Danube Update

From the Associated press "Monday's reservoir break at an alumina plant dumped up to 700,000 cubic meters (184 million gallons) of sludge onto three villages, government officials said, not much less in a few hours than the 200 million gallons the blown-out BP oil well gushed into the Gulf of Mexico over several months. The red sludge devastated creeks and rivers near the spill site and entered the Danube on Thursday, moving downstream toward Croatia, Serbia and Romania. Monitors were taking samples every few hours Friday to measure damage from the spill but the sheer volume of water in the mighty Danube appeared to be blunting the red sludge's immediate impact.

Test results released by Hungary's disaster agency show the pH level of the water where the slurry entered the Danube was under 9 — well below the 13.5 measured earlier in local waterways near the site of the catastrophe. That is diluted enough to prevent any biological damage, Interior Minister Sandor Pinter said.

Despite the apparent good news, the risk of pervasive and lasting environmental damage remained at the site of the spill, with Greenpeace presenting laboratory tests that it said showed high concentrations of heavy metals in the sludge."

We need to find an alternative to this way of life.

From Reuters "Crews were working to reduce the alkalinity of the spill, which poured out of the burst containment reservoir of an alumina plant on Monday and tore through local villages, killing four people and injuring over 150. Three are still missing. The spill's alkaline content when it reached the Raba, the Mosoni-Danube and the Danube itself, was still around pH 9 -- above the normal, harmless level of between 6 and 8. Fresh data from the water authority on national news agency MTI showed pH levels peaking at 9.65 in the Mosoni-Danube river at the city of Gyor. They were measured at 8.4 in the Danube. Crews were pouring hundreds of tonnes of plaster and acetic acid into the rivers to neutralize the alkalinity. In Gyor, a city in the northwest of Hungary where the Raba flows into the Mosoni-Danube, a Reuters reporter saw white froth on the river and many dead fish washed ashore." Check out the full article at http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69415O20101007.

Also see the Christian Science Monitor http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2010/1007/Hungary-s-toxic-sludge-reminiscent-of-2000-Romania-disaster-but-much-worse

"Removing the sludge, let alone beginning to rehabilitate the area, will take years, says Szegfalvi, adding that drinking water could become polluted as the toxins seep into the ground and into the water table. Agriculture will likely be impossible for many years."

New building for the Columbia Slough

The Columbia Slough Watershed Council has moved to a new building! Though still on the same parcel of land with great access to Whitaker Ponds, it was originally a private home that had sat vacant and boarded up for years. Thanks to a lot of work, several donations, and a furniture grant from Ikea, the council has been able to renovate the home into a much more functional working space. The largest improvement is a spacious flexible area for hosting workshops or other educational seminars.

Elemental Accounting

I heard an interview with professor Saleem H. Ali the other day, and was intrigued by his article on elemental recycling. He asks, "Many of us know what is inside our cereal boxes and other food items thanks to labeling guidelines, but how many of us know what elements are inside our computers or our clothes?" I certainly count myself among those who don't know how much boron is in their non-stick cookware.

A message from the president...

of Demeter Design (ha ha).

After almost 6 years, I feel it is important to thank all of the people who have contributed to the success of Demeter Design. Although there are certainly more people than space, I think one big "Thank You" sums it up. To our clients who work hard *every day* to make the world a better place, thank you. To our staff, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU :) We couldn't have done it without you. I hope y'all feel it's worth it!

To our blog readers (there are over 400 now!), thanks. I am shocked you keep coming back ;>

Sincerely,

Cara Mico
CEO - Demeter Design

Yuppy Elites Fret Over Disposable Diapers

"Those who skim the surface of the earth’s crust in their needlessly huge fossil-fuel vehicles, tossing their foam coffee cups out the window, may never give such matters a second thought, focused as they are on getting to the mini-mart and saying to the clerk, “A six-pack of your finest spring water, my good fellow. And would you mind triple bagging it?” But for those who are concerned about green, life is fraught"

The article in the NY Times discusses the difficulties of blending convenience and sustainability. Danny Seo, author of Upcycling said (to the times of course :), "“A Patagonia jacket you might have worn out ... makes the chicest, most gorgeous Gore-Tex shower curtain. It will never mold or mildew. If you bought a Gore-Tex shower curtain, it would retail at $600.”

Now that is a really good idea, except when you are poor and have to work two full months to save enough to buy the jacket for your son who will then pass it down to their siblings... etc. etc.

Most of the worlds population probably can't afford a Patagonia jacket in the first place. It is a nice thought for middle classers but for those in poverty, sustainability is not always an option. I don't think this is true sustainability (for our selves, our planet, etc.). Most companies like Patagonia (although Patagonia is much more sustainable than other mass market sports wear companies utilizing recycled fabrics and such) utilize minimum wage labor (if in the US) or below poverty level child labor (uh-hum ... NIKE! As an aside, the goddess of victory probably crys just a little every time some one buys a new pair of Nike shoes... anyway...) outside the US. This is NOT sustainable. Most factories are not environmentally friendly, gobble up more resources than can be acquired locally, and provide nauseatingly horrid working conditions. How can this ever be sustainable? Just because buildings have lights that turn themselves off doesn't mean it's green!

