Posts Tagged ‘activism’

Guest Blog: Solon Lorax – Earth Week Update

Monday, May 17th, 2010

A delayed Earth Week Update from the Solon High School Lorax. My fault, not theirs!

Greetings! I hope you all have been enjoying this week as it is, of course, a very important week for us environmental enthusiasts. Lorax has been very busy this week because, on the 19th, we kicked off our “cellphone wars” to encourage students to donate their old and unused cellphones to be recycled. The top contributors will receive a gift card to Chipotle and Gamestop. Also, this week we unveiled this years T-shirts, which are purple! On top of all this, we have also undertaken a campaign this year to educate our school and community about the environment. A big step we have taken in achieving this goal, was that we sent informative newsletters about the environment to all of the elementary students in Solon, describing to the students the potential affects that we, as people, have on the environment and what we can do to help. We are very proud of the progress we have made this year, and we hope that we can continue it!

-Nikhil

Guest Blog: Solon Lorax – January Update

Friday, January 8th, 2010

loraxHappy new year everyone! The Lorax of Solon High School hopes it’s a green one. Since we last left you we held our annual holiday party. This December meeting is a cool down for the club. We have a small cafeteria get together with food and moosic. Everyone enjoyed themselves and past officers came to join the fun. But now it’s January and it’s back to work! For our next meeting we have a guest speaker. Barry Saltzman works for Ecomates (www.ecomates.com) a company that creates Ethos, an oil fluid that reduces carbon output and increases mileage. Ecomates also puts pressure on larger companies to reduce their pollution. We’re hoping to learn something from his insight. We are also planning something for the spring. In the past we have tried an E-Waste drive at Solon High. This year we are going to set up a drop off point and get the word out in time to get the public active. Other then this our year is wide open, full of possibilities. We wish you luck as well!

Guest Blog: Solon H.S.’s Lorax!

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

loraxHello Cleveland! We are the environmental club of Solon High School, the Lorax. The Lorax is made up of 5 dedicated officers, our teacher mediator, and (most importantly) about 30 enthusiastic high school members. We heard about this blog through Lora and decided to start monthly entries. The motivation behind this is to connect with other environmental groups for opportunities and to show the workings of our group so hopefully other environmentally aware high school students can be inspired to start their own groups. The Lorax is pretty active in the Solon community and our high school. We run the recycling program, raise awareness, and are a positive force in our large school. Just this month we cleaned up the woods near the public library were we found three hoses, a plastic tree, and 1/3 of a rusted car. This year were hoping to engage the entire school with an environmental education campaign. We excited to hear and learn from all who take part in this blog. Were open to suggestions and are excited to hear from you!

Peace,
The Lorax

Guest Blog: Cleveland State’s Student Environmental Movement!

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

This is the first of a monthly guest post by Cleveland State’s Student Environmental Movement!

christina

Hello Everyone. My name is Christina and I would like to share with you what my experiences are with a having a real environmental impact on my community. As a student of Cleveland State University, I have been apart of an amazing organization that has been devoted to transforming our campus into a more sustainable institution. The Student Environmental Movement, or SEM for short, has accomplished actual change on campus less then two years after its formation. CSU’s logo states that “Engaged Learning” is a part of the curriculum… Well, you can not be any more engaged in the learning process than what SEM has done.

As a newly formed group, our initial goal was very clear. SEM formed because two students, LeeAnn Westfall (president) and Erin Huber (vice president), were outraged when they learned of halted plans by CSU to implement a Green Roof on its recreation center. The recreation center was designed to be LEED certified (Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design). The green roof was not constructed due to budgetary issues. This is what brought SEM together. We were determined to raise the funds and the community support to implement the Roof Top Garden. All it would take is $250,000 and approval from the decisions makers at CSU. As daunting as that task may seem, we did it. After many fundraisers, meetings and long nights, the Roof Top Garden at Cleveland State is now there.

After the Roof Top Garden was implemented, we needed a new project to take on. This past summer, Erin Huber worked to bring a Farmers Market to CSU. The North Union Farmers Market (NUFM) agreed to launch a pilot 8 week program at CSU. If successful, NUFM would return in the Spring of 2010 for a full season. We have just completed our 7th week and NUFM will be returning in May. And what will they come back to? Newly constructed facilities to host a weekly farmers market. Not only will CSU now have permanent enclosures to protect the vendors from the elements, the designated area will be constructed with environmentally friendly materials. There will be solar panels, rain gardens and permeable surfaces. (More details to come in future postings)

We are a true example of a student organization having an impact on its community. We look forward to new individuals taking our places and expanding our influence deeper into Cleveland.

The Girl Effect

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

Mountain Top Removal Field Trip!

Sunday, October 11th, 2009

Be a witness to one of severest violations of human and environmental rights that is occurring right in our backyard–the destruction of the Appalachian mountains through the process of Mountaintop Removal.

GreenLight Zine invities you to participate in a trip to Kayford Mountain to tour the catastrophic destruction of the area. The tour will be given by Larry Gibson, who occupies land on the mountain and refuses to give it up so that it can be blown up for coal extraction.

WHEN: November 13 and 14. We will depart from Ohio Friday, November 13 in the afternoon and travel to Spencer, WV, which is about an hour away from Kayford Mountain. We will stay at the Gift of Tears working farm Friday night and travel to Charleston Saturday morning for the tour. We will then return to Ohio Saturday afternoon/evening.

NEEDS: We will definitely need 3-4 people to volunteer their cars.

COST: Everyone must be willing to split gas costs for the car they travel in. The rest of the trip will be low in cost, meaning we do not have to pay to stay at the retreat farm or for the tour. BUT! We strongly encourage participants to bring money to donate to the farm so that they can keep hosting groups and to Larry Gibson so that he can keep fighting to save mountains.

