UPDATED: Parsons GoodWorks Teams Up With Water 1st July 31, 2009

Safe Water Saves Lives

Mark your calendars! Our next GoodWorks  Social Hour is right around the corner. Join us September 22nd from 5-8pm to enjoy some refreshments in our garden and to learn more about Water 1st International, a Seattle-based organization which provides safe water to families living in the poorest communities in the world.  Here’s why you should care:

• 2.5 billion people lack access to safe water and a sanitary toilet – the most basic ingredients needed to sustain life
• Due to resulting illnesses, over 5 million people die each year (mostly children under the age of 5)

With the belief that water projects are the foundation on which strong communities are built, Water 1st International implements community-managed projects that integrate water supply, sanitation, and health education.

Click here to learn more about Water 1st and we’ll see you next month!

Transition Movement: Coming to a Town Near You July 31, 2009

There has been a lot of buzz lately about the Transition Movement, or “Transition Towns” — a concept popularized by British environmentalist Rob Hopkins. The aim is to “equip communities for the dual challenges of climate change and peak oil.”  Peak oil is defined as “the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline.”

From Hopkins’ website comes this bit of history: “My background is in the teaching of permaculture for many years, giving people the tools to create more sustainable ways of living in their own gardens and families. Since I found out about peak oil, I have become fascinated by how we apply these principles to whole towns, whole settlements, and in particular, to how we design this transition in such a way that people will embrace it as a common journey, as a collective adventure, as something positive…How can we design descent pathways which make people feel alive, positive and included in this process of societal transformation? My own thoughts led me to develop an approach I call ‘Energy Descent Action Planning (EDAP)’, which works with a community to vision how they see their town 20 years in the future, in a positive way, and then backcast from then to now.”

Hopkins’ idea was applied to his hometown of Totnes with success and today there are over 100 communities recognized worldwide as offician Transition Towns. There are several great websites on this concept;’ I invite you to start your exploration here.

Waste…not! July 27, 2009

Last week our new waste-hauling company rolled into town. A big reason for the change: Palo Alto’s goal of zero waste by 2021. Recycling has come a long way since those first days when you had to tear off labels from jars and cans, squash down and rip apart cans and boxes, and separate everything into individual bins. Now our single stream, big blue bin accepts everything from plastic bags (including thin film plastic from grocery products) to hard plastic toys, scrap metal, and electronics, in addition to all of the cans, bottles, and other standard stuff. Even with this ramped up recycling, there’s still too much trash out there. What about the cork(s) you popped from the wine bottles(s) the other evening or the wrappers from all of those “healthy” energy bars you eat before working out in your Nike’s (not to mention the old Nike’s themselves)? Now, one company is trying to take recycling a big step further. TerraCycle, the innovative packager of worm poo fertilizer in recycled containers, has partnered with Cliff Bars, Frito-Lay, Nabisco, and other major companies to collect and recycle food wrappers, yoghurt containers, cell phones, and corks. By going to TerraCycle’s website, you can sign up to collect product (unfortunately, some have waitlists), which is then shipped to TerraCycle in postage-paid containers. For every container or wrapper collected, the company will donate $.02 to the nonprofit or school of your choice. Even better, TerraCycle is making this trash into usable items, which can be purchased online. After all, what good does it do to recycle if there’s no use for the stuff? If you’ve got kids, check out the back-to-school Eco-Binders, Drink Pouch Backpack and Lunch Box, and Oreo Waste Wrapper Notebook. All the cool kids will be carrying them this year.

Transportation of the (near?) future July 17, 2009

High Speed Rail (HSR) is coming to America…finally! We’re a bit behind the times. Europe has it. Asia too. China’s HSR system began operating a couple of years ago and the government plans to create the biggest system in the world. As the new U.S. High Speed Rail Association says, “A national high speed rail system is the centerpiece of a sustainable America.” To see an interactive map showing the proposed 17,000-mile U.S. system to be built in four phases by 2030, visit the U.S. HSR Association website. So when will the system actually get built? President Obama jumpstarted the process this past spring by committing $8 billion dollars from the economic stimulus package towards creating a HSR System in the Northwest, California, and sections of the eastern half of the country. California may get a big cut of the pie, since the state passed a bond last November to help fund a system that will run from S.F. to Southern California. There’s already a lot of bickering about the line along the S.F. Peninsula, especially from the “not in my backyard” folks. But no one forced them to purchase property along the existing rail line. We must all get on board for the good of the state and the environment here. To learn more about what’s happening nationwide, you can also visit the Federal Railroad Administration’s HSR webpage.

Rent a bike, Power a bus July 16, 2009

We like bikes – for commuting, exercise, travel and enjoyment.  The thought of creating energy by riding our bike?  Genius!  We’ve written about this concept before, and I’m sure there are some other creative and exciting ideas out there (better than Ed Begley Jr. powering his toaster by bike – among other things), but I think this one has great potential: Hybrid2.

Designer Chiyu Chen has thought up an integrated transit system that credits people for riding bicycles.  His Hybrid2 concept consists of a fleet of rentable bikes that generate and store kinetic energy, which is then used to power a city’s hybrid electric buses – perfect for Seattle!  Rent a bike, charge it up via pedal power, then return it to a kiosk – where the station feeds energy into the city’s smart grid and you receive a credit towards your next bus pass.

How does this work?  Well, it’s all about a regenerative braking system on the bikes that allows riders to generate and store energy by pedaling and braking in an ultracapacitor (totally makes me think of the flux capacitor from the Back to the Future movies!).  The designer has also proposed a solar-powered bike stand outfitted with an RFID card reader that would unlock the bikes for use and store your bus credit information – kind of like Zipcar for bicycles.

