Earth Share of Washington

Earth Share Notes - February 2005

Monthly perspectives from Earth Share of Washington staff members on activities and trends.

Dear Reader:

Earth Share is best known for helping companies to build their employee contribution programs. Our 65 leading conservation organizations attract donors from across the state, even across the nation (we receive contributions from as far away Tennessee and New York).

Preliminary reports from last fall's employee pledge programs are promising, ahead of last year. Companies such as REI and Microsoft add strength to their employees' generosity with corporate matches.

And where does this money go? To Earth Share organizations, workplace gifts offer substantial help because these gifts are unrestricted. Certainly these contributions support our members' program work, be it for purchasing lands, restoring ecosystems, or advocating environmental policy. But what happens when the copier breaks? Like our for-profit corporate partners, effective planning involves setting aside funds for long-term opportunities, while having the resources to respond to day-to-day emergencies. Earth Share member organizations, the large ones and the small, speak of the value of these discretionary dollars.

Whether you choose to support environmental organizations, international relief, health care, food banks, social services, or whatever cause moves you, thank you for making this world a better place.

William Borden
Executive Director
wborden@esw.org

Plan maps out clean energy path for Washington and the region

- submitted by Lisa Noble-Rennick from ESW organization NW Energy Coalition

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council, made up of two governor-appointed representatives each from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana, develops a power plan for the four-state region every five years. The plans recommend ways to guarantee adequate and reliable electricity for Northwest consumers at the least economic and environmental cost.

The Council released its draft Fifth Power and Conservation Plan last fall, took extensive public comment in October and November, and finalized the plan on Dec. 16. Long-time advocates for clean and affordable energy in the Northwest saw their efforts rewarded with Council recommendations to meet roughly half the region's expected 20-year growth in electricity demand with energy efficiency (because it's cheaper than anything else, including existing hydropower) and to build virtually no new power resources other than wind facilities in the short term.

Throughout the comment period, NW Energy Coalition and its allies pushed for a strong regionwide commitment to energy efficiency and renewable energy. The final plan reflects that hard work:

Energy efficiency -- The final plan calls for 140 average megawatts of new efficiency per year between now and 2009 and for total development of more than 2,500 average megawatts of efficiency over the 20-year period. A city the size of Seattle uses about 1,080 average megawatts of energy per year, so this is a huge amount of energy efficiency. The bulk of the savings will be found in efficient lighting, motors and heating/cooling systems.

Renewable energy -- The Council's final plan calls for building considerably more new wind in the next five years than suggested in the draft. The amount of wind now recommended for the entire 20-year period could easily power two Seattle-sized cities!

Coal --The Council originally said the region should prepare to build a new 400-megawatt coal plant sometime after 2009. New coal remains a possibility in the final plan, though construction has been pushed farther into the future and is dependent on increased power needs and the future cost of coal - including the cost of carbon regulation.

Fish -- The Council is responsible for overseeing a fish and wildlife program that balances the Northwest's environmental and energy needs. But its draft power plan disregarded salmon issues. The final plan recognizes the link between power production and salmon survival and suggests development of a method for calculating the risk to fish presented by inadequate power supply.

Overall, the Fifth Northwest Power and Conservation Plan puts the region on-course for a clean and affordable energy future. The next step is ensuring implementation of the plan's clean-energy recommendations. The Council is committed to meeting these goals and will be holding meetings over the next year on all of the action items.

Cleaner Cars, Cleaner Air

- by Sarah Jaynes from ESW organization Climate Solutions

Like most of us, my daily life hauling around two small children often requires that I drive a car. However, I share the concern of many Washingtonians about the toll that car emissions are taking on our health and our environment. Cars and trucks are the number one source of Washington's air pollution, causing asthma, cancer, and global warming.

Hybrids and diesel cars are one answer. Another is to pass cleaner auto emissions (clean car) standards, one of the environmental community's Priorities for a Healthy Washington. Clean cars are regular cars that reduce dangerous air pollution, burn less gas and save people money. With these standards, all new cars sold in Washington after 2008 will emit less pollution, while saving on fuel.

Passing clean car standards this year will:

• Reduce cancer-causing automobile emissions such as benzene and formaldehyde.
• Save $2.3 billion for Washington state consumers by 2020 .
• Start reducing our dependence on foreign oil.
• Enable Washington to reduce global warming pollution from new cars by roughly 30% by 2016.

Eight other states have already adopted these standards, and we know from their experience that clean cars make sense.

Best of all, we don't need to worry about being able to afford a clean car. These new clean cars actually put money back in our pockets. Cars that meet global warming emission standards have reduced operating costs and fuel consumption. For example, if you finance your car over 5 years, you would save $18 in fuel costs per month, while spending only $7 more per month on your car payment. That's $11 in your pocket every month, while cleaning up our air.

I want to be able to make the choice to drive a cleaner car. Californians currently enjoy the choice of 25 cleaner vehicle models that are not available in Washington. You probably know people who have had to wait 6-12 months to purchase popular hybrids. That's because they are first delivered to California and other states with clean car standards. But this isn't just about hybrids. Virtually every car model you want to buy (even the biggest SUVs) can meet the new standards cost-effectively with technology that is already available. To read more about consumer choice and savings, visit www.cleancarswashington.org.

