In August I opined for the need to get Spokane on board with Transit Score which functions similarily to Walk Score but looks how well-served you are by buses and rail lines in your location on a 100-point scale. Not only has Spokane Transit Authority…
This was a big year for my good friend Bart Mihailovich. We co-founded the Down To Earth blog in 2007 and this summer he made the announcement to step away and focus his energies as the Spokane Riverkeeper. In a short-timespan, he's done an excellent…
If you're down with this blog, you're probably familiar with Walk Score. The site calculates the walkability of an address based on the distance to nearby amenities and measures how easy it is to live car-less. I had fun with it recently and noticed some…
Last night I discussed the North-South Corridor rather negatively. To get a better visual scope of the project, check this video from WSDOT on the proposed design.
Good news: After much rigaramole, The South Perry Farmer's Market has finally found a new home in the gym adjacent to the Buddhist Temple at 923 S. Perry. They will be there from 3-6pm every Thursday until it's time to move outdoors to The Shop.…
The House and Senate both passed the Food Safety Modernization Act or the "food safety bill." It's far from perfect but there's a lot to like as it establishes critical protections against food-borne illness. These include requiring more frequent inspections of food facilities to make…
Still looking for a Christmas gift? Perhaps somebody needs the YikeBike. This is a foldable electric bike with a six-mile range that can go up to fifteen miles per hour. It isn’t cheap: The cost is $3, 595. I’m having horrible flashbacks of the Segway.…
This video just confirms something I've known all along: There's a divide between evangelicals on climate change. (I know you were thinking I was trying to take over the world.) A minority believe the bible teaches us to look out for the poor and be…
I find it ironic Gov. Chris Gregoire doesn’t speak to Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn because he “demeaned the office of Mayor.” The Seattle PI reported she hasn’t spoken to McGinn in nearly two months and that when she has to discuss Seattle issues, she contacts…
There's not a lot I need to say here. This is one of my favorites from a special performance and Lennon steals it.
The U.N.'s big climate conference ended Saturday in Cancún, with claims of modest victory. "The U.N. climate talks are off the life-support machine," said Tim Gore of Oxfam. "Not as rancorous as last year's train wreck in Copenhagen," wrote the Guardian. Patricia Espinosa, the Mexican…
Last night I attended Green Drinks at Sun People Dry Goods. The place was packed and it was a fun event - full of the engaging conversations the Green Drinks group is known for, plus it was the opportunity for many folks to get a…
New reports from NASA prove, once again, the world is getting warmer. They conclude "whether the cause is human activity or natural variability, thermometer readings all around the world have risen steadily since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution." It's hard to not make the…
Last night I talked a little bit about the Eastern Mission Flats Repository. Piggybacking off that post, I wanted to share this video from Frances McCue's book “The Car That Brought You Here Still Runs: Revisiting The Northwest Towns Of Richard Hugo.” East Mission Flats,…
I've known Barbara Miller for several years and she is one of the most inspiring activists we have, fighting for the cleanup of mining contamination in the Silver Valley. I'm happy to report that on Wednesday, she'll be attending a forum called by President Obama's…
This just in from KHQ: "A bicyclist was hit by a vehicle at Division & Garland early Monday afternoon. Authorities report the injuries are non-life threatening and the victim was not transported to the hospital. It's still not clear who was at fault. Traffic flow…
This isn't exactly Wild Style caliber but still, did a polar bear get its paws on paint?
For last week's edition, I posted Charles Marohn's excellent "Confessions Of A Recovering Engineer" which has caused quite the stir amongst the transportation community. Sarah Goodyear follows up with an interview in Grist, and to transit geeks, this is pretty enlightening.Q. How do you see…
Last year, this blog spent so much time discussing the climate conference in Copenhagen, readers thought Down To Earth was in Denmark. Fast forward a year later and the end result didn’t net anything more than talk. But now, secret diplomatic cables released by the…
You may recall in mid-October I posted about the newest round of Conservation Futures properties and the selection process. It was a crowded night at the IMAX where Spokane County park staff took input on the thirty-six individual properties submitted for consideration as future public…
All together now: Aww.
What are some reasons to attend Environmental Lobby Day on February 15th? First and foremost, the terrific news the Spokane Riverkeeper got a bill to restrict the sale of phosphate lawn fertilizer as one of the four environmental priorities in the legislative session. Last year,…
The Spovangelist asks the question on their Facebook page and snapped this photo. The responses are cute including “WORD” and “because there's a giant snow berm there, silly.” Still, I’m glad they pointed this out after all the shouting because 2nd avenue is currently on…
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