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.

Map 7.1: Potential Biomass Energy Distribution among Ohio Counties (in Billions)

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.

Mattie Reitman of the Sierra Club standing-up to EPA against MCCO burning coal in University Circle, Cleveland, Ohio

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...

Case Western Reserve University steam plant may wait months for decision about permit renewal

The Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) have issued a press release on Tuesday that the gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 18.8 per cent from last year, stronger than the 16.9 per cent growth in the first quarter.

If you wonder why some powerful people in town and their pawns and puppets have been up in arms about realNEO and us bringing MCCO to trial... take a look at these financials (tons of money) and realize MCCO is listed as a Non-Profit Foundation for "Public, Society Benefit – Multipurpose and Other: Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution" and a "Charitable Organization" - which is perverse, as they in fact cause immense public harm and they shouldn't even have this exemption... and should be "For Profit" and Paying Taxes

With 2009 assets of $66 million and annual sales over $33 million, MCCO was gaming another $500 million (according to former East Cleveland Mayor Brewer) in new funding (probably federal money) to build a new COAL facility at Lakeview and Euclid... even bought the land. The Opportunity Corridor is also being discussed - and the public is asked to wait a year before seeing any plans... as MCCO asks for a 5 year coal burning extension to operate as is for $150+ million more in activity - to burn 220,000+ TONS more coal... spew around 25,000 TONS more pollution...

Joakim Noah spends a cranky off day: Cleveland? 'It's bad, man' - really great interview...

"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?"

As far as I can tell, NOTHING from OHIO is on this most important list of The EPA Top Partner Rankings highlighting the annual green power purchases of leading organizations within the United States - no Ohio-based city, agency, business or institution.

National Top 50 - As of July 6, 2010

The Green Power Partnership works with a wide variety of leading organizations — from Fortune 500 companies to local, state and federal governments, and a growing number of colleges and universities. The following Top Partner Rankings highlight the annual green power purchases of leading organizations within the United States and across individual industry sectors.

As a special follow-up, check out this awesome video of passionate citizens last night: http://www.facebook.com/l/5f842eAZNPC6re8_ChnFRz2Sk0Q;www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WTuYsLjA_E

More to come, it's only just begun!

The Hippocratic Oath is an oath historically taken by doctors swearing to practice medicine ethically.

As they do not practice medicine ethically, all Doctors at University Hospitals Must Turn In Their Licenses to Practice Medicine - including my Father - as they do more harm than good as they pollute this community with soot from burning coal that is unnecessary and that causes certain harm and death to area citizens - especially the young, old, poor, black and weak... and these supposed "doctors" know that very well now.

Beautifully timed, just days after the EPA Hearing about MCCO's permit to burn coal in excessively polluted Northeast Ohio for five more years, and in the middle of a Smog-Wave and air pollution crisis - as citizens awaken to the fact their air pollution monitoring for Northeast Ohio has been broken by NOACA (Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency - which is responsible for managing air quality here... for as long as there has been a NOACA) - the NOACA Governing Board is meeting on their unluckiest Friday the 13th ever.

The Cuyahoga Democratic Party has asked for the resignation of two of their most powerful and ineffective leaders - Jimmy DiMora is on the NOACA Governing Board and has not personally attended one meeting this year - neither has Tim Hagan. Neither has Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson - his planning Director Bob Brown only attended three... same with Commissioner Jones. RTA Boss Dixon - none. Port representative Raskind - none.  ODOT representative - 2 out of 6 meetings. NOBODY FROM THE EPA.

Citizens must now recognize the breadth of their influence and failure, causing failure of the region and state though such vehicles as the governing board of NOACA.

Location

Commissioners Hagan and DimAura parading for green beer, in Happier Times (for them)

First Smart Thing Democratic Leaders Have Done Here Since I've Lived Here! Thank God! I've declared the politicians in Northeast Ohio a threat to national security and have asked for UN support. Off to see Pelosi.

Keep up the good work for a change, Cuyahoga County Democratic Party!

