Air Quality Advisory Issued for Northeast Ohio

Saturday, June 26, 2010 due to Ozone Concentratio

Northeast Ohio- There is potential for high ozone pollution levels Saturday, June 26, due to high-temperature conditions. Pollution may reach levels considered "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" during the afternoon or early evening hours in areas not subject to rain.

Thanks to the timely, effective intervention of the Sierra Club, the Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to hold a public hearing for citizens to discuss their concerns about the renewal of the permit for the Medical Center Company (MCCO) to burn coal in their powerplant in University Circle (above), harming residents and workers in the densely populated and economically distressed surrounding neighborhood.

Location

Before the Deepwater Era of today, there was the Sustainabilly Era of the past decade, when environmentalism was as easy as drinking the right beer, and green-washing was punctuated by mega-conglomerate mind-control spam promoting a clean, sexy, prosperous life for all, by all simply being beautiful energy-bimbos with ecomagination.

In the Sustainabilly Era, there was a global competition of dirty energy companies seeking to seem clean and beautiful... and to make their dirty energy offerings seem clean and beautiful. Industrial powerhouses like BP and GE barraged the world with sexy portrayals of their most "Sustainable" vision for the future - our world "Beyond Petroleum" of their "Ecomagination".

Derek Gee / Buffalo News

Just as Cleveland has our Mittal Cleveland Works steel plant poisoning area citizens, Erie, Pennsylvania, has Erie Coke poisoning the people of that community, and nearby New York. The difference between the situation in Cleveland and Erie, apparent from the following article in the Buffalo News, is that the people polluted by Erie Coke are being protected by their area environmentalists and government leaders in Pennsylvania who are trying to Keep Erie’s Environment Protected - KEEP.

In the case of Erie Coke, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection signed a consent degree with the owner, J. D. Crane, on June 17, 2010, legally binding the company to comply with laws and regulations, pay a $6 million fine, and agree to pay an estimated $15 million for a schedule of improvements at their "antiquated facility aimed at halting the release of dangerous toxins into the atmosphere

Canadian Hemp Factory to Create Jobs, Green Energy, and Economic Stimulus

By Joyce Cassin - Sunday, January 25 2009

After nearly 10 years of research and development in industrial hemp, Stonehedge Bio- Resources Inc. of Sterling is ready to lead the way in commercializing hemp in North America. Building on a business case developed through the Eastern Lake Ontario Regional Innovation Network (ELORIN), Stonehedge is now set to establish a bioprocessing facility in Eastern Ontario to serve North American markets.

Some of the products and co-products are aimed at the automotive, energy, agriculture, construction material, and pulp and paper markets. This fibre separation facility (decortication plant) is expected to provide new farm income for about 200 farmers, putting more than 12,000 acres into cultivation, said John Baker, president and founder of Stonehedge.

They secured $2 million in funding from Great Britain and met with the British Consulate on Wednesday, Northumberland County chief administrative officer Bill Pyatt told County council Wednesday afternoon. "Hopefully they'll be able to obtain provincial and federal dollars as well," Mr. Pyatt said. "This industry will supply all of North America."

Pro-marijuana activists, backed by the director of the `Cocaine Cowboys' documentaries, are pushing to decriminalize marijuana in Miami Beach

BY DAVID SMILEY dsmiley [at] MiamiHerald [dot] com

Tip of the Hat and Props to the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Michael McIntyre, and his Tipoff column today - First Reporter to Recognize "A new cash crop" for Ohio.

I look forward to discussing this initiative in detail with Michael and others in the media and public, as it is important to educate the community on the economic benefits we will receive from "Growing a Bright Green NEO PAC for Legalization & Commercialization of Cannabis Crops, Products & Services".

Here is Michael McIntyre's correct and intelligent impression of our initiative to make Northeast Ohio the Open Source Capital of the Brightest Greenest State of Earth:

A new cash crop

Some Northeast Ohio boosters are pushing for a new product to revive the local economy: Marijuana. And, no, stoners, they're not talking about boosting sales of Doritos.

Norm Roulet of the RealNEO blog announced last week that a political action committee, Real Green NEO PAC, was formed to push for a November ballot issue for "enlightened legalization of cannabis crops."

It is safe to say the #1 financial and empowering supporter of realNEO is and has always been my wife, Evelyn Kiefer Roulet. A founding member of realNEO (member #7),  who has consistently posted some of the most interesting and globally appreciated content, she administers the Putnam Sculpture Colledction at Case (beautifully presented in Drupal), conducts art appraisals, consults in art history - maintains the brightest greenest home and garden in town - all to significantly support our large family so I may focus on realNEO and other regional and global initiatives. She has allowed this flower to grow.

