Another Green Monday
It’s getting close to that time again.
Back to school is upon us and DTE agrees that getting older has its benefits when the yellow bus comes around. However, we are occasionally wistful for our university days. W.B Yeats said “education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire” and it’s a formative time. We were thrilled that Sierra magazine released a list of “the most-eco-enlightened U.S. colleges” because two-thirds of applicants say a school’s green record would influence their enrollment decision. On the list, University of Washington lands at number two for focusing on local, organic food services and LEED Silver standard for new campus buildings; Evergreen State College has a fleet of electric vehicles and students rallied together for a clean-energy fee, hoping to become waste-free and carbon neutral by 2020. Even our alma matter, Eastern Washington University constructed a new recreation center with LEED Gold Certification for $26.3 million dollars last year, something that would’ve seemed unimaginable during our tenure there. (And Washington State University will actually reinstate Michael Pollan’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemma.” Sheesh.) This impact on students for smarter, sustainable decisions can not be understated and to see colleges now going green around the country, as Eastern Eagles are quite known for doing, has us literally soaring with pride.
When random Spokane news pops up on Google alerts. This was a nice treat for a hump day. A writer on examiner.com posted a story about her apparent Meet Met at River Raft and Kayak Passport Series trip where she was treated to more than just a great time on the river and dinner and drinks at Northern Lights. She came away quite surprised that yes, a river does run through Spokane, and a pretty damn good one too! Read her story HERE, and be ready to feel Spokane pride.
Recreation, science, preservation.... It's hard to argue against any of those ideas, it's even harder to have them all coexist. That's the issue facing Mount St. Helens, nearly 30 years after its violent eruption. From the time its top blew to today, researchers have used it to study storms, fires, droughts and floods, and it has been a great environment for those studies. But some are arguing that the Forest Service should manage it differently, perhaps open it up for recreation, while others argue that it should be turned into a National Park. Perhaps most telling that this issue is heading for a heated debate is the involvement of key local politicians - Democratic Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, Democratic Representative Brian Baird, whose district includes the mountain, and Democratic Representative Norm Dicks have all bee involved in recent hearings over the issue. Read more from The New York Times HERE.
Speaking of National Parks, attendance is up! As reported by the Associated Press, "the National Park Service said Monday that 127.7 million visits were made to national parks in the first six months of the year, an increase of about 4.5 million over the same period in 2008. In June alone, visits to national parks increased by more than 700,000 compared to June of last year." The report was released at an advantageous time with President Obama and family having just brought enormous press and coverage to National Parks following a Yellowstone National Park on Saturday and Grand Canyon National Park on Sunday. Read more HERE.
