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The Business Case for Good Jobs
Secretary Walsh will host a discussion with American Sustainable Business Network President David Levine and business owners about the department's Good Jobs Initiative and how private sector employers can recruit, retain and strengthen their workforce through improved job quality
Sustainergy was invited USDoL Creating Good Jobs Presentation
"Secretary Walsh will host a discussion with American Sustainable Business Network President David Levine and business owners about the department’s Good Jobs Initiative and how private sector employers can recruit, retain and strengthen their workforce through improved job quality. Watch the discussion at dol.gov/live on May 13 at 2:30 p.m. ET."
Survey: Global energy industry leaders demand government action to address soaring costs
World Energy Council research indicates growing confidence that Covid, climate, and conflict will accelerate net zero transition, but also highlights industry's renewed interest in fossil fuels. Global energy industry leaders overwhelmingly believe governments must intervene to protect consumers and businesses facing soaring energy costs in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia's war with Ukraine.
‘What we now know … they lied’: how big oil companies betrayed us all
There is a moment in the revelatory new PBS Frontline docuseries, The Power of Big Oil, about the industry’s long campaign to stall action on the climate crisis in which the former Republican senator Chuck Hagel reflects on his part in killing US ratification of the Kyoto climate treaty.
The Green City: How one neighborhood is creating a model to fight climate change
Cities are engines of our local and national economies, and centers of creativity, culture, and entertainment. But they are under more pressure than ever. This is the seventh in a monthly series, The Case for Cities, that looks at how Cincinnati and similar cities can grow by becoming places of choice, as well as models of social justice.
We Need to Electrify, Heatpumpify, and Insulate Our Way Out of the Current Crises
There is a war in Europe that is jeopardizing the gas supply that keeps homes warm and generators turning. Meanwhile, we have a new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report which notes that "any further delay in concerted global action on adaptation and mitigation will miss a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all.
Scientific Breakthrough For Plastic Recycling
While people have become more active in recycling plastic, less than 10% of plastic waste in the USA enters the cycle economy. But scientists have now found a new way to deal with certain common plastics that have been difficult or impossible to recycle.
One problem has been that recycled plastic isn’t as strong as the original, and this becomes a growing problem with additional cycles.
Energy Equity Programs
Most existing energy efficiency programs provide services for single-family homes, which creates a gap in offerings for Cincinnati’s most vulnerable residents - most are renters and live in multifamily buildings - and building owners who provide affordable housing.
Basic energy efficiency upgrades in individual units, such as LED light bulbs and air sealing improvements, can achieve up to 15% savings for residents.
More extensive building upgrades, such as HVAC improvements and attic insulation, can achieve 30-50% savings in buildings.
The City of Cincinnati offers grants to support energy efficiency upgrades in low-income multifamily buildings, energy efficiency education for renters and building owners, and utility credits for renters for program completion.
Climate Responses That Backfire Are a Growing Problem, IPCC Says
Scientists warn of “maladaptation” to effects of global warming such as flooding and drought. Not only are humans not adapting fast enough to hazards created by climate change, many of the relatively limited dollars they are putting toward preparing for a warmer future are being misspent, according to the world’s leading scientists.
Cincinnati Zoo aims to be leader in conservation and sustainability efforts
CINCINNATI – It should come as no surprise that the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden has become synonymous with conservation efforts. After all, in 1991 it opened the first facility in the nation dedicated to both animal and plant conservation.
Is Your Duke Bill Higher Lately? You’re Not Alone.
Duke Energy spokesperson Sally Thelen said the company knew last fall that the winter would be tough. Energy prices, she said, are no different than meat or gas prices, which have gone up in recent months.
Climate Equity Indicators
The Office of Environment & Sustainability works to understand the ways the climate crisis will impact government operations, quality of life for residents of Cincinnati, and what actions are necessary to reduce these impacts.
Cincinnati will now pay entire cost of replacing privately-owned lead lines
Cincinnati will start covering the entire cost of replacing residential lead services lines as soon as next month. Council approved the plan in a 8-0 vote Wednesday. The city has nearly 40,000 private lead lines at risk of contaminating drinking water. A current city program will pay for up to half the cost of replacing lines on private property (40% for all residential property owners, and 45-50% for low-income property owners).
Including communities of color in efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change
When it comes to the effects of climate change in our region and across the nation, it is often communities of color that see the greatest impacts. And the decision-making about how to implement climate solutions are often made without bringing those communities into the fold.
Historic redlining leads to some hotter Cincinnati neighborhoods
CINCINNATI (WKRC) - The Urban Heat Island Effect is what causes the city of Cincinnati to be warmer than surrounding suburban or rural areas. But some neighborhoods are significantly warmer than others. For the first time ever, we have measurements - more than 80,000 of them - detailing where the warmest neighborhoods are within Cincinnati.
4 Ways to Achieve Equitable Sustainability Resilience
The City of Cincinnati continues to showcase its leadership in both emissions reductions and climate adaptation through a variety of efforts. It committed to achieving 100 percent renewable energy by 2035 and recently passed legislation to fund new transit measures.
