seen and it is how we measure our pollution for the world...
Get it... for the world...?!
This is old tech put in place in the Bush era to keep the world from knowing how polluted we are - how polluting we are - to hide that from the world to make us look better than we are - Bush was gaming the entire world on pollution and we lose.
Submitted by Norm Roulet on Wed, 08/04/2010 - 23:36.
At the time these photos were taken, 08/04/10 between 8-9 pm, Cleveland air pollution monitoring reported PM 2.5 of 13 - "GOOD" Air Quality - when it was clearly Unsafe
Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson held a press conference today on the hills overlooking the beautiful Cuyahoga River Valley, where he proclaimed "I am not a mutant - no Clevelanders are Mutants - pollution don't mutant people... mutants mutant people... and I'll Prove it".
All two honest journalists remaining in Ohio attended the press conference, and puked. They are being treated at MetroHealth for pollution poisoning, and are reported to be in critical condition.
Matt, thanks for the update on this issue. After reading your message, I'm concerned about the human impacts of pollution in northeast Ohio.
First and quite simply, I think that it's inadequate to expect networked monitors in a region as large as northeast Ohio to be able to compensate for each other's outages, and that it's a matter of opinion whether high particulate levels are unhealthy only if they persist for a 24-hour period. I'd say it's downright insensitive to claim otherwise, particularly for those who live in a relatively less polluted area.
Submitted by Norm Roulet on Tue, 08/03/2010 - 12:56.
08/04/2010 - 00:00
08/05/2010 - 06:00
Etc/GMT-4
It seems I suddenly need to go to Washington DC to meet with Federal officials about air pollution in Northeast Ohio. As timing is critical, I need to leave tonight and drive - returning tomorrow night. Rather than make the trip alone, wasting all that gas for just one person, I thought I 'd see if anyone else in the realNEO community would like to share a ride to-and-from DC for a day-trip there - we should be there for full business hours... 8am-midnight.
Submitted by Norm Roulet on Tue, 08/03/2010 - 09:45.
The NOACA Air Pollution Time Series line chart left above shows the region has had unsafe air quality since midnight, as per many monitoring stations - Cleveland is excluded from this chart but represented in the Rose Chart right above, which indicates the air in Cleveland was Unsafe at least at 5 and 6 AM, before they cut the data stream off.... meaning it is likely unsafe NOW. DO NOT TRUST THEIR DATA BEFORE 5 AM!
Right now - TUESDAY MORNING IN CLEVELAND AND ALL AROUND NORTHEAST OHIO - the air appears unsafe to breathe. According to data hidden throughout air quality monitoring reporting in the region, our air has been AT BEST UNSAFE FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS since MIDNIGHT. In other words... it is still UNSAFE from yesterday. Of course, the Ohio EPA forecast for today was "Moderate".
Submitted by Norm Roulet on Mon, 08/02/2010 - 18:48.
Mattie Reitman with the Sierra Club just forwarded me his communications with the Chairman of Medical Center Company, Robert Brown - who is Treasurer of Case.... and Senator Sherrod Brown's brother... the PD's Connie Schultz' Brother-in-Law... major regional coal-burner and source-point polluter. Through Brown's leadership MCCO operates a secretive coal burning, polluting steam plant for University Circle in my backyard, causing 1,000s of tons of pollution a year in my backyard, harming us each and every day... which I am fighting with the Sierra Club to shut-down.
Sherrod Brown has proven to be a pro-coal Senator. The PD basically denies global warming exists, loves coal, and ignores the issue of environmental injustice entirely.
I am in contact with the Senator's staff about these conflicts of interest, as I am dealing with his brother's pollution, I don't like that my Senator is pro-coal, I don't like that his wife's monopoly newspaper ignores pollution.
As you will see below, Mattie politely asked Robert Brown to arrange for better communications between MCCO and neighbors like myself, including "putting energy into something like" forums on moving MCCO off coal... and Brown said no.
Welcome to East Cleveland the International Cannabis Exchangefor healthcare and industry for the world – The Exchange will put East Cleveland back ON THE MAP!
Submitted by Norm Roulet on Mon, 08/02/2010 - 02:10.
When I met with my counsel about legalizing cannabis in Ohio, I explained I never bring up a problem without a solution.
The problem I brought up to him and his many large industrial clients is the excessive industrial pollution in Northeast Ohio, primarily from coal-burning industrial source points like MCCO and MIttal, which must be eliminated to make this a livable, sustainable region.
Cannabis is marijuana, for medicinal and other personal use... and hemp, for industrial use and nutrition - two classes of crops, each worth $10s billions to the Ohio economy alone, if developed effectively.
