WASHINGTON STATE FOCUS: Blogs, Alternative Energy, Groups and Events

Blogging Washington State:

LeftyBlogs Washington is the place to find out what's happening in the progressive blogosphere across Washington.

Horse's Ass: Strange name, but an excellent blogging team

Upper Left: A Democrat - without prefix, without suffix, without apology

Washblog: Washblog is a community-based weblog for liberal coverage of Washington State political and social news, providing information that traditional media overlooks, progressive insight and analysis, and an open-access platform for progressives to develop, report and collaborate on action and ideas.


Some Local News:

5th CD Congressional Race

Washington Education Association Opposes Initiative 1053...MORE: Washington Conservation Voters Oppose Initiative 1053

Vote No on I-1082:



Re-Elect Island County Commissioner John Dean:




Claudia Kauffman for Senate:




Senator Patty Murray's Latest Ad Highlighting America's Veterans:



Find out more about Senator Murray from her campaign website.


Washington Conservation Voters Names Democrat Sharon Nelson (D-34) 2010 “Legislator of the Year”

From Washington Conservation Voters, via Sharon Nelson's website:

Seattle - Washington Conservation Voters, the political voice for the environment, named state Representative Sharon Nelson the 2010 “Legislator of the Year” for her outstanding leadership during the legislative session...

“Sharon Nelson’s commitment to the environment is second to none,” said Kurt Fritts, Executive Director. “Her proven ability to work directly with her colleagues and in collaboration with the environmental community has established her as an effective leader in Olympia...”

“Sharon Nelson has emerged as one of the Legislature’s strongest environmental champions and possibly the most effective builder of coalitions,” said Clifford Traisman, WCV State Lobbyist. “Her leadership on our environmental community priorities has been critical to nearly all of our recent successes...”

Representative Nelson will be moving to the state Senate in 2011 to continue her work to save Puget Sound and make Washington state a healthier and cleaner place to live. “Sharon Nelson will be one of the Senate’s strongest environmental champions the day she enters that chamber,” Fritts added. “We look forward to many great years of partnership with her in this new role.”

Legislator of the Year is WCV’s highest honor, awarded to one state legislator each year. Representative Sharon Nelson will be featured at Washington Conservation Voters’ annual breakfast on October 7th.

Sharon is now running for Washington State Senate and has been endorsed by a wide range of groups, including:

Washington Federation of State Employees
Progressive Majority
Aerospace Machinists Industrial District Lodge 751
NARAL Pro-Choice Washington
Joint Council of Teamsters 28
Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO
Sierra Club, Cascade Chapter
AFT Washington
...and many, many others.

For more about Sharon Nelson, visit her campaign website.


For those who want to mix social and political fun, here are Drinking Liberally groups in Washington:

Bellingham
Second and Fourth Tuesday of each month, 7:00 pm
Horseshoe Cafe, Ranch Room, 113 E Holly St
Hosted by Dave Willingham

Burien
Fourth Wednesday of each month, 7:00 pm
Mick Kelly's Irish Pub, 435 SW 152nd St
Hosted by Cherisse Luxa | Joe Fitzgibbon

Olympia
First and Third Monday of each month, 7:00 pm
Urban Onion in Downtown Olympia -- In the Bar, 116 Legion Way SE (In the Bar--enter on Legion)
Hosted by Bruce Lund | Barry Piercy

Seattle
Every Tuesday of each month, 8:00 pm
Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Ave E
Hosted by Nicholas Beaudrot | Chris Mitchell

Seattle Eastside
First and Third Thursday of each month, 7:00 pm
Angelo's Restaurant, 1830 130th Ave NE
Hosted by Norman Furlong | Doug Hightower | Rich Erwin

Newport Hills
First Monday of each month, 7:30 pm
Mustard Seed Grill and Pub, 5608 119th Ave SE
Hosted by Robert Sargent

Shelton
Third Monday of each month, 7:00 pm
El Serape Restaurant, 2503 Olympic Hwy N
Hosted by Mike Mosbarger | Drew Noble

Spokane
Every Tuesday of each month, 7:00 pm
Working Class Heroes Bar & Grill, 1914 North Monroe Street - (509) 327-0448
Hosted by Andrew Brewer

Tacoma
Every Wednesday of each month, 7:00 pm
Hub Restaurant, 203 Tacoma Ave S (in the bar area)
Hosted by Melissa Thompson | Traci Kelly

