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To think that an outsider like the American Chemistry Council has the money, power and influence to change city government policy in this way is alarming to say the least. The American Chemistry Council has no interest in the health of the Seattle area, only their financial gain. Seattle has become a battle ground for this issue on a national and even global scale as other cities are preparing similar fee or ban initiatives. This ballot measure on August 19th will set the stage around the nation for debates and policy making that could put an end to the waste and pollution that plastic bags create. Seattle has an opportunity to be a leader in policy making that will protect our environment and start to reverse the damage that has already been done. Other cities like San Francisco and countries like Ireland have successfully reduced plastic bag use by up to 90%. Plastic Bags are made from High Density Polyethylene, which is made from propane and butane or liquid petroleum gas. The process to make liquid petroleum gas is resource intensive and the process of creating the bags is toxic causing environmental damage and endangering human health. Some of the key ingredients used to make plastic bags are DEHP and Vinyl Chloride. These chemicals decrease sperms levels, act as a neurotoxin and are proven carcinogens causing liver, kidney and brain damage. Chemical plants that produce plastics rank the highest in carcinogen emissions creating a huge threat to our environment and health. Once these toxic bags are produced they have to be shipped to their destination via boat, plane and truck all requiring foreign oil to reach the destination. Plastic bags are rarely if ever recycled, choking waterways and landfills. They are a huge threat to marine life and the food chain that supports much of the life on earth. Plastic bags account for 90% of the floating litter in the ocean as well as 80% of the litter on roads, beaches and parks. It is estimated that over 100,000 birds, seals, whales and other marine life die every year by ingesting plastics in the ocean that are mistaken for real food. The plastic bags are also killing coral reefs which support entire ecosystems in oceans around the world. We have been tricked into believing that we need plastic bags purely out of convenience. The plastic shopping bag showed up in the mid 70’s in super markets and retail stores. The plastic bag was not created out of a need…but for a profit. They are cheap to produce and the profit margin is high. Because they are rarely reused or recycled the demand is constant. These plastic bags along with other non recycled plastics are an immediate threat to our health and the future of our planet. Scientists around the world are encouraging a global ban of plastic bags. There are a variety of reusable bag options available. These bags have a small upfront cost and create a way for every individual to make a difference and live a more sustainable life. Many are concerned that a bag fee will unfairly alienate the economically challenged. To address this concern the City of Seattle will use a portion of the collected bag fee to promote the switch from plastic bags and subsidize the distribution of free reusable bags. If you are a resident of Seattle please vote to APPROVE Referendum 1 on August 18th which will approve the bag. This is an opportunity we can not afford to put off. If we can not approve a toxic plastic bag fee…how will we address larger issues affecting the health of our planet and our future. If you live in another city or another country please encourage your local government to implement a bag fee or ban. More information can be found at The Seattle Green Bag Campaign. There is an event to support the bag fee on June 18th 6-8pm at the Fremont Brewery. Come show your support and make a donation to help fight Big Oil’s already pledged $2 million to fight the bag fee in Seattle.
The public turnout was strong as expected in an environmentally progressive city like Seattle. The comments to the EPA came from young, old, moms, dads, scientists, activists and everyone in between. All with the common sentiment being, we must act now to stop global warming. It was clear that there is without a doubt strong public support for action from the EPA to curb global warming. The EPA is on the verge of finalizing its endangerment findings which will create a solid plan to regulate global warming pollution, culminating decades of work by scientists and environmentalists. Governor Christine Gregoire was also on hand to announce Washington States commitment to reduce green house gas emissions. She signed an executive order that reduces traffic and emissions in urban areas, sets a low-carbon fuel standard, as well as requiring Washington’s only coal-fired electricity generating plant in Centralia to comply with the state emissions performance standards reserved for new power plants, providing at least 50% emissions reductions from the plant….which is fantastic! The buzz in the air was electric and optimism was king as we are finally taking steps in the right direction to save our planet and way of life.
