Conscious Choice Seattle: Netgreen

October 2006 | Green Lines

Netgreen

By Heather Swift Nordell and Ritzy Ryciak

NetGreen (www.AchieveNetGreen.com) is spurring the community-by-community movement to neutralize King County’s carbon impact on global warming. In August, NetGreen and Sustainable Ballard led the first event of the ongoing Ballard campaign to become the first carbon neutral community in the nation. The kick off event provided tools and resources for people to calculate and reduce their own carbon impact. The event also raised tax deductible funds for large-scale carbon offset programs to reduce emissions. The event recognized local organizations that have already partially or fully become carbon neutral. Speakers included: Councilmen Larry Phillips and Richard Conlin, U.S. Congressman Jim McDermott, State Legislators Mary Lou Dickerson and Maralyn Chase, Director from Seattle’s Office of Sustainability Steve Nicholas, President of Sustainable Ballard Vic Opperman, and NetGreen Executive Director and Flexcar Co-Founder Tracy Carroll. NetGreen provides programs that cost effectively counteract greenhouse gas impact based on three guiding principles: 1) Educate people about their own carbon footprint (2) Raise funds to spur the use of less carbon intensive technologies (3) Foster awareness and implement other ways of reducing one’s carbon footprint.
—Heather Swift Nordell

Greenhouse Neutral

Seattle City Light (www.seattle.gov/light) achieves their second straight year of greenhouse-gas neutrality—the first electric utility in the U.S. to reach this emission standard. “We knew we could take a leadership role in what Mayor Nickels asked all City departments to do,” says Jorge Carrasco, Superintendent of Seattle City Light. “The Utility avoids producing greenhouse-gas emissions wherever possible through conservation programs and by using renewable resources such as hydro and wind-powered electric generation. To offset emissions, we buy greenhouse-gas emission offset credits from organizations that have reduced their own emissions.” City Light also funds the use biodiesel for city and county vehicles. They estimated that their 2006 greenhouse gas emissions will be about 100,000 metric tons. To cover 2006 and future years, they purchased 300,000 metric tons of carbon offsets. “The cost of purchasing offsets is about $2 a year per customer,” said Carrasco. “It’s a small amount to pay for the reduction of climate-altering emissions. This utility is 90 percent hydroelectric generation. If the climate does change, and we have less water available for City Light’s reservoirs, our customers will spend much more for electricity generated by more expensive means.”
—H. S N.

A Green Opening

Green interior designer and retailer One Earth One Design will host a grand opening of their new store on Saturday, Nov. 4. Located on Greenwood Avenue of the north Seattle Highlands neighborhood, the space will host the showroom, store and interior design consulting studio. The wide range of 100 percent eco-friendly products for home interiors includes furniture, mattresses, yoga mats, kitchen cabinets, linens, cleaning products, baby goods, and more. The company will provide in-store and online sales, bridal and baby gift registries. They will host regular special events such as creative and green holiday gift wrapping, chef-taught cooking classes and interior design workshops. One Earth One Design is owned by wife-husband team Sandy and Paul Campbell. Paul, an experienced green carpenter, will be the general manager of the retail store, and Sandy will be the principal of the design studio. Sandy founded the business in 1997 after extensive experience as an interior designer for the hotel industry. She believed there was a more sustainable way to create interior spaces and started using healthier, eco-friendly materials. She spent years of research finding their current product-line. Sandy has also become a change force within the industry and has influenced several of her vendors to become more earth-friendly. For more information about store and grand opening, visit www.oneearthonedesign.com.
—H. S. N.

A Soleful Story

Walk a mile in these shoes and you really might gain a new and inspired perspective. Market Street Shoes, a 4-month-old shoe store for men, women and children located in Ballard (of course), features extraordinary shoes that combine fashion sense with a strong commitment to health and the environment. MSS carries more than 30 brands and has an ever-expanding “conscious collection” of shoes. Whether you are anti-toxins, anti-sweatshop or anti-corporation, this shop has the shoe (and its story from beginning to end) for you. Choose from high style vegan shoes made by J. Fleuvog or designs from Green Toe, a line put out by Simple, which makes shoes from all natural materials, uses less glue, fewer toxins, and is committed to minimizing the ecological footprint made by shoes. The Blackspot Adbuster is an anti-corporation shoe made with organic hemp fabric, and No Sweat, provides sneakers that magically stop your feet from sweating.

