Creating a sustainable and compassionate community
As a long time advocate for living simply I often hear people say “that’s good for you, Chuck, but it won’t be enough – we need to change the system.” They’re not exactly being dismissive, but perhaps damning with faint praise. I heartily agree that changing systems – lots of […]
by Ann McDowell Art Spot is a series of temporary public art installations that explore themes around climate change and conservation. Featuring 14 artists, 13 installations and nine locations in and around downtown Columbus, Art Spot installations will be on view 24/7 in the windows of partner businesses and nonprofits […]
On April 20 the School of Environment and Natural Resources at Ohio State University organized an Earth Day event called Time to Act on Climate Change. On tap was a long list of distinguished speakers including university President Kristina Johnson, slated to receive the Chadwick Award for efforts to address […]
Our Executive Director, Cathy Cowan Becker (right), recently received a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work in Bonn, Germany, for ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, a global network of more than 2500 local and regional governments committed to sustainable urban development. She will be stepping down from her role at the […]
In case you needed help getting started. By Sarah Lazarovic Sarah Lazarovic is an award-winning artist, creative director, freelance animator and filmmaker, and journalist, covering news and cultural events in comic form. She is the author of A Bunch of Pretty Things I Did Not Buy. Reprinted from the Winter 2022 issue […]
Fellow Steward of the Earth: You may think this is just a chain letter, but, I assure you, it is a whole lot more! The climate crisis is accelerating! Globally storms are bigger and stronger; destructive floods, droughts and fires are occurring worldwide; Refugees are escaping starvation and brutality – […]
By Cathy Cowan Becker Unless you were hiding under a rock these last two weeks, then you are aware of the COP 26 climate talks taking place in Glasgow, Scotland. COP stands for Conference of Parties – it is the annual meeting of countries of the world under the auspices […]
Following our mission to connect people to learning opportunities that promote sustainability, environmental justice, and our local economy, Simply Living is relaunching Sustainable U. This fall we will offer two discussion courses through EcoChallenge, formerly Northwest Earth Institute, a course through Local Futures, and three online courses from our members. Read on for more […]
No, this is not a post about HB6 and First Energy, now Energy Harbor, or whatever. That said, Simply Living has a history of supporting renewable energy policies, and this most recent scandalous corruption of the Ohio legislature has had the benefit of motivating Ohio citizens to pull back the […]
Simply Living is thrilled to announce that the Comfest grants committee awarded the People’s Solar Project funds this year! The People’s Solar Project is a project to create a demonstration community solar and microgrid project that will generate 5 MW of solar energy to power 80 homes, five churches and […]
The Ohio General Assembly is considering two bills that would allow the commercial sale of fracking wastewater, misleadingly labeled as “brine.” We need your help in opposing Ohio House Bill 282 and Senate Bill 171 (Establish conditions for the sale of brine as a commodity) or any such bill that […]
The Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit is one of the top sustainability conferences in the country, and this year Simply Living is proud to be a part. We have organized a panel on “Creative Solutions to Community Solar in Ohio” — highlighting how, even though Ohio does not have enabling legislation […]
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Today, Earth Day 2021, twenty-five regional social justice and environmental organizations are sending a letter and informational packet to grocers in the Ohio River Valley, asking them to reduce their reliance on single-use plastic packaging in their stores and move towards sustainable alternatives. The educational packets are addressed to […]
There’s no better time than now to sign up for Simply Living’s Annual meeting. If you register by 11:50 p.m. this Friday, April 16, you will be entered in a raffle to win one of three prize packages that includes tasty pastries from Freedom a la Cart! The package also […]
We are super excited to announce a new partnership to provide a $50 discount for Simply Living members who sign up for online solar classes offered by Annie and Jay Warmke of Blue Rock Station. The online self-paced classes include: Introduction to Solar PV, for those new to solar, covering […]
The People’s Solar Project is a demonstration community solar and microgrid that will generate 5 MW of solar energy to power 80 homes, five churches and two city schools in a 300-acre area on Cooke Road.
By John Crawford It’s impossible to miss the fact that we’re in a more “normal” weather pattern in Ohio this winter: we’ve already doubled our snowfall compared to last year; temperatures have been colder than normal, but we’re not getting the below-zero readings that have hit Oklahoma, parts of northern […]
The Ohio Sustainable Business Council and Simply Living are hosted a virtual discussion about the Columbus Climate Plan and the role of small business and entrepreneurs. Speakers included Alana Shockey, assistant director of sustainability for the city of Columbus, and David Celebrezze, coordinator for Columbus GreenSpot. Thank you to our […]
Next week, the Ohio Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee will hear testimony from opponents of Senate Bill 52. This bill subjects renewable energy projects to a new layer of government regulation in addition to the existing state process not applied to any other power generation source.
Last December, the city of Columbus released a draft Climate Action Plan. While we applaud the city for counting its carbon emissions and devising strategies in five areas to lower emissions, the goals do not go far enough. Climate science says we must cut carbon emissions in half by 2030 […]