Our last installment,

1. Air-tightness of the building envelope or shell.
2. Annual total primary (or source) energy used by the building (Primary energy = Total energy used to produce the energy supplied to the building, which is known as secondary energy.)
3. Annual energy needed to heat or cool the building to a comfortable temperature.

A newly constructed passive building can only leak 0.6 air changes per hour (ACH).

To compare, Northwest Energy Star requires 2.5 to 7.0 ACH. For a passive building, the primary, or source, energy does not exceed 38.1 kBtu per square foot per year, also known as the energy use intensity (EUI). The energy for heating or cooling does not exceed 4.75 kBtu per square foot per year.

Currently, two organizations certify buildings to the Passive House standard. Internationally, the Passivhaus Institute (PHI) has certified buildings throughout the world (including the U.S.) since 1993. PHI maintains a database of over 2,000 passive buildings. The non-profit Passive House Institute US (PHIUS) certifies passive houses in the United States. However, most passive buildings are not certified, and it is estimated that there are in excess of 30,000 buildings worldwide which meet the standard.

Portland currently has over 10 buildings meeting the standard, four of which are certified. In Oregon, there are approximately 20 passive buildings, including new and retrofitted commercial, multifamily, and single family residences. Recently, several homes were featured on the City of Portland Build It Green! Home Tour. In 2012, a couple’s compact Portland home was showcased.

Learn More

Passive House Northwest is a support and advocacy trade organization with monthly meetings and annual conferences inSeattle andPortland. 

To develop an efficient transportation network with choices for all Portlanders, City staff and citizens often look to best practices in the U.S. and abroad. Likewise, many communities near and far look to Portland to learn about the best ways to get around.

London, U.K.

When London Mayor Boris Johnson released The Mayor’s Vision for Cycling in London recently, a bit of Portland found its way into the plans of the United Kingdom’s capital city.

Professional correspondence between staff at the Portland Bureau of Transportation and London municipal staff resulted in a tour of Portland to learn more about our bikeway system and programs. Portland’s Neighborhood Greenways – residential streets with low volumes of auto traffic and low speeds where people on bicycles and pedestrians are given priority – provided a vision for a low stress and convenient bikeway network in London. Prominent in the London Mayor’s cycling vision are Quietways,  “pleasant, low-traffic side streets.”  The City of Portland will stay in touch with transportation professionals in London as their Quietways system develops.  

Rochester, NY

In March, a group of sixth grade students from Rochester, NY’s Genesee Community Charter School arrived for a four day fact-finding mission on how to make Rochester a better place for children and adults to bicycle.

As part of their capstone project, Genesee sixth graders take an in-depth look at a problem in their local community and study it over the course of the year. This year’s class is investigating all aspects of bike friendly communities. Rochester City staff and bicycle advocates charged this year’s students to develop programming that encourages adults and kids to use bikes as a form of active transportation.

The students' Portland trip included meetings with staff at the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), Portland State University, Oregon Health Sciences University, Go By Bike,  the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, and Alta Planning and Design.

One morning during their trip, students put down their pencils and rolled up their pant legs for a PBOT-sponsored bicycle tour of Portland’s bikeways and programs.  The students rode with the Sabin Elementary School Bike Train to see first-hand how to increase the number of students biking to school. Sabin Elementary teachers and students welcomed the students with refreshments and presented a case study on their Bike Train.  (PBOT would like to thank volunteers Bill Griesar, Kiel Johnson and Carl Larson for their assistance with the bicycle tour.)

Riding on the bike train provided an example of how to create pleasant, low-cost biking environments for youth and adults. “It was incredibly comfortable…I could do that for several days without feeling threatened,” said Genesse 6^th grader Sam O’Connor.

“I learned how fun it is ride on the streets without having to worry about cars being behind you or rushing by you,” added Genesee’s Ellie Anderson-Zych.  

