Get to Know Seattle's Sustainable Heroes!

Every year, the nominees of the Sustainability Leadership Awards inspire the staff at Sustainable Seattle.  These are groups, businesses and individuals go above and beyond when it comes to building a healthy and livable future in the Seattle area. 

This year’s Sustainable Hero nominees are no exception!  They are all working hard in their professional and private lives to incorporate sustainability daily – and the extra steps they take definitely make them inspirational.

We wanted to know more about these motivating individuals, so we asked them a few questions that went beyond their nomination.  We learned something new about each one - one is at a loss when it comes to a Nordstrom's Gift Card, another is inspired by their co-worker's dedication to bikes - and are excited to share more about these community leaders with you.

Here is a look at some fantastic answers from Bill Thorness, Jenny Heins, Guy Lawrence, and Michael Foster: 

Free Solar Power System Available for Seattle Community Organizations

There is an exciting opportunity for Seattle based community organizations to receive a free solar power system!

Solarize Seattle: Central/Southeast, a project of Northwest Sustainable Energy for Economic Development (Northwest SEED) and Seattle City Light, is seeking applicants to reward a donated solar photovoltaic system to, installation is included.

GiveBIG 2013 x Sustainable Seattle

Picking a non-profit to donate to is tough, there are so many great organizations out there!  There are national groups, local, large, small...when you've finally narrowed it down to the group (or groups) that match your own values you feel happy to have made an impact.  But your giving heart always wants to give more--if only you could save the world! 

Well, you're in luck. This Wednesday, May 15th, your charitable donation to a single charity, like Sustainable Seattle, will give in a bigger way.  How? Gifting on May 15th during GiveBIG, The Seattle Foundation's one-day online giving event will help over 1,400 Seattle area non-profits!

RainWise: How Seattle Homes are Managing Rain Water

Are you interested in beautifying your yard this Spring?  In areas throughout Seattle (designated as drainage basins), property owners can get up to a 100% reimbursement for beautiful and functional landscaping and rain water cisterns through the Seattle Public Utilities’ and King County’s RainWise program!

This rain garden in Beacon Hill was installed
with the help of Sustainable Seattle in 2010.

If you live in the neighborhoods of Ravenna, Bryant, View Ridge, Laurelhurst, Wedgwood, or Windermere, you may be eligible for these rebates – which average $4000!  When you install a rain garden or rain cistern through RainWise, you will be helping prevent pollution from entering Lake Washington and Puget Sound.  You can check out your eligibility now at www.rainwise.seattle.gov.

Sustainable Seattle’s Green Blocks Blue Sound (GBBS) program is excited to partner with Seattle Public Utilities to bring RainWise to you.  As a non-profit partner, Sustainable Seattle wants to help you access this great opportunity.  

Join us for a RainWise Open House on May 13, 6:30pm (doors open at 6pm) at the Center for Spiritual Living, 5801 Sand Point Way NE.

Toyota’s Prius Playground Helps Power-up Bumbershoot

If you are heading to Bumbershoot this weekend, take a quick break from the music and crowds and head over to the Prius Playground where you’ll have the opportunity to help power-up Bumbershoot. The Prius Playground is a partnership between Toyota and not-for-profit organization Global Inheritance designed to inspire people to think creatively about energy solutions.

Here’s how it works: Visitors are invited to donate a bit of sweat by pedaling on stationary bikes or taking a spin in the human hamster for three minutes. The energy generated is then stored in an energy well, which allows people to see the real time energy production and consumption at the playground. And, staying true to its name, the playground isn’t all hard work! After each three minute spin fans are rewarded with a free snow cone made with the very energy they generated!

The Flow Campaign 4/10/2011 Issue 5

4/10/2011-4/16/2011 Issue 5

Community Vitality This week we are focusing on Community Vitality which is the idea that true happiness comes from the connections and relationships we build with the people around us in our homes, our neighborhoods and our work places. Most working adults spend the vast majority of their waking time at the workplace. People who work forty hours a week spend more time with their coworkers than they do with their family and much more time than with their friends. Therefore, it is essential for us to make our work environment community a more pleasant, meaningful place. So what are some actions we can take to make our work places more pleasant and more enjoyable? Here are a few ideas that can transform the experience we have at our workplaces. Firstly, eating is fundamental to the human experience and many people working at full time jobs do not either eat properly or eat with others. Eating with your coworkers is one of the first steps to take to establish and grow a more pleasant work environment. When eating with coworkers I would first start by eating on the work campus when appropriate as this will tie the experience with the workplace. Secondly, get rid of your headphones or other personal devices that separate you from your surroundings. Audio clues are so important to relationships, but body language is even more so. The act of putting on isolating devices sends a strong signal to others that you do not care to interact and that you don’t value the ambient discussions and hubbub of office life. Thirdly, come In to work early. When you are relaxed and rested the day at work is a more pleasant experience as you do not need to be running around and catching up with duties or actions that need to be done. When you have plenty of time every other action becomes easier and with less effort. Also, when you come in early you can spend that time chatting with coworkers, getting the best coffee and of course impressing the boss. Lastly, listen more. Coworkers are starving for attention and if you are a person whom they can talk to about small, and the most important, things they will pay you back in favors, friendship and respect. Recommendations This week’s website recommendation is: Sustainable Industries This week’s book recommendation is: Not On Our Watch by Don Cheadle, John Prendergast Sign up for the weekly newsletter.

