Seattle

It’s, um, slogan-y

Grist's fair HQ of Seattle has revealed a new city slogan, posted prominently on top of the famous Space Needle. And that slogan, my friends?

METRONATURAL.

As defined by Seattle's Convention and Visitors Bureau:

adj. 1: Having the characteristics of a world-class metropolis within wild, beautiful natural surroundings. 2: A blending of clear skies and expansive water with a fast-paced city life.

n. 1: One who respects the environment and lives a balanced lifestyle of urban and natural experiences. 2. Seattle.

Mmmmkay. First of all, "metrosexual" is so last year. Second of all, to some people, including myself, it's not eliciting the response the tourism bureau hoped for ("Wow, it's a city and it's nature!"). One Pike Place Market vendor says, "How do you use that in a sentence? 'Welcome to Metronatural.' ... It's an airport where you can buy organic bananas."

Yes, it beats See-@-L. But what doesn't?

Environmental justice groups gathered in Seattle this weekend

Unfortunately, I only got to catch the tail end of the Environmental Justice for All solidarity event up here in Seattle on Saturday. I missed the tour though ... 'cause I got lost. Hey, I'm new here, OK? But as the national tour drew to a close, it was good to see activity up in our corner as well.

The event, hosted by the Community Coalition for Environmental Justice, led folks on a tour of some of the most polluted areas here in the generally-conceived-of-as-green city of Seattle. South Seattle neighborhoods deal with a disproportionate number of environmental woes, including 22 facilities that have been found to release air pollutants, six hazardous waste treatment facilities, and 35 facilities that have reported toxic releases.

Seattle’s — possibly the country’s — coolest new neighborhood

This past Sunday, I went out to the Highpoint neighborhood in West Seattle to attend the Green Living Expo.

Highpoint is extraordinary (check out this map of the master plan). When it's completed (about a third is finished at this point), it will be the largest interurban redevelopment in the country. I won't get into all the details -- check out the website -- but here's the short summary:

The community will be mixed-use, mixed-income, and mixed-ethnicity. They're connecting up the streets with the surrounding grid. All the sidewalks (and one test street) are made of permeable concrete that allows rainwater through. They're reserving fully half of the (eventually) 1,600 housing units for low-income buyers and renters. They've developed a massive, award-winning drainage plan based on bioswales, to naturally clean water as it drains into the neighborhood's stream and pond. The housing units are all built to Energy Star and Built Green standards. Housing styles and colors are purposefully diverse. Walkways connect pocket parks, green space, and community gardens throughout.

This was all done with intensive community involvement. It's really a remarkable achievement.

Anyway, I took a bunch of pictures -- on, I should caveat, a very cloudy day -- some of which are below the fold.

Gristmill shameless product placement: Pagliacci Pizza

This weekend we ordered a pizza -- our usual: pepperoni, mushroom, and Kalamata olives -- from Pagliacci, the best pizza place in Seattle and one of the best pizza places in the country. When it arrived, there was a note sitting on top that read: "This one's on us! Thanks for being a great customer."

I heart Pagliacci.

Seattle’s papers catch up with electric cars

Here in Seattle, we have two daily papers. They're embroiled in a seemingly endless joint-operating dispute. I don't know the ins and outs of the deal, being a relative newcomer to the city, but I do know this: every morning at the bus stop, as I review the front pages displayed in the papers' side-by-side machines, I marvel at their attempts to tell the same stories in different ways.

Today, for instance, both front pages featured huge, splashy photos of our visit from the Blue Angels -- but with different headlines, people! Different headlines! And there, at upper left, each had a plug for an article on an electric car. The Times went with the Tesla, while the P-I featured the Zap! Xebra. (Both PDFs, sorry.)

Semi-funny, yes. But it's also an indication of how far we've come. This is the dawning of the age of the curious. Better to have two papers reporting on this kind of thing than none.

Bicycles are old school

I was riding my electric hybrid bike to the basketball court last night and stumbled upon the Ride of Silence staging area at Gasworks Park here in Seattle. Too bad I didn't have my camera. Anyone who rides a bike in Seattle is aware of the sorry state of our streets. On my way home that night I counted five potholes big enough to take out any unwary bicyclist.

Edens Lost & Found

Check out Edens Lost & Found, a four-part PBS series (and book, and newsletter, and curriculum) about how four cities -- Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Seattle -- are working to transform urban environments to integrate nature and improve quality of life. Apparently the first two episodes have already aired; Los Angeles and Seattle are coming up this Spring. Sounds interesting. Check your local listings.

Big climate haps in the Emerald City

It's been a pretty extraordinary couple of days here in Seattle -- "climatepalooza," as Mayor Greg Nickels jokingly dubbed it.

Yesterday I went to a small private luncheon with Seattle's movers and shakers. The purpose was to honor both the Green Ribbon Commission's work and visiting author Elizabeth Kolbert. I got to meet the mayor, who was genial and optimistic, reinforcing my sense that he's a bit of a Forrest Gump figure in all this. He got a good idea -- the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement -- from his staff, jumped on it, and now has gotten carried away on a tsunami he doesn't pretend to control. I give him full credit for recognizing and riding the wave. It's a case of accidental greatness, but accidental greatness is greatness nonetheless. His name is on its way to the history books.

Kolbert -- obviously nervous and uncomfortable with public speaking -- spoke briefly. She said she hopes Seattle is able to achieve these goals and that others emulate it, because if not, "all hope is lost." Everyone laughed nervously. She didn't.

A proud day for Seattle

I just came from a press conference wherein Seattle mayor Greg Nickels unveiled the recommendations of his Green Ribbon Commission on Climate Protection. This is the first big step in Seattle's attempt to comply with Kyoto -- a mission which, via Nickels' U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, now involves some 219 cities (and counting).

I'll have more to say about this event and some others in the past week shortly. For now I just wanted to share something said by former Vice President Al Gore (you'll have to forgive me for paraphrasing -- I didn't record it). He talked of two possible futures ahead of us.

In one, our children ask, "Why? How could they let this destruction happen?"

In the second, they say, "Thank God they had the moral imagination and courage to rise above their limitations and tackle this problem. And it all started in a city between the mountains and the sea. It all started in Seattle."

I'm not much for civic cheerleading, but today I'm pretty damn proud to be a Seattleite.