A Brighter Future Minus the Mercury
News Flash! Finally Available:
Affordable, true-color, LED lighting (or “SSL” solid state lighting) with standard fixture bases.
Why is LED lighting considered by many to be more “green” than compact fluorescence or standard incandescence?
- Virtually no heat is generated by LEDs
- LEDs use far less power for equivalent brightness.
- Longer lasting with 10,000+ hours of use.
- Without residual mercury, LEDs allow easier and safer disposal.
- Their colors are more accurate.
So why are these ubiquitous little lights just entering prime time?
First, upfront cost has been a big factor, although at today’s prices their considerable energy savings and exceptionally long life suggest that the “supremacy” of most incandescent and fluorescent lighting is waning.
Pure, white light in LEDs has been difficult to achieve, especially for conventional lighting of interiors. White light LEDs first began to be introduced in a wide variety of battery-powered devices, such as flashlights and lanterns. Most solar-powered lighting also uses LEDs because of their low power drain and longevity. Nowadays white light LEDs are “clustered” to provide equivalent brightness to other lighting and the introduction of standard fixture bases makes it possible to use them with conventional house wiring.
Finally, the LED’s parent industry, the semiconductor industry, has had a poor history regarding the consequences of its manufacturing practices. Improvements have finally been seen from worker-safety to more integrated, cost effective, greener” materials processes and recycling. Recent commitments made to reduce energy requirements for future computers (and “chips” in general) are pointing to a time when silicon (from sand) will be a more people and earth-friendly choice.
So why are these LEDs not available on Vashon? Incandescent light bulbs are history and compact fluorescent light bulbs are pretty much pretenders to the throne. We need to let GE et al. know that we see that the emperor has no cloths and that CFLs aren’t good enough. Let’s ask for LED lighting at Thriftway, True Value, and Island Lumber and Hardware. If Vashon stores won’t carry them, let’s buy them on the web at any number of on-line resources like The LED Light, Inc. (www.TheLEDLight.com). Other LED commercial links are offered by Vashon’s BuildingCircles Organization at www.buildingcircles.org/links.htm#alternativelighting. A growing market makes it happen faster for everyone! Your future may well be brighter and the earth a little greener.
Laura Worth is a life and business coach, specializing in web strategy and development. (www.coachworth.com and 463-9283).
Robert Bornn is a green futurist and multi-media producer ( www.bornn.com and 463-4284).
They are founders of Vashon Island’s
BuildingCircles Organization www.buildingcircles.org), designing affordable and sustainable, nature-integrated homes for independent living.
Buying a piece of land on emerald Vashon may have unwittingly put you in the Ivy Leagues – that is, the league of landowners facing down the problem of tree-choking ivy. Ivy can look lush and green, but we are learning the hard way on Vashon that all that looks green just isn’t sustainable.
How doth ivy kill thy trees? Let us count the ways: ivy climbs trees, develops tree-like strength itself, cuts into bark like razor wire, and keeps light from penetrating the forest canopy. On the forest floor, ivy prevents new tree growth from getting the sun and nutrients it requires. In last December’s wind storm hundreds of pounds of ivy, made even heavier with rain, brought down trees that were already stressed by other factors. Left to itself, Vashon will sadly be deforested in a few years. And there go our lungs.
Now in summer’s calm, as we enjoy our island’s forests, it has become apparent that nearly everywhere the trees are choked with ivy growth. On Vashon, ivy is an invasive species introduced by modern life. Just last night, another tree announced its demise when it fell on a PSE line and left part of the island without power.
Without authoritative information about forest health, even with the best of intentions, the link between responsible ownership and caring land stewardship can be a tenuous one. Many landowners are unaware that the ivy clinging to their beautiful trees is choking them. Many of us like the green appearance it gives to our forests and somehow think of the ivy invasion as a natural phenomenon.
There are many sources of information about care of our forests for private landowners, including information about invasive ivy and what to do about it. On Vashon, as in many other locations, goats are being rented for ivy control. Rent-a-Ruminant, owned by Tammy Dunakin (206/ 251-1051 ), brings goats into the ivy league to control ivy on the ground, but most tree strangling ivy probably also still requires removal by hand. The Vashon Parks District has an EarthCorps volunteer program to help manage ivy in our parks. Contact the Park District at 206-463-9602. In Portland, the No Ivy League is a thriving organization from which we can learn..
Contrary to some popular opinion, there is a deep tradition in America for land stewardship. Native American tradition required that we should consider the impact of human interactions with the land on seven generations to come. Only in recent times has the legal convention of land ownership been introduced. In today’s environmentally conscious world, we are integrating the concepts of caring stewardship with responsible ownership. The abuses of the “landed gentry” of old agrarian worlds should be relics of yesteryear. Here’s where the futurist and the conservationist can break bread: restore the Vashon Emerald we call home!
