Another Green Monday
Yesterday marked the 64th anniversary of the atomic bomb attack on Nagasaki and our thoughts turned to Hanford. Six miles from the Columbia River, Hanford’s B Reactor was an integral part of the Manhattan Project, producing plutonium for the “Fat Man” bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki. In 1943, more than 1,500 residents of two desert towns — Hanford and White Bluffs — were ordered to leave with no explanation. Tribes who knew the land for generations no longer had access. Almost immediately, more than 50,000 workers converged upon Hanford, carrying out their war effort with no knowledge of their top-secret mission, under a tense deadline. The atomic age was born, wrapped in paradox. Now tours are offered from the Department of Energy and it’s designated a National Historic Landmark but there’s not an honest account of its own human costs and environmental impact. This is an insult. From 1944 to 1951, the government estimated mass amounts of radioactive Iodine-131 (read: "downwinders") went up reactor smokestacks and dispersed. Since 1990, 2,300 people have sued the federal government, experiencing common symptoms of thyroid cancer. It’s the nation’s largest environmental cleanup. Museum supporters envisioned the site as a way to promote the nuclear industry, an injustice to the moral questions of B reactor. An old S-R editorial offered a respectable solution: “For that, travelers might consider flying to Nagasaki. In the city where the clocks stopped, a museum devotes itself not to the wonders of nuclear age technology, but to the deep and universal human desire for world peace."
Bicycle envy. There has been a lot of bicycling news coming out of Vancouver B.C. lately, mostly to do with a recent Critical Mass event. So when another bicycling related story popped up on our radar we almost skipped over it. Good thing we didn't. Christine McLaren of Vancouver's The Tyee wrote a fascinating perspective of Portland's bicycling culture after a recent visit to the Rose City. Why is Portland the mecca of bicycling in North America? Read more of McLaren's reporting to find out.
Public transportation envy. In a similar style story in the Los Angeles Times, albeit quite a bit more pessimistic, David Lazarus writes about a recent trip to Japan where he expereinced a public transportation system "that works" compared to the "truly pitiful" system in our country. It's worth the read, if for nothing else, to energize you to speak up or fight for your transportation needs, wants, and expectations. Read Lazarus' perspective HERE.
The green roof guy. Hopefully by now you've had a chance to read the wonderful story about former Spokane mayor John Powers and the massive rooftop garden he calls home in Seattle. Though genuinely a happy story, it's sad to read that some things here in Spokane never change. When Powers was mayor, he advocated for a rooftop garden atop City Hall - which at the time seemed feesable as City Hall was being refurbished. The garden never came to frutition, and in the process, Powers took quite a beating over it. One of the antecdotes in the article was how at one meeting in August 2002, then Councilman Steve Eugster dressed up in bib overalls and a straw hat, carried a pitchfork and handed out gardening gloves to fellow council members. And that same "then councilman" is running again. If you missed the story, check it out HERE.
Plastics Benjamin. Referendum 1, which calls for the 20-cent-fee on disposable plastic bags in Seattle, will be on the August 18th primary ballot. We endorsed this measure, subsequently hosting quite the debate on our blog, and now The Seattle Times supports the proposal, writing "Plastic and paper bags have never been free. Consumers pay for them. And they pay for the consequences of their presence in the garbage and waste stream.” However, based on a Times poll last night, the votes were 36 percent approving, 64 percent saying no. Full editorial HERE.
