It Is Easy Being Green In Northeast Ohio

"When we tug at a single thing in nature, we find it attached to the rest of the world." -John Muir



The people passionate about sustainability in Northeast Ohio never cease to amaze me. From the moment the realization of Entrepreneurs for Sustainability(E4S) existed, which claims 7,000 members, I have been in awe that our tiny area of the world has incredible thinkers, inventors, and
pioneers in sustainability.


Upon reviewing my weekly email from the Cleveland Green Building Coalition, I found an unusual amount of green building events. Oh maybe it is because spring has sprung but I don't think so.

Here are some of the events:

• NEO Green Building & Design Expo: http://www.neogreenexpo.com/, March 20, 2010
• Sustainability Breakfast Series: Finding Green in Existing Buildings: http://www.cleveland.uli.org/, March 24, 2010
• Majora Carter: Greening the Ghetto: How Much It Won't Cost Us, March 30, 2010
• Second Annual Green Gala featuring speaker Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.: http://www.ecowatch.org/, April 9, 2010

If you live in NEO please take the time to attend one of these events.
Happy Spring!

Green Ohio? Who knew?

Since the early '90's I have aspired to be a socially responsible member of Ohio by recycling, minimizing my water intake, walking when driving is not necessary and turning off lights when leaving a room. The Ohio University liberal college experience as well as the interior design program awakened me to many other ways to become a sustainability advocate. Then in my early 20's I assumed Washington, Oregon and California would be the only places to find like-minded green folks. Lacking money due to an interior designer's salary and my family kept me grounded to Ohio since those heavenly days at OU. Little did I know about the quiet green movement creeping throughout Ohio.

Ohio is now a hot bed of green activity including green building organizations, sustainable agriculture groups and alternative energy businesses. Don't believe me then check out the following links for green building organizations:
Cleveland Green Building Coalition
Northwest Ohio Green Building Council
Columbus Green Building Forum
Green Energy Ohio

Recently the Cleveland Green Building Coalition became a charter member of the USGBC(United States Green Building Council) and has formed a strategic planning committee to evaluate the green building needs of Northeast Ohio. This is very exciting to me, an interior designer/sustainability consultant focusing on helping small businesses and residences become healthier and more socially conscious all while saving money on operational costs.

Because the topic of a Green Ohio is so large and has many hats, I plan on blogging about this topic often. There is a fantastic organization called Entrepreneurs for Sustainability(E4S) that can help small businesses in any area of sustainablity. E4S is a regional organization with a list of thousands of members in Northeast Ohio. Check it out!