In 1998, Canada legalized hemp as a product and began national development of hemp related industries. Prior to making that decision, analysts consider the economic cases for and against developing the hemp industry in their nation - a major decision - and they decided: RECOMMENDATION: Legalize commercial hemp production, the sooner the better to capitalize on first mover advantage. Since then, Canada has certainly taken a "first mover" advantage with the hemp industry and developed a bright green economy, with $10s billions in national benefits providing 100,000s of jobs in their nation, in about a decade.

Looking forward to legalizing the industrial hemp industires for Ohio and America, look back to the late 1990s, when Canada as a nation decided it was time to be independent of foolish American legacy policies and develop their hemp industries, which has been a great decision. In brief, here is the recommendation of Commercial Hemp Cultivation in Canada; An Economic Justification:

 

Legalize commercial hemp production, the sooner the better to capitalize on first mover advantage
Granting of permits should be under the ministry of agriculture, and the process simplified to reduce the risk of not being able to guarantee supply (the most substantial risk for potential industrial end users)
Canadian grown seeds are essential to ensure hemp's competitiveness:

The former Alaska governor appeared on Fox Business Network last night, along with libertarian-leaning Republican Rep. Ron Paul.
Paul is a longtime advocate of decriminalizing drugs at a federal level and leaving the issue to the states

Sarah Palin: Marijuana is a 'minimal problem' - 6/17/10

That's right, pot smokers: You have something of an ally in Sarah Palin.

The former Alaska governor appeared on Fox Business Network last night, along with libertarian-leaning Republican Rep. Ron Paul. Paul is a longtime advocate of decriminalizing drugs at a federal level and leaving the issue to the states, something Palin would not endorse.

"If we're talking about pot, I'm not for the legalization of pot," Palin said, as Politico first noted. "I think that would just encourage especially our young people to think that it was OK to just go ahead and use it."

But she went on to say that police should not focus on arresting people who use marijuana recreationally.

"I think we need to prioritize our law enforcement efforts," Palin said. "And if somebody's gonna smoke a joint in their house and not do anybody else any harm, then perhaps there are other things our cops should be looking at to engage in and try to clean up some of the other problems that we have in society."

The following article from Napanee Guide highlights some of the valuable partnerships between agriculture, environmentalism and industry developing in Canada, where industrial hemp has been legal for about a decade. While is has taken years for the industry to capture scale, there are now innumerable examples of important innovations in this bright green economy in Canada that demonstrate what the US economy is losing by neglecting R&D and growth in this industry. Smart states are bypassing federal incompetency and developing home-rule cannabis economies, despite Washington DC. Here is the type of innovation and environmental benefit they stand to gain, as first movers in this $trillion absolutely certain bright green future for Ohio.

Tuesday 02 February 2010

Harvesting hemp at Hartacre Farms for biofuel

In a white cloud of pollen, 43 acres of hemp was harvested from Hartacre Farms last Tuesday. Herb Hart grew the crop in partnership with Performance Plants Inc. of Kingston, as part of a biofuels project for Lafarge Bath Cement plant, which is working on methods of reducing their reliance on fossil fuels.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — It was announced today that Sativex, a cannabinoid-based liquid medicine sprayed under the tongue, has been approved for use in Great Britain to help treat the muscle spasticity suffered by multiple sclerosis patients. Sativex is a natural marijuana extract that is produced by British-based GW Pharmaceuticals. It has been approved for use in Canada to treat neuropathic pain since 2005. 

         “Once again, the scientific community has confirmed that marijuana is medicine and it can provide safe and effective relief to patients suffering from certain conditions,” said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project. “Sadly, our federal government, through the Drug Enforcement Administration, has blocked effective research into the therapeutic effectiveness of marijuana. The United States could be leading the world in the development of cannabinoid-based medicines, but instead our government has ceded this industry to the U.K., while intentionally prolonging the agony of patients in this country.”

The people of Northeast Ohio should be highly concerned about our air pollution, for many reasons. A most recent reason for concern: the May 2010 study "The Effect of Power Plants on Local Housing Values and Rents" finds "3-7 percent decreases in housing values and rents within two miles of plants with the semiparametric estimates suggesting somewhat larger decreases within one mile. In addition, there is evidence of taste-based sorting with neighborhoods near plants experiencing statistically significant decreases in mean household income, educational attainment, and the proportion of homes that is owner occupied". That is a strong analytic foundation for finding much of Cleveland is statistically worth significantly less than cleaner areas of Northeast Ohio and cities in America (as also reflected in our low property values here).