As I'm writing this article, balmy, rainy January weather has caused widespread flooding and ski area closures. We have no time to lose. Unchecked climate disruption is a major threat to Washington's economy and environment. Washington and Oregon's Cascade snowpack - which drives our power, water, agriculture, and habitat systems - is projected to decline by 59% by the 2050s without swift action. Children in Seattle and Spokane have asthma rates nearly twice the national average.

I hope you'll join Climate Solutions in getting involved in this effort. Now is our chance to make a big difference in the quality of our air. To get involved, please send an email to sarah@climatesolutions.org, or visit the campaign website www.cleancarswashington.org.

A Bear of a Winter At PAWS Wildlife Center

- by Naturalist Kevin Mack, from ESW organization PAWS Wildlife

While most bears in Washington State are whiling away the lean months sleeping in a den, three young bear cubs are spending their winter at the PAWS Wildlife Center. Instead of sleeping, they are playing, eating, and honing skills that will be essential to their future survival in the wild.

The first bear, a 60 pound female, arrived at the PAWS Wildlife Center on November 8th. She had been discovered wandering alone near the town of Baring. The second bear, a 21 pound male, was found without his mother in the Cedar Falls Area. He arrived at PAWS on November 29th. The third bear was a 42 pound orphaned female from Monroe. She was observed entering a chicken coop and feeding on the chicken food stored inside. She arrived at PAWS on December 8th. All three bears were brought to PAWS by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Agents.

After an initial quarantine period to ensure that they were disease free, the bears were introduced to one another in a large outdoor enclosure. Housing the bears together will help ensure that they bond with others of their species, and lessen the chance that they will habituate to their human caregivers. In addition, the bears are housed in a limited access area, and see humans only very rarely (usually when they are about to get darted for an exam). The best defense these young bears will have when they return to the wild will be a healthy aversion to humans.

The three cubs will pass the remainder of the winter fattening up for their pending release. If all goes well, and depending on the spring melt, they will be released in May or June with the assistance of the WDFW.

In Brief: Trumpeter Swams in peril, 1000 Friends becomes Futurewise, Volunteers honor MLK through service

Trumpeter Swans in peril
Over the past 5 winters more than 1,400 Trumpeter Swans have died from lead poisoning after inadvertently swallowing lead shot while feeding in Whatcom County, Washington and the adjacent Sumas Prairie area in British Columbia, Canada. Swan mortalities from lead poisoning have increased in this area in recent years, despite a longstanding ban on the use of lead shot for waterfowl hunting in the United States and Canada. Lead shot is still legal for upland birds, target practice and dog training in most areas. Over 400 dead swans were picked up last winter. The mortality has grown to such a magnitude that it is threatening the recovery of the Pacific Coast Population, the continent's largest population of Trumpeter Swans.

How can you help? ADOPT A SWAN -- While the wildlife agencies on both sides of the border are working on the problem, they cannot do it all. Funding is a major problem. The Trumpeter Swan Society is raising funds by asking everyone to sponsor a swan at some level. All of the funds will go toward the project for such things as spotting scopes for volunteers who monitor the swans movements during the winter, to help pay for radio transmitters and data collection, and to fund the effort to necropsy all lead poisoned swans to glean clues from the characteristics of the ingested lead and other digestive tract contents and help pay volunteer mileage expenses. For more information on issue or to Adopt a Swan please contact them at: www.swansociety.org swaninfo@swansociety.org or call 425-787-0258.

1000 Friends of Washington is now Futurewise
On February 1, Earth Share of Washington organization 1000 Friends of Washington changed its name to Futurewise. The name change corresponds with the organization's 15th anniversary of promoting healthy communities and protecting farmland and forests from the effects of sprawl development. The organization believes that the name Futurewise better evokes its positive vision of the future. And because it is a more unique name (there are over 300 "Friends of" groups in Washington), it will allow the group to build a stronger connection between people and its work over time. Other than the new name, Futurewise remains exactly the same group as it was under 1000 Friends of Washington. The staff, board and organizational mission and bylaws remain unchanged -- and work is as important as it ever has been. You can reach Futurewise at its new website at www.futurewise.org.

Volunteers Honor MLK through hands-on environmental service!
On Monday, January 17, 2004, Earth Share organization EarthCorps led 266 youth and adult volunteers in restoring Seattle's Mount Baker Park, part of Seattle's nationally renowned Olmsted-designed park and boulevard system. Despite record rain (2.39 inches), this muddy group worked to make Martin Luther King Day a day of action, "A Day On! Not a Day Off." King County Executive Ron Sims rallied volunteers under a cedar tree during lunch.

Simon, a three-year-old Mount Baker neighborhood resident, observed, "EarthCorps help[s] children, help[s] parks, and help[s] the salmon that swim by Mount Baker Beach."

MLK Day volunteers contributed 1,000 hours of service that resulted in:

• 30,035 square feet (2/3 of an acre) of ivy removed
• 2,868 square feet of blackberry removed
• 1,265 square feet of cherry laurel removed
• 818 square feet of holly removed
• 9 tree survival rings installed
• 21,773 square feet of woodchips applied