“The Sage” LEED home in Eugene, OR
US Green Buildings Council founder David Gottfried (the makers of the LEED certification) had his own LEED certified home built in Eugene, OR by Arbor South Architecture called “The Sage“. The LEED platinum home received a record 110 points on the LEED scale. The 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom beauty is situated on a low maintenance drought resistant landscaped property. Active solar water heating and PV solar panels are installed on the roof to provide most of the electricity needed for the home and cleverly planned window placement give natural lighting to the entire home. The $450,000 home is about $60,000 greater than an average home in the area because of all of the environmental features. Check out more on the Tour of Homes.
Filed Under: Green Home, LEED, Northwest, Solar Power | Tagged:
Seal products banned in the European Union
In the first large move ever made to protect seals from the barbaric yearly hunt that has been threatening their populations and their very existence for hundreds of years, the European Union has completely banned the purchase, sale, or transport of any seal products in any of its 27 countries. Canada and the supporters of the seal hunt are already preparing their plans to contest the decision. The 550-49 vote with such a huge majority has little chance of being appealed. The law goes into effect before the seal hunt begins for next year, so maybe Canada will call the whole thing off if they are not able to sell the products (which have little to no market outside of Europe). Source: European Union Bans Trading of all Seal Products.
Filed Under: Green Government, News, Northwest | Tagged:
Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone is only half expected size
Poor agricultural practices and monoculture on cropland cause a nutrient depletion in the soil, which we fix using commercial fertilizers. Unfortunately, all of the excess nutrient runoff from watering the fertilized farms ends up in the rivers and makes it to the ocean, and collectively causes oxygen depleted dead zones. Areas of water where the nitrogen and phosphorous (among others) is too high has no dissolved oxygen in the water which makes it impossible for fish and other marine life to survive in those waters, so they either perish or move on to another home. Algae on the other hand, loves the low oxygen and thrives and blooms unchecked further depleting the oxygen. Low oxygen deep sea creatures which normally patrol the bottom of the ocean can be found swimming near the surface, which indicates a drastically altered eco-system at the bottom of the ocean. This year, the estimated 7,000 miles of the Gulf of Mexico which make up one of hundreds of dead zones around the world has only reached 3,000 square miles in size. Although normally this would indicate good things for us (the dead zone only growing to half of what we expected), the dead zone is particularly thick and deep, and the water contains zero life.
We desperately need to fix our agricultural system which is not only killing the oceans, but cannot feed everyone that exists on the planet today. Ditch the monoculture and biodiversify! Check out the full article on TreeHugger.
Filed Under: News | Tagged:
Obama administration protects Oregon forests from Bush
The Obama Administration has stopped the single greatest natural disaster ever to hit the United States: George W. Bush. Now they are working to repair some of the damage, and here in Oregon the most recent cleanup has been the restriction of logging in Oregon in order to protect the Northern Spotted Owl and its habitat. This move has been widely hailed by tree huggers and conservationalists alike. By protecting this forest, Obama can protect the owl habitat as well as the Oregon old growth forests that were handed over to loggers under a Bush era contract. See more information on the full article at Oregon Live.
City Garden Farms
City Garden Farms is a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) here in Portland using a brilliant new idea for successful urban farming. CGF is distributed across many different physical yards in Portland, each donated by a CSA member who doesn’t mind a portion of their lawn being converted into a shared garden. City Garden Farms was put together by Dan Bravin and Martin Barret who found that by having many donated lawns they have a lot of space to grow food for the members, more than any single location they can find in the city. The United States used to produce 60% of its food from home gardens, not multinational food corporations that fly food in from thousands of miles away. By having more gardens and less lawns we can reduce our dependence on foreign oil and unsustainable food practices. Prevent starvation, grow your own food.
… Read the full story »
Filed Under: Eco Ideas, Food, Garden, Portland, Sustainable | Tagged:
75MW Solar Power plant in Cle Elum, WA
Cle Elum, Washington is going to be the new home of 75MW of solar power in an installation of up to 400,000 individual panels. Senator Maria Cantwell who has been spearheading the path for this project is also trying to establish a local manufacturing facility to create those panels instead of shipping them in. Where the solar power plant is a done deal, the manufacturing plant is not for sure yet. Source: Renewable Energy World
Filed Under: Green Energy, News, Northwest, Solar Power | Tagged:
Obama Administration to put Arizona solar power plants on the fast track
The Obama administration has just given the green light on a massive expansion of solar energy development efforts across public lands in the US. California has been approved for building a 500 MW photovoltaic system in the Mojave desert, and now Arizona and is next on the list and may receive up to 407 MW of photovoltaic power plants. 670,000 acres across the US are being evaluated for possible locations for solar power plants to massively expand our current solar footprint and bring us much closer to our renewable energy goals. Check out more.
Filed Under: Green Energy, Solar Power | Tagged:
Cornell Farms
Cornell Farms is my favorite garden supply store in Portland. The expansive set of greenhouses spreads over the impressive area the farm covers. You can find anything here including hundreds of varieties of plants for the yard, aesthetic gardeners, or edibles. The products there are great, the plants are healthy and happy, and the staff is very friendly and knowledgeable. The next time you get sick of going to a run of the mill gardening store, take the scenic drive out to visit Cornell Farms on Barnes Rd.
