CLEVELAND -- Last week’s announcement to transform the Avenue Shops at Tower City into a one-of-a-kind entrepreneurial hub dubbed City Block was a step forward.
Intended as a beacon to attract aspiring and existing entrepreneurs to Cleveland, City Block is about changing perceptions. Along with the sold-out Blockland Solutions conference last year, and thanks to an army of incredible volunteers, we have been able to take two significant steps forward in that regard. In fact, according to Destination Cleveland, just our first conference increased visitors’ perceptions of Cleveland as innovative by 66 percent!
That’s why we can’t take even one step backwards.
By 2027, utilities in Ohio must get at least 12.5 percent of their electricity from renewable sources such as solar or wind. That’s the law – at least for the moment.
Some lawmakers in Columbus are on the verge of eliminating the clean energy mandate as part of House Bill 6, the controversial energy legislation that passed the House a few weeks back. However, this misleading piece of legislation, coined the Ohio Clean Air Program, doesn’t have anything to do with clean air. In fact, it may not allow any renewable energy program to qualify for clean air funds, and jeopardizes the more than 100,000 clean energy jobs in Ohio.
These lawmakers don’t realize what kind of a message striping this key portion of the bill would send.
Greater Cleveland auto dealer Bernie Moreno is behind the idea of making Cleveland "Blockland" and Ohio a center of innovation in blockchain technology.
State representatives surely have their reasons, but few, if any, of these lawmakers have paused long enough to consider how removing the mandates might damage Ohio’s brand.
“Ohio’s brand?” you might be asking, “What’s Ohio’s brand?”
To which I would answer, “Exactly.”
Other states have lapped us in defining themselves, their image and their reputation. What comes to your mind when you think of Colorado, Virginia, the state of Washington?
And what comes to people’s minds when they think of Ohio?
It’s no surprise to learn that 47 states do better than we do when it comes to luring residents from other states: Seventy-one percent of Ohio residents were born in Ohio. Only Michigan (72 percent) and Louisiana (74 percent) are more insular.
Imagine you’re a millennial or Gen Z’er in our strong job market. Where do you want to live? To work? To raise a family?
Before you answer, you need to know that every year the World Economic Forum surveys thousands of young people to find out the issues that are most important to them. In the three most recent surveys, they have expressed the same top worry: climate change.
In poll after poll, younger Americans say they want to live where they can make a positive impact on their community and want to work for organizations that help the environment and society. And they pay close attention to the companies, cities and states that share their priorities.
These folks – young, educated, engaged – are the citizens, workers and future leaders that our aging state so desperately needs.
If we can show true leadership on clean energy by not only keeping renewable-energy mandates but by embracing and investing in clean-energy technologies, we will attract them, by the thousands.
By doing so, we will define and trumpet Ohio’s new brand as a leader in climate protection and economic independence.
That’s the state we must hand down to our children and grandchildren – and to a whole flock of new Ohioans.
Our state lawmakers must lead the important work to save the nuclear plants in our state, but they also must consider the future generations of Ohioans that we strive to attract and retain by embracing and accelerating the building of modern, renewable, clean-energy projects.
Let’s celebrate our ability to come together to make that happen.
Auto dealer Bernie Moreno launched his “Blockland” effort last year to make Cleveland -- and Ohio -- a blockchain technology hub.
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