Oct 22-26: Evolution of a Sustainable Society featuring EcoCharge

Join the Evolution of a Sustainable Society @ The Art Institute of Portland: October 22 - 26, 2007. In an effort to bring further attention to the importance of conservation and preservation of our local and global resources, The Art Institute of Portland will be hosting Environmental Awareness Week. This week long event will feature forward thinking community speakers, hosting a sustainable living fair with several exhibitors (including ecocharge - a free standing module that uses renewable energy to charge portable electronic devices), and screening significant and impassioned films devoted to environmental awareness.

Jay’s Garage: “Fuel Station Exceeds Biofuels Requirements”

From PortlandOnline:

“Jays Garage now offering E85 and B99 Biodiesel for gas and diesel vehicles.”
Portland, OR – Jays Garage has upped the ante in cleaner, greener Biofuels. The first station in Portland to offer the most pure from of Biodiesel, B99, Jay’s is now offering domestically made E-85 Ethanol.

Picture from Jay’s Garage in 2006

• “All cars – gas and diesel – can now run a blend of Biofuels,” says owner Jay Dykeman.
• Only Flex Fuel vehicles can run E-85; however any gas car can run E10 which is a 10% ethanol blend.
• “Jays was the first to offer B99 Biodiesel in the heart of Portland so taking this next step is a perfect fit,” says SeQuential Biofuels Gavin Carpenter.
• SeQuential is a joint venture partner with Pacific Biodiesel in the only Biodiesel processing plant in Oregon.

READ MORE

• More articles on Portland Biodiesel
• More articles on Portland Sustainability

Why Eat Local? 10 Reasons (freshness, nutrition, safety)

Great Article from Portland Online:

Why Eat Local?

While much of the food we eat today comes from around the globe, Oregonians have access to an abundance of food grown and produced here in the Northwest. By choosing local foods, you support the regional economy and environment, as well and enjoy the wealth of good food our region has to offer.

FRESHNESS
Locally grown fruits and vegetables are usually harvested within 24 hours of purchase. Produce that travels long distances may have been picked weeks earlier.

• Read the other nine reasons at Portland Online
• More Portland sustainability posts
  

Make Some Clothes Out of Junk and Win $500!

That is the premise behind Junk2Funk. Well, the premise is sustainability and recycling, but that is what you do to get the $500 baby!

Junk to Funk Recycled Fashion Show Contest
Call to Artists
Entry deadline October 17, 2007

(Portland, Oregon) ­ It is time once again to tear apart those trash bins in hopes of finding the perfect materials to create your submission for the 2nd annual Junk to Funk Recycled Fashion Show Contest. This year’s deadline for submissions is October 17th culminating with the “trashion show” on November 17, 2007 at the Wonder ballroom.

Professional artists, fashion and apparel designers along with members of the
general creative public will not want to miss this truly unique opportunity to
compete for prizes up to $500 in the upcoming Junk to Funk Recycled Fashion Show Contest. The pieces of wearable art and fashion that are being sought should be made out of found objects, recycled materials and things you normally might find in the trash.

Oh Yeah–UltraPDX is calling you out too:

Here’s our challenge to you. In this second year of the contest-slash-fashion-show with the rhyme-y name, we challenge you to make a garment from discarded materials that looks not like a joke, a clown suit, or a Burning Man project…READ MORE

We’re All Going to Die! II (from heat)

I just saw this over at the Portland Tribune. It looks like we will now die from the heat for sure.

If you like to cool off on hot days in the Ira Keller Civic Theatre Forecourt Fountain in downtown Portland, you won’t be able to for the next few days.

Someone put a lot of soapsuds in the water and spray-painted graffiti tags on the outside of it earlier this week.

The Portland Water Bureau will have to drain the fountain, replace its 13,000 gallons of water and use solvent to remove the graffiti. The bureau hopes to have the fountain reopened by Friday, but it might not be ready until Monday….READ MORE

July 25 Daily Stank Image Bank II - Shared Route Van

I saw the Shared Route Van on SE 3oth Place & East Burnside yesterday. Their concept is very cool, and Biodiesel (unlike this monstrosity).

