Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Celebrate Green at New Year's Eve Gala



Reported by Sarah Jackson of the Everett Herald

Are you still looking for the perfect way to ring in the new year? I know it’s hard to imagine even leaving the house right now with all that snow out there, but I just heard about the Greening Snohomish County New Year's Gala, set for 7:30 p.m. Dec. 31 at Floral Hall in Everett’s Forest Park.

Festivities will cost you $50 per person and include a silent auction, a recycled-fashion “trashion” show, a three-course buffet and two drink tickets, plus live music and dancing.
click here to read more

Friday, November 28, 2008

Intergrating Sustainability into Your Strategic Plan

Integrating Sustainability into Your Strategic Plan
Thursday, December 04, 08
Time: 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.

Location: MBA Housing Center, 335 116th Ave. SE, Bellevue

Learn how to integrate sustainability into your strategic and business planning, resulting in increased profitability and long term vitality. This breakfast workshop is being sponsored by our association, Sustainable Development Task Force of Snohomish County and Sustainable September.

Instructor(s): Brenda Nunes, MBA and executive officer and certified sustainable building advisor, Sustainability FoundationCarolyn J. Hope, president, Sustainable Development Task Force Cheryl Isen, president, Isen and Company

Contact: MBA University
Phone: (425) 451-7920 Ext 208
Email: education@mbaks.com
Cost: $45/person
Notes:
Pre-registration is required. Breakfast will be provided.
Printable Registration Form

Sustainability in Business Planning

Professional Workshop-Integrating Sustainability into Your Business Planning

December 4th 2008, 7:30-9:30 am-Master Builders of King and SnohomishCounties $45

For more information contact: Gretchen Stewart, Director of EducationMBA U 425-460-8206.

Learn how to integrate sustainability into your strategic and businessplanning resulting in increased provitability and long term vitality.This breakfast workshop is being sponsored by Master BuildersAssociation of King and Snohomish Counties, Sustainable DevelopmentTask Force of Snohomish County, and Sustainable September.

Presentersinclude:
Brenda Nunes, MBA, Certified Sustainable Building Advisor, SustainableSeptember Chair, Sustainability Foundation-Executive Officer

Carolyn Hope, Sustainable Development Task Force of Snohomish County -Past President and professional planner

Cheryl Isen, Isen and Company, a strategic planning and marketingfirm, Principal

Workshop address: 335 116th Ave SE, Bellevue, WA 98004.
Tickets may bepurchased for $45 online at www.mbaks.com or by calling (425)460-8206.

Green Roof Function, Design & Installation

Associated Builders & Contractors’
GREEN COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE
Thursday, December 4, 2008
11:30 am - 1:00 pm

Free presentation and networking opportunity
Triad Associates *NEW LOCATION!*
12112 115th Avenue NE, Kirkland

How to Grow a Roof:
Green Roof Function, Design & Installation
Vegetated roofs are one of the hottest concepts in green building these days. Join us as Patrick Carey of Hadj Design explains why green roofs are gaining in popularity and what design and installation methods are best suited to our region.

Speaker: Patrick Carey, Hadj Design
Patrick Carey, principal of Hadj Design, has been researching and experimenting with green roofs, living walls, and other forms of biophilic design since 2000. As director of the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild’s Green Roof Project, he designed and installed 20 experimental green roofs in the Puget Sound area. His firm has designed an additional 55 commercial and residential green roofs, featuring a wide range of assembly types and climate zones. His work has won the King County Environmental Hero Award, an A.I.A. Environmental Award, and a Seattle Livability Award.

Moderator: David Hilgers, Triad Associates David Hilgers is a Pacifi c Northwest native and a graduate of Washington State University with a Bachelors of Science in Landscape
Architecture. He is a registered Landscape Architect in Washington and Oregon and currently works for Triad Associates, a multidiscipline consulting fi rm in Kirkland. As a LEED®-Accredited Professional, Mr. Hilgers has been involved in many sustainable design projects including the green roofs for the Going Green at the Beach project and the Zero Energy Idea House in Bellevue.

About the ABC Green Council:
The ABC Green Council was launched in February 2008 to provide a forum for education and networking related to the emerging field of green building. Chaired by Pam Worner of Green Dog Enterprises, the council’s roundtables on the fi rst Thursday of each month from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm are free and open to ABC members and prospective members alike. In addition to the monthly gatherings, each of which will feature an educational topic, the council’s activities will include site visits to green projects, a series of seminars, and whatever else council members want to do!

Come join us as together we increase our knowledge of this important field that is transforming the way we build. For more information, to RSVP your attendance or to be put on
the email list for notifi cations on ABC Green Council roundtables, seminars and other events, please contact Member Services Coordinator Kim Trautman at kim@abcwestwa.org, 425.646.8000 or 800.640.7789.

ABC of Western Washington  399 114th Avenue NE  Bellevue, WA 98004  800.640.7789  www.abcwestwa.org

Directions to Triad Associates
If you're heading to Triad for a meeting they’re easy to find in Kirkland just a few blocks from I-405.
12112 115th Avenue NE
Kirkland, WA 98034
I-405 Heading North
Take the NE 116th Street exit, #20A
Turn LEFT at bottom of off-ramp onto NE 116th Street
Turn RIGHT at first stoplight onto 120th Avenue NE
Turn LEFT at first stoplight onto NE 118th Street
Turn RIGHT onto 115th Avenue NE
Triad Associates is located a block up on the RIGHT
I-405 Heading South
Take the NE 124th Street exit, #20
Turn RIGHT at the end of the off-ramp onto NE 124th Street
Turn LEFT at second stoplight onto 113th Avenue NE
Turn LEFT onto NE 122nd Way
122nd Way becomes 115th Ave NE
Triad Associates is located on the LEFT

Friday, November 07, 2008

Book of the Month


The Green City: Sustainable Homes, Sustainable Suburbsby Nicholas Low



Publisher Comments:

What does the global agenda of sustainable development mean for the urban spaces where most people live, work and move? Can we keep what we love about city and suburban life and still save the environment? What new methods of planning and building will be needed in the 21st century?

