Two partner institutions, the Seminary Hill Farm at MTSO and Stratford Ecological Center & Farm are offering summer 2021 internships. Both locations are just south of OWU.
For students interested in sustainable agriculture, environmental education, and science education.
Please apply soon if you are interested: Please share these opportunities with others.
Sustainable Delaware Ohio (SDO) is advocating for the placement of a renewable electricity aggregation issue on the fall 2021 ballot. This ballot would give the City the power to negotiate a bulk price for purchasing electricity on behalf of you, its residents, and small businesses. The goal of the ballot is to lower household electric bills and increase the use of renewable (green) energy.
This is NOT A LEVY, meaning there will be no taxes on any resident, business, or other entity within the city limits.
We propose an Opt-Out solution, which automatically enrolls all local residents, unless they individually opt-out of the program and choose not to be included.
What needs to happen?
SDO urges the City of Delaware to make RENEWABLE a part of the proposed community electricity aggregation by seeking the maximum “green” content in proposals from suppliers.
The Delaware City Council needs to be informed on what OPTIONS are available for electricity regarding opt-in/opt-out, net-metering, duration of the program, green energy, and compensation of energy consultants.
Council requests proposals from a half-dozen energy consultants and selects one that meets the criteria.
November Ballot: The Council will vote to put this issue on the ballot and submit it to the Delaware County Board of Elections prior to August 4 (at 4 p.m.).
Informing all Delaware residents: by providing clear and transparent information. SDO offers the City of Delaware its assistance with that, as well as the Ohio Energy Council (OEC) and Councilman David Robinson from Worthington.
Call your Council Member to tell them you support this issue.
YOUR VOTE in November (it matters!)
After this ballot measure gets approved by Delaware residents (November elections), the City can negotiate the most favorable contract for its residents based on cost and amount of green energy.
ReNew Delaware Benefits You
No Change in Service: Under this program, you would experience no change in their electric service. AEP would continue to carry, service, and bill for the electricity service. The only change would be in the source of the electricity which will be identified on the AEP bill.
COST SAVINGS: Worthington implemented a similar program and it saved their residents $46,024.62 in the first five months alone. (see this PDF)
OPT-OUT: SDO advocates for a no-cost opt-out option for residents who do not wish to participate in the program, otherwise you are automatically enrolled.
RENEWABLE ENERGY: Choosing this means you are part of a cleaner energy solution, and you can be proud of that! Renewable energy puts less greenhouse gasses in the air, and reduces our carbon footprint, especially if we use local resources.
Renew Delaware Benefits City and State
Delaware would join a number of other communities in the State of Ohio to choose renewable electricity aggregation. However, not all aggregation is the same. SDO finds the following important:
REDUCE CARBON FOOTPRINT: (needs estimate)
JOBS CREATED IN OHIO: For example, AEP’s Integrative Renewable Energy program uses OHIO WIND & SOLAR assets which supports job growth in Ohio.
KEEP OUR TAXES IN OHIO: AEP is building renewable energy projects in Ohio, while other programs purchase credits from companies in other States and our taxes leave the state.
NO MONEY OUT OF POCKET: This does not cost the City of Delaware any money.
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT GRANTS: AEP has community investment grants available that can be used toward any project within the city, though we would like them to be sustainable.
How Green Energy Saves
The renewable energy will be purchased by way of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). Based on other communities’ experiences, it is expected that bulk pricing will make green energy feasible.
The current market rate in an aggregation program is no more than 4.75 cents/kWh fixed, while the five-year utility average has been roughly 6 Cents/kWh. As the typical household uses 12,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) per year, the projected estimated savings per household would be: .06000-.04750)x12,000 = $150.00
The City of Delaware has approximately 17,000 households. At 70% participation, the estimated annual savings for the community would be: 17,000x.70x$150.00 = $1,785,000
Questions?
For questions about this initiative, you can email us, or you can contact your Council representative for your ward.
Dr. Kay teaches, among other things, PG 280 Environmental Politics and Policy at OWU. He’s co-authored a new article on environmental policy and the Stanislaus River in California (link).
As many know, in the last few years, I’ve taken a dive into teaching and research on environmental issues. I’m very excited that this paper that I have co-authored with Dakota Goodman has been published by Friends of the River this week – “Deliver the River: States’ Rights, Cost-Benefit, and Environmental Justice on California’s Stanislaus River.” Friends of the River is the non-profit in California that my father helped to co-found in 1973, to lead the campaign to save the Stanislaus from a wasteful and unneeded New Melones Dam and Reservoir. After my father passed away, I got his files on this, and we were able to use those to rerun and update the case against the dam, including cost-benefit assumptions, and we have shown the extent of the loss, and lies, that were used to sell the dam – and document the harm it has done ecologically and to local communities. And, we show the way forward to deliver the river, finally about 50 years later, so that the Camp 9 Run on the Stanislaus can finally be liberated and a better way of water management achieved in California.
I hope folks can take a few minutes and read (and feel free to share!) the article – it’s both a strong personal tribute to my dad, but more importantly to the river we all lost, and yet still remains under the reservoir, waiting to flow once more.
Ohio Wesleyan Reaffirms University’s Commitment to Paris Agreement
By Cole Hatcher
Rock JonesDELAWARE, Ohio – Ohio Wesleyan University President Rock Jones today issued the following statement to affirm OWU’s commitment to the Paris Agreement and efforts to address climate change:
In June 2017, I signed the We Are Still In declaration on behalf of Ohio Wesleyan University, promising that Ohio Wesleyan would remain committed to the Paris Agreement to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change, even if the United States pulled out of the agreement.
