Green Leaf Report

Good job, Governor Kulongoski! Recently this governor signed climate-change legislation for the state of Oregon.  Aggressive goals were put in place for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as initiatives for increasing awareness of the impacts of climate change.  Signing legislation alone won’t make the changes happen, but it’s a start.  I […]

About five years ago, a real estate agent told me about a friend of his; this friend had recently declared bankruptcy and then, one week later, had been approved for a mortgage. The point, at the time, was that anyone could qualify for a mortgage. The many under-qualified buyers created exuberant demand for homes […]

Lately I’ve seen so many headlines about heat wave related deaths that my eyes just skim right past them.  I read one such article the other morning that contained some slightly unrelated, but very interesting information, though; there was a section in the article about needing to shut down a nuclear power unit due to the […]

Yesterday I read a great article about Intechra; a US firm which recycles, resells and generally takes care of portions of the huge amount of computer waste generated by our society.  I really appreciated the part about their employee visiting all end sites where the equipment is disposed to ensure the entire process is […]

This week I did the second in our series of paperless strategy presentations at work; this time we were in front of an executive audience.  We’re starting to get traction; the argument has been so indirect that it can be frustrating, though.  I’ve deliberately removed all mention of the environment from our call to action and benefits […]

I enjoyed an article earlier today about the changing political feelings in Brazil over climate change.  In the article, a 2005 drought and 2004 hurricane were noted as two items bringing the threat of climate change home to Brazil. While it was very interesting theory and I’d love to believe it’s true, I’m concerned […]

For years, a landfill has been a less than desirable addition to any hometown. No one wants to live near the dump, and debates have gone on for years over the social and racial makeup of neighborhoods where dumps were finally located.  All in all, not a pleasant or fair situation.  But maybe change […]