Laura Worth is a Vashon Island life and business coach
www.coachworth.com and 463-9283.
Robert Bornn is a Vashon systems designer of authentically green homes and an artist
www.bornn.com and 463-4284.
They are founders of BuildingCircles Organization www.buildingcircles.org), designing affordable and sustainable, nature-integrated homes for independent living.
How doth ivy kill thy trees? Let us count the ways: ivy climbs trees, develops tree-like strength itself, cuts into bark like razor wire, and keeps light from penetrating the forest canopy. On the forest floor, ivy prevents new tree growth from getting the sun and nutrients it requires. In last December’s wind storm hundreds of pounds of ivy, made even heavier with rain, brought down trees that were already stressed by other factors. Left to itself, Vashon will sadly be deforested in a few years. And there go our lungs.
Now in summer’s calm, as we enjoy our island’s forests, it has become apparent that nearly everywhere the trees are choked with ivy growth. On Vashon, ivy is an invasive species introduced by modern life. Just last night, another tree announced its demise when it fell on a PSE line and left part of the island without power.
Without authoritative information about forest health, even with the best of intentions, the link between responsible ownership and caring land stewardship can be a tenuous one. Many landowners are unaware that the ivy clinging to their beautiful trees is choking them. Many of us like the green appearance it gives to our forests and somehow think of the ivy invasion as a natural phenomenon.
There are many sources of information about care of our forests for private landowners, including information about invasive ivy and what to do about it. On Vashon, as in many other locations, goats are being rented for ivy control. Rent-a-Ruminant, owned by Tammy Dunakin (206/ 251-1051 ), brings goats into the ivy league to control ivy on the ground, but most tree strangling ivy probably also still requires removal by hand. The Vashon Parks District has an EarthCorps volunteer program to help manage ivy in our parks. Contact the Park District at 206-463-9602. In Portland, the No Ivy League is a thriving organization from which we can learn..
Contrary to some popular opinion, there is a deep tradition in America for land stewardship. Native American tradition required that we should consider the impact of human interactions with the land on seven generations to come. Only in recent times has the legal convention of land ownership been introduced. In today’s environmentally conscious world, we are integrating the concepts of caring stewardship with responsible ownership. The abuses of the “landed gentry” of old agrarian worlds should be relics of yesteryear. Here’s where the futurist and the conservationist can break bread: restore the Vashon Emerald we call home!
Laura Worth is a Vashon Island life and business coach
www.coachworth.com and 463-9283.
Robert Bornn is a Vashon systems designer of authentically green homes and an artist
www.bornn.com and 463-4284.
They are founders of BuildingCircles Organization www.buildingcircles.org), designing affordable and sustainable, nature-integrated homes for independent living.
We love living in Burton. It’s beautiful and its been exciting to walk on the beach, appreciating life’s abundance of myriads of seabirds, fish, and invertebrates.
But there are a few things about Island living that don’t make sense to us. And maybe they’re provocative questions for all of us on Vashon. The context is what kind of world do we want? locally? globally?
For example, can someone explain why it’s important to so intensively manicure lawns? Now that summer is near, lawns are being plowed under and re-seeded. It took three men two days to do that job on one lawn we know of. And each of those workers was spewing carbon and other emissions from gas-powered equipment the whole time. …think global warming.
And now, with eerie regularity -- even when it’s raining, timing devices turn the sprinklers on every day and night. You’d think Burton had an unlimited water supply the way some lawns are watered with those big sprinklers that mainly spray water into the air. …think drip irrigation.
From all this surface water runoff much of the lawn fertilizer along with failed septic system effluent ends up in Quartermaster Harbor. It causes large increases of nitrogen which supports ever-increasing algae blooms. Later in the summer when it decomposes, it uses up the dissolved oxygen and causes “dead zones.” …think Hood Canal.
Planting drought-resistant and native plants would help solve the problem. …think less lawn and more permaculture.
And let’s question the need for those noisy leaf blowers. What purpose is served by blowing leaves ritualistically from one end of the yard to the other with a gas-powered blower? The effect is blowing dust and spores into the air, further degrading air quality. …think allergies and asthma.
Another “Breathe Better” option is to consider healthy paddling and sailing instead of motoring for summer recreation.
And what about yard waste and brush fires? We can compost, recycle, and build safe “eco-brush piles” – not next to dwellings, but providing plenty of habitat for wild life.
We need new traditions for beauty and fun that allow us to re-connect our relationship to nature, with less emphasis on domination and more emphasis on harmony. As a community, let’s redefine beauty and fun in ways that let us survive as a species and feel pride as the agile dancers in life that we are. …think positive psychology and happiness.
Laura Worth is a Vashon Island life and business coach
www.coachworth.com and 463-9283.
