Green
Anacortes Nonprofit Turns Ocean Debris Into Artificial Limbs
"It takes about 30 plastic water bottles to create one hand."
This article appears in print in the December 2018 issue. Click here for a free subscription. Chris and Laura Moriarity had always enjoyed walking along the beach near their Anacortes home, but they were troubled by the amount of plastic that washed ashore. Inspired by YouTube videos about 3D-printed prosthetic limbs and what he already…
Local Startup Keeps Track of Seattle’s Stormwater
StormSensor uses sensors inside sewer lines to monitor rainfall.
WATER WATCHER. Erin Rothman started StormSensor because she discovered no company was efficiently measuring stormwater flow. This article appears in print in the November 2018 issue. Click here for a free subscription. When youre walking down the street in Seattle and you get surprised by a sudden downpour, whats the first thing that occurs to…
This Seattle Startup Is Creating a Way for Small Businesses To Invest in Clean Energy
Startup encourages markets for green energy, matching buyers with sellers.
ENERGY FOR ALL. LevelTens aim is to make it easier for all businesses to buy renewable energy something only the largest companies have been able to do previously because of the complexity of the deals. This article appears in print in the October 2018 issue. Click here for a free subscription. Want to save your…
Oasis in the City: Stephen C. Grey Architects Innovates with Green Infrastructure
Collaboration between public and private sectors is changing Seattle's environmental future.
Image Credit: Marcela Gara Resource Media; Stephen C. Grey & Associates rain gardens on Troll Ave. Sponsored by Seattle 2030 District The typical commuter driving across Seattles bridges may not think about the millions of gallons of polluted rainwater that flow off into Lake Union and Lake Washington every year, but believe it or not,…
Washingtons Best-Kept Renewable Secret: Hydropower
Without its dams, Washingtons ambitious climate goals would be hopelessly out of reach.
Sponsored by Northwest RiverPartners Washington state is a national leader in making strides to shrink its carbon footprint. The latest proposal possibly on voters ballots this fall would charge businesses a pollution fee of $15 for each metric ton of carbon emissions they produce. These and similar carbon-cutting efforts get the headlines, but their impact…
As Seattle Development Churns, a Battle to Save the City’s Trees is Underway
The city is losing its green, leafy canopy.
When University of Washington social scientist Kathleen Wolf, Ph.D., needs a break, she rides her bike through the gardens of Ballards Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, often ending up at the Washington Park Arboretum. Its a trip she takes to experience forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku, the name Japanese researchers have given to the experience of spending…
Amazon Spheres Get Their First Resident
Triple orbs, scheduled to open next year, will house plant 400 species.
Dignitaries, workers and schoolchildren donned hard hats and safety goggles Thursday to welcome the first plant an Australian tree fern to the Amazon Spheres in downtown Seattle. King County Executive Dow Constantine, Seattle City Councilwoman Sally Bagshaw and Amazon VP John Schoettler joined about 150 workers and media people at the pormotional event. Scheduled to…
2016 Community Impact Awards: Green Products & Services
Winner: Optimum Energy, Itek Energy, Rice Fergus Miller
Gold Award:Optimum EnergyLocation: Seattle | Employees: 60 | Top Exec: Bert Valdman, president/CEO | optimumenergyco.com Being green is not a trend at Optimum Energy. The company, which enables campuses, health care facilities, pharmaceutical plants, data centers and other commercial buildings to cut energy costs by up to 50 percent, believes society must reverse the pace…
Watching Our Waste
Washington is well established in most segments of the composite-materials supply chain. From Lamborghinis advanced composite laboratory in Seattle, to Toray Composites and SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers plants in Tacoma and Moses Lake, respectively, to Boeings new Everett plant for composite 777X wings, to the many makers of the tooling and equipment needed to put…
Bright Idea: Fired Up
Conventional air-emission-control systems attack the problem at the smokestack with filters and scrubbers. ClearSign Combustion Corp. aims its emission-control technology at a much earlier point in the process, where those emissions are first created: at the flame. The Tukwila company is developing two approaches to reducing pollutants by controlling the flame used in industrial boilers,…
PlanLED Sees a Bright Future
Feeling sleepy at work? Blame it on the lighting. A growing body of research suggests that yellow-toned lighting, which leads the brain to think its the end of the day, makes people sleepy. NASA uses this effect in spacecraft to induce drowsiness in astronauts. Blue-toned lighting, on the other hand, mimics daylight and tends to…
Secretary Jewell Highlights Economic Benefits of Recreation, Strong Trade Agreements, in Discussion with Outdoor Retailers
It’s interesting to see that Sally Jewell is supporting the Trans-Pacific Partnership as an environmentally friendly trade agreement even though many progressives argue that the agreement will allow foreign nations to challenge and potentially undermine U.S. environmental regulations. SEATTLE, WA U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today met with representatives of the outdoor recreation…
Think rail traffic is congested now? Regulations to make crude-by-rail safer will slow things down even more.
Attorney, Paradigm Counsel U.S. OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION has surged in the past few years, resulting in estimates that the country will become energy independent before 2025. This is an exciting development for economic, security and political reasons, and the Pacific Northwest will play an important role. Oil extracted from the Bakken shale formation in…