Recent news

Car Protest to Demand Utility Restoration

CLEVELAND -- Wednesday, April 29 saw a well-attended, car-based protest that drew urgent attention to the need  for a utility shutoff moratorium during this pandemic.

How can you wash your hands if you don't have water? How can you homeschool your children if you don't have power and the internet?

Activists from all over the city gathered downtown for a short and socially-distant rally, followed by a protest caravan around the Cleveland Public Power and Cleveland Public Water buildings. More than 50 cars participated, honking horns and bearing signs with a clear message: utilities are a human right.

Ohio Citizen Action and its allies in the End Poverty Now Coalition got the message acrossed to Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson that now was a time for compassion and accountability. You can still sign the petition, urging the immediate reconnection of utilities for any residents currently without them, as well as the suspension of penalties and reconnection fees for the duration of Ohio state of emergency and stimulus efforts to drive our economic recovery. 

More photos from the event:

Citizens groups demand aggressive Cleveland utility reconnections

End Poverty Now is a coalition of 22 groups in Cleveland that works to address and combat issues of poverty in Cleveland communities. The above photo lists the coalition's demands concerning the utility shutoffs during the COVID-19 outbreak.

CLEVELAND — "Rachael Belz, Executive Director for Ohio Citizen Action told News 5 the coalition has started a petition drive, calling on the city to more aggressively let citizens know they can have service temporarily restored.

Belz said the growing financial hardship caused by the COVID-19 crisis is going to have even more residents get behind on paying their utility bills.

'How do they even find out that’s what they’re supposed to do,' Belz said.

'Even sending a postcard or making a phone call or at least try to make a phone call and leave a message.'

A message to our members

As organizations that focus on environmental health and consumer-based issues, Ohio Citizen Action and the Ohio Consumers Power Alliance hold the well-being and safety of Ohioans at the center of everything we do. Our tireless staff of canvassers and managers work everyday to personally engage members of the public and mobilize them to action around issues that impact us all. Few issues have impacted our day to day lives like the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and the steps being taken in the state to keep people safe and healthy. 

In following the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Ohio Department of Health (ODH), and to reduce the risk to our staff and the public, both Ohio Citizen Action and the Ohio Consumers Power Alliance will be suspending all canvass activities until further notice. 

Our staff will not be resuming door-to-door activities or hosting gatherings until it is safe to do so as indicated by public health experts. They will continue in other roles with the organization through this period of change.

It is our goal to serve as a resource to you on the latest information about Ohio Department of Health recommendations, updates on community guidelines, and other services available to help with the challenges we will all face during this time. 

The State of Ohio has established a website and hotline staffed by professionals ready to answer your questions: www.coronavirus.ohio.gov and 1-833-4-ASK-ODH. Information on the site includes ways to reduce anxiety, prevent the spread of the virus, and guidelines for home-based student education. In addition, you can watch Governor DeWine and ODH Director Dr. Amy Acton each afternoon at 2pm for the latest updates at www.ohiochannel.org.

Of course, our first priority is the health and safety of our staff and the community at large, but we can’t ignore the fact that suspending field canvassing represents a significant loss of revenue and a challenge the likes of which we haven’t seen in our 45-year history. For the health of the organization and the Power a Clean Future Ohio Campaign, we’d ask our friends to consider a special gift at ohiocitizen.org/contribute to help us through. 

Thank you for your continued support through the years and in this moment of change for our organizations. We wish you and your families peace and good health.

Rachael Belz, executive director

Ohio Citizen Action

Coronavirus Guidance

Stay informed about the new coronavirus, and the disease it causes, known as COVID-19. Click the below links to learn more:

About COVID-19

What to do if you are sick

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

CDC Travel Recommendations

Additional Resources: The Ohio Department of Health 

Ohio Department of Health call center is ready to answer your questions about COVID-19.

1-833-4-ASK-ODH

Dark money dominated Ohio's nuclear subsidy saga

"After-the-fact filings show that FirstEnergy’s generation subsidiary paid nearly $2 million to Generation Now, one of the special interest groups that orchestrated ads, political donations and other efforts behind Ohio’s nuclear and coal bailout.

But legal loopholes make it harder to find out the total spent and who else was behind xenophobic advertising, dueling voter petitions, alleged intimidation and other claims of foul play. And none of those actions fully disclosed who was behind them.

