January 15, 2014: Guess What’s Going into a New Holding Tank on Lake Washington?

Cities with beautiful reputations to maintain like Seattle, the "evergreen" city, don’t often talk publicly about problems like raw sewage overflowing into local water ways after heavy storms. But when solutions are underway such as a new "holding tank" on Lake Washington with real time controls and this and that, pride goes out the window. Two million of Seattle’s 154 million gallons of combined sewage and storm water overflow will now have a temporary home, one storm at a time.

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December 20, 2013: Environmentally Friendly Gift Ideas

Still looking for a gift or two this holiday season? Hark!  There are alternatives to contributing to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the chemically thick gyre of marine debris that permeates the ocean deep, with a gift laden with plastic or those that seem so fine but were carved with wood from one of the planet’s last remaining boreal forests.

Gift giving doesn’t have to exact an environmental toll or proclaim your net worth. It can be as simple as the gift of time. "Time is where we are. Time is where we’ve been," writes poet Anthony Zeigler. "Time is being lost and found again." 

Here are a few simple ideas:

1. In the Pacific Northwest gifts can be home-grown plums or mulled wine wrapped in festive ribbons and bows and recycled glass. Even well-scrubbed carrots, parsnips, beets, sun chokes or a mix, become extraordinary when individually wrapped in tissue paper, nestled together, and topped with a colorful card. No garden? Double hark! Many farmers' markets remain open all year long. There are pippin and wine sap apples, red curry and butternut squash, frozen roasted peppers for soups and solar evaporated and hand harvested sea salt from the San Juan Islands. They make terrific gifts, boast the farmers!
2. Gift certificates from a farmers' market or organizations committed to reclaiming the local food movement are also environmentally friendly.  Take 21Acres, the Woodinville center for sustainable living, growing and eating, which has reclaimed farm land and offers classes such as: "Venturing into the Kitchen," "Right Sizing: Less Stuff-Less Stress," and "Irrigation Water Management."
3. An overlooked gift idea might be membership in one of the region's parks. Parks foster trees, unsung heroines in capturing carbon as well as habitat which provide refuge for critters and critical ecosystem services in a time of rapid climate change. With state and federal cutbacks, membership draws people in to a park community where they’ll spend money for food, lodging, gas, and sports equipment, and in so doing, ensure the park's longevity. Blake Island Park, for example, a stone's throw from downtown Seattle, is a peaceful beach camping retreat. The southwest corner of the island has a stand of venerable old growth Doug firs for inspiration and solace – say those in the know. Only accessible by boat, there's a small marina and mooring cans around the island. And if you don’t have your own boat, take the Argosy harbor tour boat.
4. We’ll call this an environmental gift with funk. Boogie down (or up) to the Re-Store in Ballard or Bellingham. Here you'll find salvaged and vintage building materials and home décor (along with two very friendly cats.) There are door knobs (the "k" is emphasized, say the staff) of all makes and models – natty glass ones are as low as $25 bucks. Wooden cabinet knobs are an even better deal, 25 cents each. Attach them to a 2 by 6 "weather" board at 30 cents a foot and you have a handy coat rack! What gift-longing friend could resist? And there’s more!  Windows at the Re-store – the better to see the light return – can be transformed into a greenhouse, an art frame, a cabinet, a planter. Some cost as little as $5 per frame.

Happy gift hunting. May all your holidays be sustainable and bright.

November 26, 2013: Let the Feast Begin: Community Food Kitchen and the Good Food Revolution

As all foodies know, a good food revolution has been underway for decades. The latest addition to the mix are community food kitchens where cooking, tasting and growing food come together to nourish and build -- especially in communities most harmed by the industrial food system. We visit one such kitchen at Seattle's Rainier Beach High School and catch up with Will Allen, CEO of Growing Power, on tour of the region’s urban food hot spots.

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October 31, 2013: Arctic Oil Meets Greenpeace Activists Who Land in Jail: Colleagues on West Coast Raise Concerns

Imprisoned Greenpeace activists in Russia – jailed for putting a banner on an oil platform in the Arctic Ocean - were on the minds of colleagues sailing down the West Coast of the US on Greenpeace’s newest ship, the Rainbow Warrior III. The "Arctic 30" have been charged with piracy, a first in Greenpeace history, and could face 15 years in jail.

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October 7, 2013: Should GMO Foods Be Labeled? Industry & Public Showdown as State Prepares to Answer the Big Question

GMO foods are again on the hot seat on the West coast. Last year California’s Prop 37 to label genetically modified organisms at the grocery store was narrowly defeated, 51 to 49%. This year in Washington the issue is giving rise to conflicting claims and a record 21.9 million flooding the state, with over 17 million coming from opponents lead by the Grocery Manufacturers Association, Monsanto and Dow and the remainder from proponents lead by Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, the Organic Consumers Fund and Mercola Health Resources. Martha Baskin takes a look.

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Full Transcript: Given the high stakes - over 90% of all corn, canola and cotton is genetically modified with high percentages in six other crops and experiments underway in others - it’s no surprise that conflicting claims about I-522, the ballot initiative requiring labels on genetically modified foods at the grocery store, are flying fast and furious. Proponents call it a consumer ‘right to know’. “We already label farm raised fish. If salmon is genetically engineered the label should say so,” says a fisherman in a Yes on 522 ad. In a NoOn522 TV ad, opponent Dan Newhouse, former director of the state Department of Agriculture, opens with this, “the food labeling regulations in I-522 conflict with national standards and make no sense.”

September 23, 2013: This Plum’s For You! Giving Gardens Make a Dent in Hunger While Congress Fiddles With Food Stamps

As debate broils in Congress to reduce food assistance programs, demand at food banks in communities all over the nation is high. In Seattle some food banks receive organic produce from "giving gardens," or gardens dedicated to growing fruit and vegetables and donating it to those in need. At these food banks, organic produce is as popular as it is anywhere. Martha Baskin has our story.

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September 16, 2013: What Will It Take for Wild Salmon to Return in Record Numbers? Warming Waters Present New Threat with Dams an Ever Present Danger

Chinook salmon returns are setting records on the Columbia this year. But 80% are hatchery fish. 13 wild salmon populations in the region are listed as endangered and 11 are threatened. It’s illegal to catch wild salmon, as any fisherman knows. In our story, Martha Baskin catches up with wild salmon advocates and fisherman who talk about salmon’s latest threat, warming waters.

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