Sasquatch Shrinks His Footprint March 15, 2010

The 2010 Sasquatch! Music Festival in at The Gorge, in Washington, has been certified as carbon neutral by Carbon Harmony. This is quite the “feet”, as the carbon footprint left by these large music festivals is usually enormous. Everybody attending the festival, including the artists, fuel consumption. The Gorge, about an hour from the nearest town, is mostly unaccessible except by automobiles, which as we all know, release harmful emissions and consume fossil fuels. The event will be 100% wind powered, and Carbon Harmony will offset %125 of the emissions caused by vehicles attending the festival. The venue hopes to add additional green efforts in years to come, and is encouraging attendees to do their part in financially offsetting their own carbon footprints.

Sasquatch Green Efforts: http://www.sasquatchfestival.com/#/green

Carbon Harmony: http://www.carbonharmony.com/main.php

The mainstage area, overlooking the breathtaking gorge.

Green Meadows March 14, 2010

By 2011, Mt. Hood Meadows ski resort will have 100% of its operation energy provided by wind power. Each year, Meadows financially offsets 25% of its energy load with wind power. This means that although there won’t be windmills up on the slopes, all of the energy they pay for will be provided by wind power. This is part of their SkiGreen program, which offers customers the option to offset their emissions from traveling to and from the mountain by adding a small amount to the cost of their lift ticket. Mt. Hood Meadows was actually the first ski resort in North America to adopt this program! Their sustainable business efforts even extend to the bathrooms, where water-free urinals and air-hand dryers replace their usual counterparts.

Article at: http://www.skihood.com/About-Meadows/Environment/Green-Energy

Ski Green: http://www.b-e-f.org/shop/ski

Ski Bums Sustainable Transport March 14, 2010

Skiiers and Snowboarders in the Portland area now have a convenient and cheap way of getting to the mountain, thanks to Mike Parziale and the Greasbus. Run almost completely on waste vegetable oil from businesses around town, the Greasbus offers a sustainable form of transport to people who normally would be driving themselves up to the slopes. This saves a lot of people from expending what little fossil fuel we have left, and eliminates the harmful emissions of individual vehicles. Various sponsors such as Nike, Clif, Red Bull, and Dakine provide the riders with free products and daily giveaways. The Greasbus operates almost every day of the week during the ski season, and is rented out half of that time by our very own PSU to members of the Snowboard Club. If you’re sick of carpooling, or just want an easy and enjoyable way to get to Mt. Hood this season, sit back, relax, enjoy some shred flicks and save the environment by riding the Greasbus.

Mike and the fuel behind the Greasebus!

Portland's Greasebus!

Greasbus Website: http://www.greasebus.com/portland/

Portland State Snowboard Club: http://snowboarding.groups.pdx.edu/SBC/

Los Angeles is catching up to Portland March 12, 2010

Los Angeles is banking on recycling

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We’re all pretty proud and confident that Portland is one of the most sustainable places in the United States. However a recent article in the Los Angeles Times proves that LA is making efforts to be green too.

Los Angeles already reuses or recycles 65% of their waste, but their Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has announced that they are striving for a goal of zero waste.

The city has developed a program called RecycleBank, which promotes citizens to recycle more beer bottles, newspapers, and other recyclables. The program gives points to residents who recycle, and they can make up to $400 dollars per blue bin per year. Pretty cool way to get some money back into the bank.

RecycleBank is earning the city money too. Rather than spending $30 to dispose of items, they are earning $25 revenue by recycling it. Los Angeles has found a way to both aid the earth and economy.

The crash after the buzz March 9, 2010

Through the months of January, February, and March, I’ve been neglecting the blog. Nothing has motivated me to write, except the failed VIDEO BLOG of my mentor session. (SHOUT OUT) I’ve come to terms that the problem isn’t lack of things to blog about, it’s my interest in them. There are many things we are doing that are detrimental to our earth, but it’s been hard to relate carbon footprints and a failing economy to my personal life. I am aware that as a human being I am somehow harming both, and this in itself is a depressing thought. From the moment we are born we are polluting through use of diapers, formula bottles, and the clothes we grow out of every few months.

Sure there are ways to delay our impact, (cloth diapers, reusable bottles, and second hand clothing), but unless everything we use or own is biodegradable then it WILL end up in our dumps, sewers, or polluted air. No matter what we do, we will leave the earth a bigger mess than when we entered it.

