Vashon Blog

A Brighter Future Minus the Mercury Guest Bloggers: Robert Bornn and Laura Worth

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 22:21:00 -0700

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.

All That�s Green Isn�t An Emerald Guest Bloggers: Robert Bornn and Laura Worth

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 09:26:10 -0700

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.

Summertime Blues and New Traditions Guest Bloggers: Robert Bornn and Laura Worth

Sat, 12 May 2007 08:55:58 -0700

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.

A tough April

Sat, 28 Apr 2007 10:52:06 -0700

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

Guest Blogger Laura and Robert

Sun, 1 Apr 2007 16:47:00 -0700

Hi Steve,

Congratulations on the growth of VashonPages.com and thank you for helping us with our web site. We are starting to get the word out now about our housing designs (BuildingCircles.org), so thanks for putting this on your VashonBlog.com.

As you know, Robert and I are working on housing designs that could help Vashon handle increasing density, help homeowners and renters financially, and contribute to the economic diversity of the island. We are working with architectural specialists at the intersection of ecological responsibility, affordability, and universal design for independent living on Vashon.

In King County Accessory Dwelling Units can coexist on a property with a primary dwelling, subject to various rules, of course. To be visually and acoustically neutral to the owners, community, and native ecosystem, our designs have a nestled, “nature-integrated” profile. These nearly invisible ADUs can create rental income for Vashon homeowners. Or, for independent living right away the owner might want to downsize to the ADU so they can “age-in-place” on their own property instead of moving to institutional assisted living. In that case they can rent out the "big house" for retirement income.

We are striving to meet the " Living Building Challenge" for buildings to be self-sustaining. Our goal is net-zero energy and a carbon-neutral footprint. For example, we are proposing year round nature-integrated solar heat storage similar to that used in many other Northern latitudes for heating interiors and water.
We appreciate your offer to help find homeowners to build using our designs. In addition, we are in discussions with an official of King County Housing Authority who is excited about these approaches. They could well be pivotal in combining public and private financing to create an “eco-village” focused on low-income and accommodating special needs and elder citizens. We would like to work with a well-established, non-profit organization (possibly such as the Sunrise Ridge Land Management organization) to create an affordable eco-community using universal design. Ultimately, we want our housing and energy designs to be adapted into more affordable versions in areas of the world that don't have much infrastructure.
People can visit us at www.buildingcircles.org or call 463-9283 with comments.

Thanks again, Steve.

Best,
Laura and Robert

Guest Blogger - Pete Welch

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 09:55:13 -0700

Hello all,

I received this message from a friend about someone that some of us have come to know up here on Vashon Island over the last few years, Scott Huckabay. Scott has been gracious enough to come perform his incredible music for us all, both at Island Earthfair and Bishop's Pub. This is just heart-wrenching to hear that anyone has gone through something like this, but especially Scott....one of the nicest guys on the planet. Scott has left his footprint in so many places and it's hard not to love him for who he is, not just what he does with his guitar. This is a tragic thing for him to go through and if there is any way that we, as friends, can do something for him.....I would love to help. Please consider helping this beautiful person to recover some of his losses. If you can help with a financial contribution, you can do so at the address in his blog posting (see below). I am impressed with his ability to have a positive attitude in such a time of pain and grief. It says something about his character and his spirit.

If anyone in our island community has any ideas on how we could pull together something as a family to help, perhaps a music benefit or anything....I would be very willing to spearhead it. Please let me know if you have any ideas...... It will take a lot to replace what he has lost and whatever we can do to help will make a difference.

� If you want to hear some of his wonderful music... go to his page and check it out.

