You can never hold back Spring. Tom Waits warbled that, and last Friday it was never more evident with sunshine and a new warmth until the rain came and washed away a little goodwill at the DTE camp. The grapes turned sour because we had nothing better to do. Of course, we’re referring to two categories we modestly fought for in a certain Best of List: Bloggers and green gurus. To paraphrase a comedian, worse than making the list? Not making the list. Worse than not making the list? Caring about it. Much props goes to the victorious and consistently engaging Spovangelist. However, second and third in the latter category was our primary concern. Who was Phyllis Stephens? And then we found out. Cute. And Mayor Verner? Boooooring. Some of the commentary was no less inspired. They must be running out of ideas over there. It takes guts to take a swipe at Spokane meth when talking about neighborhoods. Next they’ll feel their oats making fun of Hillyard. Oh wait. Across the board, Olive Garden, Starbucks and the community-minded Anne Kirkpatrick made the cut. Congratulations Remi Olsen. You’ve finally made it too. Better luck next year? Let’s hope not. In the meantime, dig on these stories…

 

What's in your water? Last week the Environmental Protection Agency published the most recent Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) which is a frightening read that contains annually reported information about the toxic chemical releases and waste management activities of certain industries, and some federal facilities. The report validated the metal mining industry as the nation’s top toxic polluter once again, which was no shock. But what is shocking is that the authorizing legislation of the TRI does not require oil and gas producers to report, meaning we don’t know how potentially dangerous our drinking water is. According to an EARTHWORKS press release, "communities nationwide are impacted, yet they're in the dark because drillers don't have to report the toxics they release.” A quick search on the oil and gas industry in Washington state revealed that of Western states, Washington ranks 10th of 12 in the amount of land currently producing oil and gas, around 367,000 acres- mostly in Grant, Franklin and Yakima counties. Read more from EARTHWORKS HERE and read the TRI report HERE.

 

Green thumbing it in the White House.  Aside from Barackotology and the President's woes on the bowling alley, the biggest news to come out of the White House last week was that First Lady Michele Obama plans to turn part of the South Lawn into an organic vegetable garden. Foodies across the nation are rejoicing as this presents a real opportunity to increase visibility to the benefits to eating well and eating healthy, while also educating the nation on growing and eating locally and organically as a way to reduce our dependence on large industrial farms that use chemicals and need to transport food great distances. But above all, DTE is hoping the significance of this high-profile garden opens up the dialog about the “complexity of understanding what is truly sustainable,” as one of Spokane’s best blogger’s (From the Back Kitchen) recently put it. Because it is difficult, especially in a tight economy, to balance one’s ethics with ones pocketbook and it’s even more difficult when you don’t understand the system. Sustainability in relationship to food and in turn to the health of the Earth, your health, and your community’s health is a concept worth understanding. And if you feel the way we feel about food – join us by signing the Food Declaration – a declaration for healthy food and agriculture that “unites us as people and as communities, across geographic boundaries, and social and economic lines.” Sign it HERE.

Goin’ out west. As an addendum to the last Friday Quote, new estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau revealed Washington state grew 1.5 percent over a year, better than the nationwide rate of 0.9 percent, with Tri-Cities and Olympia leading the way in our state as fastest growing.



But the Seattle Times reported that overall, from the 2000 census to July 1, 2008, Vancouver grew 23 percent, number one in the state. The Tri-Cities grew 22.9 percent; Olympia, 18.2 percent; Bellingham, 17.8 percent; Mount Vernon-Anacortes, 14.6 percent; Spokane, 10 percent; the Seattle area, 9.9 percent; Wenatchee, 9 percent; Longview, 8.9 percent; Yakima, 5.4 percent; and Bremerton, 3.4 percent. MORE.

Punching holes in the arctic. Tomorrow will mark the 20^th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, a massive ecological disaster which saw 11 million gallons of crude oil spilled over 1,300 miles of shoreline in Alaska’s Prince William Sound. The effects are still being felt today. One example: President George H.W. Bush declared Bristol Bay off-limits to drilling after the Exxon Valdez spill only to have that son of a Bush remove it in 2007. While not as egregious as “drill, baby, drill” we’re still disappointed to see Obama play footsies when the subject of drilling comes up but the editorial calls to restore protections at Bristol Bay for more obvious reasons. From the editorial: "Bristol Bay contributes heavily to the area’s $2.2 billion annual fish catch — about 40 percent, in dollar terms, of all the seafood caught in America’s coastal waters. Oil and gas development, according to Interior’s Minerals Management Service, would yield total revenues of less than $8 billion over 20 to 40 years.” We tend to say no to drilling. Anywhere. Period. MORE.

 

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