Some information from their site:

• A Biodiesel passenger shuttle bus service connecting Portland, Olympia & Seattle.
• 3xWeekly Trips from Portland, Olympia and Seattle.
• From Portland to Olympia ($20) and Seattle ($30, RT $50)
• Delivery & Charter Services Available

More information on Portland Biodiesel and Sustainability

We’re All Going To Die (from the heat)

I just saw this over at OPB (is it the hummer?):

Megan Ahearn is with Environment Oregon. She says temperatures were actually up over a seven-year period at nearly every Oregon weather station, including Portland.

Megan Ahearn: “Between 2000 and 2006, Portland experienced an average temperature of one-point four degrees above normal.”…READ MORE

More Portland Sustainability articles

Biodiesel in da ‘hood

Today, there is a story from PortlandOnline about Oregon’s movement towards the 5% biodiesel mandate. It’s a short piece, and here is the gem:

“What is so great about Biodiesel?” To begin, the raw oil used to make it comes from canola, which can be grown right here by Oregon farmers, reducing our dependence on foreign oil and keeping Oregon dollars in Oregon. Second, it is a high quality fuel that enhances the lubricity (lubrication quality) of the fuel we use in diesel vehicles, which reduces wear and tear on our engines. Finally, burning biodiesel in our diesel vehicles instead of petroleum diesel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 70%!…READ MORE

Or, you could just buy a Hummer and give a big FU to Oregon farmers, the environment, our economy, our future….

Whole Foods Chic, “Green Bags” Not Yet in Portland

The NYT has an interesting article today about people scrambling to get Whole Foods new cotton bags with “I’m not a Plastic Bag” written on it. I called the local whole foods and they do not have any plans to roll out these bags here. A quick check on Ebay showed them going for $100!

No Worries Portland–You can always buy the PDX Pipeline tote bag–only $16

From Article:

At 8 this morning, 15 Whole Foods stores in the New York area were to start selling $15 cotton bags by Anya Hindmarch, a London designer better known for bags that range to $1,500 and beyond. The bags, which read “I’m not a plastic bag,” are intended to be used and reused for groceries, in place of plastic. Whole Foods is selling 20,000, first come first served, limit three to a customer while supplies last. If offerings of the bag in other cities are any guide, the lines will be long.

HUMMERGATE Continues- Taking the *FU* out of KUFO 101?

Update (8/05 22:30) : I was called by friends over at the Bagdad/McMen’s zone that this Hummer was in effect Friday (8/o3) at the location and was egged. More at the Bottom of this post…

Contact CBS RADIO:

MEDIA CONTACTS

Karen L. Mateo
Vice President, Communications
( 212) 846 7638
karen.mateo@cbsradio.com

Dana McClintock
Senior Vice President,
CBS Communications Group
(212) 975 1077
dlmcclintock@cbs.com
I received a response from KUFO about my previous blog/email about the KUFO Hummer (Putting the *FU* in 101 KUFO!).

Here is the response:

Julian –

Thanks for your e-mail. I wanted to let you know that we hear you loud and clear and are currently in the process of looking into alternatives for a station vehicle. As you can imagine, we require a larger rig due to the amount of gear we haul around to all of our events. But we are on the case and hopefully before too long you’ll see us rolling around town in something more environmentally friendly.

Again, we appreciate your comments and please know that we do take them seriously.

Susan Reynolds
Marketing Director
CBS Radio Portland

I sent Susan this list of Hybrid SUV alternatives. Hopefully, they are sincere and will lose the hummer for one of these cars. I encourage you to email/call/write them supporting this change to a more environmentally-friendly vehicle.

Update (8/05 22:30)I was called by friends over at the Bagdad/McMen’s zone that this Hummer was in effect Friday (8/o3) at the location and was egged. I don’t support destruction of property, but it is not surprising when a company

• a) chooses to drive such a community-unfriendly vehicle
• b) states that they are concerned and moving away from it, and still continue to advertise with it weeks later.

I contacted Susan about the vehicle on Thursday 8/02 for a follow-up (before this incident) and have received no response.

Again, I encourage you to email/call/write them supporting this change to a more environmentally-friendly vehicle.