A few weeks ago Co-Pilot and I took a walk at Vancouver Lake just over the boarder. There’s a great car-free path that crosses farmland and connects to another park on the banks of Columbia River. We saw dozens of blue heron, a western tree frog and many more birds of different taxonomy. The route is about 5 miles round trip and is a great way to stretch your legs beyond Portland’s beaten path. Apparently this place is hopping in the summer, so visit in the off-season and be ready to be delighted by the quiet and peacefulness of the city to our north.
A huge thank you to Philip Barron from Thesis Labs who fixed this site after lots of troubleshooting. Now I’ll be working on customization and new content. Here’s to 2010!
I thought I’d dip into Gwen Bell’s Best of 2009 Blog Challenge and write a post on my favorite conference. I went to a few conferences this year, mostly for work. But my favorite was one I went to for my own enrichment.
I just got back from the China Design Now exhibit at the Portland Art Museum. There were many cool things to look at, but what struck me most was a photo and description an unsung building from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. It’s called “Digital Beijing” and it served as the command center for technology, communications and data for the Olympics. Apparently the building was the only Olympic building designed by a Chinese firm in a country that just recently started allowing privately-owned architectural businesses to set up shop there. I particularly like how the building reflects its use in a significant way. In this case it looks to be part circuit board, part barcode.
Last night, Co-pilot and I joined several thousand people for the opening of Indigo@Twelve|West. After waiting in line for over an hour to get into an elevator, I was eager to see the main attraction (at least for me). You may not have noticed the new addition to our skyline yet, but spinning 24-stories above the corner of SW 12th and Stark, are the first wind turbines to be installed in Portland. I didn’t get any details on how much energy each turbine produces, but hope to return soon to get the full eco-geek tour. In the meantime, I wanted to get this photo out into the world. Although it was dark, I see our future and no, it’s not in plastics.
Four years ago when I started this site, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do in this space. At the time, I was thinking about Seeing Green as an umbrella for many things. I wanted Seeing Green to be a book, a tour company, a non-profit education center and a consultancy to green businesses. I may still pursue all of those at some time, but for now Seeing Green, the blog, is my most-favored avenue for sharing my adventures in sustainable Portland.
I recently gave up gluten at the advice of my doctor. I’ll spare you the details, but let’s just say I am no longer rolling in the dough (or beer for that matter). In Portland, it’s not too hard to eat gluten-free. There are many restaurants that offer gluten-free choices just by the very nature of the cuisine, including Thai, Mexican or Ethiopian. But I thought I’d share a few places that offer people like me the opportunity to eat or drink alongside my gluten-consuming friends (you know who you are).*
I can remember when I saw my first colorfully-painted metal water bottle. I was so taken with it that I stopped the woman carrying it on the street to ask her what brand it was. She said the bottle was made by a Swedish company called SIGG. At the time, I was making an effort to get rid of as much plastic as possible and my water bottle was on the top of the to go list. And although the name sounded a little funny to me, I took the plunge, forked over my $22 and felt like I was on my way to getting my green halo.
A few weeks ago Co-Pilot and I took a walk at Vancouver Lake just over the boarder. There’s a great car-free path that crosses farmland and connects to another park on the banks of Columbia River. We saw dozens of blue heron, a western tree frog and many more birds of different taxonomy. The route is about 5 miles round trip and is a great way to stretch your legs beyond Portland’s beaten path. Apparently this place is hopping in the summer, so visit in the off-season and be ready to be delighted by the quiet and peacefulness of the city to our north.
I just got back from the 
