These kiosks allow customers to fill their reusable containers with purified hot, cold, or carbonated water, adding the ability to personalize their beverage with tea, lemonade, 100% juices and nutritional supplements. Users can fill their reusable containers with the 4-stage purified water (available at about half the cost compared to a bottled water), or users can personalize their beverage from a variety of options.  Some of the carbonated, flavor hinted water options include 25% organic apple juice, 25% cranberry juice, 50% lemonade and a variety of supplement options.  There are over  1 million drink combinations available at an ecowell kiosk. They also plan to add an option for healthy snacks in the near future.

Countless people have been waiting for a vending machine option offering something other than high fructose soda’s. Cheers to EcoWell for revolutionizing the vending market by offering healthy and waste free options for consumers!

After 4 decades of people around the world observing and acknowledging a day dedicated to the Earth, where are we now. That is the real question…isn’t it?

For 40 years environmentalists have been calling attention to the impact that polluting factories, oil spills, toxic waste, pesticides, polluted water ways and oceans, and wildlife extinction are having on our environment. Global warming, water shortage, and food supply issues are hot topics at the forefront of discussions around the globe. It would seem that the majority of the world developed or not have recognized the impact, and many are feeling the impact first hand. Air quality, water quality and food/water shortages are becoming serious issues in many areas with limited or no solutions currently available.

Sadly the environmental movement has yet to be able to turn conversation into serious action. The lack of strategy and organization has been a major thorn in the side of the movement. Building an effective movement to change and reverse the course we are on should be paramount. The major enemy of the Earth, and the movement to save it, has been and will continue to be the “capitalism at any cost” attitude.

In the last decade the green or sustainable movement has become a billion dollar industry. This has drawn interest from many major corporations to “go green”. This has without a doubt helped to bring more sustainable living into many households, but at what cost? Many of these corporations are some of the most offending polluters in the world. This has allowed “green washing” to dilute and dismiss the more serious root causes of the environmental issues we have at hand. Stringent regulations must be put in place to curb industry pollution at all costs, regardless of the bottom line. When this happens industries will be forced to reinvent themselves in a cleaner more sustainable image. Money can still be made without destroying the place we call home, Earth.

New green technology is being developed in the private sector as available capital will allow, but this simply is not enough. The governments of the world must make green technology and sustainable development a top priority. Once governments provide incentives and infuse capital into these markets, similar to the oil industry, amazing new clean technologies will finally become a reality in our daily lives. This is the only way we will be able slow or reverse the effects we have made on the planet. People around the world have been frustrated and dismayed to see the Kyoto Protocol and the Copenhagen Climate Conference produce dismal results.

There has been enough talk. The time of action is upon us.

Earth Hour

Led by World Wildlife Fund, Earth Hour is an event in which millions of Americans will turn out their lights for one hour as part of the largest call to action on climate change in history. 2010 marks the third year of the event, which attracted more than 80 million participants in the U.S. last year, and nearly a billion people around the world, as lights dimmed on such global icons as the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Sydney’s Opera House, the Great Pyramids of Giza
and New York’s Empire State Building.

To date, a record 27 states and more than 100 cities and counties have signed on to support Earth Hour. Edmonds, Kirkland, and Snoqualmie have planned Earth Hour events locally. Local hotels are also participating— ART Restaurant at the Four Seasons Seattle will host a candlelight dinner for Earth Hour. At 8:30 pm, the restaurant will shut off its lights and guests will dine by the glow of votive candles made by Glassybaby, a Seattle-based company.

Earth Hour is organized by WWF. With almost 5 million supporters and a global network in over 100 countries, it’s one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth’s natural environment and build a future where people live in harmony with nature.

Help support this monumental hour of the day. Wherever you may be in the world you can easily show support for the Earth by simply turning off your lights.

The plan would transform the Portland Memorial Coliseum and adjacent areas into Portland’s Sustainable Action Sports Complex and Resort. With sustainability being a key focus of the project, the resort/hotel and other new buildings would target LEED Gold or better certification using  innovative waste water strategies like the “Living Machine” and “Eco Roofs” to reach their sustainable design goals. They also plan on using Geothermal, Wind and Solar as sources of energy for the complex.

In one hand the plan seems like a great idea. Re-invigorate an aging and underused sports complex with the fastest growing segment of the sporting industry…”Action Sports”. Young and old would be able to enjoy surfing, skateboarding, BMX biking, rock climbing, kayaking, and white water rafting year round regardless of weather conditions. Seems like a great thing right….I know a lot of people in Seattle would love to not have to drive hours to get a quick surf session in.

On the contrary, many feel the complex would exploit the ideal of many of these sports by creating a pay-to-play scenario and somehow undermine the soul of these sports. The idea that action sports should be exclusive to the individuals that “work for it” or “put the time” in is a commonly voiced opinion, especially among area locals.

I see a major contradiction with this soulful, local-ism attitude. These same individuals that are against building a highly accessible and Sustainable Action Sports Complex in Portland are the same individuals that don’t want their local surf spots, dirt jumping or skate areas revealed and overrun by the public at large. If you don’t want your local break to become crowded then you should be supporting a project like this. It encourages a revitalization of the area with a sustainably built, modern sporting complex, which will allow thousands of people to enjoy sports they may not have easy access to…and it will keep them out of your lineup.