A genuinely innovative book, "The Green City, considers and answers these three basic questions, and challenges the way we think about our cities, the environment and planning for the future. It presents a new and controversial challenge to ideas about sustainability and rejects both economic and environmental orthodoxy. In a nutshell, its message is that the sustainable city can be built by a thousand well-directed small changes. To illustrate this, "The Green City draws on diverse practical case material from Australia, Europe the USA and Asia, and features a photographic essay of 34 colour photographs.

At this post Nov 7th....Powells Bookstore in Portland has this book on special.
You can order it Online....check it out click here

Plan to Rescue Puget Sound

How did this happen? Pollution running off hard surfaces? Scooping doggie poop?


Draft plan to help rescue Puget Sound unveiled
By ROBERT McCLUREP-I REPORTER

Rescuing ecologically battered Puget Sound requires a wide-ranging campaign expected to cost -- for starters -- at least an extra $100 million a year, state officials said Thursday as they unveiled their draft plan.

Topping the list of actions needed are buying ecologically critical lands and beefing up efforts to rein in pollution flowing off hard surfaces such as streets and parking lots after heavy rains. The list of steps proposed by the Puget Sound Partnership looks far beyond the shores of the Sound itself and spans the spectrum -- from actions as simple as scooping dogs' poop to undertakings as complicated as overhauling state water law.

click here to read more from the PI

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Brown Bag Lunch Series: Rain Gardens and.....

photo is rain garden
at the Evergreen Fair grounds









Rain Gardens and Rain Catchments:


Yes, Snohomish County it is time to pay attention to where the water goes.


When Rain falls from the sky, who owns it?.... These questions and more...
..

Plan to attend this FREE Brown Bag Lunch at the Snohomish PUD
on Wednesday, Nov. 12th from 11:30-1:00pm

sponsored by the Sustainable Development Task Force of Snhomish County

click here for more info: http://sustainablesnohomishcounty.org/pdfs/stdf%20e-blast%20for%20raincatchment%20nov2008.pdf

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Green Drinks Nov. 11th in Arlington, WA

GREENDRINKS

SNOHOMISH COUNTY

Tues, November 11th from 5:30-7:30pm

Co-sponsored by

the "Village Store" and "Ronin Northwest" in Arlington

click here for more info...

Carpooling is a Great Idea

Edmonds Community College Blogs About Sustainability

EDMONDS COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS BLOGGING ABOUT SERVICE-LEARNING AND SUSTAINABILITY

Students engaged in Edmonds Community College’s award-winning service-learning program contribute 30,000 hours of volunteer service to 57 community organizations each year. Now they are sharing their experiences and staying connected to the community on the college’s blog, AfterWords, www.edcc.edu/afterwords.

Student Yin Yu, who organizes events for the college’s Center for Service-Learning, is the featured blogger on AfterWords. She’s writing about service-learning projects and sustainability issues as she completes her Associate of Science degree. A Foundation scholarship recipient, Yu plans to go on to study environmental science at UW Bothell. Lisa Quirk, a student working on her Associate of Arts degree on her way to the University of Washington to study anthropology, will also be a regular contributor to the blog.

Both bloggers are active members of the college club S.A.V.E. (Students Association for a Viable Environment) and alumnae of the Learn-and-serve Environmental Anthropology Field (LEAF) school — a series of three human ecology classes with a service-learning emphasis. Service-learning gives students the opportunity to earn AmeriCorps scholarships, while they make deeper connections between their studies, their community, and the world at large.

Yu and Quirk met this summer while working on ecological projects on Whidbey, Orcas, and Jetty islands in the Puget Sound. Their work included restoration of historic Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) trails in Moran State Park on Orcas. Both students describe their summer in the LEAF school as a great, life-changing experience.

“I completed 300-hours of AmeriCorps service this summer, and everyday in class, I was introduced to a new environment, studied watersheds around the sound, and met new community partners,” said Yu. “I gained an understanding of the natural habitat in my neighborhood. I tell everyone I meet that they are missing out if they don’t enroll in the LEAF school.”

Blogging is a natural fit for the service-learning students as it provides a way that they can reflect on the impact of their service, a requirement for the AmeriCorps scholarships, as well as remain engaged with the community. Community organizations and members are encouraged help keep the students connected by reading and commenting on AfterWords.

LEAF school students also make use of college’s social network on Ning for group work and reflection. The most recent class posted photo blogs of their service for a final project. See photos of their summer of work as well as pictures from more recent projects at http://edmondscc.ning.com.

AfterWords will also be a place where students and the community can discuss sustainability issues and share ideas. Since 2004, the college has initiated several sustainability projects on campus, including the development of classes and degrees that teach environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable practices.

In the past, AfterWords has helped shine a spotlight on arts and culture events at the college, including its lecture series. However, the previous AfterWords blogger, Jenna Nand, often wrote about her volunteer work with EcoEncore, a Seattle non-profit that recycles books and media. While at the college, Nand helped students collect more than $20,000 in re-sellable media for the non-profit. She is now working at EcoEncore while applying for law schoo
l.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Fully Contained Communities Update and Your help is needed!

Please Express your views, via a phone call, email or testify...

After two hours of public testimony yesterday at the FCC public hearing, Snohomish County Council Members Dave Somers and Mike Cooper said they would vote for a moratorium on rural mini cities (Fully Contained Communities, or FCC's), and Council Members Dave Gossett and John Koster said they would not.

The fourth member, Brian Sullivan, wanted a week to get some more questions answered. Call or email Council Member Brian Sullivan and John Koster and tell them how you feel about this moratorium. You can email them at brian.sullivan@co.snohomish.wa.us and john.koster@co.snohomish.wa.us, or call them at 425-388-3494.