This would be the perfect complement to a bicycle master plan and integrated transporation system.  Hint, hint Mayor Nickels…

Bike to the future!  Via Inhabitat

The silence of the hybrids July 15, 2009

As I have mentioned before, I drive a Prius, the king of super stealthy hybrids, and I love it.  If you haven’t been in a hybrid, chances are you have been near one when it is driving – it is super quiet, especially at slow speeds, with a sound a little louder than a hum.  There is a great VW commercial that pokes fun at this lack of vroom vroom.

Now I will admit that there is some frustration when I get stuck behind someone walking through a parking lot who can’t hear me creeping along behind them, or when I have to slow to a crawl through my neighborhood to keep from hitting one of the many kids who fly out in front of my car because it is so quiet.  But I have never felt the need some sort of sound-making function that alerts others of my presence, which was the focus of an article in the New York Times Green Inc. column this Monday.

In the article, the silence of hybrids is a cause for concern and is seen as a potential hazard, especially for blind people, bicyclists and children – and I would like to add, those of us out there who text while walking.  Legislation as been introduced to Congress that would require the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to study the issue and establish a minimal decibel level.  Of course, there are a crop of entrepreneurs who are jumping on this as an opportunity to create their own lines of noisemakers – what one refers to as “drivetones.”

To be honest, I really wouldn’t want my Prius to sound like a Harley.  An ice cream truck? Maybe.  Seriously though, I don’t think this is a matter of adding sound to hybrids.  The responsibility is on the Hybrid owner to be aware that his/her car can catch people off-guard because it is so quiet, and drive with extra awareness.  It’s called defensive driving.

Two Out-of-Print Classics Republished July 10, 2009

The last time that food issues and edible landscaping swept the nation was in the seventies during the energy crisis. During that time many were traveling the world to learn from obscure agricultural practitioners and others were looking to the urban areas and what they could produce. Out of that time period came two food production classics: The One Straw Revolution, by Masanobu Fukuoka and (Designing and Maintaining) Your Edible Landscape Naturally, by Robert Kourik. Both went out of print in the late eighties and early nineties, but have been recently republished for the benefit of the times we are in. This is part two…

Part 2:

(Designing and Maintaining) Your Edible Landscape Naturally

By Robert Kouri

Early on in my education in “whole systems design” I became infatuated with the world of Permaculture (a design system for creating sustainably-integrated human settlements). One of the first major influences on my design style wasn’t a Permaculture text per se. Permaculture seemed to approach sustainability and design aesthetic in a way that shunned the art of formal garden design. Kourik’s seminal text on the other hand seemed to embrace sustainability and edible landscape design as just another approach to an ancient tradition (and human need) for both domesticating and beautifying the natural world around us. Kourik was also a pioneer in the sense that his work was one of the first to explore temperate edible landscaping while other were still working out techniques in tropical and subtropical climes. Your Edible Landscape Naturally really is a text and reads pretty much like one, though Kourik balances his vast knowledge with a fun sense of humor, insight and wit. The book is full of practical advise, tables, design examples, maintenance techniques and reminders and a whole host of reference tables for the edible landscape designer. The only point of note that I would make is that unless the book has undergone a revision some of the ideas and advise may be a bit dated. Still, coupled with any great design workbook, this text is an absolute essential for anyone interested in taking on task of design their own edible home garden.

The way we produce our food has the potential to collapse or sustain our society. Both The One Straw Revolution and Your Edible Landscape Naturally have paved the way for that sustainable future. Each in their own way helps us to understand the importance of food security and the great field of the unexplored in both urban and rural agriculture. Both books leave the reader inspired to create a world that will sustain itself into the future. Like a perfect guide, neither texts pleads. Both state, “We can do this. We can maintain this. We can have our beauty and eat it too. The only thing stopping us is us.”

Celebrity gossip goes green July 9, 2009

Admit it. We all love a bit of celebrity gossip. Who hasn’t been in a doctor or dentist’s office and snuck a peak at the latest issue of People magazine? Now, you don’t have to spend money on magazines or even guiltily flip through pages in public to learn what the rich and famous are up to when it comes to the environment. Just check out Ecorazzi, the latest in green gossip. According to the website, “We cover environmental, humanitarian, animal rights, and vegetarian issues as they relate to those in the spotlight. In the spirit of fair play, we’re quick to point how who’s slacking and who’s deserving of recognition.” So what does that mean? Well, you can read about the $5k organic, biodegradable bamboo bicycle sold at Colin Firth’s new Ecò Age store on Chiswick High Road in London. Or discover blogrolls by “Eco-Celebs,” such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Daryl Hannah (who also happens to have a new site of cool, eco-friendly products, called Love Life Goods tried & true…, and yes, she does claim to use everything she sells!). So indulge yourself and discover what vegan Natalie Portman and others are up to this summer!

Get Bike Smart July 7, 2009

Want a map of all the bike routes in Seattle? Want to know what bicycle events are happening in your community? Need a little bike maintenance 101 before you (finally) dust off the cruiser for the summer?

There is an answer: Bike Smart Seattle. Sponsored by the City of Seattle and part of the Mayor’s Climate Action Now initiative (lets be greener than Portland!), you can request a free kit complete with bike map, coupons, calendar of events and more. Even better, a Seattle Bicycle Ambassador will drop off your free info kit. I was intrigued when I received the mailer and have signed up for my free kit. To the Ambassador who has to do the giant hillclimb up to my place, I am sorry.

So, come on, sign up for your own kit at www.bikesmartseattle.org – you can’t beat free! And enjoy the summer by bike.