The scant public filings that are available show additional connections to FirstEnergy Solutions (now Energy Harbor), as well as the law firm of an outspoken legislator who has long fought the state’s clean energy standard, and others with high-level political influence."

-- Kathiann Kowalski, Energy News Network

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Power A Clean Future Welcomes Lancaster to Coalition

The following statement can be attributed to Joe Flarida, executive director, Power A Clean Future Ohio, in response to the Lancaster State of the City Address.

“This announcement is an exciting moment for the City of Lancaster. We applaud Mayor Scheffler for recognizing the impact his city can have toward a clean energy future. We look forward to working with Mayor Scheffler and the community to find ways Lancaster can grow the clean energy economy locally, protect the environment for the next generation, and ensure the health and prosperity of its residents. The climate challenges we face require bold leadership and local government demonstrated again today that it can get things done. Power a Clean Future Ohio is thrilled to have Lancaster join our campaign to develop and implement proven climate solutions.”

2019 Year in review

Today we release our 2019  year-in-review report. Copies will be mailed to all major donors this week. Many thanks to all the members, staff and volunteers who made 2019 a great year for Ohio Citizen Action.

Link to report (pdf)

Ohio green-energy groups increasingly look to locals in fight against global warming

COLUMBUS — "Environmental advocates have been working on the local level for years, finding success in getting cities to commit to getting 100 percent of their energy from renewable sources, replacing gas-powered city vehicles with electric cars, and even building their own solar arrays, among other things.

But now, such efforts are becoming more organized with the creation of Power A Clean Future Ohio, which will work to help municipal leaders implement carbon-reduction plans. The new group is backed by organizations such as the Ohio Environmental Council, the Ohio Mayors Alliance, and the Sierra Club’s Ohio chapter.

'Regardless of what the state is doing, there’s just a lot of opportunity for local governments to step in here, and to take a kind of leadership role,' said Joe Flarida, executive director of Power A Clean Future Ohio. 'There’s just kind of a natural fit there and a lot of authority that they have to do things right away, so we’re taking advantage.'"

— Jeremy Pelzer, Cleveland.com

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The biggest municipal solar farm in the US is coming to…Cincinnati?

"In 2017, when the Trump administration withdrew from the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement—an international treaty that attempted to avert climate catastrophe by cutting global emissions—John Cranley, the Democratic mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio, joined other mayors across the country to announce his intention to remain faithful to the agreement’s primary goal of keeping the rise of global temperatures below 1.5 degrees Celsius in this century. Cranley and leaders from from dozens of cities like San Francisco and Chicago even went a step further, promising to work toward a 100 percent transition to clean energy sources, with ambitious deadlines.

So, in 2018, Cincinnati announced its own 2035 mandate for carbon neutrality—the 100th US city to do so—by turning to solar energy. 'I was inspired to [pursue this project] out of anger over Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris accords,' Cranley says, describing the frustration he suspects he shared with many other city leaders who made the carbon-neutral pledge.

Cincinnati planned to create the largest municipal-run solar farm in the country, and two years later, it looks like they’ve succeeded. 'This really is a big deal,' says Gregory Wetstone, who heads the American Council on Renewable Energy, an organization that advocates for a transition to renewables in the energy sector. 'Our team could not find anything that competes with it at a municipal level.'"

-- Will Pieschel, Mother Jones

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Lakewood committed to 100 percent clean, renewable energy by 2025

Oct 28, 2019

LAKEWOOD -- "'Earlier this year, council unanimously passed a climate resolution that included our intention to get our city to zero emissions,' Rader said. 'We have also prioritized reducing emissions and increasing efficiency in this year’s budgeting process.'

Added Bullock, 'It’s cost-effective and practical today to use clean energy, as many Fortune 500 companies -- Target, GM, Honda, Procter & Gamble, Amazon, Google -- are doing now. Solar prices have dropped 90 percent in the past decade, and wind costs 70 percent less. So we can improve air quality and public health, and do it affordably.'

Lakewood’s clean energy commitment is tied to the Sierra Club’s national 'Ready For 100' campaign. Ohio Sierra Club Conservation Program Coordinator Chad Stephens called Lakewood’s commitment significant, positioning the city as progressive leaders in the state."

-- John Benson, Cleveland.com

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