To recap, our government is allowing multi-national company’s to buy up our water for cheap and then sell it back to us in a toxic plastic bottle for an ungodly price. Last year Americans spent $15 billion dollars on bottled water. The bottled water market has recently more than doubled in the United States, overtaking juice, milk, and beer to become the second most popular beverage after soft drinks. Coca Cola, Pepsi and Nestle are the three major players in the bottled water industry producing well known brands like Dasani, Aquafina, Poland Spring, Arrowhead and Calistoga. Both Coca-Cola and Pepsi exclusively use tap water for their bottled water products and Nestle is ruthlessly sucking communities aquifers and rivers dry. They claim to use an elaborate reverse osmosis process to purify the water that turns out to be essentially the same as a home water filtration system like a Brita water filter. Then there is the issue of the discarded plastic bottles. It takes more than 17 million barrels of oil every year to produce the bottles and another 18 million barrels to ship the water. During the production of these water bottles it takes on average 3 to 5 times more water to manufacture than is contained in the bottle itself. More than 38 billion bottles end up in our landfills every year and billions more end up in our water ways making their way to the ocean adding to the swirling mess of plastic that is contaminating our food chain. Disappointingly only 1 in 10 plastic water bottles is ever recycled. So what can you do? Well the best thing would be to not drink bottled water unless it is the only option. We have to deprogram ourselves from the onslaught of marketing and propaganda the bottled water industry has subjected us to. Its become more of a habit than anything for most. Use a home water filtration system and use tap water which provides an efficient and safe delivery system. Instead of a plastic bottle try a stainless steel, glass or aluminum container. The reasons to not drink bottled water are many…the reasons to drink are a farce created by the companies that are stealing your water as I speak. Below is a trailer for a great movie called Tapped. I’m sure you wont see this in your local theater or Netflix for that matter. Funny how valuable info that would benefit the public at large tends to get swept under the rug…?
My first stop was the Jones Soda headquarters in downtown Seattle. There was a crowd of people outside and curiosity lured me to check it out. In support of Earth Day, Jones Soda decided to go off the grid for an day and generate their own electricity. They had 10 stationary bikes set up and connected to used car alternators and inverters as each bike fed power into a battery storage system. This system powered the entire office including lights, computers, printers, fax machines and servers. The staff at Jones lured passerby’s to stop in and peddle for a few minutes and they were sent on their way with a t-shirt, soda and a feel good experience. I stopped in and peddled for 15 minutes and I have to say it felt great…to think that a group of people could create electricity without burning fossil fuels in such a simple manner. Its a powerful statement and a shocking wake up call that we need to look past coal and oil and embrace clean forms of energy now…not tomorrow. Next I stopped at the Carrot Mob event in partnership with Seattle Greendrinks and Pike Pub and Brewery. Carrot Mob was created as a way to organize consumers to make purchases at businesses that pledge to spend a percentage of sales during the Carrot Mob event to perform energy retrofits in their establishment. The first event that was held in San Francisco was amazingly successful and has set the stage for many more events in the future. The concept is highly scalable with applications as small as convenience stores to major manufacturers of consumer products. It gives the mobs buying power and influence to create change and reward businesses that pledge to make their business more sustainable. This is a welcome change for many consumers that are tired of waiting for businesses and governments to take steps on their own to become efficient and sustainable. The Seattle Carrot Mob event was a great event designed to help the Pike Pub Brewery perform energy efficient retrofits to their brewery and restaurant. They pledged to set aside 25% of the sales for updates to help make the pub more energy efficient. Seattle City Light also teamed up with the brewery to subsidize some of the cost for the retrofit. The event is a win for all involved. The restaurant increases its normal sales volume, becomes a more efficient and sustainable business, and consumers get to spend their money on a product that is inherently more sustainable.You can sign up on the Carrot Mob page to receive notice when there is a Carrot Mob event in your area. There were Earth Day events all over the city of Seattle with tremendous support. This was very inspiring…but its an attitude we need to have every day not just on Earth Day. Check out the video below from the first Carrot Mob event in San Fran…..amazing!
