Creating a sustainable and compassionate community
Coppicing is the ancient practice of cutting down a tree or shrub, and harvesting the growth that sprouts from the stump. Coppicing was once widely used to provide construction material, fuel, and fodder, and it’s gaining renewed interest, especially as a source of sustainable energy.
By Abby Esch and Kenedy Witherow Last week, my fellow intern Kenedy Witherow and I had the opportunity to interview Catherine Hope-Cunningham, who considers herself to be a green realtor. We asked Catherine questions about her career history and start, what it means to be a green realtor, and whether […]
If you have been thinking about going solar, now is the time to act. On Tuesday, July 12, a cohort of city and community groups including Simply Living launched the Columbus Area 2022 Solar and EV Charger Co-op through a program called Solarize. Check our Events Calendar for upcoming sessions. […]
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 […]
Environmental coalition cited as instrumental in setting city’s climate goals in line with climate science Thursday, December 9, 2021 Contact:Cathy Cowan Becker, cathy@simplyliving.org, 937-271-1247Chad Stephens, chad.stephens@sierraclub.org, 216-322-6998 COLUMBUS, OH — Today Sustainable Columbus unveiled the city’s first Climate Action Plan (CAP), with an ambitious overall goal of reducing carbon emissions […]
On Monday, December 6, the Ohio legislature’s Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR) heard testimony on regulations proposed by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to manage disposal of oil and gas waste. Executive Director Cathy Cowan Becker testified on behalf of Simply Living and the Ohio Sustainable Business […]
Community solar may be coming to Ohio! House Bill 450, which would enable community solar projects in the state, has been introduced and will have its second hearing for proponent testimony on Wednesday, November 10, at 10:30 a.m., at a meeting of the Public Utilities Committee in Room 121 of […]
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 […]
Note: The public hearing on the Pleasant Prairie Solar Energy Center, a 250 MW solar project proposed for southwest Franklin County, was held Monday, July 19, 2021. Here is testimony from our executive director, Cathy Cowan Becker. Chair French and members of the Ohio Power Siting Board, Thank you for […]
Eight years ago, the Ohio legislature ordered the state’s Department of Natural Resources to come up with administrative rules for how waste from oil and gas facilities would be managed. This is important because Ohio is a fracking state, and fracking produces millions of gallons of highly toxic and radioactive […]
When the Ready for 100 campaign launched in Ohio in 2017, no cities were committed to 100% renewable energy. Now we have commitments from Cleveland, Cincinnati, Lakewood, South Euclid, and most recently Dayton, as well as Community Choice Aggregation for 100% renewable energy initiatives in Worthington, Columbus, and Grove City. […]
Last year Columbus and Grove City residents voted in a landslide to transition their electricity supply to 100% renewable energy. Partly as a result of these victories, dozens of solar projects are being proposed in Ohio. One of them is the Pleasant Prairie Solar Energy Center, a 250-megawatt solar project […]
Note: The following op-ed piece by Simply Living Executive Director Cathy Cowan Becker appeared in the Columbus Dispatch on June 19, 2021. You can read it on the Dispatch site here. Voters in Columbus and Grove City approved electric aggregation for 100% renewable energy in November. As chair of Ready […]
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 […]
Note: We are passing along this action alert from our partners at Green Energy Ohio. SB 52 and HB 118 have gone from bad to worse Earlier this year, we alerted you to General Assembly consideration of Senate Bill 52 and House Bill 118. Despite significant opposition from citizens, the […]
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 […]
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.