The first in a series of nine events in cities across Ohio, culminating with a rally at the Columbus statehouse, kicks off in Cincinnati tomorrow to protest the use of fracking across the state of Ohio. The event will take place 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 12 at the Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church at 103 William Howard Taft Road. It's part of the Don't Frack Ohio Spring Roadshow, a project brainstormed by 350.org, which heads a global grassroots movement to solve the climate crisis. According to Danny Berchenko, an Ohio organizer for 350.org, the roadshow is a much-needed venue for dialogue to discuss the problems fracking in Ohio poses to people and communities, including those related to public health, climate change and even potential to cause natural disasters such as earthquakes. "Kasich's office is not doing its job to protect people or communities — we need to focus on putting people to work in safe environments and employ people in sustainable, clean energy jobs," said Berchenko. Berchenko says that Saturday's event will involve a mix of discussing the generalities of fracking, why action is necessary, and tactics and strategies for how communities can rally together to strategically protect themselves from fracking and protest Kasich's energy plan, which heavily focuses on bringing frackers to Ohio, an integral part of his economic plan. Want to know more about fracking? Watch a kid with an Irish accent explain:  

Sunny skies and warm breezes make April a pretty convenient month to celebrate Earth Day — it gets everyone in the celebration mood. Saturday, April 21 marks the worldwide celebration of Earth Day in an effort to promote environmental consciousness, spread awareness and cherish Earth's natural beauty among diverse populations 'round the globe. Following is a very non-comprehensive list of some Earth Day happenings around the city. Satisfy your green thumb and pick a way or two to celebrate his year. For more greenie-friendly events, check out the events calendar at greenumbrella.org. • Staples stores around Greater Cincinnati are holding a limited-time binder recycling program. Shoppers will receive $2 off the purchase of a new binder for every binder that they bring in to recycle. The used binders will be sent to TerraCycle for recycling. Through June 30. • The Cincinnati Zoo hosts Party for the Planet from 4-8:30 p.m. on April 19. E-waste recycling will be available and organizations from all across Cincinnati will be available to talk about how to live green. • Northside hosts “Reduce, Recycle, RUN!” on Earth Day, Sunday, April 22. The 5K race kicks off at 7:30 a.m. at Spring Grove Cemetery. Bring old running shoes to recycle of donate your cell phone for recycling and receive a coupon to the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. • The 42nd annual Earth Day Celebration takes place Saturday, April 21 from noon to 5 p.m. at Sawyer Point. Enjoy a number of hands-on exhibits, free swag and tons of kid-friendly entertainment, including a rock climbing wall and a kayak paddle safety pool. Limited quantities of batteries and other electronics will also be accepted for free e-recycling. • Marvin’s Organic Gardens hosts Parade of Plants a free event  that will showcase a number of new, unique plants.• The Hamilton County Recycling and Solid Waste District kicks off its annual free Household Hazardous Waste Drop-Off Program on Saturday, April 21. The program, open only to Hamilton County residents, accepts a number of odd items for safe recycling, including fluorescent bulbs, propane tanks, car batteries or antifreeze. For a complete list of accepted items and location and time information, click here. • Although it comes a bit late, Building Value's ReUse-apalooza celebration doesn't miss out on the Earth Day fun. Diversions include live music, games and a silent auction featuring handcrafted items made from reused materials. Light appetizers and cash bar will be available throughout the night. 7-11 p.m. April 27. $20-$50. • Park + Vine hosts the Second Annual Earth Day Kombucha Keg Party on Friday, April 20. Visitors can sample Fab Ferment’s kombucha on tap and vegan appetizers including vegan maple bacon donuts, vegan jerky and peanut and almond butter cups. 6 to 8 p.m.  • Cocktails for a Cause will be held at Bartini's downtown on Friday, April 20. This celebration marks Aveda and the Sierra Club's annual fundraiser for clean water. Twenty percent of the bar and food sales will be donated to support clean water. The evening will include music, a fashion show and a silent auction. Tickets $20 at the door, $15 in advance. Don't feel like leaving the house to celebrate? That's OK too. Plant a tree, turn your lights off for an hour, unplug your electronics or start a compost pile. Do something!