You can view the entire public hearing and the council members comments at www.snoco.org, and click on Council Webcasts at the bottom of the home page, and then go to the hearing and click on the webcast. It was a great hearing and worth listening to in order to provide you the best perspective on what is going on.

The County Council will continue their deliberations and most likely their vote at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, October 29th. If there are not 4 Council votes, the possibility that County Executive Aaron Reardon could VETO the moratorium.

Please email Executive Reardon at aaron.reardon@co.snohomish.wa.us and express your interest.

Three articles of interest:
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20081023/NEWS01/710239906&news01ad=1#County.puts.off.mini-city.decision

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20081022/NEWS01/710229729#Lake.Goodwin.housing.plan.gets.a.boost

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/otherlocalelectionstories/2008290952_barnett21m.html


There were numerous amendments offered by developers, citizens and council members, so the written comment period and public hearing is also extended to Wednesday, October 29 at 1:30 p.m. in the Council’s Chambers.

Most likely there will be opportunity for public comment as well. You can view the documents and amendments for Ordinance 08-101 on the county’s website at http://www1.co.snohomish.wa.us/Departments/Council/About/Meeting_Calendar/long_term_calendar.htm.

Thank you Futurewise for supplying the above information.....

LID Practices for Storm Water in Wester Washington

Thank you to PSA and PPS for moving ahead with LID practices....

Activists want cities' storm water control to go green
By Phuong LeAssociated PressSEATTLE --

Environmental groups are fighting to require more than 85 Western Washington cities and counties to curb storm water runoff using "green" methods such as retention ponds, native vegetation and cisterns.The state Pollution Control Hearings Board was considering challenges to the state's storm water rules Thursday, including an appeal from Puget Soundkeeper Alliance arguing that low-impact designs should be mandated to stem the flow of pollutants into the region's waters.

The rules could affect development in at least 80 municipalities and five counties in Western Washington, including Bellingham, Port Angeles, Everett and Vancouver."What we're asking for here is not for them to do something new, but to shift away from traditional techniques that we know don't work very well to low-impact techniques," said Jan Hasselman, an attorney for Earthjustice representing PSA and People for Puget Sound.

click here to read more in the Herald

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Purchashing for Climate Protection

Monday, October 27 – 9am to 12pm
FREE morning workshop....

Snohomish County Campus
Robert J. Drewel Building
3000 Rockefeller, Everett, WA 98201

Executive Aaron Reardon is hosting a “Purchasing for Climate Protection” workshop. There is no
charge for the workshop and it is open to public and private sector purchasers and others who
are interested in environmentally responsible purchasing. This session will highlight specific actions government agencies and businesses can take to reduce their carbon footprint by changing their purchasing policies and practices.

These actions include, but are not limited to:
• Establishing energy-effi ciency standards for all lighting equipment, appliances and
computers used in their facilities;
• Improving the fuel-effi ciency ratings of their fl eets;
• Installing renewable energy technologies;
• Buying recycled-content and remanufactured products;
• Reducing paper and water consumption;
• Sourcing food and other goods from local producers; and
• Switching to concentrated “green” cleaners for offi ce buildings, schools and other buildings.

The presenter of this workshop is Alicia Culver, Executive Director of the Green Purchasing Institute, a nonprofi t organization that works directly with government agencies, businesses and institutions to develop sustainable purchasing policies as well as contracts for environmentally preferable goods and services. She has taken a leading role in
drafting model specifi cations for high-effi ciency/low-mercury lighting equipment for several states and localities, and helped several local governments develop purchasing chapters for their climate action plans. She has also convened a team of researchers to document the best purchasing practices for achieving and documenting greenhouse gas emissions associated with the procurement of goods and services. She has contributed to several related publications
including:

Buying Smart: Experiences of Green Purchasing Pioneers, Cleaning for Health; Products and Practices for a Safer Indoor Environment; and Responsible Purchasing Guide to Fluorescent Lighting. In addition, she has served as a technical advisor to the Washington State Department of Ecology, the City of Seattle and many other jurisdictions across the United States. Alicia is currently advising Snohomish County.

Please pre-register by sending your contact information and affiliation to
Ginger Metz at ginger.metz@snoco.org or calling 425.388.6483.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Greening Snohomish County Oct 3-4, 2008

Space is limited, get your tickets today
$25/Individual
$50/Business Person (with extra networking benefits)
(Continental Breakfast and Buffet Lunch included)
Cate O’dahl – 206-999-0124 or caoesp@aol.com
Historic Preservation is Green
Bees, Frogs, & Birds, Oh My!
Green Backs for Green
Going Green at the Beach Case Study
Clean Up Your Act
Projects 101
Behind the Walls
Water, Water Everywhere
Green Jobs and New Markets
The Olivers’ House Case Study
Going Native
Shop, Sell, & Live Local
Who Should Attend?
*Gardeners *Property Owners *People with Remodeling Projects
*Neighborhood Representatives *Small Businesses,
*Community Development Staff *Elected Officials *Advocates for the Environment
*Affordable Housing and Transportation Alternatives representatives
*YOU
The Fair features a keynote address by Charlie Stephens on Peak Oil
Come the Fair to get your map for the National Solar & Green Home Tour
featuring 15 sites to learn from owners about the benefits of going green.
One of the following:
· Canned food donation
· Old cell phone donation
· Or a suggested $5 donation

Link to conference information via our website, www.sustainablesnohomishcounty.org

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Life Cycle Thinking and Assessment

Industrial Ecology:

Creating By-Product Synergies Informed by

Life Cycle Thinking and Assessment

September 30th 1:30-5pm

In conjunction with the
American Center for Life Cycle Assessment
Annual Conference at Seattle Center





Registration Info

There is no charge for this special workshop for conference registrants & members of By-Product Synergy NW; all others are $150.