Our hope is to gain a greater understanding of the destruction of the environment through MTR practices in a way that cannot be experienced through reading articles or viewing pictures, so let’s get out there!

All interested parties should e-mail Ashley Kline at akline3[at]kent.edu to sign-up or with questions.

Please visit Mr. Gibson’s website for more information.

PowerShift Ohio ‘09: Nov 6-8!

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009

powershift09EVERYONE. I have something to tell you. The weekend of November 6-8 [the date has been changed!], you should be at Oberlin College for PowerShift Ohio 2009.

PowerShift is a nationwide youth- and student-driven conference that brings attention and demands action on climate change. This past March, there was a national conference in DC in which 12,000 youth converged on the Capitol to hear world-famous speakers and panel discussions, attend workshops and training, and of course lobby our government officials to bring about energy reform.

Now the movement is spreading to the state level, and you’re invited to join the very first PowerShift Ohio here in Northeast Ohio! Registration will cost $20 until this Friday Oct. 9, when it will increase to $35. This will cover costs of housing for the weekend, meals, a concert, movie screenings, and of course random free stuff. You can register online here. Remember, registration cost jumps after this Friday Oct. 9. You also get a free shirt if you register!

For more information on Powershift, here’s the national website, the Ohio Powershift website, and the Ohio Facebook event. On the website you can find a tentative schedule and list of speakers and workshops.

PowerShift is giong to be a great opportunity to make a real difference and connect with others that are making change all over Ohio.

Questions and the like can be sent to Tim Krueger (Timothy.H.Krueger[at]gmail.com).

See you there!

What is Environmental Justice?

Tuesday, August 4th, 2009

If you don’t really understand environmental justice (the theme of the next GreenLight issue), here’s a great primer!

Majora Carter, environmental justice superstar (please watch it to the end–it is SOOO worth the 19 minutes):

Then check out this video about chemical contamination of the McCook Field neighborhood in Dayton, OH. (Thanks, Mattie!)

Inspired to contribute to the next issue? Email us! greenlightzine[at]gmail[dot]com

Students Send Window-Washing Wakeup Call to Ohio Utility

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

By Mattie Reitman

Yesterday morning, the Ohio Student Environmental Coalition held a protest outside of the American Municipal Power headquarters in Columbus.

Ohio Beyond Coal!

The plan was to wash AMP’s windows to help them “See the Light” while holding murals depicting Ohio’s future with AMP’s proposed coal-fired power plant versus Ohio’s future with renewable energy. However, when the group arrived there were two police cars and a paddy wagon parked outside the headquarters.

After talking with the police officers, OSEC Steering Committee co-chairs Kristen Arnold (Freshman, OSU) and Leah Winnike (Sophomore, University of Dayton) were allowed a meeting with AMP spokespeople Jolene Thompson and Kent Carson.
During the meeting, Kristen and Leah explained why OSEC is against the new coal-fired power plant planned for Meigs County, and the need for renewable and sustainable sources of energy. They also delivered a letter declaring the beginning of a campaign called “Operation: Bad Deal,” where student groups across Ohio will do everything they can to help AMP find a better way than the dirty coal plant. OSEC feels the positive impacts of AMP’s current renewables would be far outweighed by the new plant, although Thompson claimed that coal is itself a clean and renewable energy.

Outside, the rest of the group held up the murals and banners and chanted to keep spirits up. After the meeting, the students continued chanting as they marched away, knowing this was merely the first action in a series.

Earth Day 2009 Events

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

Check out these events. Celebrate Earth Day and get inspired!

Beachwood High School’s Green Dream
Friday April 17th, 1PM-7PM, FREE
25325 Fairmount Blvd, Beachwood
The Green Dream is showing off what businesses and organizations are doing to make Ohio “Green”. This event will bring 70 businesses and organizations together to show off and sell their eco-friendly products to the public and show people how easy it is to be green. **GreenLight will have a table at this event! Come say hi!**

Imagining a Sustainable Life
Friday April 17th 6-9PM, 1854 Coventry Rd, 2nd Floor: Cleveland Institute of Art exhibit
Saturday April 18th 10AM-5PM: Arts and crafts sale on Coventry
Both are free!

Earth Fest @ Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
Sunday, April 19th, 10:00AM-5PM (Regular zoo admission, but free if you take the free RTA Clean-Air bus from Public Square or participate in Walk or Bike for the Earth!)
3900 Wildlife Way, Cleveland
Check out the zoo and over 160 environmental exhibits. Plus music!

The Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour
Friday, April 17 @ 6PM – Saturday, April 18th @10:30PM
Allen Theatre at Playhouse Square Center, 1407 Euclid Ave, Cleveland
Adventure, extreme sports, cultural and environmental films.
Tickets are $35-45. Visit www.theedgefilms.com for more info.

Learn Green, Live Green
Saturday, April 18 9AM-5PM
John S. Knight Center,77 East Mill Street, Akron
Organic, all-natural and eco-friendly activities and exhibitors.

http://www.learngreenlivegreen.com/

Slavic Village Summit: Work Green, Play Green, Live Green
Saturday, April 18 2009, 11AM-2PM
Cleveland Central Catholic,6550 Baxter Ave, Cleveland
Learn how to be green in Broadway-Slavic Village. Lunch will be provided.

“Who’s Your Mama?” Earth Day and Environmental Film Festival Schedule
April 19-25, Kent State University, mostly free

http://www.whosyourmama.org/

North Coast Nature Festival
Friday April 24 7PM- Sunday, April 26th 5PM
Rocky River Nature Center, North Olmsted

http://www.clemetparks.com/events/northcoastnaturefest.asp