Portland – Week One

Shae — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 00:39:37 +0000

We have arrived in Portland and I am really excited to be in the number one most sustainable city in the country. What I have noticed so far is that there is a recycle bin on almost every street corner. The tap water is pretty good. Also, there are little plaques over many of the street grates saying “No Dumping, this leads to the Stream”. It’s pretty neat.

There is a farmer’s market every weekend. At least for the summer and fall. and everything is local and organic. In the middle of the Milwaukie Farmer’s Market there was a booth set up with Portland Gas and Energy talking about how they want their customers to have the opportunity to explore wind energy and geothermal energy and move away from fossil fuels.

So I am still absorbing the city, but will post more as I find out the true ins and outs of the city.

The Color Blue

Shae — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 20:33:50 +0000

The recreation of the green movement needs to occur. It is good to be environmentally friendly and eco-driven. To have a minimal approach in life and to enjoy life for the beauty of this Earth, not for things we can buy in it. But the term green can have some negative connotations. Take for example the many different definitions of green. Dictionary.com gives one classification of green as:

immature, unsophisticated.

new, not knowledgeable.

These terms can be negative when trying to convince people of the importance of Going Green. So I choose to Go Blue. Blue is the color of water, a life source. Water makes up the bulk of our Earth. We are considered the blue planet. Carl Sagan stated that we are a pale blue dot. So, in this blog will be many things that I find interesting in the world of Environmental Studies. I hope you enjoy this blog as much as I will enjoy writing in it.