Snoqualmie meeting shows how to grow green
March 18, 2009
By Michael Rowe
About 60 Snoqualmie residents came to a Growing Green Town Hall meeting March 12 at Cascade View Elementary to learn what the city is doing to be more environmentally sustainable.
A group of students from the University of Washington’s sustainability team gave a presentation on their work with the city. The team has been working with Snoqualmie city leaders since September 2008 to gauge resident’s opinions on environmental issues and to create a list of suggestions for guiding the city’s green policies. The group has also developed content for the city’s Web page to better inform residents about climate change and what the city is doing to solve the problem.
Mayor Matt Larson kicked off the event by describing how he became interested in the sustainability movement. He said that, at a 2007 conference of mayors in Seattle, he joined a number of small town mayors in signing a commitment to reduce green house gas emissions, known as the Kyoto Protocols. Larson said that the conference, which highlighted climate change, inspired him to act.
“Over half the population of the United States lives in cities the size of Snoqualmie. We can’t sit on the sidelines and watch what the big cities do,” Larson said.
In December 2008 and January 2009, the sustainability team conducted an on-line survey to gather information about Snoqualmie residents’ knowledge of environmental issues and their attitudes toward those issues. Some of the survey results were presented at the March 12 Town Hall meeting. The City Council heard a report on March 9 with details of the survey.
The survey collected the opinions of 224 Snoqualmie area residents, which is about 2.5 percent of the city’s population. The survey didn’t have enough responses to present an ironclad assessment of how residents feel about environmental issues, but it does indicate the trend that Snoqualmie citizens feel strongly about climate change and sustainability.
In the survey, 75 percent of respondents said that the earth was already experiencing climate change. About 65 percent of survey respondents also indicated that they are already familiar with their personal impacts on climate change. The survey showed that, although many people understand climate change issues, most people still commute to work in their own vehicles instead of using mass transit, car pooling, or non-motorized vehicles.
Some of the green initiatives being considered by Snoqualmie include replacing the city’s fleet of vehicles with hybrid cars and bio-diesel busses, installing energy efficient street lights that use light emitting diode technology, increasing the amount of household waste recycling from 30 to 50 percent, and providing incentives to builders who use sustainable building techniques. Larson said that the city might institute a program similar to Issaquah’s where builders who meet certain green requirements can move their projects to the front of the line in the permitting process.
“We as a city have to walk the walk before we start preaching to the community,” Larson said about the need to adopt new environmental policies.
During a question and comment period, City Councilman Bob Jeans recommended that people check with Puget Sound Energy for ways to reduce their electric bills. He said he wasn’t happy this winter to receive a large bill from the electricity provider. So, he joined a pilot program where a PSE inspector came to his home to check to see what he could do to be more energy efficient. The inspector replaced 61 light bulbs in Jeans’ home with long lasting and energy saving compact fluorescent light bulbs, free of charge.
A number of booths were set up at the town hall meeting for people to learn about such things as composting and recycling. One of the booths allowed residents to calculate their own carbon footprints. Another booth informed residents about the city’s plans to distribute free fertilizer made from treated sewage. PSE was also on hand to offer tips on making homes more energy efficient.
Reach reporter Michael Bayless Rowe at mrowe@snovalleystar.com or 392-6434, ext. 248.
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