Cleveland's going green!

[Paul Graham]

We’re quickly approaching the 40th anniversary of the Cuyahoga River fire. Cleveland, Ohio is commemorating that watershed event by celebrating the re-birth of a much greener city. For those unaware, the Cuyahoga River fire was an unfortunate incident that occurred on June 22, 1969 when some molten steel fell from a passing train into a slick of industrial waste floating on the water’s surface. This led to a groundbreaking piece of legislation that sparked a major environmental movement. Cleveland has since taken great strides in becoming a green city on a blue lake!

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Positively Cleveland is dubbing 2009 "The Year of the River," and has compiled a list of 75 green reasons to love Cleveland along with eco-friendly ways to celebrate summer at http://www.positivelycleveland.com/h2ohio.

[Paul Graham]

You're invited to come celebrate the "Year of the River" on Monday, June 22, 11:30am to 1:30pm @ Settlers Landing (East Bank). This news conference is set to acknowledge those responsible for 40 years of clean water progress in Northeast Ohio.

Following the commemoration, you can come out to the River Re-Birthday Party (a bring-your-own picnic event) from 2-8pm in Heritage Park. There will be games, drumming, dance, history and river lore. As well as a chance to win new t-shirts that say, "Ending 40 Years of Cleveland Jokes." Haha!

[Paul Graham]

Did you know Cleveland is now ranked #16 on SustainLane's list of the greenest cities in the US? Check out this informative chart highlighting Cleveland's green efforts and find out where we're excelling and what needs work: http://www.greenwala.com/greenwala/blog/all/1100-Green-City-on-the-Blue-Lake

[Paul Graham]

Artists might be interested to know there is a recycled art community forming in Cleveland! I came across this website which spotlights some of the cool things people are doing: http://www.squidoo.com/greenart

[Paul Graham]

Good news for Clevelanders and visitors of Cleveland seeking out locally grown and prepared foods. LocalFoodCleveland.org (http://www.localfoodcleveland.org) is a new online social networking site aimed at helping people connect with the local food culture. It includes a "Buy Local Food" guide featuring interactive maps of more than 80 farmers markets, restaurants, caterers, and more in the Northeast Ohio region!

It doesn't stop at food though. There are plenty of eco-friendly businesses in the area: http://gocleveland.media.officelive.com/green.aspx