Bringing it home

While Portland welcomes visitors from other places, the city has also benefited from the innovations of others. Instead of the cost and challenges of creating one-of-a-kind solutions, adapting best practices from across the country and around the world has provided Portlanders with better and safer transportation choices. 

Sure, you know that food waste has a major impact on your finances, not to mention the environment. And you don’t want to contribute to the third of all food that gets wasted every year in the U.S., all $48 billion of it. On the other hand, you also don’t want to send your family to the emergency room with food poisoning.

StillTasty, Your Ultimate Shelf Life Guide, has the answer to all your food storage and spoilage questions. Everything you need to know to help you decide if your favorite food or beverage is still good to the last drop. StillTasty’s advice is culled from the Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as non-profits that conduct studies on food safety and direct contacts with food manufacturers.

The StillTasty folks not only proffer produce pointers, but provide “keep it or toss it” advice for a dozen types of food from dairy and eggs to snacks and sweets. And they dig deep into the categories, such as dozens of different kinds of cheese and whether they’re sliced, shredded, commercially packaged, or in an opened or unopened package.

But wait, there’s more. StillTasty is the source for sage advice on storing your comestibles, be they sage or shellfish. What goes in the fridge, what gets frozen, and why onions and potatoes should only be together when you cook them are just a few of life’s little mysteries that will finally be revealed.

So whether you’re consumed with anxiety about breakfasting on pizza you left on the coffee table overnight (don’t do it) or putting hot food directly in the refrigerator (just do it), StillTasty is the oracle for food safety and freshness. And, by the way, the cheddar is good, the fish can be refrozen and it’s probably time to impeach the baking powder you’re still kicking around, but here’s the test. 

Spring brings the start of event season in Portland. There are many community events that kick off for Earth Day (or Month!), including the 2013 

Spring also brings neighborhood cleanup events that incorporate recycling and onsite reuse options, allowing neighbors to take, swap or buy items immediately. 

There are over 50 neighborhood cleanup events scheduled throughout Portland during the spring months. Volunteers from neighborhood associations coordinate these events and have been expanding the options for onsite reuse and recycling of materials.

Two of the largest swapping events in Portland are Trash to Treasure in North Portland, hosted as part of the St Johns neighborhood cleanup, and the Sunnyside weekend swap event, included as part of that SE Portland neighborhood’s cleanup. Trash to Treasure will be held on Saturday, April 27, 2013, 9 AM – 3 PM. The Sunnyside neighborhood swap will be held the weekend of April 19 – 21, 2013.

The seven neighborhood coalitions have listings of the scheduled cleanup events by neighborhood association.

• Central Northeast Neighbors (CNN)
• East Portland Neighborhood Office (EPNO)
• Neighbors West/Northwest (NW/NW)
• North Portland Neighborhood Services (NPNS)
• Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods (NECN)
• Southeast Uplift Neighborhood Coalition (SEUL) 
• Southwest Neighborhoods, Inc. (SWNI)

Find contact information for your neighborhood association from the Office of Neighborhood Involvement or call 503-823-4519.

Metro offers resources for planning a community cleanup event.

Contact the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability at 503-823-7202 for possible cleanup dates, locations, costs and accepted materials.

Photo credit: Artist's rendering of PDX CoreHaus by Dotty Hawthorne

Known in Germany as Passivhaus (“passive building”), the passive house standard is the world’s most stringent set of building standards for energy efficiency. This concept and approach can be applied to all types of buildings in every climate. Passive buildings typically consume 30 to 50 percent less energy than a building constructed to current U.S. building codes. The concept is to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions by creating buildings which leak so little heat that “passive” heat gains (from solar, occupant body heat, lighting, equipment, appliances, etc.) ensure occupant comfort with “micro” heating systems.