Petition for State Initiative: Permits personal marijuana, hemp cultivation/use without license; commission to regulate commercial marijuana cultivation/sale

Summary: Currently, marijuana cultivation, possession and delivery are prohibited; regulated medical marijuana use permitted. Measure replaces state, local marijuana laws except medical marijuana and driving under the influence laws; distinguishes “hemp” from “marijuana”; prohibits regulation of hemp. Creates agency to license marijuana cultivation by qualified persons and to purchase entire crop. Agency sells marijuana at cost to pharmacies, medical research facilities, and to qualified adults for profit through state stores. Ninety percent of net proceeds goes to state general fund, remainder to drug education,
treatment, hemp promotion. Bans sales to, possession by minors. Bans public consumption except where signs permit, minors barred. Agency to regulate use, set prices, other duties; Attorney General to defend against federal challenges/prosecutions. Provides penalties. Effective January 1, 2011

How Biomass Energy Works - From the Union of Concerned Scientists

To many people, the most familiar forms of renewable energy are the wind and the sun. But biomass (plant material and animal waste) supplies almost 15 times as much energy in the United States as wind and solar power combined—and has the potential to supply much more.

There are a wide variety of biomass energy resources, including tree and grass crops and forestry, agricultural, and urban wastes. It is the oldest source of renewable energy known to humans, used since our ancestors learned the secret of fire.

Biomass is a renewable energy source because the energy it contains comes from the sun. Through the process of photosynthesis, chlorophyll in plants captures the sun's energy by converting carbon dioxide from the air and water from the ground into carbohydrates, complex compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. When these carbohydrates are burned, they turn back into carbon dioxide and water and release the sun's energy they contain. In this way, biomass functions as a sort of natural battery for storing solar energy. As long as biomass is produced sustainably—with only as much used as is grown—the battery will last indefinitely.

The June 15, 2010, Toledo Blade published an important editorial titled To curb Ohio's costly coal bill, fix U.S. energy policy, by Jeff Deyette, assistant director of energy research and analysis in the Union of Concerned Scientists' climate and energy program, and Alan Frasz, vice president of Dovetail Solar and Wind in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, that leads-off with an important observation most residents of Ohio find hard to believe... "When you turn on your coffee pot in the morning, the power likely comes from coal, which generates 85 percent of the electricity in Ohio. According to a new report, three-quarters of that coal comes from elsewhere".  Yes, Ohio is ADDICTED to dirty, expensive, environmentally destructive imported coal - Ohio electricity ratepayers spent $1.5+ billion in just 2008 on imported coal - Ohio is the 5th biggest imported coal junkie in America, and we have the pollution to prove it.

As the authors of this informative editorial point out:

Importing coal to produce electricity is a drain on Ohio's economy. Ratepayer dollars are diverted out of state, instead of being spent locally on renewable-energy projects and energy-efficiency measures that can provide the same electricity service while directly benefiting residents and creating jobs.

The report by the Union of Concerned Scientists, "Burning Coal, Burning Cash," ranks states that are net importers of domestic and foreign coal. Ohio is one of 38 states that depend on imported coal. The state spent $1.5 billion on net coal imports in 2008, making it the fifth most dependent state.

First Energy's Bay Shore plant in Oregon imported all of its coal, shelling out $64 million mostly to Wyoming. Most domestic coal comes from Wyoming, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Some states import coal from overseas, as far away as Colombia and Indonesia.

It doesn't have to be that way. Ohio has significant wind, biomass, and solar-power resources, and we've only started tapping into that potential. 

Dear Friend,

Two days on the Louisiana Gulf Coast last week changed me in profound and gut wrenching ways.

My throat burned and my head foggy and dizzy from the Gulf's toxic fumes, I returned home and shared my pictures and my flip-camera video with my wife, Fran, and 13-year-old daughter, Nicole.

On June 3, 2010, I reported on realNEO "our air around Northeast Ohio has been unhealthy by most standards every day for the past week, and is never nearly healthy enough" and asked "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?"