[gallery columns="2"]8212 SW Barnes Rd Portland, OR
503-292-9895
… Read the full story »Metro South Station: Recycling Center
2001 Washington St., Oregon City 97045
503-234-3000
Summer hours: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily March 1-Sept. 30
Fall/winter hours: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily Oct. 1-Feb. 28 (Feb. 29 in leap years)
Holidays: closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s days
Household hazardous waste hours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Saturday, closed Sunday
Rates and fees
Cover your load and pay a lower rate.
Mixed waste - uncovered (untarped) loads: $100.75 per ton plus an $8.50 transaction fee
Minimum charge is $31 for 440 pounds or less.
Mixed waste - covered (tarped) loads: $75.75 per ton plus an $8.50 transaction fee.
Minimum charge is $25 for 440 pounds or less.
Yard debris and clean wood - uncovered (untarped) loads: $68 per ton plus an $8.50 transaction fee
Minimum charge is $23 for up to 440 pounds. Must be free of dirt, sod, stumps, rocks, metal, glass, garbage and plastic bags. Wood must be free of all hardware (nails OK).
Yard debris and clean wood - covered (tarped) loads: $43 per ton plus an $8.50 transaction fee
Minimum charge is $18 for up to 440 pounds. Must be free of dirt, sod, stumps, rocks, metal, glass, garbage and plastic bags. Wood must be free of all hardware (nails OK).
Total fees will be rounded to the nearest dollar amount (e.g., $30.49 is rounded to $30; $30.50 is rounded to $31).
Car tires: each tire, $2 off rim, $4 on rim; plus an $8 flat fee. Tires 21 inches and larger not accepted. Once the per tire fee exceeds the tip fee minimum ($25), loads will be weighed. Limit of 15 tires per day per customer.
Railroad ties: Ties are 4 feet or less in length are accepted (as trash) in small numbers from non-commercial customers. Railroad ties longer than 4 feet cannot be accepted. Railroad ties are charged the garbage rate.
Appliances: Air conditioners, freezers, refrigerators and other units built to containing coolant: $20 (limit of five units)
Other appliances may be free of charge; see “What can be recycled for free.”
The per-ton rate applies if tires or appliances containing coolant are brought in with a garbage load.
Recyclables: There is no charge to drop off source-separated recyclable; see “What can be recycled for free.”
Payment options
Cash, Visa, MasterCard, debit cards and checks are accepted. Personal checks must be presented with a valid driver’s license or identification card that matches the check being written. The signer must be present. Certified businesses that have been in business for at least one year can open a transfer station credit account…
… Read the full story »Metro Central Station: Recycling Center
6161 NW 61st Ave Portland, OR 97210
503-234-3000
March 1-Sept. 30 Summer hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily
Oct. 1-Feb. 28 (Feb. 29 in leap years) Fall/winter hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily
Holidays: Closed (Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s days)
Household hazardous waste hours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Saturday, closed Sunday
Rates and fees
Cover your load and pay a lower rate.
Mixed waste - uncovered (untarped) loads: $100.75 per ton plus an $8.50 transaction fee
Minimum charge is $31 for 440 pounds or less.
Mixed waste - covered (tarped) loads: $75.75 per ton plus an $8.50 transaction fee.
Minimum charge is $25 for 440 pounds or less.
Yard debris and clean wood - uncovered (untarped) loads: $68 per ton plus an $8.50 transaction fee
Minimum charge is $23 for up to 440 pounds. Must be free of dirt, sod, stumps, rocks, metal, glass, garbage and plastic bags. Wood must be free of all hardware (nails OK).
Yard debris and clean wood - covered (tarped) loads: $43 per ton plus an $8.50 transaction fee
Minimum charge is $18 for up to 440 pounds. Must be free of dirt, sod, stumps, rocks, metal, glass, garbage and plastic bags. Wood must be free of all hardware (nails OK).
Total fees will be rounded to the nearest dollar amount (e.g., $30.49 is rounded to $30; $30.50 is rounded to $31).
Car tires: each tire, $2 off rim, $4 on rim; plus an $8 flat fee. Tires 21 inches and larger not accepted. Once the per tire fee exceeds the tip fee minimum ($25), loads will be weighed. Limit of 15 tires per day per customer.
Railroad ties: Ties are 4 feet or less in length are accepted (as trash) in small numbers from non-commercial customers. Railroad ties longer than 4 feet cannot be accepted. Railroad ties are charged the garbage rate.
Appliances: Air conditioners, freezers, refrigerators and other units built to containing coolant: $20 (limit of five units)
Other appliances may be free of charge; see “What can be recycled for free.”
The per-ton rate applies if tires or appliances containing coolant are brought in with a garbage load.
Recyclables: There is no charge to drop off source-separated recyclable; see “What can be recycled for free.”
Payment options
Cash, Visa, MasterCard, debit cards and checks are accepted. Personal checks must be presented with a valid driver’s license or identification card that matches the check being written. The signer must be present. Certified businesses that have been in business for at least one year can open a transfer station credit account…
… Read the full story »