Brian Kahn: Getting Back to Our Founding Values Community, Governance, Cultural www.townhallseattle.org Monday, April 11, 2011 | 7:30 – 9pm Seattle for Japan Benefit Community, Material www.seattlegreendrinks.org April 12, 2011 5:30PM - 9PM Jane Fonda, Inspirational Luncheon Community, Culture, Health www.ywcaworks.org April 14, 2011 Noon-1:30PM

Sustainable Seattle Receives $60,000 Grant From Russell Family Foundation

March 30, 2011

SUSTAINABLE SEATTLE RECEIVES $60,000 FROM RUSSELL FAMILY FOUNDATION FOR RAIN GARDENS CONSTRUCTION IN FIVE SEATTLE NEIGHBORHOODS

Sustainable Seattle

Phone: +1.206.622.3522 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +1.206.622.3522 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Email: laura@sustainableseattle.org, amy@sustainableseattle.org, nathan@sustainableseattle.org

SEATTLE—Sustainable Seattle, in collaboration with Creatives 4 Community, Home Grown Organics and Stewardship Partners has received a $60,000 grant from the Russell Family Foundation for a project called “Sustainable Rain.” The project includes the construction of rain gardens, storm water training and green infrastructure demonstrations in five Seattle neighborhoods. The project is looking for participation from local businesses, residences and other publicly visible sites in West Seattle, Central District, Beacon Hill, Duwamish and White Center.

The Russell Family Foundation has a long history of funding innovative, local projects and programs and was a natural choice for Sustainable Seattle according to Amy Waterman Project Manager with Sustainable Seattle.

“Russell Family Foundation has been a great supporter of projects in our region that lead to sustainable communities. And they have provided support to Sustainable Seattle in the past. They have also specifically supported rain garden projects in our region, including some with our partner, Stewardship Partners.”

Sustainable Rain's goal is to create demonstration rain gardens and create educational opportunities around sustainable business in each neighborhood that will benefit the business owner, youth in the area, the broader community, and the Puget Sound. One business or organization in each neighborhood will be selected for free installation of a rain garden as well as a free Whole Environment Building (WEB) assessment, a tool for local businesses to assess their sustainability efforts and operate more cost effectively, while managing their “nine domains of happiness.”

“Rain gardens are one of the easiest ways we can make the built landscape function more like the natural systems that preceded it, reducing the risk of floods and the amount of pollution washed into Puget Sound and our lakes,” says Eldan Goldenberg Director of Operations at Sustainable Seattle.

Sustainable Rain will also be having community meetings in each of the five neighborhoods providing training on storm water management, rain gardens, and other sustainable business practices. There will also be funds available on a competitive basis for members of the community to design and install their own rain gardens towards the end of the one-year project.

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Sustainable Seattle

Founded in 1991, Sustainable Seattle is a non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in the Central Puget Sound, nationally and internationally. Sustainable Seattle’s mission is to be a positive catalyst and resource for positive change. We accomplish this mission by working with diverse individuals, communities, businesses and government agencies to build awareness, assess progress, and take action on collective sustainability goals.

Change Agentry for Sustainability

Why do some changes occur instantly, appear effortlessly, while other changes fail to occur at all?

Through a combination of hands-on and interactive activities Alan AtKisson’s class, Advanced Change Agentry for Sustainability, examined this thought providing insight on why change in Sustainability is different than change in other contexts and provided a “tool kit” on how to effectively produce this change.

The class began with an introduction to the ISIS pyramid. The ISIS pyramid identifies a clear process needed to induce change. The process begins with developing indicators, thinking about data and trends within the system. Once these are identified, begin building a map and identifying connections in the system you are attempting to change. After careful evaluation of the existing system you will integrate the innovation at systems key leverage points. The final step is developing a strategy to carefully and effectively communicate and incorporate the innovation into the existing system. ISIS- Indicator Identification, Systems Analysis, Innovation, and Strategy. The class reinforced change is powerful to all and it affects different people in different ways. We must know the players and stakeholders at all time.