Tri-Cities
Every Tuesday of each month, 7:00 pm
O'Callahans - Shilo Inn, 50 Comstock Richland Washington
Hosted by Jim McCabe | Kendall Miller


Alternative Energy in Washington:

Some statistics from Repower America:

* Two wind power farms in Washington - Hopkins Ridge and Wild Horse - produce enough renewable energy to meet the needs of approximately 100,000 homes

* Washington's energy efficiency programs save enough electricity to power almost 50,000 homes for a whole year, save more than $43 million in energy costs, and prevent the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking over 48,000 cars off the road. Although great progress, the state still has much more potential to increase its energy efficiency.

* Washington has a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) that requires all public utilities to generate 15% of their electricity from renewable energy resources by 2020.

Alternative energy and YOUR energy bill: YOU can be part of the solution for America by signing up to purchase your energy through a Green Power Provider. My wife and I have been doing this in NYC for years. All our energy usage is provided through wind energy generation on American farms. So we use clean energy AND help American farmers. It costs us three cents per kilowatt-hour more per month, but we feel great about it. Although our actual energy may come from anywhere, we are paying to purchase wind energy for the energy grid. Each state has different programs available, usually through yuor existing energy provider right on your existing energy bill. To find such options in Washington State, go here and pick your energy provider from the list. If you need help, you can email me and tell me who you get your bill from (don't give me any other info!) and I can tell you who to contact to go green through that energy provider. Or you can do the same thing using Renewable Energy Certificates through an organization that works with utility companies, though in this case it is a separate bill. One off the cheapest (.4-1 cent per kilowatt-hour), but still e-Green certified, ways to do this is through Good Energy. Or, for about half a cent per kilowatt-hour you can purchase renewable energy certificates through Carbonfund.org. ANY of these ways you do it, you are helping the environment, helping America, and helping cut carbon emissions.


Here are a biodiesel cooperatives in Washington State. If you drive a diesel car or truck, check it out.

Tacoma Biodiesel
Tacoma, WA

Biodiesel is an alternative to petroleum diesel made from vegetable oil that can be used in any diesel engine. Now this clean, renewable, domestically-produced fuel is available right here in Tacoma, and you can be a part of it! The Tacoma Biodiesel Cooperative is a grassroots group of Tacoma-area citizens who have chosen to support this alternative fuel through advocacy and use in our personal vehicles.

Check out their website. And to find places to buy biodiesel for use in your car, truck or home heating, go here.


And here are Propel Fuel Stations around Washington State that offer biofuels: (I came across them through their carbon offset program)

* Seattle, South Lake Union Flagship
609 Westlake Avenue North
Seattle, Washington 98109

* Bellevue/Factoria
3204 129th Pl SE
Bellevue, Washington 98005

* Seattle, Ballard Neighborhood
4420 Leary Way NW
Seattle, Washington 98107

* Kenmore
8002 NE Bothell Way
Kenmore, Washington 98028

* West Seattle
3500 SW Barton Street
Seattle, Washington 98136

* Mount Vernon
2120 East College Way
Mount Vernon, Washington 98273


Here are some other alternative energy resources in Washington State:

Our Wind Co-op is a unique cooperative of small-scale wind turbines on farms, ranches and public and private facilities across the Northwest. Through this collaborative effort, 10-kW turbines were installed at numerous rural sites serviced by publicly-owned utilities. To find out more or ask about participation, Contact:

Northwest SEED
1402 Third Ave #901
Seattle, WA 98101
info_at_nwseed.org
(206) 328-2441

Climate Solutions
219 Legion Way SW #201
Olympia, WA 98501
info_at_harvestcleanenergy.org
(360) 352-1763

Seattle Advocates of Renewable Energy: a group of interested citizens who want to learn more about Renewable Energy and Sustainability. Our goal is to foster discussion, networking, and action on these important issues. We meet on the fourth Thursday of every month from 7 to 9 pm at the First Seattle Presbyterian Church.

Seattle Peak Oil Awareness (www.seattleoil.com) has been active for 2 1/2 years (it actually started out life as a Meetup.com group)!

Seattle Peak Oil Awareness is a local citizens action network offering information and practical ideas for living in a time of reduced energy availability. Working in small, focused groups we advocate healthy, sustainable living choices for all interested residents in the Puget Sound region. Read more here.