You can have the greenest building in the world but if it is filled with people wearing products made of petrol and by children how sustainable can it ever be?

That isn't even addressing the consideration of what the people in the building do. Are they weapons manufacturers? Is it a uranium recycling facility? Is it a mill or other extractive business?

As the young couple in the article find out there are pitfalls to 'going green'. Theirs is disposible diapers.

This quote sums it up, “I don’t think the environmental movement should be about living in a cabin without electricity or running water — it isn’t a back-to-earth movement, it’s about redesigning everything, about being more sustainable.” Here is the question, what if that isn't enough?

March to Keep Fear Alive and Restore Sanity at the Same Time!

Being an fan of Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart I am happy to say that at least two of Demeter Design's staff members will be attending this much needed rally. I can't wait to report from Washington DC day of!

Neighborhood Forest Management Plans

Portland Parks and Recreation recently accepted a grant from the East Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District for the purpose of creating Neighborhood Forest Management Plans within the city. This allows citizens to inventory and evaluate existing neighborhood street trees. It also provides for the establishment and implementation of tree goals for each area. Goals often include increasing canopy cover, planting site appropriate trees, and ensuring that urban growth/development does not adversely affect existing tree counts.

Garminfone

We have recently added a Garminfone to our arsenal of GPS devices, and given the lack of info on it on the web, thought I'd give a recount of our experience. The display is great, the interface convenient, and the GPS itself is great (really good resolution and pickup). The phone service is limited by the T-mobile network however, which is not the best.

The hardest thing has been the interface with our PC. Getting data off, and more specifically on, is not always easy, and our normal GPS program (ExpertGPS) was not compatible. You can use ExpertGPS to read the spatially tagged photos however, which is nice.

It also does all of the normal smartphone, android things, with the limit of Android 1.6 (for now at least). All in all it is a good product for us, but may be less so for anyone not needing the standalone GPS capacity.

Wildwood

Autumn has been anxiously beating at the door of summer, certainly trying to get in earlier than usual - earlier than I'd normally allow. Generally, I've felt that September was solidly considered part of the summer - but this year, I'm not so sure.

Therefore, it seemed fitting that my recent dinner at Wildwood felt the very definition of fall. The russet potato gnocchi with bacon, lobster mushrooms, and Sauvie Island sweet corn was exceptionally earthy. The mesquite roasted Carlton Farms pork chop with summer squash, cherry tomatoes, sweet corn and cilantro butter was a terrific follow up, a little more rustic than the gnocchi. I finished the meal by going out on a limb from my normal chocoholic leanings, and had the sourdough donuts with candied applies and caramel corn ice cream. That may have been taking it a bit too far, as I don't even like candied apples or caramel corn - but it just seemed like the perfect end to a fall day. Except on my plate.

The Upper James River

While in Virginia, I had the chance to canoe a nine mile portion of the Upper James River. Though it was pretty placid (one class II, and a handful of class I), it was nice to be on a different type of river than I'm used to in the Pacific Northwest. At one time, George Washington envisioned creating a navigable east-west connection by utilizing the James River; in fact, he personally surveyed sites for locks and canals from the Chesapeake Bay to about 12 miles west of where the photograph above was taken (Eagle Rock, VA). There are still remains of locks that can be seen along the river today, though I wasn't lucky enough to see any of them on my float.

Summer in the South

I'm currently spending some time in the Southern Appalachians, experiencing (and - oddly enough - loving) all of the humidity, lightning bugs, and black snakes that the region has to offer. Came across quite the algae bloom on one of my walks. Kind of unsettling, the way the water looks like land....

Most Obvious Statement Award Goes To ...

"The sun's constant interaction with Earth makes it important for solar physicists to keep track of solar activity."

No more needs to be said.

haste makes...

Did you know the commercial sector generates 75% of Portland's waste stream? Portland City Council recently adopted a resolution with one of the goals being to maximize the recovery of all commercial waste with a target of 75% by 2015. Along with Metro, the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability will assist Portland's businesses (more than 20,000!) to increase participation in the city's commercial recycling and waste prevention programs.

On the other hand, we may be seeing Hawaiian waste make its way down the Columbia to a landfill in Klickitat county....who knows what invasives might be along for the ride.

More oil just somewhere else

"As with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, last week's spill that sent more than 800,000 gallons of oil into the Kalamazoo River has public advocates and policy-makers questioning whether the agency that oversees the industry is too easy on the pipeline owners it regulates."