GREEN FOCUS: Cool Things That Are Green
 
Portland News You Mave Have Missed 2.1.10 to 2.6.102/08/2010 In our regular search of Oregon news that is green oriented, here are a few that caught our eye this past week as news you may have missed.
2/1/10 : Plastic bags may be a thing of the past in Oregon grocery stores thanks to Senator Mark Hass, who drafted a bill to ban plastic grocery bags. These bags are extremely detrimental on the environment in that they are regularly littered and don’t biodegrade, but rather break down into smaller and smaller bits that make their way into our ecosystem. Both the house and senate will work on this special session through the end of the month.
2/1/10 : To my dearest Uncle Sam, who continues to print money in thin air. We appreciate in your 2011 federal budget for Oregon the $50 million for management and watershed protection programs. The $137 million to examine Corps of Engineers dams on several species of native salmon. And, for the $29.5 million for conservation and ecosystem restoration work in Klamath Basin. Thank you, Unky!
2/2/10 : Gresham is now home to the largest ground-mounted solar facility in the Pacific Northwest! Their wastewater treatment plant will now be getting almost 80% of it’s energy through sustainable methods. 8% of their energy will be coming from their new solar. Joining the party is also converting methane gas into energy and wind power purchased from PGE. The savings to the city over 20 years is estimated to be $102,500 or $5,000 a year.
2/2/10 : West Linn wants your input to create a linked network of trail’s, signs, and maps so people can find the best way to hike to another park, down to the river or regional trail. This includes their sidewalks and bike lanes making West Linn more maneuverable for walkers, runners, and bicyclist to access all parts of the city. In 2002, a survey by the National Association of Realtors and National Association of Home Builders said trails rank as the second most important amenity for new homebuyers. Highway access is first...
2/3/10 : 2,000 homes in various Portland neighborhoods in April will test food-waste pickup. The city is ready to test large scale residential composting. It’ll join Seattle, San Francisco, and Dubuque Iowa. Plain ol’ garbage collection will go from weekly to bi-monthly to help cover the cost of picking up food and yard waste weekly. This will take education and it will hopefully then become the norm. Think how recycling started many years ago. Now, it’s a minor internal freak out if a bottle or can isn’t recycled.
2/4/10 : Jobs jobs jobs. Uncle Sam sees jobs in a proposed Recovery Through Retrofit program - aka Cash for Caulkers. The program is intended to reach 130 homes through weatherizing them and installing energy efficiency upgrades like furnaces and hot water heaters. Multnomah County received $4 million to expand an existing program for low-income households and the city of Portland is using $1.1 million of stimulus money to launch Clean Energy Works Portland.
Written by: Jonathan Davis, Founder and Editor
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