Hotel Bruce

Welcome to the Bruce blog—a weekly update on news, events and issues affecting life in Cleveland. Reporting as it happens on transit, development, planning, environment and arts & culture.

Basically, we write about creative ideas forming, talk to the people who have an inside track on the issues, and sometimes offer a commentary of our own. (For disclosure purposes, Bruce blog is a local, independent writer who also works part-time with nonprofit organization EcoCity Cleveland. The opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of EcoCity or any other organization).

In light of Congress “raising” fuel efficiency standards this week (we still won’t reach California’s standards and the Hummer is off the hook), author Howard James Kunstler offers a scathing indictment of quixotic technological breakthroughs returning us to carefree gas guzzling days.

“Alternative technologies (is) a term that points to a more fundamental delusion now rampant among the public, namely the mistaken belief that technology and energy are the same thing, that they are interchangeable, that you can substitute one for the other. Out of oil? Get new technology.” Basically, Kunstler supports the argument that if peak oil has already occurred and we haven’t done anything to change our consumption, we’re pretty much screwed.

“Mitigation inherently cannot avert massive shortages unless it is initiated well in advance of peaking,” according to the Association for the Study of Peak Oil. ASPO cites a 2005 US Department of Energy study of Impacts, Mitigation and Risk Management that looks at new technology’s contribution to mitigation scenarios.

New energy production would need to start 20 years in advance of peak oil in order to avoid a “worldwide liquid fuels shortfall,” according the study. A 15-year head start of peak oil means we might be able to absorb a hit of about 25 million barrels a day. Right now, America consumes one-quarter of the world's daily production of 84 million barrels of oil. More than half of our share is burned in cars and trucks. The study also found that replacing half of the US vehicle fleet with more efficient vehicles would take 15 years.

This is classic Kunstler, author of Geography of Nowhere, an essential history of how America got into our sprawl predicament. He bemoans: “Our economy now amounts to little more than running 200 million motor vehicles around the suburban metroplexes in the service of ever more slapped-together McHousing developments, big box stores, and fried chicken huts. That's our economy. That's all we do anymore.”

Read Kunstler’s Clusterfuck Nation article

How lame is it that Governor Taft’s golf freebies are overshadowing one of the biggest environmental stories of the decade. Taft was in town this week – fighting for his political life in the wake of his conviction for big corporate golf – to discuss the efforts of the Great Lakes Regional Restoration Plan, a $20 billion international proposal to clean up the Great Lakes.

Here’s an idea: Instead of exacting a pound of flesh, House Minority leaders, put Taft’s feet to the flame on a progressive agenda. Champion a big public health campaign and economic development policy. Hammer Taft to take a lead in passing a Great Lakes clean up plan, a state historic tax credit, and a green energy development fund (or increase the state’s Energy Efficiency Loan program) by tying it to the guv’s multi-billion highway building plan.

Time to recycle some articles that deserve our attention now as much as they did when they were first published. First, Bruce blog rediscovered this piece in Cincinnati’s City Beat about a 2002 Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland-sponsored smart growth conference

Selling the idea of curbing sprawl was an issue then as now: "If you can't put it on a bumper sticker, you can't sell it to anybody" was a comment that solicited this half-joking response: “Sprawl Kills.” How far off from the truth is that? Since 2002, we’ve seen reports that residents in sprawlsville, like in western Geauga County, are fatter and more stressed because their McMansions are a long ride from nowhere.

Smarter states like Maryland are offering $3,000 to anyone who wants to buy a home close to their work.

The article does mention the first 20 EcoVillage Townhomes (at W. 58th and Lorain) – successful in more ways than one. Both energy efficient and hard-by transit, the town homes (which reportedly heat and cool for $300 a year) grabbed the interest of the private market. Developers see the potential in marketing green building and energy efficiency, greasing the tread for Bridge Avenue Phase III at EcoVillage, which broke ground in June. Detroit-Shoreway Community Development Organization's next town home project in the EcoVillage is at the corner of W. 58th St. and Bridge Ave. The organization is touting the environmentally friendly features, including an energy efficient design and a built-in recycling center. For more information, call Jeff Marks at 216-961-4242.

