The land at NE 82nd and Siskiyou has a checkered past. It is a former landfill, capped in 1982. Many of those living and working in the Madison South and Roseway neighborhoods have seen this area attract unwanted activities and attention. The site has remained derelict, despite its tremendous potential for the neighborhood, city and region. The Dharma Rain Zen Center, a Soto Zen Buddhist temple, sees great potential in the Siskiyou property for a new campus that is sustainable, beautiful and benefits their congregation and the neighborhood alike. They plan to create an attractive, compatible, low-impact campus that serves the community. They will: Restore the 14-acre parcel to a…
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An Ecology Based Education
Interview with David W. Orr What is the purpose of education? What exactly are we trying to achieve by sending kids to school for twelve years? Dr. David Orr, Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies at Oberlin College, sees a direct connection between how we teach children and the disastrous impacts of our dependence on fossil fuels. A pioneer in the ecological literacy movement, he believes that all education should be ecologically based, from the design of the campus to the curriculum itself. “All education is environmental education,” says Orr. “Students either learn that they are a part of or apart from the natural world.” He points out that some of…
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Clean Energy Victory Bonds
Green America has, for several years, been promoting the idea of Clean Energy Victory Bonds which would make it possible for Americans to invest in clean energy . The problem has been that it takes an act of Congress before the U.S . Treasury can issue these bonds. According to the Green America blog, such a bill was introduced to the House of Representatives in August of 2012. From the Green America blog here’s a brief overview of this program: “Clean Energy Victory Bonds (CEVBs) are proposed U.S. Treasury bonds modeled after Victory Bonds sold during the First and Second World Wars. During World War II, 85 million Americans purchased…
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Spanning the Seasons of the Gorge with Saur Farming
Winter at Saur Farm It’s January, and I have a terrible hankering for some fresh winter greens. The only problem is that I didn’t grow any winter crops in my puny garden this year, and the farmers’ market closed in November. In the back of my mind I remember Ben Saur, one of the owners of 10-Speed Coffee in the Hood River Heights and a local farmer, mentioning he still had carrots back in December. Maybe he still has greens? I stop by the shop to buy a cup of coffee, and ask him what he still has in the field. “Carrots, rutabaga, leeks, collards, and turnips,” Ben says while…
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Casa Verde CSA Guest Blog by Michelle McGrath, MS Outreach Manager for Gorge Grown Food Network
Abundant sunshine, flowing rivers, and snowy mountains feed into the diverse landscapes of the Columbia River Gorge. With natural resources like these it is no wonder farmers with less acreage and innovative business models are choosing the Gorge as the place to sow their seeds. The agricultural heritage of the Gorge has been preserved in the picturesque orchards that erupt into blossom each April, but a growing number of smaller, diversified farms are springing up in between. I have the immense honor of working closely with these farmers as the Outreach Manager for Gorge Grown Food Network—a food and farm based non-profit organization. Over the winter I checked in with…
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The Triple Bottom Line that Keeps the Green Living Journal PDX Free
One of the best things about the Green Living Journal is the fact that it’s free to readers. And that’s because advertisers sponsor the content.
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Farm to School
The ABCs of Fresh Food An innovative effort to bring locally-grown foods to Oregon’s school children and to help them understand where their food comes from received a big thumbs-up when the Oregon State Legislature unanimously passed House Bill 2800 in July. HB 2800, aslo known as the “Farm to School and School Gardens” bill provides $200,000 to a pilot program to rev up the provision of Oregon-grown foods and hands-on, garden-based education to public school students. The funds will allow school districts an extra 15-cents per school meal to buy Oregon foods and produce. This is good news for small farmers whose livelihoods depend upon locavore consumption and for…
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Sustainable Schools-Sustainable Solutions
The Zero Waste Alliance’s Sustainable Oregon Schools Initiative, SOSI (pronounced “so see”) has taken a systemic approach to fostering healthy school environments by engaging, educating and inspiring individual schools, districts, and the organizations that support them. Oregon’s schools comprise an infrastructure large enough to house one-fifth of Oregon’s population and that means they have a large carbon footprint. Reducing that footprint will result in a cleaner environment, but will also save money by eliminating waste and increasing resource efficiency. But creating a healthy, sustainable environment is only part of the sustainability solution. Through education for sustainability, SOSI helps to develop school curriculums infused with learning that prepares students to live…
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EcoApprentice Brings College Students and Businesses Together for the Environment
A soon to be launched, interactive website will unite businesses and college students in an ongoing effort to better the environment. EcoApprentice.com is the brainchild of Richard Halpern, a public high school counselor who drew on 15 years of experience in education to combine two of his passions‚ sustainability and career based education. EcoApprentice will foster collaboration between college students and businesses in the implementation of sustainable goals. Participating businesses and nonprofits will post EcoChallenges, while students enrolled in participating colleges and universities will post EcoSolutions. This practical collaboration could lead to earning college credits, career based learning experiences and future employment contacts for the students. Moreover, businesses could gain…
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Purple Wind Turbines May Be Less Likely to Harm Birds
Researchers Chloe Long, Dr. James Flint, and Dr. Paul Lepper, all colleagues at the Loughborough University in the United Kingdom, conducted experiments to learn whether color might play a role in attracting insects to wind turbines. They measured how many insects were attracted to different colored cards laid out in random order next to a 43-foot-tall three-blade wind turbine. The experiments showed that insects are most attracted to yellow followed by white and light gray. The researchers discovered that the color least attractive to insects was purple and reasoned that wind turbines painted purple would likely kill fewer birds and bats: Birds and bats are often hit when…