If we all don’t care, who will? Sometimes I feel the only way to feign interest in the environment is through guilt. There is no instant satisfaction when you recycle, or cut your shower short. So how do you feel when you know you are making a difference? Personally, I don’t feel much of anything. On the other hand, when I am being wasteful I feel guilty. Oddly, I’m grateful for this guilt, because it makes me feel like a human with a conscious.

How does one go from feeling guilty to becoming interested and involved? Usually going on a hike, going sailing, or surfing does the trick for me, but being in a city has its disadvantages sometimes. So without any verbal attacks or endless lectures, I was wondering if anyone had any tips on converting guilt into actually feeling good.

Urban Growth Bounty 2010 March 3, 2010

In Portland (going through the Bureau of Planning & Sustainability) I learned that there are several classes offered during the year involving various things including: “vegetable production classes, advanced chicken and bee sessions and a cornucopia of cooking courses.” This idea of being about the have small garden or places to grow home-grown plants and domestic animals is extremely interesting and I enjoy how the city of Portland takes it up on it self to educate its inhabitants on how to do these things. It says that there are certain instructors that specialize in various areas and it is an extremely useful to beginners. There is even a portion on the website that allows you sign up online! What a useful feature! I think that you are charged per session ranging from $35 a session to three sessions for $90 – but the prices change depending on the class and the instructor.

CHECK IT OUT!

To check it out make sure that you their website.

Find Laura Vogel! March 3, 2010

The other day, as I was procrastinating, I stumbled upon a link on the internet titled “Find Laura Vogel.” This caught my attention fast. Laura Vogel taught Earth Science to me when I was a freshman in high school. What did they mean by “find?” I started clicking links and reading articles. Ms. Vogel, who for two years had been residing in Maui, had disappeared.

This really irks me.

On Feb. 21, She left her friends house to go camping/backpacking by herself. When she failed to show up for work the next day, friends got worried and notified the police. Ms. Vogel’s friends started their own search party and found her van. The doors were wide open and the keys were in the ignition. It’s been a little over a week and they haven’t found anything.

This woman cared about the Earth, and taught everyone she met to respect it.

CBS News

Maui Weekly

Fox News

New Sustainable City Lights? February 24, 2010

Phillips, creator of various electronics such as TVs, MP3s, Light Bulbs, and etc has taken action in creating a new concept. City lights, that’s right, not only are they creating light bulbs but they’re proposing cities with a city light that uses natural energy. This newly innovative design is like a tall street lamp, in the shape of a flower. During the day, the “flower” will open up and capture solar energy, not only does it store solar power but it will also store wind power. Late at night the “flower” will close and emit light through the LEDs, this city light will also proximity sensors which will detect movement of people in the surrounding area. If it does not detect movement then it will dim itself to conserve the store energy. From these city lights, there will be absolutely zero consumption of energy from the grid of the city’s energy.

For more information visit: http://www.usa.philips.com/

San Francisco Gets $171M Loan February 23, 2010

San Francisco, California plans to create a new sustainable transit center. Two years ago, the new build was approved to replace the old Transbay Terminal which currently serves as a hub for long distance buses. The revamped terminal is estimated to cost approximately $4 billion. Not only will it be created as a new transit center but it will also integrate several different “green” concepts.

I think the money used to create this new terminal may cost more in the long run. Using that $171M could be put towards several various concepts to create a more sustainable environment. I mean, yes it’ll be better for the environment but creating an entirely new terminal may cause more pollution than it’ll save in the future.

For more information visit: http://transbaycenter.org/project/transit-center

Wind-Turbine Highway Lights February 23, 2010

Current an eco-design firm Tak is proposing to initiate a new concept for highways–wind turbine powered highway lights. With cars speeding pass the highways so frequently highway lights are to be powered by a simple rush of air. Not only will these turbines provide energy for the overhead lights but they will also provide energy for a whole grid.

Wind turbines are like giant fans, as wind harnesses the propellers they spin, and as they spin they create a great amount of energy. This means, the rotating propellers converts the energy of wind into kinetic energy.

http://blog.oregonlive.com/commuting/2010/02/a_future_where_the_whoosh_of_p.html