"Mayors, heard a clear message: Cities that are “walkable,” workable and livable add up to the “s” word: sustainable. Cities that are centered on people and public transit, not cars, and built to higher standards of energy efficiency will save money, hum with new development and create jobs to suit a greener way of life."

A few of our local mayor's signed the climate protection agreement, but I have not heard of any planning to achieve specific goals. Have you?

When I was growing up in an even more racially divided world, we referred to people as black, white, yellow, brown and some were heard to say, "I don't care if s/he is green, if s/he will provide safety and stability..." Now we might all be looking for a green candidate. Back then (when we were going to the moon) they were probably referring to an imagined Martian and now they mean some on who would use the concepts sustainability to address our concerns. Back then the "s" word meant something distasteful. Now we know that waste can equal wealth.

What's you Mayor up to in this regard?

Just returned from a trip to Chicago. O'Hare Airport is full of re-cycle bins, for newspaper and also plastic and glass. These send a very strong positive message! Please consider (for Cleveland) and make this happen. I've suggested before and the response was positive but no action!

I know I could have put this in the CSO section, but I think that after speaking with Andrew Watterston following his recent presentation, it belongs here. Watterson addressed a group of AIA members at Strosacker Auditorium where he spoke about onsite stormwater management along with other sustainability issues he is working on for the city.

Watterson said that despite the city's codes that require downspouts to be connected to storm sewers, his office has printed and distributes materials encouraging homeowners to disconnect their downspouts. Mayor Jackson talks about regionalism, and I see this disconnection agenda as a way for him to move that idea forward with cooperation not only from local municipal officials, but with the citizenry of the region.

I understand from speaking with Genevieve Ray that a pilot disconnection was part of the Doan Brook Watershed Study, and it produced negligible results, but it was apparently only one block of homes in Shaker Heights that experimented with the disconnect.

I believe that we could substantially reduce stormwater runoff and CSOs that run from outfalls along our river, lake and brooks in Northeast Ohio by encouraging downspout disconnects and educating the business sector and homeowners about onsite stormwater management. You can see where the outfalls are here: http://www.neorsd.org/cmweb/detail/51/NEORSD-CSO-Locations.pdf

Codes need to be reviewed and updated. A great example is the code in Cleveland Heights that does not allow a homeowner who purchases a home that has asphalt or cement driveway to return it to gravel or use pavers. This sort of thinking needs to be reconsidered. It seems to me that less water in the sewer system might reduce the volume that NEORSD has to treat. On rainy days, when the storm sewers are full, reducing the volume should reduce the scouring effects on brooks. Ultimately more water being filtered by the soil means less being filtered by the NEORSD. No? It works in most other cities. Why not here? Wasn’t it our very own Burning River that inspired and leveraged the seeming toothless Clean Water Act?

Someone please explain why this widespread practice is still in effect in Northeast Ohio when it is illegal in many other US cities.