Mall B in downtown Cleveland has a new temporary art and landscape installation that evokes the promise of the green city of the future. Entitled "The Verdant Walk," the installation creates a stunning landscape by bringing more than 4,000 square feet of native Ohio grasses to the city’s center, punctuated by a series of seven sculptures which will be illuminated at night by new-technology solar fabric panels.

Toronto-based artists and landscape architects Peter North and Alissa North of North Design Office created the installation, which will remain on the Mall until 2010. Cleveland Public Art organized the project.

“The idea for 'The Verdant Walk' emerged from observations of Cleveland’s industrial heritage and its new direction moving toward a green and sustainable city,” says Peter North. “We see Cleveland as a city that is evolving from its position as a powerhouse of the industrial era that is now transitioning to a greater focus on alternative forms of energy, sustainable development, and manufacturing, and is positioning itself to move thoughtfully into the next era. 'The Verdant Walk' is a response to these two forces—Cleveland’s industrial heritage and its new green agenda.”

"We want better transit service."

That was the dominant message from three hours of public comment at last night's meeting of the Ohio 21st Century Transportation Priorities Task Force in Cleveland. Dozens of riders of Greater Cleveland RTA, Laketran, and other local transit systems called for the state to provide greater support to transit — to give people an affordable alternative to driving cars, reduce traffic congestion, and improve the environment. Transit systems need help more than ever, as they are handling increasing numbers of riders at a time of skyrocketing fuel costs.

Citizens also called on the Ohio Department of Transportation to support cycling as a real form of transportation, not just a recreational amenity. And they advocated for high-speed passenger rail service to connect cities in the Midwest. A greater emphasis on multi-modal transportation solutions was even supported by the local representative of the American Automobile Association (AAA).

Go here to learn more about the state's Transportation Priorities Task Force and to leave your comments online. The next public meeting of the task force is June 23 in Akron.

Go here to join our online forum about transportation priorities in Northeast Ohio.

You may have noticed that each of the 11 practice areas of sustainability in the menu to the left has a "Regional agenda" page. These pages are intended to be places to define what it means for our region to be sustainable in each area. Where are we going with energy, food, land use, water, and so on? Right now these pages have some introductory content, but they are not well developed. Over time, we want to fill out each page with a robust regional agenda.

We're starting this month with the regional agenda for transportation. We need your ideas about how the region can develop a more sustainable transportation system — one that gives us access to what we need at the least possible economic and environmental cost. To collect your input and facilitate discussion, we have launched a new forum section. You can go here to see some initial ideas for the transportation regional agenda, and then go here to leave a comment (assuming you are logged into the site as a registered user ).

After we've developed the transportation agenda, we'll move to the other practice areas. We're doing transportation first because GCBL Institute director David Beach is a member of ODOT's 21st Century Transportation Priorities Task Force, which will be recommending state transportation policy reforms in the coming months. So we need your input now!

Will we ever have a coordinated, regional approach to revitalizing cities in Northeast Ohio? There are several intriguing moves in that direction:

• The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA), the five-county transportation funding agency, is talking about getting into land-use planning and prioritizing transportation projects linked to economic development. See NOACA memo and PD story.
• On May 15, the Northeast Ohio Mayors and City Managers Association will release a study on the options for tax-base sharing in the region. Such sharing could make it easier for the whole region to support new development in high priority locations where it will build upon existing assets.
• ODOT has just announced the Ohio 21st Century Transportation Priorities Task Force, which "will prioritize how the state balances the movement of people and freight, promotes safety and reduces congestion, creates jobs and encourages responsible growth, helps to build sustainable communities, and links all modes of transportation - connecting highways to rail, aviation, water ports, and transit." This could be an opportunity to imagine how transportation investments can promote sustainable communities.

We will be following these initiatives closely in the coming months.

Climate change is not just a health concern for polar bears. It will have serious impacts on the health of families and communities right here in Northeast Ohio.

