Another Green Monday
One of our favorite worldwide demonstrations about climate change, energy conservations, and sustainability is fast approaching, and we wanted to share a little bit of good news about it. We're of course talking about Earth Hour - the one hour each year where hundreds of millions of people around the world come together to call for action on climate change by doing something quite simple—turning off their lights for one hour.
This year, Spokane is on board. You might remember last year we lobbied for the city to participate in Earth Hour, so we're glad they're stepping up and taking notice. And rest assured, we'll be lobbying again this year so that next year's participation is ever grander. Wait, what are we talking about. We hope there isn't a demonstration next year.
The following is from a press release that went out a few weeks ago:
Spokane Mayor Mary Verner is encouraging citizens to join her in participating in Earth Hour on Saturday, March 27, at 8:30 p.m.
Earth Hour is a global movement working to call attention to climate change, energy consumption, and sustainability. On Earth Hour, hundreds of millions of people, along with businesses and organizations, around the world will focus on this issue by turning off their lights for an hour. Famous landmarks around the globe also will extinguish their lights.
“Earth Hour is about demonstrating how small actions by many people can make a difference,” says Mayor Verner. “At the City, we have been taking consistent steps to reduce our impact on the environment and save taxpayer dollars. This event fits with these steps and helps demonstrate what we can do.”
The Mayor will issue a proclamation about Earth Hour and also is calling on City employees to participate as well.
People can sign up to join the Mayor in participating in Earth Hour by clicking HERE and signing up. More information on Earth Hour is available at www.myearthhour.org.
What a mess. Obama continues to ramp his desire for an increase in nuclear power, yet the rest of the West and the country for that matter, is still grappling with what to do with existing nuclear waste. And what a quagmire that plan is. In the works for over 30 years, the plan was to build a nuclear repository at Nevada's Yucca Mountain. Now, the Obama administration has filed a motion to withdraw its application for a license to build the Yucca Mountain repository, and there's no Plan B. According to an article in Crosscut, "without a dump at Yucca Mountain, the nuclear waste generated over half a century at Hanford and all that other radioactive garbage will have to stay more or less where it is, until the feds come up with another place to dump it." Read more HERE.
Mass production electric cars and charging stations set to roll out in the Pacific Northwest. The West Coast is about to take part in the biggest roll out of electric cars and charging stations in the world when the first mass-market electric cars go on sale in the Pacific Northwest at the end of this year. So what do you need to know if you're a prospective plug-in buyer, or simply just interested in this market? Have a listen to Tom Banse of KPLU in a clip that aired recently on NPR Seattle.
Another Google offering has the internet losing their minds (we refrained some saying "is creating a buzz"... for obvious reasons of course). By now you've likely seen that Google rolled out a Beta feature to Google Maps that offers bike-friendly directions for cyclists. And you presumably mapped out a few routes to ensure that it would take you to the Centennial Trail. The geek and the cyclist in us applaud this new feature, and we hope you're like us and have been contacting Google with inaccuracies, errors, and suggestions. We'd also like to thank Hank who posted a wonderful review of this feature on the Cycling Spokane blog. Read his review and perspecitve HERE.
Look but don’t taste. Grist has a new slideshow up: 12 things you should never put in your mouth. “You cannot imagine the stuff that passes for food. Lucky for you, we have found ample photographic evidence. You may not want to view this on a full stomach,” the site says. You’ve been warned. Read HERE.