http://www.myspace.com/scotthuckabay

Thank you for listening, Pete & Shirley

HOME DISASTER

Hello everyone,

After my mother died recently, I brought her ashes to Hawaii to spread them where the lava & the ocean meet on Dec.30th, because she always wanted to go to Hawaii & now part of her is there. While I was there, my place in Ashland, Oregon was constantly flooding up until a week ago. A main pipe from the water heater bursted inside my home & flooded everything with constant hot water including 5 of my precious guitars, sound equipment, expensive personal belongings, Apple computer, stereo, infared sauna, all new carpets, bed, futons, curtains, master tape recordings, pictures, on & on too sad to mention, in every room coming from above the ceiling since I left for Hawaii on Dec 30th. I found out 7 days ago because my gas bill was over $600+ & my last bill was $38 for December. Also, my phone line was down since I left so I called for a phone repair man to come out & fix it when I found out about my gas bill. He called me from my backyard & said he cannot fix it because there was constant water gushing out of my bedroom door & all around the place at the seams & flowing over the outside telephone box. He walked around while I was on the phone & looked at every window. There was water running down & thick black mold covering everything. The gas water heater has constantly been on trying to keep the water hot while it was gushing out at the top & overflowing, shooting up the ceiling & causing the ceiling to cave in & eventually filing up the floors about a foot or more in every room causing black mold spores to grow on everything. A friend went inside & almost suffocated because of the huge amounts of mold. He could not believe what he saw & never seen anything like it. It looks like a cavern of dangerous black mold took over. There is even strands of mold growing off the ceiling to the floor. It looks like huge cobwebs of mold. This is very emotional for me right now knowing I lost everything including all my 5 beautiful guitars. My friend said all the guitars were covered in hot water & mold. The main water valve outside is shut off so the flow has stopped but everything is drenched & ruined. This is very frustrating because I did not have any kind of insurance to cover this situation. My friend said it is beyond liveable & repairable at this point. I don't know what to do at this point. I have been there about 8 years now & I am heartbroken to find out about this. I cannot salvage anything by what my friend explained to me.

I know when one door closes, another door of opportunity will open... I am keeping a positive light on this situation. Any donations are appreciated & accepted thru Paypal account - scotthuckabay@yahoo.com to help me get my life back on track.

Thank you & much appreciation,

Scott

Hello Spring!

Fri, 23 Mar 2007 11:09:33 -0700

And I need a lawn mower. The dogs can only wear the grass down in one place. Defiantly time to stop up town and by some plants for the planters.

A lot has gone on with the on line community VashonPages.com. The non-profit Terry Sutton and I set up (Sallen Group) has not only taken over development of VashonPages.com but has also purchased VashonMap.com to add to the online community. If you have never clicked into VashonMap.com its fun and informative.

Terry Sutton has spearheaded the Sallen Groups recycling efforts. Vashon Reclaim and Recycle is addressing the recycling needs of Vashon Island. Already Terry is responsible for keeping over 3000 pounds of electronics and batteries out of the ground. The electronics are broken down into basic groups for recycling. Helping to reduce the need to mine for these metals. If you need to recycle your old electronics, please do it responsibly call Vashon Reclaim and Recycle at 206-734-4815.

Besides all the VashonPages.com work I have been working on Bill Woods, The Jazz Guy website. Bill does a show on VoiceOfVashon.org. It’s a Jazz Show. Great listening. I encourage you to click in and give TheJazzGuy.com a listen.

Long before VashonPages.com, Al Gore and the Internet there was John Sage. John has had one of the longest running websites full of Vashon pictures. And there is great reading on the site if you dig for it. But John’s photography is top notch. He has kids in the Vashon Schools so he has documented allot of great school events. Johns website finchhaven.com. Originally registered in Dec of 1998, Johns site is approaching the big 10 mark. I love linking people to his content because his photos are such good quality and the pictures really capture the moment they were taken in. I hope you click in and enjoy his site. www.finchhaven.com Give it a look while your listening to The Jazz Guy.com

I promise to update more often, got more great websites to talk about that are fun to click into. Click around and have fun.

Steven Allen

Good Bye Snow.....

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 22:16:03 -0800

The Snow was fun. What was up with King County not plowing the side roads clear like they have done in years past. Or at least laying some sand an gravel. I think they must have laid a whole Maury Island worth of sand on the north end ferry dock hill. Figures once I become a home owner and tax payer they really cut back on the county services. Was so unusual not to have the plow going around first thing in the morning this year when it snowed.

Just back to good old rain and 35 degrees. Well have to see what the slush is like in the morning. Got to run the dog need my attention. Rasha needs a diversion, maybe a boost onto the couch.

Long road through Escrow

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 18:35:55 -0800

Over 2 months and several major storms have passed since I last updated this blog. A lot has happened. I now own my own little patch of Vashon Island. That was fun over 2 months of escrow and it actually closed over the December 14 storm. I know we had at least a 55Mph gust in the town of Vashon. Last I wrote the rains had not yet started and a Monkey tree stood along the Vashon Hwy just past the theater. Now we are in our seventh day of snow on the ground. My dogs Sketch loves to play with his tennis ball in the snow.

Major changes also with VashonPages.com. New look and a lot more information.
The same for VashonNews.com. Tons of information and weather links.

Today we had almost 3 inches of new snow. Its starting to freeze again. Looks like the school will at least be on emergency schedule. Check out VashonNews.com to stay up to date on emergency information and schedule changes.

October

Mon, 2 Oct 2006 21:47:15 -0700

Summer is over Cooler winds prevail. But seriously the south end is nice but it�s the end of the loop. Cable modem is less reliable DSL is slower and more power bumps.