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How much plastic is in Lake Erie and who's to blame

Marc Lefkowitz  |  08/17/18 @ 10:00am  |  Posted in Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Clean water, Water

Plastic is no longer something we throw away, Dr. Sherri Mason, co-principal investigator on a landmark study that found micro plastics, pieces small enough to not see with the naked eye, in significant quantities in Lake Erie, told a Cleveland City Club audience this week.

<br />Lake Erie Image: David Beach

Our Green Commute Year: Tale of the tape

Marc Lefkowitz  |  08/10/18 @ 12:00pm  |  Posted in Transportation choices

The end of July marked the first-year anniversary for Cleveland Museum of Natural History switching to Gohio Commute, the regional, green transportation web portal that is our exclusive tool for tracking participation in employer-based transportation incentives.

<br />CircleLink shuttle bus includes a free, commuter route that was extended from University Circle into Little Italy and Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights in 2017.

Four Cleveland suburbs want placemaking not a four-lane highway

Marc Lefkowitz  |  08/07/18 @ 11:00am  |  Posted in Vibrant cities, Transportation choices

“People want amenities,” said Cuyahoga County Planning Director, Glenn Coyne, speaking to attendees of the 2018 Trails and Greenways Conference. “A coffee shop. A trail. Something other than ‘oh my god, we’re declining.’”

<br /><br />A conceptual rendering for a protected bike lane on Mayfield Road in Cleveland Heights.

We are all Lake Erie

Marc Lefkowitz  |  08/02/18 @ 11:00am  |  Posted in Climate, Water, Shaping the land

A recent exchange with a colleague about the health of Lake Erie ended in something of a stalemate. We both shared concerns about water quality and environmental degradation and how the lake, our drinking water supply, will be affected by harmful algae blooms, climate change-induced weather, and the creation of artificial reefs off the coast of Cleveland from the soil...

Wild and pristine<br />At its best, as in this view at Mentor Headlands State Park, Lake Erie appears clean and clear and awesome as an ocean. Place of contemplation<br />The sun sets to the northwest over Lake Erie in the summer.Armored shoreline<br />The Lake Erie coastal zone is a dynamic place where one person's shoreline protection can undermine a neighbor's property.Off limits<br />Northeast Ohioans might have a stronger connection to Lake Erie if public access were not so limited. Toxic algae returns<br />Algal blooms were thought to be part of Lake Erie's polluted past, but a huge outbreak of the green scum covering much of the western and central basins of the lake in October 2011 was an indication that over-enrichment of nutrients from runoff is still a problem. (NASA satellite image)

As climate change arrives, five actions Clevelanders can take

Marc Lefkowitz  |  07/31/18 @ 11:00am  |  Posted in Climate

With global warming starting to make its presence felt, we present five important things Clevelanders can do to reduce their environmental impact.

<br /><br />Map of household carbon footprints in Northeast Ohio by zip code (Source: UC Berkeley CoolClimate Network, Average Annual Household Carbon Footprint, 2013, coolclimate.berkeley.edu/maps)<br />

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