At Blue Sky they use naturally occuring and reclaimed CO2 as an alternative to the traditional toxic dry cleaning chemicals. The CO2 is pressurized and takes the form of a liquid which has unparalleled cleaning characteristics. The process is heat free avoiding further setting of stains, which preserves the longevity of colors, fibers and fabrics. The environmental and health benefits are many including, no chemical residue next to skin, no pollution, no site contamination, no toxic waste and no chemical odor. Blue Sky also offers Smoke and Mold Restoration services using a combination of liquid CO2 and Ozone. They offer 24 hour on site emergency response with specially outfitted trucks and response teams. Travel, fuel and the first 3 months of storage are free. This seems like a great toxic free alternative to dry cleaning. The pricing appears to be very competitive as well. Considering how toxic dry cleaning is for the environment this green dry cleaning service is a welcome addition to Seattle neighborhoods. The Seattle entrepreneurs that started Blue Sky Cleaners have successfully created a sustainable business filling a need in the traditionally unsustainable dry cleaning industry. Blue Sky also offers free pickup and delivery…check em out!
This event was formed nearly 40 years ago as a way to educate and inform the world about the importance of protecting the environment. Yet we are still faced with the same problems experts identified in the 70’s. Rather than encourage and develop solutions we have largely ignored environmental issues. Leaders have recently taken notice that drought, famine, water shortages, rising sea levels, climate change and rampant pollution are all due to our neglect and disregard for the planets complex ecosystem that we are directly reliant on. Unfortunately we have procrastinated and waited until the final hour to address these issue. Earth Day 09 marks the beginning of the Green Generation Campaign. The core principles of this campaign are to create a carbon-free future based on renewable energy that will eliminate our need of fossil fuels, individuals commitment to responsible and sustainable consumption, and the creation of a green economy that will create millions of green jobs. We know we must change the way we live our lives in order to reduce our impact and create a balance with the Earth. The Green Generation Campaign aims to organize consumers, educators, politicians, innovators and industries to make sustainable living a reality. The Earth Day Network website is a great resource of info. You can find events in your area here. Below is a list of some Earth Day 2009 events in Seattle. Get involved and show your support. April 17-19 * Green Apple Festival: Get to the core of the climate-change issue by contributing to solutions via tree-planting efforts, energy efficiency retrofits, forest restoration, and more. Volunteer projects are available throughout the Seattle area Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. April 18 * Earth Day at the Arboretum: Dig deep to help remove invasive species, lay down mulch, and otherwise beautify the Arboretum. High-school students from the Student Conservation Association will lead projects from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Tools, gloves, and materials will be provided, but you should bring a water bottle, sack lunch, snacks, travel mug for a hot drink, sunscreen, rain gear, long pants, layers of clothing, and boots. April 22 * Carrotmob at Pike Pub: Raise a glass to sustainability during this all-day Carrotmob event in partnership with Seattle Green Drinks and the Pike Pub & Brewery on Earth Day. Use your green to do green by buying lunch, happy-hour drinks, dinner, or all of the above—25 percent of all sales will go back into into the store in the form of energy retrofits and other improvements to the pub’s efficiency, waste reduction, etc.
This is an admirable goal and a step in the right direction no doubt. But if you want to effectively reach or exceed that goal wouldn’t it make sense that for every public trash can there be a recycle can next to it? Actually if you do the math you would need 6 recycle cans for every 4 trash cans….hmmm. Its always shocking to see the amount of plastic water bottles, cans and paper that end up in the trash cans on Seattle’s city streets. Especially when we know how bad plastic is for the environment and that it is choking our oceans with waste that will last indefinitely. It just make sense to give people the option to recycle rather than throw away. Every city should adopt a policy that requires a recycle can be installed next to a trash can. If recycling is a serious goal then this an obvious solution to decrease waste and increase recycling. I am sure many people that throw away a recyclable in a trash can stop and feel guilty for a “second” and wonder…where was the recycle can…I do.  poster: Shepard Fairey Earth Hour is March 28th at 8:30pm local time…wherever you may be on the planet…flip the switches and turn your lights off to fight global warming! During Earth Hour millions…hopefully billions of people will shut off their lights for one hour to show their support of the planet. This is a global vote for earth and call to take action. This is a statement that every individual the world over can make that will show the organized desire of people to protect our planet. The before and after photos from space will be a powerful message that the world supports climate change policy. The results of this organized vote for Earth will be presented to the world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. This conference will lead to the creation of government policies to stop global warming, replacing the Kyoto Protocol. Earth Hour organizers anticipate that the overwhellming public support for the one hour of lights off around the world will help create political will and shape government policy. This a very simple thing that we can all do to show support for the Earth and our future. Raising awareness to encourage the appropriate steps be taken to stop global warming is paramount. We are at a critical point where measurable and focused action needs to be taken to curb green house gas emissions and encourage clean forms of renewable energy. Spread the word to your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers and classmates. Check out the great Earth Hour website and use some of their social networking tools to spread the word.