Early in the class we examined the innovation adoption curve, discussing the importance of the “take off” phase and the different constituents involved in this process. This curve is key to understanding systems transformation. Alan uses an amoeba as a metaphor to describe the roles and relations in the process of this systems change. The innovation or intended change begins with an innovator. The innovator develops the idea, policy, initiative, and works to engage the change agent. The change agents absorb the idea from the innovator and then communicate it to the masses, beginning with the transformer. The transformers are open to ideas and are working to promote positive change, but act as the gatekeeper for the idea and are careful which idea they allow to pass through. The amoeba is reliant on the pieces in the center of the organism, in this case those are the “mainstreamers” and “laggards”. Once the mainstreamers and laggards (those following the critical mass) accept the change, it is difficult to reverse. Those who are unwilling to accept the change or don’t believe the change will occur at all were identified as the “reactionary(ies)” and “curmudgeons”. Do not spend too much time attempting to convince these parties. It is important to remember where to focus your energy throughout the change process.

The class provided five key aspects that may increase the likelihood of the idea/change to rapidly spread. These are;

Relative advantage- Is this idea better than the existing idea?
Complexity- complex ideas are difficult to spread;
Observability- Is the idea visible?
Trialability- Ideas with low trialability are difficult to spread;
Compatibility- Does it fit into the existing system?

These are several important pieces to think about as we change agents move forward with our projects aimed at producing change. To learn more about change agentry and the methods used I encourage you to look in to Alan AtKisson’s readings and publications available at http://EarthScan.co.uk.

Happiness Event Recap and Celebration

Sustainable Seattle is getting a reputation for putting on fantastic events. I say this as a completely unbiased source; Sustainable Seattle events with the aid of collaborators, performers and our dedicated donors truly are unique and wonderful outings that inspire, educate and entertain.

The Good Sheppard Center as a venue is beautiful. Our event corresponded with sunset and the stain glass windows colored our faces with reds, blues and yellows as Alan AtKisson took to the stage to perform a few of his witty and insightful songs and deliver a informative speech about the history of Sustainable Seattle. He spoke about the first meetings, the intents and the decisions that the group of founders made back in 1991 with a few winks and rib pokes to his fellow founders as they listened, shouted out anecdotes and laughed and laughed.

The night was a collection of talks, songs, music, potent potables, documentaries and socialization. The night started with a powerful performance by local band "Now We Are Six," a group that reminds one of "Muse," "Spoon," and an early "U2." We all crammed into the space which was not sufficient for the amount of revelers that arrived and we sampled food, booze and mingled with the founders raising a ruckus that lifted our hearts.

We showed a film documentary from the early nineties where the founders were featured talking about the launching of Sustainable Seattle. The crowd laughed, jeered and cheered when their younger versions of themselves spoke to the camera about their vision of the future. Many people shouted out at the screen yelling advice like "Get a haircut!" or "Shave!" The film brought back memories and challenged us as many of the issues and problems that the younger versions of the founders brought forth still are problems that we have yet to be solved.

We exceeded our fund-raising goals even when you include the ten percent offering that we are turning over to the Red cross for Japanese Tsunami relief. We would never had made our goals if not for the generosity of every single donor that reached deep into their own pockets and gave to an organization that is creating and maintaining innovated programs, projects and communication that will lead us to be more happier, more sustainable and more content.

Thank you for anyone who gave and thank you for any who attended, spread the word either word of mouth or social media. We really appreciate it and we will use your time and trust to bring about our mission "to be a resource and catalyst for positive change," by continuing to tie all of our work to our Happiness Initiative work.

Our programs and projects are based in and supportive of our indicator work. Our Happiness Initiative propagates and permeates all of our work. We are focused on the results and we have re-crafted and retrofitted all of our existing programs to be aligned with the Happiness Initiative. We are measuring our success and our work by the nine domains of happiness and targeting those domains in which the greater Seattle area scored low upon. We have even created a new program that focuses on individual actions and lifestyle changes called The Flow Campaign.

We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to all our partners and collaborators including: Taylor Shellfish, Honest Tea, Dry Soda, Yes! Magazine, Essential Baking, Ideal Network, EOS Alliance, Now We Are Six and many more. THANK YOU!

The Flow Campaign 3/20-3/27 Issue 2

The new issue of the Flow Campaign is live. Please click on the image to be redirected. We are working on some technical solutions to streamline this process. In the meantime we still want you to have access to the individual actions and events coming up this week in order to strengthen your nine domains of happiness. Sign up for the weekly newsletter.