Okay, that isn’t entirely true. No Sweat is actually a sweatshop-free line of sneakers, but if you are like many customers, the name makes you wonder and hopefully question.

“I like having the ability to have those type of conversations,” says Ryan Stauffer, co-owner of Market Street Shoes, with his wife Alanna and Dr. Mark Magdaleno, a licensed pediatrician, referring to the many questions he gets from customers about their unique footwear. “They happen all of the time here.”

Shoes made with unique fibers like Jute, or natural rubber soles infused with tea tree oil stir interest.

“Oftentimes customers are curious,” says Stauffer, “a bonafide shoe-head” who sees the curiosity as an activist opportunity—in a non-threatening way. “They are attracted to the design of a shoe. They like how it looks on the shelf. The shoe looks unique, and it poses the opportunity to throw some information out that they might not have had otherwise.”

For a look at shoes that tread lightly and do so with style, go to marketstreetshoes.com or visit: 2215 NW Market Street, Seattle WA 98107; 206-783-1683
—Ritzy Ryciak

Honda FIT

This five-door hatchback is small enough for city parking and roomy enough for long legs and life’s messy necessities: dog Spot, leafy tomato plants and that perfect bookshelf you found on craigslist. Already an established and hugely popular vehicle in Japan and Europe (sold as the Honda Jazz), Honda’s Fit starts at $13,850 and offers a long list of “make life easier” perks: multiple airbags, antilock brakes and an audio system that works with iPod players. The interior is spacious and designed for maximum utility. There is more than 21 cubic feet of cargo capacity behind the second-row seats—a bonus for tall people. A unique addition to the vehicle is the 60/40 split Magic Seat, which allows the seatbacks to dive down (perfect for an afternoon car-nap) or the seat bottoms to flip up (ideal for moving furniture or transporting a bike). The Fit is powered by a 1.5-liter VTEC gasoline engine and gets an estimated 33 mpg in-city and 38 mpg highway mileage (manual transmission). In line with its “Safety for Everyone” initiative, Honda continues to implement leading airbag technology in all vehicles regardless of size or price. Dual-stage, dual-threshold front airbags, dual front side airbags and side-curtain airbags are standard equipment on all Fit models. Fit also incorporates 3-point seat belts at all seating positions. An added bonus for parents is the Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) positions in the rear seat. This safety feature allows compatible child seats to simply attach to the Fit frame. For more FIT information visit www.honda.com.
—R.R

Metro’s ‘In Motion’ moves from Ballard to Bellevue

We know that riding the bus, walking instead of driving and traveling on a bike are better for the planet and our bodies.

So why are so many of us still going solo in our cars?

“We think that a lot of the reasons that people don’t consider [transportation alternatives] is that there is an information barrier,” says Sunny Knott, Program Manager for the Downtown Bellevue In Motion program, a 10-week plan aimed at promoting healthier travel options.

This fall, King County Metro Transit with the city of Bellevue and the Bellevue Downtown Association, is bringing In Motion to Downtown Bellevue with the hopes of bridging that barrier. In Motion has been a success throughout Seattle— Columbia City, Madison, East Capital Hill, Lake Forest Park and most recently Ballard. Now it’s moving to the Eastside.

“We think that if we can get the information out there, give people an opportunity and put the information at their fingertips, that people will be much more likely to consider making a change,” says Knott.

In Motion is designed to increase the use of transit, carpooling, bicycling and walking in the downtown area. Bellevue residents receive an informational mailing with a neighborhood map, a Metro Free Ride ticket offer for participants, and details on how to earn a Bellevue Collection gift card. Residents earn In Motion rewards by making the pledge to eliminate two drive-alone trips a week from their regular routine.

Knott believes that making the pledge is an important part of the program.

“There is quite a bit of power to it,” she says, referring to the on-line or on-paper pledge that each participant makes. “The idea that if you make a promise you want to keep it.”

Registration for Bellevue residents began in September but sign-ups continue through November and all the details can be found at the In Motion Website or contact Sunny Knott at (206) 263-6397, or by email
—R.R

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