Michael McGinn was previously a partner at Stokes Lawrence law firm, local chair of the Sierra Club, president of the Greenwood Community Council, and founder of the Seattle Great City Initiative. The Great City Initiative is a non-profit group of neighborhood leaders, stakeholders and citizens working together create a model of economic and environmental sustainability. In his announcement McGinn noted three of the keys issues he would address as mayor being schools, transportation and technology infrastructure. He said he would focus intently on the troubled school system of Seattle and if there was no improvement after the first two years of his term he would press for a city takeover of the school system like several progressive mayors have done…something that Mayor Nickels has yet to address. This is an obviously hot issue with Seattle citizens…considering the recent uproar regarding the slated school closures throughout the city. McGinn said, “A great city needs a great school system”. He added, “If after four years we’re still looking at the same situation, then Seattle voters should fire me and get a new mayor who will take care of Seattle’s schools. It’s to important for no elected official to be held directly responsible.” McGinn also criticized Nickles for supporting the deep bore tunnel to replace the aging viaduct, when in a referendum 70 percent of voters opposed the tunnel option. He feels the $2 billion secured for the tunnel could be used to fund upgrades to mass transit, upgrading surface streets, as well as many other programs and infrastructure projects. He has a point when you consider that the tunnel only addresses the viaduct, it doesn’t address a transit system in dire need of more buses for the 20 percent increase in ridership. Or the fact that supporting a tunnel option does nothing to help curb greenhouse gas emissions. McGinn said, “My goal is to banish the phrase overcrowded buses from our vocabulary. If you go to the bus stop, there should be a bus coming, it should be clean, and it should get you going when you need to get there.” He also noted that Seattle was falling behind in technological infrastructure. His goal would be to use the public utility Seattle City Light to install broadband service to every household. McGinn said, “This is how we become the hotbed that creates the next Amazon, the next Microsoft, the next bio-tech company.” McGinn also challenged Mayor Nickels environmental goals. He noted that while Nickels spearheaded mayors from around the country to sign the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, which led to 951 mayors singing the agreement, he has done little to enact policies that will actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To me this sounds a lot like the creation of the Kyoto Protocol that was never signed by the US…..doesn’t it? In closing McGinn said, “We’re one of the smartest and most creative cities in the world. We have people here who know how to tackle problems and solve them. But we’re not doing it. Our politics and our policies don’t reflect the strengths of our people. We need to start making the right choices, and position ourselves for success in a really tough world.” Mayor Nickels has already raised an estimated $300,000 dollars for his re-election campaign. If he were to win this would be his 3rd term as mayor. But his approval rating is slipping amongst Seattle voters, possibly signaling the desire for a fresh face and new policies. To his advantage Michael McGinn has strong ties in neighborhood leadership groups and a team of scrappy grass roots organizers and fund raisers that have been very successful to date. This is sure to be an interesting race. Stay tuned……
Seattle is considered to be one of the greenest cities in the nation. Come out to the Green Festival and learn how we can truly make it the greenest and not just talk about it! Spread the word to your family, friends and coworkers…the bigger turnout the better. Consider taking a bus, carpooling or riding a bike to the event. If you ride your bike or take public transportation to get to the event you will get $5 off your admission. See you there! |
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The citizens of Seattle will soon have an opportunity to support or reject a 20-cent plastic and paper bag fee. This bag fee was 
Yesterday Seattle hosted the last of only two 
Corporations that sell bottled water are 
Yesterday I peddled my bike in support of Earth Day. I live in the city and I work in the city so why not ride my bike?
Blue Sky Cleaners
This April 22nd is 
The City of Seattle has recently launched an 
To the pleasure of many Seattle neighborhood leaders and environmentalists, 
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