The building envelope’s thermal performance is rigorously improved. Based on experience, the Passivhaus Institute has developed several performance-based guidelines:

• Super-insulated building envelope or shell.
• High-performance windows.
• Airtight construction.
• Balanced, continuous mechanical ventilation typically with heat-recovery ventilation (HRV or ERV).
• Solar gain optimization by building and glazing orientation.
• Elimination or reduction of thermal bridging through the building envelope.
• Energy-efficient mechanical systems, appliances and lighting.

Look forward to Part 2 next month when we talk about certification steps for the passive house standard.

Learn More

Passive House Northwest is a support and advocacy trade organization with monthly meetings and annual conferences in Seattle and Portland. 

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has selected the City of Portland to host this year’s North American World Environment Day on June 5. UNEP also recognizes the importance of decreasing food waste and its contribution to greenhouse gas emissions as they highlight their Think. Eat. Save. campaign for this year’s event.

The U.N. group's press release says that 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted every year, which contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. The group's Think. Eat. Save. campaign specifically targets food wasted by consumers, retailers and the hospitality industry. The U.N. hopes to raise awareness -- from food producers to national and world leaders -- in order to reduce our "foodprint."

Think. Eat. Save. provides news, global facts and resources for action to combat food waste, such as these 10 consumer tips. The site also has links to reports and food waste reduction campaigns in Australia, Denmark and the U.K. that really are making a difference.

And check out Greatist for more facts and another 29 tips for reducing your food waste at the grocery store, at home and during meals. As they say, "cutting back on food waste is incredibly easy." You just need to think about what you eat and you'll save money, time and the earth's resources.

• The world’s temperate forests absorb two billion tons of carbon annually. 
• Creating and shipping junk mail produces more greenhouse gas emissions than nine million cars. 
• More than 100 million trees are destroyed each year to produce junk mail. 
• Of all the timber harvested nationwide, 42 percent becomes pulpwood for paper. 
• About 28 billion gallons of water are wasted to produce and recycle junk each year. 
• You waste about 70 hours a year dealing with junk mail.

(Source: http://www.41pounds.org/impact/[s1] )

Small homes come in many shapes and sizes. There are super cute bungalows, tiny homes on wheels and accessory dwelling units (ADUs), which have become quite popular since the City of Portland waived about $12,000 worth of development fees for these small and independent living units. Don’t worry, thanks to City Council, the waiver doesn’t expire until 2016, so you still have time to design your dream cottage for the backyard.

Living in smaller spaces follows a national trend toward affordable, tiny houses. Even Portlandia has caught on with a parody of micro-living.

Small homes offer a wide range of benefits for their occupants. First and foremost – they are less expensive to purchase or rent. They consume less energy and materials than larger homes, which keeps long-term operation and maintenance costs low. They also take less time to clean and can lead to a tidier and more organized home due to the lack of “extra space” for all that “stuff”.

The recent Sightline article Tiny Houses with Kids offers inspiring insights into the benefits of creative thinking in tiny homes…with kids!

And of course, thinking small lowers the carbon footprint. An Oregon DEQ research study comparing 25 green building practices showed that the environmental benefits of living small was the most effective green building practice for reducing energy and material use. So, small is green – very green.

And two segments of the population are making the biggest impact: Baby Boomers and Millennials. Both 20-to-30-somethings who are driving less and Boomers who are retiring and downsizing are shaping not just the way Portland gets around but housing and development patterns as well. 

Taken together, Boomers and Millennials are helping to encourage even more active transportation use in the Portland region.

Even now, less than 60 percent of commuters are driving alone to work, down from 68 percent in 1990. 

But we still have a ways to go to meet Portland's 2035 goal: 70 percent of commuters taking transit, walking, biking, telecommuting or carpooling to work each day.

You can help us advance towards this goal by choosing active transportation as your commuting option.

Food

Reduce your food print! Keeping food waste to a minimum is one of the best ways you can reduce methane, which contributes to climate change. For the food scraps that you do have, remember to include them to your green Portland Composts! roll cart at the curb. Find a complete list of what goes in your roll cart and other composting tips.