As part of National Public Health Week, April 7-13, the Cleveland Health Department and many partner organizations have organized a series of events on the connections between climate change and health. The week will kick off on April 7 with a press conference at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

Go here for a complete schedule of local events. Go here for the American Public Health Association's interesting website on climate change and the nation's health. And go here to take the Healthy Climate Pledge — pledging to be prepared for climate-related emergencies, travel differently, eat differently, green your work, and green your home.

Maybe people have heard too many stories about polluted food from China or about animals being tortured by industrial agriculture in the U.S. Maybe people are concerned about the carbon footprint of food being imported from thousands of miles around the world to their plate. Or maybe they just want to buy food from trusted sources in their own community.

Whatever the reason, millions of consumers are seeking local and/or organic food. The New York Times reported recently that this demand is making it more profitable to start small-scale farms near cities to supply fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy items, and other high-value crops. Young college graduates are forsaking white-collar careers and donning overalls to be a part of this alternative food system.

In Northeast Ohio, here are some signs of a new food system:

Advocates of a sustainable future for Ohio found a lot to like in Gov. Ted Strickland's State of the State address on Feb. 6. The governor's $1.7 billion "Building Ohio Jobs" proposal included:

• $250 million to stimulate Ohio's involvement in energy efficiency, wind and solar energy, as well as for cleaner uses of coal and other renewable and advanced energy sources.
• $400 million to clean up polluted sites and preserve open space.
• $550 million dedicated to transportation, water, and sewage projects, including $150 million to help trucks, trains, and ships move goods more efficiently.
• $200 million to spur redevelopment of downtown neighborhoods.
• $100 million toward promoting biofuels instead of oil in some manufactured products.

Environmental groups are now calling on the General Assembly to place the proposal on the November ballot so voters can approve the green jobs funding.

Read more about the governor's proposal. And see more about a green jobs agenda for Northeast Ohio and a national green jobs conference coming up in Pittsburgh.

The Western Reserve Land Conservancy (WRLC) had its biggest year ever in 2007, protecting over 4,000 acres of land in 32 conservation deals. The conservancy has now protected a total of 13,262 acres in its 14-county region.

WRLC was formed in 2006 from the merger of eight local land trusts, and it is realizing efficiencies from operating on a larger scale with a larger staff of land protection experts. It took nearly two decades for the eight separate land trusts to preserve 8,000 acres collectively, but in just the last two years WRLC has preserved more than 5,000 additional acres. If it can maintain it's current pace, WRLC will soon protect as much land as the Cleveland Metroparks.

The western part of the region, including Lorain and Huron counties, has especially benefited. In 2007, WRLC preserved a 1018-acre farm, a 454-acre Boy Scout Camp and several other projects in the Wellington area. Three projects were also completed in Huron County.

Join hundreds of other sustainability mavens on the night Feb. 23 as they dance the night away and raise a toast to the history of EcoCity Cleveland, the organization that did so much over the past 15 years to create a green city on a blue lake in Greater Cleveland. The "eMerge" party will celebrate the recent merger of EcoCity and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. And it will be a memorable event that will launch a new center for sustainability for the region.

See the invitation here. Go here to reserve tickets online.

Cleveland Public Power (CPP) is proposing to make a 50-year commitment to buy power from a new 1,000-megawatt, coal-fired power plant to be built in southern Ohio by the state consortium of municipal utilities. CPP officials favor the deal as a way to assure long-term, baseload power at a predictable price — stability that will allow CPP to develop other programs for energy conservation and clean, renewable power. And they point out that the new plant would allow dirtier, less efficient coal plants to be retired.

But green energy advocates have argued in recent City Council hearings that, in an age of climate change, it would be a tragedy and financially risky to support a new coal plant in Ohio. Ohio Citizen Action, for instance, recently posted an economic analysis that asserts the plant could cost 50% more than projected. Other environmental groups and business analysts have pointed out that the energy industry is moving away from coal because of financial and regulatory uncertainties.

Other municipal utilities in the AMP-Ohio consortium are also struggling to make a decision on whether to participate in the coal plant deal. Oberlin City Council has been having hot debates. And Yellow Springs just rejected the deal.