Please register your attendance at
www.brownpapertickets.com/event/42175

Conference registration and details: www.lcacenter.org/LCA8
WORKSHOP DETAILS: (see conference announcement below)

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Solar Power Your Home

Solar is Coming to EDMONDS

Sposored by – Sustainable Edmonds and the Sustainability Committee of Edmonds Unitarian Universalist Church

Date: Saturday, September 27, 2008
Place: Edmonds Unitarian Universalist Church, 8109 224th Street S.W., Edmonds, WA 98026

Time: Setup crew arrives – 12:00 PM
Doors open to the public - 1:00 PM
Meeting – 1:30 – 5:00 PM
Socialize as desired, and clean-up 4:30 – 5:00

Agenda and schedule:

1:30 – 1:45 – Welcome and introduction

1:45 – 2:45 – Eric Teegarden, Sunergy Systems (40 minutes + 20 minutes for questions)
- The energy crisis and why solar energy is needed
- How feasible is solar energy in the Seattle area?
- Incentives for installing solar energy
- Examples of existing installations
- Solar thermal applications
- Solar photovoltaic applications

2:45-3:00 – Intermission

3:00 – 3:20 – Invited speaker on solar energy national perspective
Sen. Maria Cantwell invited; awaiting reply

3:20 – 4:20 –Chris Herman, Winter Sun Design Co. (40 minutes + 20 minutes for question)
- Solar energy application from the point of view of whole house design
- Solar resources for the Northwest
- Three types of solar energy applications: passive (heating, cooling, daylighting),
photovoltaic, and solar hot water (active solar)
- Green building and energy efficiency
- Architectural features of houses incorporating solar energy

4:20 – 4:50 – Discussion and questions – Eric Teegarden and Chris Herman

4:50 – 5:00 - Wrap-up and thanks

Registration - Ask for pre-registration, but onsite registration OK. At registration table at entrance, ask for name, address, e-mail. No charge for admission, but have a basket with a sign saying a donation of $10 per family or whatever you can afford would be appreciated to support the work of Sustainable Edmonds. Have a stack of SE brochures available.

Promotion – publicity team needed

Press release – distribute by e-mail to local newspapers and environmental and solar energy groups. First press release August 15. Second press release September 1. Third press release September 15.
Meeting notices to the Herald, Beacon, and Enterprise newspapers (“Around the Town” column, etc.).
Copies to Channel 21, South County Senior Center, ACE, Snohomish County Sustainability Task Force, Sustainable Communities, SCALLOPS list, Eco-Building Guild, Solar Washington, Solar Activistis (Chris’s list), Third Place Books, many environmental groups active in the area, Edmonds Community College (Tim Hohn, Holly Hughes)

Flier – distribute by Sustainable Edmonds members posting around Edmonds in store windows, coffee houses, public buildings, etc.
For paper copies at lowest rates, try UPS copy centers at James Village and Safeway shopping center.
Poster at the Sustainable Edmonds booth at the “Green Edmonds” festival on September 13

Website – Sustainable Edmonds – full information on events page; Everything Edmonds – information on calendar page

Logistics – logistics and setup/takedown team needed

Equipment: Church has audio system and screen available. Bob Rinehart will supply cords and duct tape.
Speakers will supply own laptop computers with digital projector/
Tables at entrance: Registration (as above)
Information table – Sustainable Edmonds brochures and brochures for speakers’ companies.

Refreshments
Church will provide coffee, hot water, and tables in lobby
Tea, cups, sugar, milk and cream, napkins, paper towels
Solicit donation of cookies from QFC and PCC and sell at meeting
Food may be consumed in the etnry way and in the main hall.

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Going Green....

Going green: good citizenship, good for business

By Pat Sisneros and Lynne Munoz,Herald Columnists

We talked with three business owners who are embracing environmental sustainability as part of their business models -- and drawing customers who believe in their goals.These business owners see going green as the right thing to do for themselves, their companies, their employees and the environment. It also offers the opportunity to drive innovation and creativity at their companies, differentiate themselves in the marketplace and gain a new set of very loyal customers.

Zippy's Java LoungeWe couldn't write about green businesses in Snohomish County without talking about Zippy's Java Lounge in Everett and owner Marilyn Rosenberg. Rosenberg opened the friendly downtown coffee shop three years ago, financed with a $70,000 line of credit on her house. For the first six months, she focused on getting the business established.

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080901/BIZ/709019982read more from the Herald Newspaper

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Code Barriers to Green Building Discussion

Code Barriers to Green Building Discussion

Fourth Wednesday of August (8/27)

Central Puget Sound ChapterTime: 7-9pm

The Central Puget Sound Chapter of the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild will host a seminar discussion on code barriers to green building.

Come and join builders, architects and city permitting staff to discuss challenges or perhaps successes you have had permitting green building projects.

Coincidentally, Seattle permitting staff have just started an internal review of their own operations to see if they are inhibiting the growth of green building in any way. Come prepared to give your two cents and learn from the permitting experiences of other Guild members.

Where:Phinney Neighborhood Association
Lower Brick Building - Basement(Follow the signs)6532 Phinney Ave N

Cost:Free for NW Ecobuilding Guild members $5 Donation for Non-Members

Contact:David Vollaneducation@cps.ecobuilding.org

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Greening Up the Evergreen State Fair



Rain gardens and a pathway of porous concrete will help keep storm water cleaner at the fairgrounds in Monroe.



By Katya Yefimova, Herald Writer

Rachel McCrea, a storm water specialist for the state Department of Ecology, shows her daughter Olivia, 6, how water seeps through porous concrete at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds on Friday.

MONROE -- Rain gardens, planter boxes and a new walkway are all part of a $323,400 project finished just in time for the Evergreen State Fair's 100th birthday.The project is intended to filter pollution from storm water before it hits the area's waterways.The project was paid for by a state Department of Ecology grant the county received last year.Storm water running off roofs, lawns, roads and other surfaces is often polluted with oil, toxic metals and bacteria. As a result, it can pose serious problems for water quality in streams and aquifers.

read more from the Herald Newspaper

Sunday, August 17, 2008

City Solar Tour PUD in Everett

The City Tour for Solar is coming to Snohomish PUD on August 18, 2008.

