 |
Subscribe / Renew |
 |
Contact Us |
| ► Subscribe to our Free Weekly Newsletter | |
Construction Bids
| home | Welcome, sign in or click here to subscribe. | login |
Environment
 print  email to a friend  reprints add to mydjc |  |
October 11, 2005
Environmental Watch: Seattle groups offers new biodegradable oil
SEATTLE — Bardahl, a Seattle company that makes oil additives, has developed a new kind of biodegradable hydraulic oil.
Hydraulic oil that breaks up has been on the market for at least a decade. But Bardahl spokesperson Dan Stachofsky said unlike most of these, the new product is 100 percent biodegradable and works better in cold weather.
Bardahl has been making lubricants and additives for 66 years, and distributes internationally. Stachofsky said the new product was created because customers wanted a hydraulic oil they could use in marine and environmentally sensitive areas.
In response to that request, Bardahl's researchers created a soy-based fluid they call HydroClear Biodegradable Hydraulic Oil. This has been used on projects to install a drain at Snoqualmie Ridge II, engineered log jams on the White River and a transmission line for Redmond.
The local distributor of the new oil is Issaquah-based Impact Equipment. Owner Joe Frauenheim said the oil's higher cost is its biggest drawback.
"It's like convincing somebody that organic food is better than normal food," he said. "You're paying a premium for it... but if it spills or leaks, you're going to contaminate the environment." He said insurance companies like the idea of a biodegradable oil, and "most contractors, mechanics and suppliers of heavy equipment will pretty much confirm that's where we're going."
3 Washington roads now federal ‘byways'
OLYMPIA — Three Washington State Scenic Byways have been designated federal byways, bringing the state's total to six.
They are the International Selkirk Loop, the Coulee Corridor and the Stevens Pass Greenway. The routes were picked from a network of more than 3,100 miles of state, local and tribal roads.
Selkirk Loop is a 280-mile tour that circles the Selkirk Mountain Range, which runs through Pend Oreille County in northeastern Washington, northern Idaho and southern British Columbia.
The Coulee Corridor runs for 150 miles from Othello to Omak, and has views of a canyon landscape created by Ice Age floods.
Stevens Pass goes from Monroe across the North Cascade Mountains, following the canyon of the Skykomish River.
The U.S. Department of Transportation runs the byways program, which recognizes roads for their scenic, recreational, historic or archaeological qualities. See http://www.byways.org.
City Light offers series on climate change
SEATTLE — Seattle City Light and Unico Properties are holding a series of Monday lectures this month on the impacts climate change will have on the Northwest.
The free lectures will be held at Rainier Square Conference Center, 1301 Fifth Ave. in Seattle from 12 to 1:15 p.m. Scheduled speakers are:
For more information, call Sharon Bennett, Seattle City Light, at (206) 684-3008. Or see http://www.seattle.gov/light/news/Docs/GreenUp_Lunch_Poster.pdf.
Crims Island enviro restoration underway
PORTLAND — A three-year, $3.7 million project to restore tidal marsh and forest lands on the lower Columbia River's Crims Island has resumed, officials announced recently.
Crims Island is 48 miles downriver from Portland in Columbia County, Ore., and is a unit of the Julia Butler Hansen Refuge for the Columbian white-tailed deer. This refuge is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
"We have never tried anything of this size and scope before," said the agency's Charles Stenvall. Work at Crims Island will guide tidal marsh restoration elsewhere in the lower river.
At Crims Island, 115 acres of forest and 94 acres of tidal marsh and channels are set to be restored. The work is a joint effort by the Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bonneville Power Administration, American Rivers and the Columbia Land Trust.
Earlier this year, a 2-foot layer of soil was excavated from a marsh dominated with reed canary grass. Now upland habitat that's being used for cattle pasture will be made into a riparian forest habitat through planting and natural seeding. Construction began last year but was cut short due to heavy rains.
The tidal marsh will provide juvenile rearing and foraging habitat for fall chinook, chum and coho salmon. Other salmonids, including Snake River sockeye, steelhead and coastal cutthroat trout will benefit from restored links in the Columbia River's estuarine food web. The project also will provide habitat for waterfowl, bald eagles, Columbian white-tailed deer and migratory songbirds.
5 win governor's pollution prevention awards
OLYMPIA — Gov. Christine Gregoire recently recognized five businesses for their work to prevent pollution.
The groups were recognized for conserving water, saving fuel and stopping or avoiding use of toxic chemicals. One Tacoma company, Totem Ocean, has also been supporting recycling efforts in Alaska.
Gregoire's chief of staff Tom Fitzsimmons and Washington state Department of Ecology Director Jay Manning presented awards to:
Kent company Ball Metal Beverage Container Corp.
Columbia Lighting of Spokane
Meridian Collision Center of Puyallup
Totem Ocean Trailer Express of Tacoma
The University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle
Judges included past award recipients, energy and pollution-prevention experts and representatives from labor and environmental groups. For more information, see http://www.ecy.wa.gov/sustainability/GovAward/gov_awards.htm.