Robert Bornn is a Vashon systems designer of authentically green homes and an artist
www.bornn.com and 463-4284.
They are founders of BuildingCircles Organization www.buildingcircles.org), designing affordable and sustainable, nature-integrated homes for independent living.
But there are a few things about Island living that don’t make sense to us. And maybe they’re provocative questions for all of us on Vashon. The context is what kind of world do we want? locally? globally?
For example, can someone explain why it’s important to so intensively manicure lawns? Now that summer is near, lawns are being plowed under and re-seeded. It took three men two days to do that job on one lawn we know of. And each of those workers was spewing carbon and other emissions from gas-powered equipment the whole time. …think global warming.
And now, with eerie regularity -- even when it’s raining, timing devices turn the sprinklers on every day and night. You’d think Burton had an unlimited water supply the way some lawns are watered with those big sprinklers that mainly spray water into the air. …think drip irrigation.
From all this surface water runoff much of the lawn fertilizer along with failed septic system effluent ends up in Quartermaster Harbor. It causes large increases of nitrogen which supports ever-increasing algae blooms. Later in the summer when it decomposes, it uses up the dissolved oxygen and causes “dead zones.” …think Hood Canal.
Planting drought-resistant and native plants would help solve the problem. …think less lawn and more permaculture.
And let’s question the need for those noisy leaf blowers. What purpose is served by blowing leaves ritualistically from one end of the yard to the other with a gas-powered blower? The effect is blowing dust and spores into the air, further degrading air quality. …think allergies and asthma.
Another “Breathe Better” option is to consider healthy paddling and sailing instead of motoring for summer recreation.
And what about yard waste and brush fires? We can compost, recycle, and build safe “eco-brush piles” – not next to dwellings, but providing plenty of habitat for wild life.
We need new traditions for beauty and fun that allow us to re-connect our relationship to nature, with less emphasis on domination and more emphasis on harmony. As a community, let’s redefine beauty and fun in ways that let us survive as a species and feel pride as the agile dancers in life that we are. …think positive psychology and happiness.
Laura Worth is a Vashon Island life and business coach
www.coachworth.com and 463-9283.
Robert Bornn is a Vashon systems designer of authentically green homes and an artist
www.bornn.com and 463-4284.
They are founders of BuildingCircles Organization www.buildingcircles.org), designing affordable and sustainable, nature-integrated homes for independent living.
04/28: A tough April
Needless to say it's been a tough April for the nation and Vashon Island. After writing the Scroll Down On VashonPages.com I thought I would lighten things up on the blog.
Have you read about islanders Logan Price and Nick Simmons. They traveled to New Orleans to help rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. They left in October thinking this would be a one-month experience. It turned into a 6-month experience that they are chronicling on the web with their blog www.thedispatch.info. There is also a link to their blog on the left. You can read about them in the Seattle times also.
On the Blog you can experience the 6-months through pictures, stories and video. Logan and Nick conceived the Web site as a letter home. With photos, audio and video the site became something bigger.
Logan Price hopes the site will inspire a generation of peers despondent over the current state of affairs. Click into www.thedispatch.info and become inspired.
I also want to take the opportunity thank our guest bloggers at the beginning of the month, Robert Bornn and Luara Worth. You will see more of their writing sprinkled through out VashonPages.com
And I'm happy to announce that Pete Welch has aggreeded to help edit and over see VashonMusic.com. Look forward to hearing more from Pete on whats hot on the music scene on Vashon on VashonMusic.com
And lastly I'm trying to get a dilog going on VashonForum.com about whats next with Galcier NW and their gravel mine on Maury Island. Express your thoughts and coments on VashonForum.com.
Steven Allen
Have you read about islanders Logan Price and Nick Simmons. They traveled to New Orleans to help rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. They left in October thinking this would be a one-month experience. It turned into a 6-month experience that they are chronicling on the web with their blog www.thedispatch.info. There is also a link to their blog on the left. You can read about them in the Seattle times also.
On the Blog you can experience the 6-months through pictures, stories and video. Logan and Nick conceived the Web site as a letter home. With photos, audio and video the site became something bigger.
Logan Price hopes the site will inspire a generation of peers despondent over the current state of affairs. Click into www.thedispatch.info and become inspired.
I also want to take the opportunity thank our guest bloggers at the beginning of the month, Robert Bornn and Luara Worth. You will see more of their writing sprinkled through out VashonPages.com
And I'm happy to announce that Pete Welch has aggreeded to help edit and over see VashonMusic.com. Look forward to hearing more from Pete on whats hot on the music scene on Vashon on VashonMusic.com
And lastly I'm trying to get a dilog going on VashonForum.com about whats next with Galcier NW and their gravel mine on Maury Island. Express your thoughts and coments on VashonForum.com.
Steven Allen