Purchase local, healthy food this holiday season

• Buy seasonal, locally grown fruits and vegetables from your grocery store or farmer’s market.
• Bring your reusable bags to the store and buy in bulk.
• Reduce garbage by preparing a dish out of local ingredients that you can buy without packaging, like apples, pears or hazelnuts.
• Consider buying an inexpensive, durable set of dishes that you can load into the dishwasher and box up until your next party instead of using plastic platters and paper or plastic plates and cups.

Preparation

• Compost as you go.
• Find out how much meat, vegetables or pasta to prepare for your guests.
• Serve food buffet-style so people can choose the best portions for themselves.

Cleanup

• Ask guests to scrape their plates directly into your kitchen compost container.
• Use durable storage options for leftovers. Invite your friends and family to bring along food containers for their leftovers.

Gifts

Keep it local and buy smart! People living in the Portland area throw away 25 percent more garbage during the holiday season and recycling volumes increase by a third. So with this in mind, it's also the time of year to consider giving gifts that help people consume less high-impact stuff.

Give the gift of an experience

• Massage, pedicure or restaurant gift certificates.
• Passes, memberships or tickets the zoo, OMSI, aquarium, art museum, a play or movie, a gym and sharing organizations like tool libraries.
• Art, music, sewing, carpentry, cooking, kayaking, rock climbing lessons or classes.

Be creative with handmade gifts and holiday décor

• Sew or knit a scarf or mittens using recycled or scrap materials.
• Bake, can or pickle gifts items.

Give local crafts and vintage finds

• Shop locally at school and church craft bazaars or Saturday Market.
• Find gifts at vintage and second-hand stores or estate and garage sales.

Consider wrapping and packaging

• Choose items with reusable or recyclable packaging.
• Use cloth bags instead of wrapping paper or sew your own.

More holiday ideas are available through The Center for a New American Dream and their pledge for simplifying the holidays.

Find sustainable holiday resources at Metro.

The largest, sweetest, juiciest, and reddest cranberries in the world come from the temperate climate and extended growing season in Oregon’ southwest corner. And, as the Oregon Environmental Council notes, a collaborative of cranberry farmers are reducing the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, while using water more efficiently. Rather than sending their cranberries to the commodity markets, these producers sell to local buyers where they receive a better price and can continue to be good environmental stewards.

So, take a moment out of your holiday and check out this video of an Oregon cranberry farm family. You’ll be grateful to our local farmers and their sustainable harvest. And don’t forget the chutney — just make sure you’re using Oregon cranberries.

* Exported from  MasterCook *

Cranberry Chutney

Recipe By Gourmet, November, 1984

1/2 cup cider vinegar

2 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar -- or to taste

3/4 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 lemons, rind grated, pith discarded, and the fruit cut into sections

2 navel oranges, rind grated, pit discarded and the fruit cut into sections

1 apple, peeled and chopped coarse

6 cups cranberries -- picked over

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup chopped dried apricots

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

In a large saucepan, combine the vinegar, the sugar, the curry powder, the ginger, the cloves, the allspice, the cinnamon, and 1 1/2 cups water and bring the liquid to a boil stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add the lemon rind, the orange rind, the lemon sections, the orange sections, and the apple and simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add 3 cups of the cranberries, the raisins, and the apricots and simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally for 30 to 40 minutes, or until it is thickened. Stir in 2 cups of the remaining cranberries and simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1 cup cranberries and the walnuts and simmer the mixture, stirring, for 15 minutes. Transfer the chutney to a bowl, let it cool and chill it covered, overnight or for up to 2 weeks.

