Ryan announces green partnership to spur jobs

Thursday in Copenhagen, U.S. Rep. Timothy J. Ryan announced what he's calling a ''transformational partnership'' between Youngstown and a national environmental group to foster green job creation and development in the rust belt city.

California-based Global Green USA will help speed along planning efforts in the city by building on the Youngstown 2010 plan and putting into place citywide and neighborhood specific greening plans.

The move, Ryan said, could position Youngstown to be a model green city for other Midwestern communities by, simultaneously, reducing its carbon footprint and by doing so, becoming an economic engine in the growing green industry.

''We are leading the green revolution,'' Ryan, D-Niles, said. ''This innovative collaboration will help to elevate Youngstown, northeastern Ohio and the Cleveland-Youngstown-Pittsburgh tech belt - opening us up for global investment in cutting edge green energy technology and sustainable development in our district.''

Included will be a national design competition for one of Youngstown's neighborhoods that has been especially hit hard by blight and pulling in national foundations and energizing local foundations to implement the to be developed plan.

The effort's focus would be on reducing energy use and increasing sustainability in a number of arenas, including, says Global Green president, Matt Peterson, urban agriculture and greening schools to lower energy costs as well as neighborhood stabilization.

''We'll take a comprehensive view so we can focus on key priorities and connect the dots,'' Peterson said. ''This community is already connecting the dots.''

Fifty thousand dollars - $25,000 each from the Raymond John Wean Foundation and former resident Jack Scott, president, Applied Systems and Technology Transfer - has been pledged to the project.

rselak@tribtoday.com