Also stay tuned for video footage of our fantastic Happiness Event. We were over capacity and had to haul in extra seating and we had to purchase additional food and supplies as the night went on. More details about the event coming soon.

Have a wonderful weekend and please check out the new projects we are launching at Sustainable Seattle.

The Flow Campaign.

Sustainable Rain.

Sustainable Seattle Annual Event Press Release

December 14, 2010

Sustainable Seattle Hosts Annual Event and Award Ceremony at Hidmo Restaurant

Sustainable Seattle

Phone: +1.206.622.3522
Email: laura@sustainableseattle.org, Andrew@sustainableseattle.org, nathan@sustainableseattle.org

SEATTLE -- Sustainable Seattle, in collaboration with Sustainable Central District and Pursuit of a Green Planet (POAGP), will hold its Annual Event at Hidmo on Dec. 16, 2010 from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. The celebration marks the year’s achievements by Sustainable Seattle and its collaborators and will feature food, entertainment and a silent auction to benefit the organizations.

The evening will be a series of acts that include local calls to action, musical performances, film screenings of Sustainable Seattle videos, artistic displays and performances, awards program winners and a performance by local Hip-Hop act Young & Brave.

Hosting the Annual Event is Hidmo, a community-focused restaurant, lounge and meeting space located in the historic Central District. The venue was selected for its connection to the community it aspires to build and maintain and its wonderful food, service and ambiance. This is the second Sustainable Seattle event hosted at Hidmo.

Many organizations and individuals have donated goods and supplies toward Sustainable Seattle’s fundraising goals and they include: Grand Central Bakery, Macrina Bakery, Gelatiamo, Honest Tea, Columbia City Bakery, PCC Natural Markets and Starbucks. Local artists and visionaries also donated gifts and services to the silent auction benefiting Sustainable Seattle and its partner organizations.

For more information on the Annual Event and to reserve tickets, visit www.sustainableseattle.org.

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Sustainable Seattle

Founded in 1991, Sustainable Seattle is a non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in the Central Puget Sound, nationally and internationally. Sustainable Seattle creates cutting edge products, processes and leadership that propel people and communities forward in reaching sustainability. Sustainable Seattle strives to create healthy communities, economies, and ecosystems by serving as an incubator for emerging people, projects, and ideas, as a convener of diverse citizens and practitioners, and as a catalyst for turning indicators into action

Sustainable Seattle’s mission is to be a positive catalyst and resource for positive change. We accomplish this mission by working with diverse individuals, communities, businesses and government agencies to build awareness, assess progress, and take action on collective sustainability goals.

Opt In Phone Book Ordinance Passes City Council

This is the official press release from zerowasteseattle.org, a fiscal sponsoree of Sustainable Seattle.

Grassroots Activists Applaud Seattle Council for Passing Yellow Pages Ordinance Today

Toughest Phonebook Restrictions in the Country

SEATTLE -- Today, the Seattle City Council voted 8-1 in favor of a new ordinance which creates an enforceable opt-out system restricting unwanted delivery of yellow page phone books. In addition, the distributors of the books will pay the city a per book ($0.14 per book) and per ton fee ($148.00 per ton) to recover the costs to the city to recycle the phonebooks and set up the opt-out registry. The mayor is expected to sign the Council bill.

Council Member Mike O’Brien has been the leader of the effort, taking up the issue early on and even asking citizens to bring him their unwanted books. His office was flooded with hundreds of books, creating mountains of books that his staff had to peak around in order to speak to visitors to his office.

“This is a big step forward for citizens who are tired of getting unwanted phonebooks dropped on their doorsteps,” said Jeanette Henderson who has been one of the grassroots activists as part of Zero Waste Seattle promoting this legislation for the past year.

Seattle citizens will be able to go to a single web page to cancel either all phone book delivery, or to select the number and types of yellow page books they still want delivered. This opt-out system will be similar to the national “do not call” registry for unwanted solicitation phone calls

“We have seen an immense amount of public support for this ordinance,” says Ellie Rose of Zero Waste Seattle, “It is not every grassroots campaign where you have people lined up six deep to sign your petition!”

Heather Shute of Environment Washington highlights the savings to the city, “According to Seattle Public Utilities, the city currently pays over $350,000 per year just to handle the recycling of phone books. In addition, many people toss the books into the trash, and off they go to the landfill!"