The diagrams above and below are actually from today - June 16, 2010 - two weeks later. In checking the same pollution monitoring service of NOACA to see current pollution conditions, I find our regional pollution control house of cards has completely collapsed, with NOACA "near real time" pollution monitoring systems (which should be data driven and perfect) still reporting we had "SEVERE" levels of MP2.5 pollution in Northeast Ohio over the past 24 hours (see line and rose charts at bottom of diagram below) - for many hours reading over 300, leading up to these charts - yet NOACA posting an "OFFICIAL" explanation that "NOTICE:  The PM2.5 monitors are experiencing difficulty this week. Data shown is incorrect. Local air agencies are working with the monitors. In addition, high humidity is being reflected. We appreciate your patience."

December 29, 2009 - China executed a British citizen, Akmal Shaikh, caught smuggling heroin

When United States leaders speak of developing our "homeland security" by drilling and stripmining our way to "energy independence", I must question their scientific integrity and intellectual competency.

It is well understood worldwide that our Federal government has made impossible the development of an industrial hemp economy in America, which offers citizens a greater degree of energy independence here, because past corporate tycoons were able to force corrupt and ignorant politicians to incorrectly associated "hemp" with "marijuana", and "marijuana" has incorrectly been branded as dangerous and addictive by many ignorant and corrupt American scientists, and the corporate tycoons who pay their salaries.

Long story short, because of the ignorant 1936 low-grade American exploitation film called "Reefer Madness", the tuly mad leadership of America has long outlawed developing industrial hemp resources, intellectual property, and technologies in America.

In 2007, the Congressional Research Service published a Report for Congress: Hemp as an Agricultural Commodity - Updated March 23, 2007 - which gives a good summary of the thinking and US Federal government analyses of industrial hemp over three years and a president ago, when Representative Ron Paul introduced the Industrial Hemp Farming Act in the 110th Congress ...

Time to enact the Industrial Hemp Farming Act! Time to prepare Ohio for that inevitability - "the state’s determination would be conclusive and binding."

Hemp as an Agricultural Commodity  - Recent Legislative Activity

In February 2007, Representative Ron Paul introduced the Industrial Hemp
Farming Act in the 110th Congress (first introduced in the 109th Congress in June
2005 as H.R. 3037). This is the first legislative proposal at the federal level intended
to facilitate the possible commercial cultivation of industrial hemp in the United
States. The bill would amend the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802(16)) to
add language stating that the term “marijuana” does not include industrial hemp. The
measure was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and to the
House Committee on the Judiciary.

If enacted, the bill would permit industrial hemp production based on state law,
without preemption by the federal government under the Controlled Substances Act.
The measure would grant exclusive authority to any state permitting industrial hemp
production and processing to determine whether any such Cannabis sativa plants met
the limit on THC concentration as set forth in the Controlled Substances Act. In any
criminal or civil action or administrative proceeding, the state’s determination would
be conclusive and binding.

ENCOURAGE BOTTOM-UP REDEVELOPMENT: REASON SAVES CLEVELAND WITH DREW CAREY, EPISODE 5

While researching the economic potential of industrial hemp, I was fascinated to find the Reason Foundation published a 2008 study, "Illegally Green: Environmental Costs of Hemp Prohibition", that concluded: "Ultimately, the environmental costs incurred by the prohibition of hemp cultivation in the United States cannot be calculated purely in the abstract. The full potential for industrial hemp in domestic agriculture and industry can only be tested by unrestricted inclusion in the U.S. market, along with other top biological feedstocks."

Drew Carey is working with the same Reason Foundation in his efforts to help Cleveland transform our economy, as I previously reported on realNEO here (Episode 5 above). The Reason Foundation website writes Reason Saves Cleveland With Drew Carey "investigates and analyzes the problems that turned Cleveland from the nation's sixth-largest city in 1950 into today's "Mistake On The Lake."  About Drew Carey's efforts, I wrote "I can't say I agree with all that I have seen of these documentaries but I do intend to explore Carey's overall vision and his willingness to follow-through further."

A short virtual tour of Middlebury College's biomass plant, which opened in January 2009.

In exploring alternative fuel sources for the many coal burning powerplants in Ohio, biomass is an obvious alternative. Our bright green proposal is to make hemp biomass the center of a bright new economy in this state. Below is how one great university has used wood biomass (as UNC plans) to move to carbon neutrality and the forefront of bright, green college leadership. But, they don't use hemp...  no university does, yet...

From the Middlebury College website, about their biomass initiative:

A Milestone Toward Carbon Neutrality

Our biomass gasification plant represents eight years of creative collaboration among Middlebury students, faculty, staff, and trustees. It will

• cut Middlebury’s carbon dioxide output by 40 percent,
• reduce our use of fuel oil by 50 percent,
• stimulate a local, renewable energy economy.