LISTEN: Carlos Gould on global energy poverty and indoor air pollution
"Air pollution affects a number of health outcomes, but for children in particular those impacts are so severe." Dr. Carlos Gould joins the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast to discuss the environmental justice implications of indoor biomass burning and air pollution.
The jet stream is moving north. Here's what that means for you
In 1374, famines struck what is now Spain, Italy, and France. The culprit? The North Atlantic jet stream, a river of fast-moving air that flows from North America to Europe, had shifted north. The jet stream carries moisture-laden storm clouds, and without them, southern Europe was left dry, and crops died off. Research published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reconstructed a history of the jet stream’s path in the North Atlantic from the 700s AD to 2000. The findings suggest that, although climate change hasn’t altered the location of the crucial climate system yet, high emissions could push Europe into a world more like 1374.
August 2021 Was Earth’s Sixth-Warmest August on Record
The world saw little relief from the heat in August. The month finished as the sixth-warmest August on record, following a record-hot July. Across the Northern Hemisphere, this summer tied as the second hottest on record, according to scientists at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information.
GREAT OUTDOOR WEEKEND
Each year, Great Outdoor Weekend presents opportunities for children and adults to sample the best outdoor recreation and nature awareness programs available in the Greater Cincinnati region - with nearly 100 events, all free and open to the public.
Community-Grown Produce Market Now Open In Lincoln Heights
A fresh produce market is now open in Lincoln Heights, just in time for the community's celebration of 75 years as a village. The organization The Heights Movement transformed an empty lot into rows of crops like cucumbers, corn, squash, tomatoes, okra and watermelon. They hired young people to work the soil and paint a bright mural along the fence row.
Great Parks Board Approves Levy Request For November Ballot
Great Parks of Hamilton County will ask voters to approve a new levy in November. Park Commissioners Thursday morning signed off on an additional 0.95 mill levy request. Parks CEO Todd Palmeter says the 10-year levy will help pay for improvements and infrastructure in the 21 parks and preserves…
White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment | July 2021
Thanks to the convening power of the American Sustainable Business Council and its singular policy leadership on worker ownership and the High Road workplace orchestrated by Denise Bower and David Levine, ASBC executive committee board member and President/Cofounder respectively, two of our 1worker1vote movement union co-ops – worX Printing and Sustainergy – presented to the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment last week on Thursday, July 29th.
USDA awards $12M in record-breaking Farm to School Grants; releases new data showing expansion of farm to school efforts
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $12 million in Farm to School Grants this year, announcing awards to 176 grantees, the most projects funded since the program began in 2013….
Welcome to our webcast series featuring manufacturers making credibly greener and healthier products. Learn how they are working to understand and improve the environmental performance and material health of their products….
Ohio will soon be home to the largest solar factory complex outside of China
China's dominance over the world's solar industry just took a hit. First Solar unveiled plans Wednesday to double its US manufacturing capability by building a new state-of-the-art factory in Ohio….
How the Biden administration’s plan to pump nearly $2 trillion into infrastructure could change the game for Cincinnati….
'A cleaner future.' Officials break ground on Cincinnati's massive new solar array project
In an open field in Highland County, typically used for soybean and corn, Cincinnati leaders and partners broke ground on what officials are calling the largest municipal solar array in the country. ….
People Living Near The Mill Creek Want 'Environmental Justice'
Clearing once-contaminated sites along the Mill Creek and redeveloping them is a slow and expensive process. For those who live in communities like South Cumminsville, North Fairmount, South Fairmont, English Woods and Millville, the clean-up can't come fast enough.
No stings attached: Cincinnati Art Museum launches adopt-a-bee program
As Cincinnati braces for an onslaught of cicadas, a different insect is making a buzz at the Cincinnati Art Museum.
Cincinnati On Track To Reduce Carbon Emissions 80% By 2050
Cincinnati is on track to reduce carbon emissions 80% by 2050, a goal set by the Green Cincinnati Plan in 2018.
Multi- Family Efficiency Grants Available! Proposals Due on May 21, 2021
The City of Cincinnati and Duke Energy Ohio are pleased to announce the Warm Up Cincy Matching Grant Program is now accepting applications from owners of multifamily buildings with low-income tenants…
Cincinnati Paves the Way for Equitable, Climate-Forward City Planning
Cincinnati, Ohio, is a midsize city that has attracted attention for its outsized climate action. In early 2020, Cincinnati contracted the nation’s largest municipal solar farm as part of its plan to convert the city government’s power usage to 100 percent renewable energy by 2035…
New Local Documentary: Modern Metropolis
This new documentary documented over two years shows community leaders in their desires to transform Cincinnati into a 2030 District, leading bold paths toward a cleaner, more sustainable urban future.
Ohio on track to waste billions of dollars on energy
“A new analysis funded by environmental groups says the gutting of energy efficiency standards in the state’s scandal-tainted HB 6 law could cost ratepayers billions of dollars in lost savings and other benefits….”