Cuyahoga County's Democratic boss calls on Commissioner Jimmy Dimora and Auditor Frank Russo to resign

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cuyahoga County's new Democratic Party boss is calling on his two highest-profile Democrats – Commissioner Jimmy Dimora and Auditor Frank Russo -- to resign immediately.

Martin Luther King Jr. Arrested

I'd like you to reflect upon an amazing speech by the great Martin Luther King Jr. - certainly one of his most controversial and certainly one that was a factor in him being assassinated... EXACTLY 1 YEAR LATER TO THE DAY... Martin Luther King, Jr. Beyond Vietnam -- A Time to Break Silence - Delivered 4 April 1967, at a meeting of Clergy and Laity Concerned at Riverside Church in New York City.

He speaks some brutal and powerful truths our leadership of then and now do not want citizens of America or the world thinking... and you DO want to think about these things... especially with 43 years passed. I recommend you at least read the end of the speech (inserted below, along with the entire speech), which starts focused on Viet Nam (and is amazing about that), but ends all about citizenship, and what we should have been doing the last 43 years, and what we still must do today... including the famous quote:

He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it" - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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!

Old-fashioned Ohio coal still being burned at tech-savvy University Circle institutions

John Funk, The Plain Dealer
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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.

Good Afternoon real NEO - Cleveland has been fucked all day - Sheffield is worst now

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?

I Love LeBron More Now That He Is Free - blessings. Lucky kids don't believe what adults say and do... because adults here have treated this home town hero poorly, and kids don't deserve to believe their adults will turn on good people so easitly - pathetic role models, those Gilbertoid Cavaliers freaks. Go MIami... go LeBron - you rock!

What has Gilbert ever done for Cleveland, that didn't cost Clevelanders a fortune... Clevelanders???????????

Hexa the Pollution Fighting Witch visiting a cheap new office location she recommends for the Headquarters of NOACA,
the pollution monitoring and highway planning people for our region. Hexa thinks they need a clearer view of the reality they cause.

Cleveland Institute of Art BFA and Kent State University Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative planning Master
Joseph Stanley had a more intelligent design for the future of Cleveland than the leaders of our community have embraced

Back of napkin sketch of new I-90 Bridge... blending of visioning with Ed Hauser, Joe Stanley and Ken Prendergast...

FIRST - REPLACE ALL ODOT LEADERSHIP, CONSULTANTS, PLANNERS, ENGINEERS, ARCHITECTS AND POLITICIANS WHO EVER TOUCHED THIS DISASTER.

IMPRISON AS MANY AS POSSIBLE FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE.

TERMINATE ALL RTA LEADERSHIP

Keep the damn bridge we already have and decommission it for highway use - the carbon footprint return on saving this embodied carbon and not wasting unmeasurable more pollution buiilding an unnecessary new bridge alone is worth $ billions.

Pay the union mafia $ millions to stop crying about jobs and go do something to improve the world

Ed Hauser drove community opposition to the current ODOT bridge planning disaster,
just as he drove opposition to port planning on Whiskey Island, and demolition of the Breuer -
seen here in November, 2005, videotaping Paul Alsenas describing a better vision HE lost

As Steven Litt points outs out in the Plain Dealer today, as he slams all the designs and design processes leading to the $3.5 billion boondoggle that is the Cleveland ODOT I-90 bridge replacement disaster...

Several years ago, ODOT rejected a brilliant urban design proposal by Cuyahoga County Planning Director Paul Alsenas, which called for building a single new east- and westbound span further south of the existing right-of-way.

The Alsenas concept would have opened up new land for development around Gateway and shortened the total length of the bridge, producing savings in construction and long-term maintenance.

Report Prior to Medical Center Company hearing on Tuesday!

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.

Medical Center Company hearing on Tuesday!

Hexa the Pollution Fighting Witch, strugging to escape the pollution at Clark Field, in the Cleveland Flats, near the Cleveland Kennels and Dog Park... below are some hints why...

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.

Daily Air Quality Forecast for Cleveland-Akron-Lorain