This industry-wide educational campaign will promote photovoltaic solar energy with a free mobile exhibit for the public and tools for city, business and utility leaders.

SunEdison and its City Tour partners Evergreen Solar, SMA America, Uni-Solar, and Xantrex have developed an exciting Tour, scheduled to visit more than 50 cities in 100 days. We warmly welcome you to visit the exhibit at the PUD's Headquarters Building at 2320 California St. in Everett on August 18 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.

In a time of growing economic, environmental, and energy concerns, the City Tour for Solar offers solutions to PUD customers - a clean, secure, predictably priced energy resource that contributes permanent green collar jobs to our local economy.

Please stop by their website at www.CityTourforSolar.com <http://www.citytourforsolar.com/> if you have any questions, or better yet come by and see the exhibit!

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Greening Snohomish County/Green Everett Renewable Living Fair

"Greening Snohomish County" Conference - Taking Actions in your Home, Business, and Community on Fri, Oct. 3rd "Green” has become a national obsession – it’s everywhere in the news, in advertising, and on people’s minds. But how to decide what to do and where to go for clean green information? One easy answer is to attend the SDTF’s Greening Snohomish County: Taking Actions in your Home, Business, and Community Conference. This is your chance to learn how you personally can protect our natural resources on a local level – reaching your desired carbon footprint and walking the talk in your community. PUD, 2320 California Street in Everett.

Green Everett Renewable Living Fair and Solar & Green Home Tour
Sat., Oct 4th
Join us for the 3rd annual Green Everett Renewable Living Fair and the Solar & Green Home Tour. Following on the huge success of the Fair last year, Green Everett is working on getting more vendors and more participants to this hands-on event. Learn about solar in the Northwest and salmon in the city. PUD, 2320 California Street in Everett

More details to come in the special Conference/Fair & Tour Elements edition!

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Urban Waterfront Revitalization

Join Mayor Cary Bozeman and the City of Bremerton on September 10 - 12
as they host fellow communities and pioneers leading the revitalization of these important assets in this highly interactive event.

Our registrant list reads like a who's who of community and port decision makers--CEOs, Executive Directors, Mayors, Councilmembers, Directors of Planning, Directors of Economic Development, Directors of Operations, Project Managers, Designers, and other high-level decision makers who care about our waterfronts.

click here to open PDF

GREEN COURSE Happening


Building, Marketing and
Financing Green Construction

Join Anna Porter, writer and co-visionary of the national award winning Going Green at the Beach deep green demonstration home. The home has 5 certifications and has been featured on KOMO TV and Planet Greens’ Renovation Nation series. The class will include an in-depth tour of the home while discussing key green features and building methodologies. Also discussed in this session will be the latest in green financing incentives and programs, insurance considerations, and ways to market your green homes to improve traffic to your sit. Tips on living green will be provided.

Date: Aug 13th -- 9:00 – 12:30
(course starts promptly at 9 am)

Location: 19126 Soundview Drive NW, Stanwood WA 98292
Some street parking available – car pooling encouraged

Details: Call Anna @ 425 753-0385 if you have any questions. Space is limited.

Fee: $45 per person (in advance), includes all course materials

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Restoration Horticulture at Edmonds College

















Edmonds Community College offers a unique, new two-year degree in Restoration Horticulture that will train students to help restore damaged land, habitat, and ecosystems in a range of rural, suburban, and urban environments.

The Restoration Horticulture program trains students to replant natural areas by designing, establishing, and stewarding native plant communities. It also teaches them to how to create green spaces in urban settings using green roofs and walls, and bioswales (drainage troughs that filter runoff water).

“Helping to restore ecosystems in damaged natural areas is an emerging and critically important field. Restoration work is often dependent upon the successful use of plants. We’re training students to provide that expertise,” said instructor Timothy Hohn, chair of the college’s Horticulture Department.

The degree includes foundation courses within the college’s well-established horticulture program such as plant identification, soils, pest management, and pruning as well as new restoration horticulture classes including Introduction to Restoration Ecology, HORT 250, and Pacific Northwest Land and Water Issues, HORT 249.

click here for more

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Previous Concrete and Permeable Pavers!

GREEN COUNCIL
Thursday, August 7, 2008
11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Bring Your Own Lunch!

Construction Industry Training Council
1930 116th Ave NE, Bellevue, Room 205
PH 425.454.2482

Pervious Concrete and Permeable Pavers: Are They the Right Choice for Your Project?
By Andy Marks, Managing Director of the Concrete Council and
Dave Parisi, Commercial Hardscape Specialist, Mutual Materials Co.

With stormwater regs getting tougher all the time, more and more projects are using hardscape materials that reduce runoff. At our August roundtable we’ll examine two of the most talked-about options, pervious concrete and permeable pavers.

Have your questions answered about using these materials on your projects, such as:
- What pervious materials are available, and how do they compare?
- How are they viewed by local jurisdictions?
- Are there conditions when they shouldn’t be used?
- How do they perform over time and in different applications?
- What does it take to install and maintain them properly?
- What can go wrong?

click here for more info

LEED GROCERY STORES

SNOHOMISH COUNTY LEED GROUP


  • September Topic: LEED Grocery Stores – tentatively a tour of the new Edmonds PCC



Contact Scott Schreffler at Dykeman ScottS@Dykeman.net or 425/259.3161 to attend!

PUD, 2320 California Street in Everett.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

This informal group meets the 3rd Wednesday of each month at noon at the PUD in Everett to talk about LEED, the green building rating system operated by US Green Building Council.

LEED for New Construction in Sept...

Snohomish County now is your time to go LEED

Everett LEED for New Construction Technical Review

September 10, 2008 from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm

Snohomish PUD, 2320 California Street, Everett, WA

Contact Email
workshop@usgbc.org
Contact Phone
1-800-795-1747

Are you ready to enter the rapidly growing green building market?
Attend the LEED® for New Construction and Major Renovations Technical Review Workshop presented by the U.S. Green Building Council. Gain the knowledge needed to maximize commercial building performance, achieve LEED certification and take the LEED Professional Accreditation Exam.

