August 10, 2004

Environmental Watch: Whitman buys Blue Sky energy

WALLA WALLA — Whitman College bought 90 blocks per month of Pacific Power's Blue Sky renewable energy, becoming the state's first higher education renewable power customer.

The city of Walla Walla launched the "Blue Sky Community Challenge," which aims to sign up five percent of the community to the program by September. Walla Walla already has 432 homes and businesses enrolled.

Blue Sky's wind energy comes from new farms such as the Stateline Wind Farm. For more information, call Pacific Power at (800) 842-8458 or visit http://www.pacificpower.net/bluesky.

BetterBricks seeks award nominations

PORTLAND — Nominations for the second Oregon/Southwest Washington BetterBricks Awards are due Sept. 10. Awards are granted to recognize architects, engineers, developers, consultants and other commercial building industry professionals for design of sustainable, high-performance buildings. Entries will be judged on points such as materials, energy savings, daylighting and climate design. An awards presentation will be held in Portland on Oct. 28.

The BetterBricks is part of the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, a non-profit supported by electric utilities. It is targeted to design professionals in Oregon, Southwest Washington and Idaho. For more information, call (503) 241-1124 or e-mail vanessa<@>coateskokes.com.

Puget Sound Council members appointed

OLYMPIA — Gov. Gary Locke appointed three new members to the Puget Sound Council. New council members are: David Herrera, fisheries manager for the Skokomish Tribe; Doug Mah, city council member for Olympia; and Naki Stevens, program director for People for Puget Sound. Bill Dewey, public affairs manager for Taylor Shellfish Co., was reappointed.

Outgoing council members are Tom Putnam of Puget Soundkeepers Alliance and Fran Wilshusen of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. Council members serve four-year terms.

Puget Sound Council works to protect and restore the region's marine and fresh waterways. It has 11 members who represent business, agriculture, the shellfish industry, environmental organizations, local and tribal governments, and the legislature. The council advises the Puget Sound Action Team. For information, visit: http://www.psat.wa.gov/Who_we_are/Council.htm.

Lamps get Energy Star certification

PORTLAND — Two reflector compact fluorescent lamps recently passed performance criteria for the U.S. Department of Energy's "Energy Star" certification. Both models are manufactured by Philips Lighting Co.

Many homes and businesses use recessed fixtures for lighting, almost all of which use reflector incandescent lamps. Energy use could be cut significantly with energy-efficient lamps, which the Alliance and DOE encouraged manufacturers to develop.

Five manufacturers submitted ideas for 12 models in response to DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's request for proposals two years ago. DOE will continue to test and identify other lamps.

Bennett honored for Green Idea Home

SEATTLE — Bennett Homes was recognized for recycling and cutting waste on construction of the Puget Sound Energy Built Green Idea Home in Issaquah Highlands, completed in February. Bennett used 100 percent recycled-content materials in construction, including finger-jointed studs, cellulose insulation, composition roofing and gypsum board. Partially recycled-content products such as ceramic tile, floor and roof sheathing were also used and Bennett recycled 85 percent of its waste on the jobsite.

Contractors interested in the program can contact: Kinley Deller at (206) 296-4434 for jobsites in King County or Karen Price at (206) 389-7281 for jobsites in Seattle. For more information, visit http://www.metrokc.gov/greenworks.

Making sustainability pay off: Sept. 26 - 29

SEATTLE — The first "Profitable Sustainability: The Future of Business" conference will be held from Sept. 26 to 29 at the Westin Hotel in Seattle.

The conference will include forums and workshops on sustainable strategies, and keynote addresses by executives from Future 500, Portfolio 21, Nike, Hewlett-Packard, Boeing, Russell Investment Group and WorldWatch Institute. Sponsors include Starbucks Coffee Co., the Russell Investment Group, REI, Nordstrom and Boeing. For more information or to register, contact Mary Rose at (425) 828-0982 or maryr<@>nbis.org.

Sustainable option for car washes

SEATTLE — Many groups that hold car washes to raise money don't realize that the polluted wastewater is directly discharged into waterways through storm drains. A professional car wash association is offering a sustainable solution.

Nonprofits now can raise money by selling basic car wash tickets that can be redeemed at more than 30 facilities around Puget Sound. Wastewater will be channeled into the sanitary sewer for treatment. Qualified groups can buy tickets for $1.50 and sell them for up to $8.

Andy Berg of the Puget Sound Car Wash Association, said to date the association's charity wash program has helped nonprofits raise more than $200,000. For more information, contact (800) 509-WASH (9274) or visit http://www.charitycarwash.org.

AWB/NEBC conference Oct. 19-20

SEATTLE — The Association of Washington Business has partnered with the Northwest Environmental Business Council to put on the Environmental Conference of Washington trade show, to be held October 19 and 20 at Washington State Convention & Trade Center. The conference is for environmental mangers, engineers, consultants, lawyers and planners.

There will be a policy roundtable and workshops. Topics to be covered include: permitting, pollution prevention, industrial lands, hazardous waste, incentives and lean manufacturing.

For more information, contact Cara Bergeson, NEBC, at (503) 227-6361 or cara<@>nebc.org.

Yakama Nation to study wild horses

TOPPENISH (AP) — Wildlife officials from south-central Washington's Yakama Indian Reservation are seeking grants to study wild horses. Several thousand — too many — are displacing native species on habitat in Dry Creek, a desert scrubland.

Wildlife manager E. Arlen Washines said that inbreeding, overgrazing and lack of range management on the reservation's 1.4 million acres has displaced deer and elk. "But we don't know what's needed to fix that," said Washines, "to create a balance."

That's why the Yakama Nation is seeking grants to study migration, genetic makeup and the diet of wild horses. Native species such as pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep and sage grouse could then perhaps be restored. Tribal officials aim to have a wild horse population management plan in place by 2006.