Sightline Daily

Making Sustainability Savory

“Is meat sustainable?” It’s a question too big to tackle in a single blog post, but the fact is that billions of people worldwide eat meat, in one form or another, and in the Northwest, farm sales of livestock represent nearly $3 billion in sales annually. It’s useful, therefore, to consider whether some forms of meat production are better for natural systems than others.

One promising technique attempts to use livestock grazing to reverse desertification, restore grassland habitats, … read more »

Event: Conservation Remix

A great event is coming to Seattle’s Town Hall on June 2: Conservation Remix. A dozen speakers will present on a variety of topics, from smart building to GMO crops. Sightline fellow and funny-guy Yoram Bauman will be presenting on a perennial favorite: tax shifting.

It’s an all-day event that promises to be highly engaging.

You can get more information or buy tickets here.

See you there! … read more »

Weekend Reading 5/18/12

Eric dP:

Joel Connelly deserves many kudos for being the first to draw attention to the fact that Tim Eyman’s proposed latest “two-third majority” anti-tax ballot measure is really just a stalking horse for Big Oil. You can tell, as Connelly points out, because oil refiners have already thrown a staggering $350,000 behind his initiative.

I really think it’s worth being clear about this: tax policy in Washington State is now being written by oil companies with headquarters elsewhere. … read more »

Where Are the Women Bike Commuters?

Why don’t women bike to work more often? You hear many theories: we’re less willing to ride in traffic, we can’t arrive at a showerless office all sweaty, we never bothered to learn how to fix a flat, our schedules are over-extended, we work longer hours to make the same money as men, those of us with kids spend twice as much time on average caring for them, and many of us squeeze in shopping … read more »

Your Wheels, on the Bus: Puget Sound Edition

Earlier this year, I shared my stroller-on-the-bus hell story. The villain in the tale was surprising: King County Metro, otherwise a hero in my book. Like many transit agencies across North America, Metro says kids cannot stay in their strollers on board buses—and that policy is a giant problem for families with babies and toddlers. Unpacking a stroller, folding it, and hauling everything onto a transit vehicle even one time is enough to convince many parents never to attempt … read more »

Report: Making Sustainability Legal

We've been cleaning out the fridge for nearly a year now, and we've compiled our list of moldy, past-their-prime laws into a handy new report. It's all in there, from freeing taxis and food carts to legalizing car sharing and clotheslines. Plus, we've cataloged three success stories, where outdated rules have been brought into the modern age. Download the full report, or get the two-page summary to take to your next cocktail party. There's lots more work to be done. read more »

Does “BC” Mean “Bans Clotheslines”?

British Columbia prides itself on a commitment to renewable energy. Yet many British Columbians are forbidden from stringing up the simplest of solar devices: the clothesline.

These laundry-drying bans are written into the bylaws of strata corporations, which govern most of British Columbia’s condominiums, apartments, duplexes, and townhomes. Condos are a big and fast-growing housing choice in the province. In just 20 years, the percentage of Vancouverites dwelling in them has nearly doubled from under 25 percent to more than … read more »

Light Rail and Racial Justice in Seattle

Anyone familiar with Seattle’s Rainier Valley knows it’s a place in transition.

Long one of the most racially diverse neighborhoods in the Northwest, it has for many decades struggled economically. In recent years, some areas of the valley such as Columbia City have gentrified rapidly even while nearby neighborhoods were rocked by the economic downturn, experiencing high rates of foreclosure and unemployment.

It was in that complicated geography that the Puget Sound’s first light rail line arrived, bringing with it … read more »

For Climate, Place Matters

At this point, most serious researchers agree that the average city-dweller produces fewer climate-warming emissions than a typical suburban or rural resident. City-folks tend to drive less, and walk or use transit more, than those of us who live in suburbs or out in the country. And city dwellers also tend to have less living space per capita, and are more likely to share walls or ceilings with their neighbors—all of which tend to reduce energy consumption per person. (And … read more »

Introducing Bike Score

Those people at Walk Score just don’t know when to stop: today, they’ve announced new Bike Score rankings.

No surprises with the victors: Minneapolis takes the top spot (Bike Score: 79) while Portland and San Francisco settle for second and third (both have a Bike Score of 70). Seattle comes in at number seven (Bike Score: 64).

The block-by-block algorithm takes four criteria into account: bike lanes (how good is bike infrastructure), hills (how good is the geography), destinations … read more »