Another feature of the ordinance is a restriction on non-recyclable attachments to phonebooks. “How many people remember to pull off those magnets when they toss their books,” asked Jolie Lemoine of Zero Waste Seattle. “Those magnets end up going to the paper mills and getting slivered up and contaminating the recycled paper. We are pleased that these will no longer be allowed.”

In addition to cost savings, grassroots activists raised issues of privacy and climate change. Scott Stromatt of the Cascade Chapter Sierra Club said, "The ordinance is a positive step forward in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Seattle and in limiting the intrusion of unwanted phone books on our property."

Heather Trim of Zero Waste Seattle continued, “Seattle is already a leader in working to reduce our carbon footprint and advance zero waste goals. We expect that many cities across the US will be following suit quickly. Most jurisdictions are looking to save money, reduce waste, and address climate change. This ordinance is a win-win!”

“We applaud the leadership of the City Council to stand up to the pressure of the Yellow Pages lobbyists who worked hard to fight this ordinance,” said Sally Wolf of Zero Waste Seattle. “Our City Council voted to implement a simple system to let Seattleites to say “No” to unwanted phone book delivery.”

For more information about Zero Waste Seattle: zerowasteseattle.org

The importance of speaking up for what you believe in

I had the pleasure of representing Sustainable Seattle at Worldchanging's Future City event last Friday.  The main attraction was seeing the Mayors of Portland and Seattle be interviewed by Alex Steffen, who asked a series of questions about how to achieve sustainable urban development; a crucial issue since, as Steffen pointed out, the world's urban population grows by 200,000 people per day.

"Team Mayor" only had about half an hour on stage, which is a pity as they touched on a lot of important issues without having the time to really explore many.  The part I found the most interesting was Portland mayor Sam Adams's response to a question about how individuals can help political leaders be effective.  He talked about how it's never safe to assume that because you got your person elected you can just sit back and see things happen; instead it's important to keep engaging, keep writing to politicians, and keep articulating what you want.  And not to only write to politicians about what you oppose: writing to people in support of what they are promoting helps them get it done, because every letter is counted, and a stack of supportive emails is useful ammunition for your representative.  He finished with an exhortation that's worth quoting verbatim:

Don't take for granted that you live in a liberal city. Get off your duffs and speak up for what you believe in.

Streets For All - a social justice issue

We are among the many endorsers of the Streets For All Seattle campaign. This is a campaign to make sure Seattle lives up to its fine words about building a street grid that works well for all users, not just those that have cars. This means continuing to improve the pedestrian environment, bicycle infrastructure and transit network. In the short term, the campaign is focussed on raising $30 million in new dedicated annual revenue to stave off cuts in bus service, double the city’s commitment to the underfunded Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plans, and build critical elements of Seattle’s transportation infrastructure.

There are a lot of good reasons to support this, including public safety, the need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, the health impacts of driving, the city's mandate to achieve carbon neutrality and the state's mandate to reduce motor vehicle miles traveled. Today I want to talk about another: social justice.

It's depressingly common to see sustainable urbanism painted as a luxury for the rich, but in fact it's car-dependent cities that fail the poor. Owning and driving a car is stunningly expensive - on average over $9,500 per year according to AAA. That's not far short of the entire annual income of someone living on the poverty line, and while it's certainly possible to run a car more cheaply than this average it's unavoidably an expensive thing to own and use. By contrast, a typical bus pass (one zone, including peak times) costs $972 per year for an adult and considerably less for youth. Or a solid, reliable new bike costs under $500 to buy and very little to keep in good working order after that. But the practicality of these alternatives depends heavily on where someone lives: like most cities Seattle has a fairly strong relationship between property values and rents and the ease of getting around without a car. This makes the extra costs associated with running a car effectively a penalty for not being able to afford to live in one of the more central, better-connected neighbourhoods in town, which serves to worsen wealth inequality.

To make things worse, there is a strong correlation between race and car ownership, so car-biased infrastructure is also white-biased infrastructure. And then there are all the people who can't drive, whether through disability, old age or being too young - all of whom are left out by car-centric infrastructure.

Streets For All is trying to fix this pressing inequity by directing more of our limited civic resources to transport infrastructure that doesn't require a car to use. There are a few ways you can help:

1. Write to the City Council. Letters and emails to the Council are counted, and seeing a wave of support for something does sway their deliberations.
2. Go to a budget hearing and speak up for this cause. This cycle's hearings will be in Northgate on September 29th, South Seattle Community College on October 13th, and the council chamber on October 26th - more details in this PDF.
3. Come to a PARK(ing) Day event tomorrow (Friday), to reclaim a little space from the car. It's a simple, fun way to show what else is possible. Parking spots around town will be reclaimed to turn them into temporary parks - here's a PDF map of the sites.