Bruce blog also rediscovered The Sierra Club’s report on Why Local Foods Matter.
Combine this short action guide with the current issue of Natural Homes & Gardens, which has an article about the big things we can do to improve the environment. Where and how our food is produced, and activism are two of the four (the others were how much and what you drive and the energy efficiency of your home). Some of the better ideas from the Sierra Club include sustainable cooking classes (reach their heart through their stomach) and talking directly to store manager at stores that don’t carry locally grown or organic foods.

On April 3rd, Bruce blog reported on a legal battle between environmentalists and First Energy over a proposed hydro-electric powerhouse on a dammed up stretch of the lower Cuyahoga River. At a recent public hearing, Summit MetroPark, which owns the land, came out against the proposed hydro plant at Gorge Park. In its statement, the park railed against the loss of 4 acres of mature forest, a loss that the developers deem ‘insignificant’. The park joined Friends of the Cuyahoga, which also opposes building on the dam because it adds more sediment and affects aquatic life downstream.

“The hearings were very successful, and very powerful. Many local, state, and federal agencies spoke out against this proposal, as did numerous conservation minded NGO's, and many concerned citizens and park patrons,” Mike Johnson, head of Natural Resource Management at the Metro Parks wrote in a statement.

Metro Parks is now preparing a study request document, and is encouraging a letter writing campaign to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Additional information about the project, and contact information for Ohio and Federal legislators can be found here.

City Xpressionz – the 4th annual graffiti art fest in Ohio City is amping up this year with hip hop headliner Philly’s Grand Agent, a new MC battle joining the poppers and breakers in the b-boy/girl battle, and big murals created on the spot by local and national aerosal artists. Saturday 10 a.m.- 7 p.m. Market Square (across from the West Side Market). For info.

Harvest Fest – Slavic Village is the place to get your pierogi and kielbasa on this weekend. Outside of the West Side Market, you won’t find a better selection of Eastern European butchers and markets in the city. Work it off dancing the polka or riding Lolly the Trolley for tours of the neighborhood. On Fleet Avenue (Exit 159B off I-77 in Cleveland). Saturday and Sunday.

B-Side Liquor Lounge – 2785 Euclid Heights Blvd in Cleveland Heights is expanding. Starting this Friday, the dance club is opening an outdoor patio in the back (off the alley where the old Fandango used to be). Finally, an outdoor entertainment spot for Coventry.

Big Valley Race (and open ride) – Once a year, fat tire enthusiasts get their crack at the Cuyahoga Valley National Park as the Boy Scouts at Camp Manatoc open up 600 acres of single-track mountain bike (and hiking) trails. On Saturday, pay $5 and ride from 11-4 (or until you drop). If you’re new to the sport, the Cleveland Area Mountain Bike Association (CAMBA) will give demonstrations at 12:30. And on Sunday, sign up for the Big Valley mountain bike race.

CitiRama 2005 – Experience the revitalization of one of Cleveland's most storied neighborhoods - this year's Citirama is focused in Glenville. Tour 11 show homes just built between E.100th & E. 101 and Superior featuring the latest in urban design. September 10 from 10 a.m.– 6 p.m. For more information.

Jazz at Rockefeller Greenhouse – Happening at the same time and minute north of the CitiRama 2005 is the 3rd annual JAZZ at the Rockefeller Greenhouse. The free concert on 9/10 from 1-3:30 pm, features the Bobby Selvaggio Quartet. Tour this stunning 100-year old greenhouse and its gardens and dig the sounds at an outdoor concert by a local jazz great. Lolly The Trolley tours of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens also available. All free and open to the public.