Or, if desired, spoon the hot chutney into sterilized Mason-type jars, filling the jars to within 1/4 inch of the top, and rap the jars on a hard surface to eliminate any air bubbles. Wipe the rims with a dampened cloth and seal the jars with the lids. Put the jars in a water bath canner or on a rack in a deep kettle and add enough hot water to the canner to cover the jars by 2 inches. Bring the water to a boil and process the jars, covered, for 10 minutes. Transfer the jars with canning tongs to a folded dish towel and let them cool. Store the chutney in a cool, dark place. Serve the chutney at room temperature.

Makes about 6 cups.

Getting a grip on how we think about and manage all of that stuff can help curb climate change. The good news is there are lots of ways to reduce these impacts and improve our lives at the same time. Get started with Halloween!

Halloween costumes

Take advantage of all the great resources Portland offers for making or renting a costume.

Make your own costume

Used clothing and reused craft supply stores allow you to create a unique and inexpensive costume of your own making.

• SCRAP: Find all kinds of fabric and supplies at super low prices. Explore ways to get crafty, adorn a costume, and make hair wreaths or masks.
• Find cool homemade costume ideas online.

Rent a costume

No time or crafty abilities to make your own? Renting gives you options for a stand-out costume.

• Helen’s Pacific Costumers and Hollywood Costumers offer costumes for rent.

Reuse a costume

There are great finds lurking throughout the city.

• Vintage clothing shops abound inPortland, with clothing options for all decades.
• Red Light Clothing Exchange and Buffalo Exchange often have used costumes for sale leading up to Halloween.
• Consignment/thrift clothing stores are great resources for costumes, or clothes to make costumes.
• Children’s resale shops may have kids’ costumes as well.
• Or plan a costume swap – your friend’s costume from last year may be perfect for you this year.

Halloween entertaining

Reuse or repurpose decorations from past years to brighten your home. Share an adventure to Sauvie Island with pumpkin picking, tractor rides, local foods and fun for the whole family.

• Buy seasonal food that looks beautiful on your plate: apples, pears, cranberries, winter squash, hazelnuts, walnuts, chard, kale, leeks, beets and potatoes.
• Decorate your table with pumpkins and gourds that can be composted when you’re done with them.
• Borrow or rent durable dishes, flatware and linens for larger parties and gatherings to add beauty to the table and save money over time.

Additional Resources

• The Center for a New American Dream has DIY Halloween decoration ideas for the whole family.
• Find many more ways to Be Resourceful for the holidays, or any time of year!

A programmable thermostat allows you to vary your home’s temperature based on your schedule. So, in the heating season when you’re at work, the thermostat lowers the temperature, then automatically raises it when you get home. The only evidence that your house was cooler while you were away will be a lower utility bill.

Other benefits of a programmable thermostat can include a hold feature for vacations or extended absences, a change filter indicator, outdoor temperature, and even remote programming/monitoring from a smart phone or computer.

The cost of a programmable thermostat starts at around $35 for a basic model. More advanced models with more detailed programming functions/features will cost more – including plenty of options in the $50 to $100 range. With average utility bill savings at about $180 a year, homeowners will quickly recoup the cost of the new thermostat.

Replacing your old thermostat with a programmable model is an easy do-it-yourself task for most homeowners. If you can set your clock radio, programming your new thermostat shouldn’t pose a problem. Energy Star is a good resource for information on buying a programmable thermostat.

Keep in mind your old manual thermostat may contain mercury (a toxic substance). Proper disposal of your old thermostat is important!

His website, Wasted Food, is packed with information on food waste and useful posts—from Jonathan and his readers—on how to reduce the astounding amount of food that never gets eaten.

Ira Flatow from NPR’s Science Friday recently interviewed Jonathan, along with Dana Gunders of Natural Resources Defense Council, to talk more about food waste in America.

“Forty percent of the food in the U.S. today goes uneaten, which means Americans are throwing out the equivalent of 165 billion—with a B—billion dollars worth of food each year. But that's not all. Food waste, as it decays in landfills, also produces methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas.”

To help us visualize this, Wasted Food recently posted links to two food waste infographics.

