• Shortage of Storm Sewer Connoisseurs

    A big challenge to getting folks to care about the damage caused by polluted stormwater runoff is helping them understand what the heck it is and where it goes in the first place. And it appears there’s a lot of work to be done on that front. An informal survey by Eric Eckl at Water Words That Work, a Virginia company that works on water-related communications, sought some answers about...
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  • Five Thought-Provoking Ideas

    One of the privileges of working at a sustainability think tank is being able to read about (and share!) ideas and research tidbits that I find genuinely interesting.  For me, the most valuable ideas are those that run to counter common sense, or that buck the conventional wisdom:  solid research that challenges my gut instincts is what’s most likely to open my mind to new ways of thinking about the...
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  • This vs. That

    We face sustainability choices every day: paper or plastic? Drive or take the bus? Fresh or frozen fish? It seems like one week a new study comes out claiming X is better than Y, and a week later Y is better than X. How are we to know what to believe? And more importantly, which choices are the ones that really matter? For years, Sightline has sought to clear the...
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  • Free Market Think Tank Endorses Socialism

    Bummer. My quixotic endeavor to lure free marketeers into rational parking policy has hit another bump in the road. Here’s Michel Ennis over at Washington Policy Center’s blog: Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn’s war on cars proposes to significantly increase the price of public parking. He claims that higher prices will free up supply. And Seattle Councilman Tim Burgess has a similar plan, just applied in a more sophisticated way. They...
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  • Soaking It Up in Puyallup

    Puyallup, once a fertile farm town and now a suburb of Tacoma, is likely not the first Northwest city that’s brought to mind when you think of progressive, green-focused innovation. But in the area of stormwater solutions, Puyallup is just that. Since August 2009, the city has helped residents install 20 rain gardens in three different neighborhoods. Now it’s lining up funding for even bolder improvements, including paving alleys with...
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  • Magic Carpet Ride

    Almost everyone thinks parking is a problem; either there is too much of it or too little; it’s too expensive or too cheap; it promotes auto-dependence or it promotes the success of retail business. And slap a tax on parking and fireworks are sure to follow. In fact, Seattle has recently started a debate about increasing its Commercial Parking Tax (CPT) by 5 percent to a total of 15 percent...
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  • Ecology’s Stormwater Strategy

    The Washington Department of Ecology has released its draft draft plan for beefing up its low-impact development requirements for controlling polluted stormwater runoff—which is considered the top environmental threat to the Puget Sound and many other Northwest lakes, rivers, and streams. This policy change is a big deal. It’s trying to solve one of the region’s top environmental and health challenges, perhaps second only to climate change and ocean acidification...
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  • Dining a la Cart

    Across North America people are hopping on the food cart bandwagon, something northwesterners know a little something about—CNN Travel recently named Portland the best street food cityin the world. While carts have flourished in Portland, Seattle and Vancouver’s street food scenes have sputtered. Why? Both cities have tough laws on the books that prevent a lively street food economy, such as limiting sidewalk food to precooked items like hot dogs...
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  • Sound Stormwater Investments

    In response to the sluggish economy, Seattle Public Utilities is paring down its budgets and programs, and has identified three stormwater-related projects that could be eliminated: the “Swale on Yale,” protections for Venema Creek, and an expanded street sweeping program. While these projects require some expenditure now, they represent opportunities and investments that can pay dividends in the near future. All three projects promise to make the city cleaner and...
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  • Killing Me Slowly

    As a recent convert to bike commuting, I am keenly aware that I take my life into my hands each time I saddle up (See Jen Langston’s recent post on the safety of various modes of transportation—relatively, bikes don’t come out looking too safe, but, of course, car travel ain’t exactly without its risks either.) But, if all commutes can kill, at least I’ll go down with the wind in...
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