You can contact the Rose Quarter Development Project directly with your public comment. I am sure this will be a heated debate.  I would love to hear readers opinions on the proposed plan…

The Green Professionals Conference provides job-seekers, Green Professionals and industry experts with vital networking, educational resources and employment opportunities.

The purpose of the Green Professionals Conference is to bring together people and organizations that are committed to an economically and environmentally sustainable future.  This event seeks to drive innovation and progress by providing talented individuals with the knowledge and networking they need to succeed within the industry.

A complete agenda can be found here. Conference session topics include:

• Green Job Growth
• Sustainability in Education
• Green Finance
• Clean Energy Works Portland Pilot Program
• The Carbon Sector
• Sustainability Consulting
• Building Commissioning and the Call for Engineers
• Energy Efficiency Jobs in the Utility Sector

Sounds like a great opportunity to find a job with focus on sustainability! If anyone makes it to the conference let me know how it is?

The TDR program is designed to promote responsible growth, while conserving areas like prime agriculture, forest, and environmentally sensitive lands. This allows growth to be steered into city centers, rather than limit or stop development. The end result is a direct link between economic redevelopment in cities and land preservation in sensitive rural areas.

An example is the most recent TDR exchange in Seattle between Denny Triangle developers and sensitive rural landowners of the Cedar and Tolt watersheds. Three landowners on the Cedar and Tolt rivers sold their development rights to the developers of the Olive 8, Aspira and 2201 Westlake projects located in the Denny Triangle. This allowed the farm owners to receive compensation for their development rights and preserve the farm land with a conservation easement at the same time. The developers that purchased the development rights were able to use the TDR credits to increase the density of their projects beyond the zoning based densities for that area.

The current market rate for one rural TDR credit that is equal to 2 additional urban units is $26,000. The TDR marketplace is somewhere around $4.9 million and growing. This marketplace is like any other commodity market driven by supply and demand. You can see the current TDR credits for sale on the TDR exchange.

This program is active in many cities in King County including Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond and even smaller cities like Maple Valley. The Cascade Agenda and the King County TDR department are working to preserve as much rural area as possible in King County. To date over 144,000 acres of rural lands with farm, forest, open space, or regional trail amenities have been protected.

The TDR program has been on hold recently in Seattle due to the former Mayor Nickels lack of interest in extending the agreement that ended in 2009. There is renewed hope that the agreement will be extended by the new Mayor Mike McGinn and the Seattle City Council.

A drafted proposal awaits the extension. The proposal is to transfer development rights to the South Lake Union and Northgate urban centers from King County farms that supply local food to farmers markets, retailers and restaurants. There are 59 identified King County farms that match that criteria, currently 48 of these farms are not protected.

From what I was able to absorb at this brown bag it seems obvious that we should be encouraging the new Mayor Mike McGinn and the Seattle City Council to renew the Transfer of Development Rights agreement in Seattle.  This will allow the continued preservation of areas like our local farms and encourage growth to be directed at urban centers rather than rural sprawl.

Lumana Credit, a Seattle based microcredit organization is calling it a “Gift That Works”. Through the whole month of December they are asking you to give a gift on behalf of someone special in your life that will have an impact that extends far beyond the holiday season. Your gift will quickly be put to work helping female entrepreneurs in rural Ghana. Lumana’s mission is to empower these women with micro loans and business education classes so that they can work to lift themselves out of poverty. These micro loans will build stronger communities in the rural world through empowering under served populations with the necessary tools for successful entrepreneurship.

Most gifts end up in landfills. This year, give a gift that empowers a woman to start her own business and invest in the lives of her children and community. Lumana Credit provides loans and education for rural villagers in Ghana with an impact that extends beyond the holiday season. Be a part of a movement to help lift people out of poverty through microcredit. These loans are making sustainable development in struggling communities a reality.

Choose a gift that can fulfill dreams. Check out their website to see how you can get involved and give a meaningful gift this holiday. www.lumana.org

These unsolicited commercial mailings…or more commonly referred to as ‘junk mail’ choke individual residents mail boxes to the tune of 41 pounds a year. The majority of this junk mail, 41% ends up in the landfill unopened.

The production, distribution and disposal of junk mail produces 51 million tons of greenhouse gasses annually…equivalent to 10 million automobiles. The amount of paper required to produce the 105 billion pieces of junk mail distributed in the United States alone requires the annual harvest of approximately 100 million trees. If these trees were left standing they would act as carbon storehouses helping to reduce the effects of global warming.

A Do Not Mail Registry would allow the City of Seattle to reduce burdens on its waste management and recycling programs allowing them to operate more efficiently. This will help the city reach its  goals of  landfill diversion and zero waste.

As expected the Seattle City Council unanimously approved a resolution to urge Washington State Legislature to establish a Do Not Mail Registry. Im not exactly sure what urging will entail? I just hope it gets done soon. In a 2007 poll, 89% of likely voters nationwide supported a Do Not Mail Registry. Its obvious people want the option to opt out, so give it to us. Hopefully we wont see outside influence and lobbying throw a wrench in this resolution like we saw with the bag fee in Seattle recently.

Encourage your local and state officials to create similar resolutions and push for the creation of a Do Not Mail Registry. You can sign the Do Not Mail petition here.