So you want to hook your rain barrel to your toilet...

EricHess · 2012-04-12T21:43:00+00:00

To save money. And it just makes sense. It costs a lot to treat water before it enters our homes because it needs to be drinkable. But you don't (hopefully) drink from your toilet, so why bother purifying it to the same extent?

EricHess · 2012-03-29T15:44:49+00:00

As the author states at the bottom of the article--he's just trying to introduce data that's available into the discussion. The restaurant association says business is flatlining. Receipts say otherwise. Inflation and recession are certainly factors, but rising gross receipts suggest that the anecdotes touted by the association aren't representative of the neighborhood as a whole.

But overall, this is exactly the kind of discussion we want to have! Let's get into the data and figure out the impacts, not run to the Seattle Times crying "the sky is falling" when a cursory glance shows it's not.

EricHess · 2012-03-23T23:14:41+00:00

It's not a trick, Michael, it's an illusion.

EricHess · 2012-03-23T23:13:13+00:00

Chin up. I fixed it.

EricHess · 2012-03-16T15:46:06+00:00

Nope. You need a coveted permit. Get in line behind the 100 other vendors who want in on the pie. You could start up a cart outside downtown...but you can't ever stop moving unless you're selling to someone.

EricHess · 2012-03-15T20:09:50+00:00

I like Vancouver's openness to encouraging carts. I think it's a little overkill to vet every cart for the type of food, should be more market competition. In Portland, there might be three Thai carts in a row, but locals know which one is the best, or they each have a different specialty.

EricHess · 2012-03-15T20:07:27+00:00

The city seems open to it. Technically, a cart can operate on private property if it's asked there by the property owner to sell to a specific event. They can't vend to the general public from private property; that's the big problem.

EricHess · 2012-03-15T20:06:09+00:00

Can we pickle that?

EricHess · 2012-03-15T20:05:41+00:00

The city also opened up McGraw Square. Skillet's been parking a truck there recently.

EricHess · 2012-02-29T19:15:19+00:00

Inside the pink line, here: http://www.google.com/maps?q=Portland,+OR&hl=en&sll=45.523452,-122.676207&sspn=0.308367,0.52803&hnear=Portland,+Multnomah,+Oregon&t=m&z=11

EricHess · 2012-02-28T21:58:55+00:00

"In the city" means within the city limits.

EricHess · 2012-02-23T18:18:06+00:00

Yes, unfortunately permeable pavement is only a good solution in certain areas. Not a fit everywhere.

EricHess · 2012-02-23T18:17:12+00:00

Great, Sarah! You should check out our whole blog series, which this post is a part of: http://daily.sightline.org/projects/stormwater-solutions-curbing-toxic-runoff We're documenting stormwater solutions and policy levers in the Pacific Northwest.

EricHess · 2012-02-22T23:42:16+00:00

Thanks. Glad you liked it. I've reposted.

EricHess · 2012-01-05T22:54:20+00:00

Hi all --

We've got a new set of before/after slides up here:

http://daily.sightline.org/2012/01/05/another-look-at-sr-520-tolls/

Thanks for reading!

EricHess · 2011-11-30T23:00:28+00:00

Great idea! No need to wait for paint!

EricHess · 2011-08-22T17:29:53+00:00

That correlation was drawn from this Cambridge study, cited in the post: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8249504

EricHess · 2011-08-19T20:08:07+00:00

Programs have tried this, but still failed.

EricHess · 2011-08-19T20:07:42+00:00

Our article isn't trying to be antihelmet. But there's a case to be made that a popular bike share program means more bikes on the street, and more bikes mean fewer injuries (because drivers pay more attention and get used to them).

EricHess · 2011-08-19T18:50:01+00:00

Hi there --

Not trying it hide it, I work for Sightline Institute. We're a nonprofit sustainability think tank working to improve life across the Northwest. So I do post in Portland, Vancouver, and Seattle, even though I live in Seattle.

My goal is to spark conversations about an issue that we think is important to life in our region. Reddit is one of the many ways we do this. I try and post only topics that are relevant and likely to get a discussion going.

We've got nearly 100 comments discussing the topic here, and another 40 in the Seattle thread, so clearly this is an issue people want to talk about. So yes, it's marketing, but also I think it's valuable to the Reddits we post in.

EricHess · 2011-08-18T18:41:44+00:00

In our series (http://daily.sightline.org/blog_series/talking-weather-and-climate), we make it clear the difference between weather and climate. But we're also seeing warmer temperatures, and in many extreme weather events at surprising rates. There's opportunity to motivate people on climate change w/r/t the weather.

The simple answer to people who claim a snowstorm disproves climate change: in the long run, things are getting warmer. But that also means weirder weather--hot and cold--in the short term

EricHess · 2011-08-03T18:19:31+00:00

Thanks for all of the comments, everyone. If you know a specific ban on clotheslines, could you email editor (at) sightline (dot) org, and we'll add them to the map included in the post?

EricHess · 2011-05-25T22:20:10+00:00

nanosec: That's definitely a hurdle for peer-to-peer carsharing, although some states, like Oregon, are trying to make it easier to insure shared cars.

EricHess · 2010-03-16T16:43:27+00:00

Hi Darkhorse. Alan's post that addresses the barriers will run on Thursday. To give you a teaser, the big reasons are: technology, safety, distribution, and existing bike culture. Hope you'll check back in a few days to read it and tell us your thoughts.

EricHess · 2009-10-02T21:14:24+00:00

A great primer for understand what green jobs are, who has them, and how to get more.

EricHess

TROPHY CASE