CLICK HERE FOR FLYER AND REGISTRATION LINK!
Thanks to our workshop sponsor!

Check-in and breakfast at 8:00am, workshop starts at 8:30am
More information about this event…

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Rooftop Garden on the Dog's House




Gretel, emerges from her doghouse with features a green roof



Skip the ordinary doghouse; give your pooch a homemade, garden-topped refuge that is cooler, in every sense of the word, than anything else around.
By
Bettijane Levine Los Angeles Times

MICHAEL ROBINSON CHAVEZ / TPN
Green roofs are good. They clean the air, cool the house below, provide rest stops for birds and butterflies. If you work well with wood and want to try a green roof, why not start by building one for your dog?


Landscape architect Stephanie Rubin and her partner, sculptor Chris Isner, sell doghouses with rooftop gardens for $1,000 to $4,000. Your homemade version will cost a lot less — and the dog in residence will appreciate a plant-topped refuge that is cooler, in every sense of the word, than anything else around.


Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Runoff Polutions: State and Local Governments side with Builders

Environmentalists seek 'low impact' mandates Governments side with builders

By ROBERT McCLURE
P-I REPORTER

Gov. Chris Gregoire made restoring Puget Sound a key part of her environmental policy.

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels is known as one of the greenest mayors in the country.

And King County Executive Ron Sims has long labored to make sure people know he loves the Earth.

Yet who's standing in the way of requiring building techniques that a growing chorus of scientists says could rein in the largest source of most of Puget Sound's worst pollutants?

Gregoire's Ecology Department. And the city of Seattle. And King County. And Tacoma, and Pierce and Snohomish counties, and other local governments.


click here to read more

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

GREEN DRINKS SNOHOMISH COUNTY

GREEN DRINKS SNOHOMISH COUNTY

July 8th from 5:30-7:30pm

Let’s raise a toast to the planet while we figure

out ways to not toast the planet!



Jessica Pavish, a Snohomish County native, has had the good fortune to
visit many places all over the world and really wants to make sure that
our kids (hers and yours and all the people we'll never meet, because
they haven't been born yet) will inherit a planet that is as beautiful and
diverse as the one we've enjoyed. She's an avid recycler and is often
found at our local Goodwill store.

Jessica has been serving client's investment needs since 1984 - ask how
she can "green-up your green". You're sure to enjoy her extensive
collection of work by local artists and refreshments provided by
"The Savory Table". She is excited to share her Edward Jones
office located in Everett's first mixed-use/affordable housing development .

Edward Jones
22511 Colby
Everett 98201

Friday, June 20, 2008

Rebates in Everett Helps Consumers Go GREEN

Rebate program helps consumers go green

Chances are, if your home is more than 16 years old, your toilets are due for a facelift. At up to seven gallons a flush, older toilets are water hogs, wasting natural resources and hurting consumers' wallets.To promote change, the city of Everett Water Conservation Program will give $100 rebates to 1,500 consumers who upgrade their toilet or clothes washer to newer, more efficient models. Both the city and consumers save money and help conserve water as a result. The program is open to all water customers of the city of Everett, which includes most of the county. Snohomish County PUD also has similar programs for energy-efficient dishwashers and clothes washers.

Read more....

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

"Rapid" in 520 Tansit

Putting the "rapid" in 520 transit
Sound Transit is asking for input on a potential ballot measure for November of this year to fund major transit improvements all over the three-county region, including light-rail extensions further south, north, and east.

By Rob Wilkinson and Jonathan Dubman
Special to The Times

Sound Transit is asking for input on a potential ballot measure for November of this year to fund major transit improvements all over the three-county region, including light-rail extensions further south, north, and east. They envision light rail along Interstate 90, and bus rapid transit — or BRT — service on Highway 520, which will soon be rebuilt.

Both corridors are critical, but Sound Transit has focused on improving I-90 to the exclusion of Highway 520. The state is poised to make a major and necessary investment in the Highway 520 corridor, and Sound Transit should join that effort.

read more

House Hears Testimony on Green Communities

BILL TARGETS FEDERAL PROGRAMS, FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

Last week, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on broad legislation aimed at improving energy efficiency in buildings and federal housing programs and encouraging the development of green communities. The Green Resources for Energy Efficient Neighborhoods Act (H.R. 6078) was introduced by Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.). The legislation is co-sponsored by Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and House Appropriations Subcommittee on Housing and Transportation Chairman John Olver (D-Mass.).

"This legislation proves that it is easy to be green," said Perlmutter. "This bill helps revitalize our economy by making energy efficiency practices more affordable, accessible, and achievable by consumers, businesses, and government entities.

"The bill aims to help local governments with green building initiatives by creating a new residential energy efficient block grant program based on the same distribution formula as Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). The legislation would also require HUD to overhaul energy efficiency requirements for all federal housing programs from Section 8 to HOPE VI. Residential buildings constructed with federal support would have to meet more stringent energy standards. The bill also offers incentives for housing developers to work with landscapers to plant and care for trees and outlines the requirement of a landscaping plan for assisted housing.

A major focus of the legislation is encouraging Government Sponsored Enterprises (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) to expand and promote the use of location-efficient mortgages and energy-efficient mortgages. The legislation also amends the Community Reinvestment Act to allow financial institutions to consider energy efficiency improvements made by low-income and first-time buyers when assessing home values and loans. The aim, according to supporters, is to provide lower interest loans and other benefits to consumers who build, buy, or remodel homes or other buildings to improve energy efficiency.

With the backing of House leaders, the bill is expected to move forward later this summer.

