Monday, July 27, 2009

Vote Yes on Referendum 1

Seattle residents will soon be receiving their August ballots in the mail, and one of the most closely watched votes is Referendum 1, which decides whether or not to place a fee on plastic and paper bags.

As I wrote in my previous post on this topic, the fee was already passed by the city council, but then it was forced to a referendum. Keep in mind that a large portion of the funding to oppose the fee is coming from The American Chemistry Council (which lobbies for companies like Exxon and Dow Chemical and makes money from the sale of disposable plastics). The lobby has poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into defeating the referendum.

There are many reasons why the fee is a good idea:

  • It will greatly reduce the use of both paper and plastic bags and therefore the resources used to make and transport them, as well as the litter generated after the bags are used.
  • Part of the revenue from the bag fee will go towards an educational campaign and towards purchasing reusable bags for low-income families.
  • Many cities and countries have instituted or are considering instituting a similar initiative, and many eyes will be on Seattle to see what our city does.
But perhaps the most compelling visual reminder of why the fee is a good idea came this afternoon, when I saw a homemade sign on Westlake Avenue asking voters to support the bag fee. Fifty yards down the road (and less than a hundred yards from Lake Union), I saw a plastic bag clinging to brush, hanging on until another gust of wind blew it elsewhere to live on as non-biodegradable trash, maybe even joining up with fellow plastic garbage on the infamous litter island known as the Pacific Garbage Patch.

If you live in Seattle, please vote yes on Referendum 1 by August 18th, and urge everyone you know to do the same.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Living on Earth...and a Budget

No matter where you turn, it seems that budgetary constraints are on people's minds, but as we've seen with the push for "green jobs" and a new "green economy", eco-conscious and economical are not mutually exclusive terms.

One of the benefits of living on a budget is that it helps us take a hard look at what we choose to spend our money on. Is it something that will last? Is it something that we need? Is it something that was created in an environmentally and socially conscious manner? How much waste will this product leave behind? How much energy will it require to operate?

A recent story on the NPR series "Living on Earth" profiled a house in California, which has received the highest level of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification - platinum. One of the most interesting points made was that the best modifications made (like making the home more airtight) were also the cheapest. Listen to the full story here.

In order to help you budget your own and your planet's precious resources, check out the user friendly (and free!) money managing software at Mint. With great sections like paying off student debt and creating a budget, Mint is perfect for users of all ages and needs.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Okay, okay. I'm doing it!

I'm kind of enjoying my recent foray into Twitter-land. Between Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter, I'm not sure what to update first, but as a pretty verbose person, I like the fact that I am limited to 140 characters per entry - can't quite bring myself to say "tweet" yet, but stay tuned...

Want to follow me? I'm @tenwaysLB.

I thought it would be really clever to write a post about Twitter with only 140 characters - you know, good practice and all, but this post is well over 400 characters. Looks like I have my work cut out for me on the pithy front !

Oh, and while we're on the subject of technology, check out Grist's Guide to Green Iphone Apps.