WSU Extension and the Puget Sound Partnership announced that the Draft 2012 Low Impact Development Technical Guidance Manual for Puget Sound (Draft LID Manual) is available for broader stakeholder review until 5 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012.

The Draft LID Manual is an update to the existing 2005 LID Technical Guidance read more »

Many of our top New Year’s resolutions are to lose weight, save money, spend more time with family or friends, go greener, and reduce stress. What if just a few simple changes could accomplish all FIVE of these objectives?

Take your bicycle, walk or use the public transportation system. Consider making a simple switch from driving alone to commuting alternatives read more »

Just after the election, Kitsap County Public Works contacted the Liberty Bay Foundation because of a 2001 Right-of-Way permit. Apparently, County Commissioner Rob Gelder received a citizen’s complaint and requested staff, including supervisor Jon Brand, evaluate the trees for road safety reasons. The crew white-paint-marked all trees in the 1/3 mile area of Lemolo Shore Drive with a trunk — 4 inches in diameter.

This section was previously part of a State Department of Ecology (DOE) and Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB) project I led from 2001 until 2007 (see www.libertybayfoundation.com). Just five years ago, DOE’s stormwater engineer filed a derogatory report read more »

Bremerton has historically been a working waterfront community, and similar to other cities around the country, has the potential for hazardous waste and petroleum contamination. These sites also provide an opportunity to develop new public access, marina expansion, and boat maintenance facilities as well as to facilitate significant private investment in marine industrial development.

The properties located at 1725 Pennsylvania Avenue next to the Port of Washington Narrows in Puget Sound were used for various industrial purposes starting in the 1920s including; a coal gasification plant, fuel-oil storage and distribution company, sandblasting / painting / electroplating operation, concrete manufacturing, vehicle repair, painting, and a salvage yard. read more »

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) of 2009, provided $5 billion to the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) in Fiscal Year 2009. The program goal was to reduce energy costs for low-income families by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes, while ensuring their health and safety. Through the Recovery Act, the Obama Administration made an unprecedented commitment to weatherizing and retrofitting our nation’s residential building stock. Of the $5 billion, 20 percent (approximately $1 billion) was made available for Training and Technical Assistance (T&TA) directed at the state and local levels ($864 million) as well as at the national level, by DOE ($146 million). read more »

There’s an enormous heat wave stretching across the rest of the country as this is written. Some form of heat advisory, heat warning, or heat watch has been issued for the nearly 2000-mile stretch from Massachusetts to Oklahoma. CNN reported that there were 200 records broken across the country as 32 states held heat advisories. read more »

There is an unprecedented need for renewable energy and conservation while addressing the growing demand for businesses and jobs to support them. For decades it has been clear that the way Americans produce and consume energy is not sustainable. Our addiction to foreign oil and fossil fuels puts our economy, our national security and our environment at risk.

A clean-energy champion from Washington State, U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), who sits on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, has long advocated that, “…jobs that come from the shift to clean and renewable energy are concentrated in manufacturing, construction, and skilled facilities operations. read more »

Liberty Bay and the creeks and stormwater drains that discharge to it contain high levels of fecal coliform bacteria indicating that even more disease-causing bacteria (pathogens) may exist in those waters. Stormwater runoff and other pathways carry contaminants into streams, lakes, and estuaries where they can infect people through drinking water, skin contact, or eating fish and shellfish.

Untreated wastewater from leaking septic systems and sewers is an ongoing problem in Liberty Bay, resulting in elevated levels of coliform bacteria and shellfish-harvesting bans. In addition read more »

Earth Day 2011 on April 22nd marked its 41st anniversary. Now more than ever, this seemed like a pivotal time to commit to conserve, protect and sustain our planet.

The Earth Day Network’s Billion Acts of Green campaign was there to record the power of single, individual acts when they are added up. By the close of earth Day 2011, there were 102,025,106 Acts of Green on the “Billion Acts of Green Earth Day Events” website located at http://act.earthday.org. read more »