As the United States officially withdraws from the Paris Agreement on November 4, we proudly reaffirm our commitment to it.
At the time I signed the We Are Still In declaration, Ohio Wesleyan was one of 183 colleges and universities to have joined that commitment. We are encouraged that during the past two years the We Are Still In compact has grown to include more than 400 colleges and universities and more than 3,500 other U.S. cities, states, businesses, and other organizations. Clearly, support across America is strong and unwavering for the Paris Agreement and for doing all we can to slow and halt global warming.
The We’re Still In document states in part: “It is imperative that the world know that in the U.S., the actors that will provide the leadership necessary to meet our Paris commitment are found in city halls, state capitals, colleges and universities, investors and businesses. Together, we will remain actively engaged with the international community as part of the global effort to hold warming to well below 2℃ and to accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy that will benefit our security, prosperity, and health.”
We have a moral responsibility to future generations to join with all of humanity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight manmade climate change. Climate impacts are already evident globally with rising seas, drought, and severe fires. The looming crisis could be infinitely more damaging than this pandemic and affects people of color and those living in poverty most severely. We are fighting to protect human health, the global economy, national security, and life as we know it. Climate change is an existential threat.
We urge our nation’s leaders to reverse course and not only rejoin the 186 other nations that have ratified the Paris Agreement but also become a leader in bringing together governments from around the world to overcome humanity’s greatest challenge.
Dr. Sean Kay is hosting a Zoom to the Classroom event this Tuesday at 12:00-1:00 PM – over the lunch hour. This is built around his Environmental Politics and Policy course, but all are very welcome to join: please email Dr. Kay for a Zoom invite.
Our guest this week is Lauren Sullivan, who with her husband Adam Gardner of the band Guster, formed Reverb – one of America’s most active non-profits working in the music industry, in particular, green rock and roll touring – they work with groups from the 1975, to Dave Mathews to Santana and many more. This will be a fun chance to take a deep dive into how environmental non-profits work and how they intersect with mass culture in the United States.
Details on what Reverb does:
We partner with Musicians, Festivals and Venues to green their concert events while engaging fans face-to-face at shows to take environmental and social action.
We create and execute comprehensive programs to reduce concert and tour footprints from eliminating single-use water bottles to coordinating local farm food to fueling sustainable biodiesel in tour buses to composting and donating food waste and much more. See Example HERE
In our fan-facing Action Villages, concertgoers connect with local and national nonprofits and campaigns, fill up at our RocknRefill free water stations, win prizes like signed guitars, and ticket upgrades for taking action, and much more.
In partnership with The Ohio State University-Mansfield Campus, please join us for an updated overview of the Ohio Microfarm Project.
See the second-year results of this three-year project! The October 23rd event virtually showcases community partnerships, urban farming, resiliency of farming, and co-op development. The October 24th event is brought to you by the Richland Gro-Op and will exhibit two urban microfarm and two rural microfarm outings, all a result of the input received from last year’s symposium.
Schedule: 2020 Ohio Microfarm Project Virtual Symposium October 23, 2020
How can we hack ‘business as usual’ for our campuses and communities to face our current crises better and together? Join us via Zoom for a virtual series of sessions grappling with global warming, including the critical matters of racial equity and climate justice.
Ana Baptista | Environmental urban planner; Chair, Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management Graduate Program, The New School for Social Research
Sabre Bee | Co-founder, Newark Water Coalition
Kristi Pullen Fedinick | Biologist and Director, Science and Data, Natural Resources Defense Council
Roderick Ferguson | race, sexuality and critical studies, Yale University
Yvette Jordan | Educator, Newark Public Schools; Founding member, Newark Education Workers Caucus
Winona LaDuke | (Anishinaabekwe) Organizer and eco-economist, Founder, Honor the Earth
Helena D. Lewis | Poet, Playwright, and Doctor of Social Work, New Jersey
Max Liboiron | (Métis) Science and technology studies and Co-founder, Civic Lab for Environmental Action Research (CLEAR), Memorial University at Newfoundland
Michaeline Picaro Mann | Traditional healer, nurse, and historical researcher, Turtle Clan Mother of the Ramapough Lenape Nation
Vincent Mann | Water protector and community organizer, Turtle Clan Chief of the Ramapough Lenape Nation
Morgan L. Ridgway | (Nanticoke-Lenape) Historian, PhD ABD, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
At our first Sustainability Task Force (STF) Meeting for the Fall of 2020, we heard from Jess Wilber of the Citizens Climate Lobby. Jess provided us with some “homework” to do in the next month, nicely summarized on the graphic included in this post. Click on the image for a PDF file of the document.
If you missed the meeting, it was recorded and you can watch it here.
Efforts include joining the OWU and national CCL group, registering to vote, getting involved in calling campaigns (they work!), getting involved in letter-writing campaigns (they work too), and registering for climate-related events.
OWU’s student chapter is already hard at work on these efforts. The student chapter of CCL meets every 1st and third Sunday at 4-4:30ish for an hour or so, and has additional events planned for the Fall semester. Please contact us if you want to attend these Zoom meetings.
For our next STF meeting, Tuesday, Oct. 13 (6:30-7:30 pm, Zoom) Jess will rejoin us to see how we are doing, and we can talk about and plan more efforts for the 2020-21 academic year.
