The Seattle City Council approved a proposal (by a 6-1 margin) that will charge shoppers 20 cents for each plastic shopping bag they use. This is great news. The fee will go into effect in January.

Opponents of this proposal have said that it taxes those who cannot afford to purchase reusable bags. So to alleviate that cost, the city of Seattle will distribute reusable paper bags to all residents, also giving lower income residents additional bags to use.

The council also passed a ban on plastic foam food containers that is a two-phase project. The first phase will address take out containers and it will take effect in January as well. Restaurants will not be allowed to use plastic foam in their takeout containers. The second phase will take effect July 2010 and focuses on all plastic food containers and utensils. Businesses will be able to use only recyclable or biodegradable products for their food containers.

I’m glad to see that our city is taking steps to reduce the unnecessary waste produced by convenience. If you live in a place that is using plastic bags and you feel like you want to make changes to that, Bring Your Own Bag is a great organization that is fighting for that. They also recently posted to their blog specifically addressing the situation in North America.

In June Co-op America and Clean Edge Inc. released an assessment of the potential of solar energy in the next fifty years entitled Utility Solar Assessment Study. The 75 page report is detailed enough to include data and evidence to support it’s claims while refraining from being written in a dry, unengaging fashion.

The report’s analysis includes a general introduction to solar energy, including CSP (concentrated solar power), PV (Photovoltaics) technology and the electric utility industry. The report goes on to give a comparison of projected solar energy costs per megawatt with fossil fuel costs. I found this section especially intriguing because the solar cost projections given here, which are based on progressions in similar computer technology and the annuals decreases in solar energy costs in the last 20 years, are what will inevitably draw electric utilities toward major solar investments. Solar Utility investment as well as updating an aging, one way electrical grid are the greatest obstacles that stand in the way of major U.S. solar development according to solar energy experts. Presently, .1% of U.S. energy consumption is produced from solar energy, but Co-op America and Clean Edge Inc believe that this could reach 10% by 2025 if solar energy continues to grow at a rate of 40% each year as it has for the last decade. It’s an excellent report and I’d highly recommend it to anyone interested in solar energy.

So I just finished “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver, Steven Hopp and Camille Kingsolver. What a good book. It talks about their year spent on their farm in Virginia as “locavores”, that is people who are committed to eating locally. In their case, they planned on planting produce as well as raising livestock.

The story is woven beautifully by the very accomplished Kingsolver (author of the highly recommended but never read “Poisonwood Bible”). But the best thing about the book is the approachable way that she, and her family, discuss their reasons along with their results. A lot of their experiences and information that they report in the book has inspired me and influenced me.

Since Mollie began volunteering at Erewhon Farm, she and I have become increasingly interested in local and organic food. Mollie has really spurred me to think about where our food comes from and why it’s important. Recently we’ve watched some documentaries, read articles and books, it’s very clear that what we eat matters to our bodies, our communities, our economy and our planet.

I plan on writing a series of posts about food, why it matters and small changes we can all make to improve our diets, strengthen our communities and care for our planet.

Hello everyone, I just wanted to let you know that we’re still here, we’ve been traveling this summer. It’s provided us with a lot of different perspectives. Going to other places in our world helps us see our home in a different light, but also learn new and different things about the world.

It’s also allowed us time to slow down, and read for pleasure. I’m reading through Barbara Kingsolver’s “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” which a great read so far. Super informative and had me thinking of a bunch of posts. So keep your eyes peeled for those.

I hope everyone is having a great summer.