Environmental nerds unite! In the past, recycling a plastic bottle has always required an extra step that sometimes-recyclers might not have known about; plastic bottle lids, such as those from pop or juice bottles, couldn't be recycled through traditional single-stream recycling. Rumpke Recycling sent out a press release Tuesday announcing that they'll now accept those lids as long as they're screwed onto the bottle. Lids on plastic bottles haven't been accepted by Rumpke Recycling in the past because the bottles' manufacturers simply hadn't found a use for the plastic. Molly Yeager, Corporate Communication Coordinator for Rumpke Recycling, says they're always searching for manufacturers that work to find new uses for their products post-use. "People have been asking about recycling plastic lids for a long time," says Yeager. "It's going to be really exciting to tell them that they can now." Before, a plastic lid tossed in a recycling bin would have to be manually sorted out and thrown in the trash. Now, manufactures that purchase plastic bottles from Rumpke will be converting the lids into new items, such as paint cans.  Here's what Rumpke says to do with your plastic bottles and lids: To ensure your plastic lids are recycled, follow these easy steps: 1. Empty the bottle. Bottles still containing liquid will not be recycled. 2. If possible, crush the bottle. Crushing the bottle helps remove any air from the container, which serves as a safety precaution when the bottles are baled and also helps bottles travel through the recycling process more efficiently. 3. Screw the lid back on the bottle. Detached lids may not be recovered. Wondering what else you can and can't recycle in your community? Click here.

Duke Energy's approval and cooperation was considered to be essential in advancing the highly anticipated Cincinnati streetcar project, and Wednesday the company announced it isn't willing to cooperate. In a letter to Mayor Mark Mallory dated Feb. 8, Ohio and Kentucky Duke Energy President Julie Janson stated that Duke changed its mind after a year and a half of negotiations and that it wouldn't cooperate with the city's requests that Duke move utility lines downtown to make way for the streetcar's tracks. According to Janson's letter, the lines must be moved a minimum of eight feet from the edge of the streetcar before any progress can be made in the plan's implementation. Duke estimates that the relocation and replacement of the infrastructure would cost somewhere around $18.7 million, but City Manager Milton Dohoney said that estimate hadn't been verified by anyone else.

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The Cincinnati City Council met on Monday to discuss the energy aggregation policy for the city, which, if implemented, could mean big changes in the way residents’ homes are powered. In the meeting, Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls introduced a motion outlining the possible use of renewable energy credits (RECs), also known as renewable energy certificates, through an energy aggregation program that could be put into place as soon as this June or July. The motion was passed unanimously by the Budget and Finance Committee, meaning that the city will be preparing to send out requests for proposal (RFPs) to power suppliers within the next few weeks. In November, Cincinnati voters overwhelmingly approved Issues 44 and 45, which gave the city the authority to negotiate aggregation purchase rates of natural gas and electricity for residents and businesses. Wondering what exactly energy aggregation is? In Ohio, communities are allowed to pool funds together and purchase natural gas and electricity as a group. Because a community pools together, that means it can access the lowest rates — think of it like a trip to Sam’s Club. The more you purchase of something at one time, the lower rate per unit you can access.

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Today’s 1 p.m. meeting at City Hall could decide whether or not Cincinnati will be powered by 100 percent renewable energy as early as this summer. According to Urban Cincy, the approval could make Cincinnati “the largest city in the United States to have its energy supply come from 100 percent renewable resources,” and could be established without much of a cost difference to taxpayers. Cincinnati City Council is meeting to decide on how to move forward with the “Natural Gas Aggregation Program” and the “Electric Aggregation Program.” These programs, if approved, would automatically apply to all Cincinnati residents. In Ohio, local communities are allowed to pool together to buy natural gas and electricity and gain “buying power” to obtain the lowest possibly costs for the utilities.

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The big news breaking the Internets is that Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the nation’s leading breast cancer charity, is pulling its grants from Planned Parenthood affiliates. The charity gave about $680,000 last year and $580,000 in 2010, which is mostly used to provide free breast exams for low-income women.

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Cleveland officials are apparently trying to outlaw flash mobs, describing them as violent, unruly terrorizing of communities and family-friendly events. That's not how AT&T presents them in this cell phone commercial.

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