All Blog Posts (445)

In my two previous posts, Global. Warming. and…

Came across this funny clip on the web:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYR3tO3zoPg



Bellingham Mayor Dan Pike and challenger Kelli Linville square off on Oct.20, 2011 at Western Washington University. The question from the audience concerns the Gateway Pacific Terminal, which is a proposed coal port. Linville, who ran on the slogan "Respect, Relationships and Results," derides Pike for "checking out" on the…

This is a continuation of Thursday’s post, “Global. Warming.” We left off discussing Bill McKibben’s phenomenally popular article for Rolling Stone, “Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math.” A week ago it had already been viewed 450,000 times, and shared 100,000…

A Dust Bowl storm approaches Stratford, Texas in 1935. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It sure…

I feel that TW is again moving towards a left-political agenda, and it is not necessary or good for the movement locally.  Again, IF we are to build true resilience, we must ALL work together- liberals and conservatives- to do so.  Just because most of the people involved in TW are liberal politically, this does not mean that we have to identify the larger group as such...there are so many other avenues in our community for expressing our political opinions, can we please have one group that…

“We are environmentalists now,” he writes, “in order to promote something called ‘sustainability.’ What does this curious, plastic word mean? … It means sustaining human civilization at the comfort level that the world’s rich people — us — feel is their right, without destroying the ‘natural capital’ or the ‘resource base’ that is needed to do so.”

I cringe at the use of the word "sustainability" anymore, and this is why...from an article by Paul Kingsnorth, here:…

  This might seem incongruous with my previous writing on the subject, but I found it a great pleasure speaking with Governor Chris Gregoire at Taylor Shellfish Farms Wednesday. She was there to meet with members of the Puget Sound Partnership, which she formed in 2007 to help heal our severely polluted inland sea.…

Summer having barely arrived, it's time to plant the winter garden that will sustain us through fall, winter and early spring next year. Summer gardens are mostly fruits: zucchini, tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers. Cool season gardens are mostly leaves and a few roots: carrots, beets, cabbage, bok choi, chicory, hardy lettuce, parsley, leeks, kale, radishes. It's OK to start with purchased starts. Look for varieties that say suitable for fall planting, or have "fall" or "winter" in the name.…

   As the good people of Bellingham, Washington grapple over the Gateway Pacific Terminal and the prospect of being turned into a coal town, some in the community are embracing a new model for asserting their voice, and their rights.

   Local 'community rights' group Coal Free Bellingham has succeeded in getting enough signatures to place an initiative…

I've been living in a super funky little apartment for four years now and have outgrown it. We're talking under 400sq ft. I can use a little more space, some storage and good natural light. So I am looking for a nice in-law apt, a tiny house or a long-term house-sitting gig for myself and my older well behaved cat. Hoping to keep it under $600 but thinking $700 is my upper limit. I am an avid gardener, a neat freak and avoid collecting things, preferring to purge possessions on a regular…

I had a conversation with a friend a couple of weeks back about what we are doing at Localswitch – We  talked about a town close to us who have recently set up a LocalSwitch Association. The Borrisokane LSA have given us a mandate to help them create 50 jobs, with a population of 1200 people. He found it hard to believe that something like this was possible in the current economic environment. To tell you the truth, this is something we are hearing a lot at Localswitch.

Five layers…

The gross national product includes air pollution and advertising for cigarettes, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors, and jails for thepeople who break them. The gross national product includes the destruction of the redwoods and the death of Lake Superior. It grows with the production of napalm and…

The sinking of the RMS Titanic, as painted by Willy Stöwer (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One week ago, on Sunday April 15, 2012, was the 100th anniversary of the…

This is a beautiful story of one person's journey as an eco-activist.  Where the author ends up is very close to my vision for Transition Whatcom.…

I am personally interested in meeting and talking with anyone here in Whatcom County who is making ethanol for fuel.

Or, are there others who are interested in or thinking about doing it?  I know that it is a very promising alternative energy, that doesn't need to compete with our food supply.

Please contact me and let me know.

Thanks,

Tom

Mary Logan, daughter of the late pioneer of systems ecology, Howard Odum, undertook a book review of “Together; the Rituals, Pleasures, and Politics of Cooperation“, by…

I hope the Governor even reads this:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2017969340_guest13michaels.html…

Hi All. I am happy to join! I am currently working at the RE Store, cultivating a healthy relationship, beautifying my front step gardens, thinking about what food to grow this year, harvesting winter vegetables and collecting wild herbs. I am not typically a joiner but do have a social life. It makes me happy to share with like-minded people. My friend Dean and I started the Bellingham Permaculture Club (though I always preferred to call it a "Guild") in about 1994 but have not been active…

   During last year's debate between Bob Ferris and Craig Cole at City Club, Cole reminded everyone that we owe owe China a couple of trillion dollars.



   "We need this project," he implored. Turns out, that's more than an intimidating debate tactic. The international forum in Bejing on the 28th — featuring all the big players in global energy, including the Director of The US Department of Energy — provides a kind of backdrop for our own "Gateway."

   Check out…

— Originally Published in August, 2011 —

  Just last June, President Obama renewed his pledge to pursue green jobs and a "clean energy revolution," while speaking at a General Electric plant in North Carolina. To many observers of the president’s energy policy, those words played like…