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6 | City of Cincinati
concerns of energy supply, deterioration of
water and air quality, or other less-than-de-
sired environmental factors. However, none
of these are so worrisome in Cincinnati.
“We are a city that has cheap and abundant
energy supplies credited to our proximity
to the rich coal fields of West Virginia and
Ohio. We have cheap and abundant landfills,
which still have plenty of capacity. We also
have cheap and abundant water supplies.
Some places worry about their water usage,
but our utility has never had to asked peo-
ple to cut back due to drought. We also have
cheap and abundant land, and there’s lots
of new construction of single family homes
selling for less than two hundred thousand
dollars within an hour’s drive of downtown,”
explains Falkin. So, with so much going in
its favor, the conditions that might typically
compel the concentration on sustainability
do not exist as urgencies in Cincinnati. As
Falkin asserts, that creates real challenge.
“How do you make recycling competi-
tive when landfills are so cheap? How do you
make the case for renewable energy when
electricity is so cheap at five cents a kilowatt
Cincinnati Mayor, Mark Mallory, takes a Zipcar for a spin.