Saturday, June 07, 2008

Wildlife Habitats at Camano Gardens Tour

















Photo credit: Elizabeth Armstrong / The Herald

(Zsofia Pasztor is a member of the Sustainable Development Task Force of Snohomish County)

New Camano garden tour celebrates homeowners' wildlife habitats
By Debra Smith Herald Writer

What may matter most at Kitty and Stu Smith's place is what you won't see. No blackberry brambles, no nettles, no lawn.That's remarkable, considering that not too long ago, this chunk of wooded property on Camano Island had an abundance of all of the above.Today it feels naturally beautiful, as if it has always been this way. That's the point."Our goal was to preserve as much as we could and add in a way that looks as if it was never added to," said Zsofia Pasztor, a landscape designer who worked on the project.

read more

Friday, May 23, 2008

Acidified SeaWater Showing up Along Coast

Acidified seawater showing up along coast ahead of schedule
By Sandi Doughton

Senate hearingon ocean acidificationSen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., will hold a field hearing in Seattle on Tuesday on "Climate Change and Ocean Acidification: Impacts on Puget Sound." The hearing will be from 10 a.m. to noon in the Seattle Aquarium's Puget Sound Great Room. For more information, call Cantwell's office at 206-220-6400.

Climate models predicted it wouldn't happen until the end of the century.
So a team led by Seattle researchers was stunned to discover that vast swaths of acidified seawater already are showing up along the Pacific Coast as greenhouse-gas emissions upset the oceans' chemical balance.

In surveys from Vancouver Island to the tip of Baja California, reported Thursday in the online journal Science Express, the scientists found the first evidence that large amounts of corrosive water are reaching the continental shelf — the shallow sea margin where most marine creatures live.

Off Northern California, the acidified water was only four miles from shore.
"What we found ... was truly astonishing," said oceanographer Richard Feely, of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle. "This means ocean acidification may be seriously impacting marine life on the continental shelf right now."

All along the coast, the scientists found regions where the water was acidic enough to dissolve the shells and skeletons of clams, corals and many of the tiny creatures at the base of the marine food chain. Acidified water also can kill fish eggs and a wide range of marine larvae.
"Entire marine ecosystems are likely to be affected," said co-author Debby Ianson, an oceanographer at Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Though it hasn't received as much attention as global warming, ocean acidification is a flip side of the same phenomenon. The increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide from power plants, factories and cars that is raising temperatures worldwide also is to blame for the increasing acidity of the world's oceans.

Normally, seawater is slightly alkaline. When carbon dioxide from the atmosphere dissolves into the water, it forms carbonic acid — the weak acid that helps give soda pop its tang. The process also robs the water of carbonate, a key ingredient in the formation of calcium carbonate shells.
Since the Industrial Revolution, when humans began pumping massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, Feely estimates the oceans have absorbed 525 billion tons of the man-made greenhouse gas — about one-third of the total released during that period.
By keeping some of the carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, the oceans have blunted the temperature rise due to global warming. But they've suffered for that service, with a more than 30-percent increase in acidity.

The acidified water does not pose a direct threat to people. "We're not talking battery acid here," said co-author Burke Hales, an oceanographer at Oregon State University.

On the pH scale, which measures acidity, strongly alkaline materials such as oven cleaner measure about 13. Hydrochloric acid has a pH of 1. Seawater usually measures around 8.1. The most acidic water the scientists found off the Pacific Coast measured 7.6 on the pH scale. The numerical difference may seem slight, but it represents a threefold increase in acidity, Hales said.

Until now, researchers believed the most acidified water was confined to the deep oceans. Cold water, which holds more carbon dioxide, sinks. Deep waters also are naturally high in carbon dioxide, which is a byproduct of the decay of plankton.

Feely and his NOAA colleague Christopher Sabine previously have shown that zones of acidified water are growing and moving closer to the surface as the oceans absorb more man-made carbon dioxide.

During surveys on the Pacific Coast last year, a team including Feely and Sabine discovered the natural upwelling that occurs along the West Coast each spring and early summer is pulling the acidified water onto the continental shelf.

"I think this is a red flag for us, because it's right at our doorstep on the West Coast," said Victoria Fabry, a biological oceanographer at California State University, San Marcos, who was not involved with the study. "It's telling us that we really need more monitoring to figure out what's going on."

Climate scientist Ken Caldeira, of the Carnegie Institution at Stanford University, said the finding underscores the limitations of computer models.

"This is another example where what's happening in the natural world seems to be happening much faster than what our climate models predict," he said. And there's worse to come, the scientists warn.

A network of currents shuffles ocean water around the globe. The acidified water upwelling along the coast today was last exposed to the atmosphere about 50 years ago, when carbon-dioxide levels were much lower than they are now. That means the water that will rise from the depths over the coming decades will have absorbed more carbon dioxide and will be even more acidic.
"We've got 50 years worth of water that's already left the station and is on its way to us," Hales said. "Each one of those years is going to be a little bit more corrosive than the one before."

Sandi Doughton: 206-464-2491 or sdoughton@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

LEED User Group of Snohomish County

LEED® User Group in Snohomish County

The North Sound LEED User Group meets the 3rd Wednesday of each month
at noon at the PUD in Everett to talkabout LEED, the green building rating system operated by US Green Building Council.


May 21st - Thor Peterson from Cascadia Green Building Council will talk about their Living Building Challenge initiative.

June 18 - Alistair Jackson of O'Brien and Company will give a guided tour of "Going Green at the Beach" project, which has achieved LEED Gold.

July's Topic: Energy Modeling for LEED
August’s Topic: LEED Materials
September Topic: LEED Grocery Stores

Contact Scott Schreffler at Dykeman ScottS@Dykeman.net or 425-259-3161

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Most Endangerd Properties List

WASHINGTON TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION

NOMINATION TO 2007 MOST ENDANGERED PROPERTIES LIST

THE HEWITT AVENUE RAILROAD BRIDGE AND UNDERLYING STREET

EVERETT, WASHINGTON

Describe the current use and condition of the site.

Our nomination involves two aspects of an interconnected site: a bridge and the street below.

The railroad bridge is on a main Amtrak Line and BNSF freight line where Hewitt Avenue meets the waterfront as it crosses under the bridge. It most likely replaced a wooden bridge built in 1902 that marked the western terminus of the Great Northern Railroad. The bridge is virtually unchanged since its construction in 1910. It is structurally sound, but in need graffiti removal, cleaning and a coat of paint.

The street portion is a City owned approximately one-half acre of right-of-way that has been crudely fenced off since 2001 as part of past policies and concerted efforts by the Port and BNSF to close the docks to the public while eliminating traffic conflicts with the trains. Currently, the area is an unsightly mess complete with chain link fencing, broken pavement, tall weeds and windblown garbage.

The setting provides a panoramic view of the commercial activity that has been and continues to be one of the hallmarks of Everett.

What is the historical significance of the property? Has it been placed on a national, state or local register? If not, has it been determined eligible for the National Register?

The bridge is an increasingly rare steel girder bridge and in fact may be the last surviving one in Everett, a town known as the place where rail meets sail.

For hundreds of years native people spent summers at this site since fresh water flowed down nearby Forgotten Creek and in an unnamed stream that flowed down Everett Avenue. About 1861, the first non-native settler in Everett, Dennis Brigham, built a cabin very near and possibly on the site.

Originally paved in locally manufactured red brick, Hewitt Avenue has been “Main Street” for Everett since its incorporation in 1893. Historically, Hewitt Avenue marked the entrance to the Port and crossing under the bridge provided the link for people between downtown and The City Dock where many goods, services and passengers arrived and departed to and from Everett. The west end of Hewitt Avenue and a half block to the south on Bond Street was the heart of commerce and activity when Everett was young. The surrounding property included many no longer surviving significant structures: The Bayview Hotel on Bond Street which also acted as the rail depot until a proper one was constructed across the street to the west. Directly adjacent to the bridge is Mulligan Saloon built in 1906. Renamed the Anchor Tavern when prohibition was repealed, it has survived as one of a handful of continuously operating saloons in a city known as a hard drinking, hard working logging and mill town. Although some people in Everett are trying to obliterate history by ignoring the Everett Massacre of 1916, the labor conflict which took place only a few hundred feet from the site, inspires inquiries to this day about the struggles that workers and business owners encountered in the early 20th century. In the Historical Survey Report of November, 1973 prepared by David Dilgard and Margaret Riddle of the Northwest Room of the Everett Public Library, the suggestion was made that this site ought to be placed on the National and State Historic Register. The recommendation was never acted on.

Give a brief history of the property and tell us why it continues to be important to your community.

For all of the reasons mentioned above, this site reminds people of the City’s connection to the waterfront, and their own relationships to the people who lived before. Of what it must have been like to be a new person in the last of the American Frontier. Considering its blue collar origins - what an exciting place Everett must have been.

Why do you consider the property to be endangered? Please be specific about impending threats to the property.

No reason has ever been given for the need for replacement, but on October 2, 2006 BNSF made application to the City of Everett to demolish the bridge and replace it with a 45 foot wide earth berm. The City has issued a Final Mitigated Determination of Non-Significance allowing

construction of the berm and demolition of the bridge. Mitigation was minimal and allowed only for landscaping of the berm, a vaguely described pedestrian walkway in the berm and a viewing stand to be placed alongside the tracks. In their environmental review, BNSF attached no historic value to the site or the structure.

What is currently being done currently to save the property? Who is involved and what resources, financial or otherwise have been directed toward this effort.

We have filed an appeal with the City challenging the Final MDNS. A group has formed consisting of prominent citizens, business people, The Pt. Gardner and Bayside Neighborhood Associations, property owners in the immediate vicinity and Historic Everett. The neighborhoods have agreed to adopt the site and will apply for Office of Neighborhoods matching grants funds to help with restoration and maintenance. We have participated in meetings with City Planning Staff. We are working with Parks and Recreation Staff. And they have assured us they will help with the design, construction and maintenance of the site as a park. Both local newspapers, The Daily Herald and The Everett Tribune, have written supportive articles about preserving the site and the attendant history as recently as December 2006.

What is your long term goal for this property?

Immediate preservation of the steel plate bridge along with continued maintenance. Preservation of the turn of the 20th Century brick street. To create a more visually pleasing setting on the publicly owned property. Honor the place with historical markers that educate the public about the early railroad, the Everett Massacre and the original industrial waterfront and its connection to Downtown. Create open space for the people who live and work in the increasingly dense downtown core. Ensure visual and physical public access to the waterfront and related shorelines of statewide significance.

Green Drinks to be at Anchor Tavern

ERIKA SCHULTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES

The historic Anchor Tavern in Everett is located on the western end of Hewitt Avenue in a "flatiron" building that dates back to 1906.

June 10th 5:30pm The SDTF is hosting the second Green Drinks in Snohomish County at the Anchor Tavern, 1001 Hewitt Avenue, Everett, WA 98201 ....

Come socialize with Everett professionals and community members about environmental issues. Excerpt from the Seattle Times on the Anchor Tavern from July 4, 2007...

From decades past

The west end of Hewitt still reflects the city's working-class, mill-town roots.

Four one-time tavern buildings remain between the bridge and Marine View Drive. The Anchor occupies a classic "flatiron" brick building, which opened as an office in 1906, then converted one year later to Mulligan's Saloon. It has been the Anchor since 1934; the actual anchor on its sidewalk dates to its founding.

Seamen based at nearby Naval Station Everett "borrowed" the anchor several months ago, then returned it with a new blue-and-yellow paint job.

Two storefronts up, a Hawaiian restaurant that relocated from the downtown core has taken over an historic two-story wooden building that once housed another saloon.

And Anchor regular David Williams, a 26-year-old artist, remembers a childhood spent skateboarding past the old Blue Diamond, in a small building that now houses a Thai restaurant.

He would make faces through the window, he recalls, prompting pub patrons to come outside and watch him skate down the block and beneath the trestle.

"This is Everett," he said, nodding at the industrial-looking bridge. "It's been here forever; why take it down?"

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