One is an infographic from Face the Facts which is posting a daily visual fact that will run until election day. Fact #6 is Supersized Hunger Pangs, Supersized Waste and shows, among other intriguing graphics, the 91 Empire State Buildings that could be filled with American's yearly food waste.

The other is The Ugly Truth on Food Waste, from a Canadian catering company called Feast, and combines stats and tips.

Here are a few actions that can help us reduce our personal food waste:

• Plan your meals before you grocery shop.
• Serve smaller portions and use up leftovers.
• Think twice about jumping on bulk deals and check expiration dates.
• Rotate your food in your fridge and bring all the old food to the front after buying new food.

With school days underway and cool weather coming soon, now is a great time to make the most of Portland’s great resources for school – checking out new places to shop for fall clothes, organizing carpools or finding good bike and walk routes to school, and getting ready for great packed lunches.

Clothes for kids

• Portland is overflowing with great used kids clothing stores – Daisies and Dinos, Sweetpea and Piccolina in SE, Bella Stella and Beanstalk in inner NE – to name just a few. Kids grow out of clothing so quickly, it's easy to find high-quality, barely worn clothes and shoes for babies to elementary age kids. Its always a great time to purge your kids’ closets of outgrown items to exchange.
• Find clothes and shoes for big kids – middle school through college and beyond – at Portland’s locations of both Buffalo Exchange and Crossroads Trading Co., as well as Red Light and many more used and vintage stores.
• Or host a clothing-swap party for friends and neighbors, and donate anything that’s left. 

Getting to school

• Carpool – Collaborate with other parents on a carpool for the kids to reduce pollution and traffic congestion while saving time and money. Use this free online tool to find carpool companions.
• Bike – Find bike to school maps, info and events or sign up for the Safe Routes to School newsletter.
• Walk – Promote exercise and get some yourself by walking with your kids to school.

School lunches

• Pack waste-free lunches by using permanent containers, reusable utensils and cloth napkins.
• Choose tap water over bottled products. It's just as good and – at less than a penny per gallon – it's a great bargain.
• Create weekly meal plans in advance to stock the fridge in one trip, saving time and gas money and reducing congestion and pollution. 

School Supplies

• Computers – Consider refurbished computers over new ones. They often cost less, and may even come with a warranty when purchased from the manufacturer. Free Geek is a great place to donate old computers and buy replacements.
• Buy products with more recycled content – paper with a higher percentage of post-consumer materials, for example – and less or no packaging. If the product comes with packaging, ensure the wrapping or container includes recycled content and can be recycled.
• Chose quality over quantity and resist buying in bulk. Take a realistic estimate of what you need and if you don’t need to buy in bulk, then don’t. More isn’t always better – even if it comes at a cheaper per unit price.

 Additional Resources

• Find many more ways to Be Resourceful for back to school, or any time of year!
• Read 10 Great Eco-Friendly Back to School Tips.
• Learn about The Green School Alliance, a global community of schools working together to achieve an environmentally sustainable future.

The City of Portland’s Build It Green! Home Tour and Info Fair (BIG!) turns 11 this year. BIG! is a self-guided tour of 16 green remodels and new homes around Portland. The Home Preview web page is a great place to begin planning your tour day, as it’s easy to start and stop where you choose. With so many homes to see, tour-goers usually check out the free Info Fair at Green Depot first, then prioritize the homes based on their features.

As they move through their route, tour-goers can chat with homeowners, designers, do-it-yourselfers and contractors about space-efficient dwellings, solar panels, green roofs, rainwater harvesting, natural landscaping, affordable housing, water and energy conservation, natural building materials and alternative construction techniques.

Tour date: Saturday, September 22, 2012, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Eight accessory dwelling units (ADUs) will open their doors on tour day. These “backyard cottages” are all new construction projects, with the exception of a converted garage.

For the Master-Draper ADU, an existing garage was converted into an energy-efficient art studio and compact dwelling, maintaining the existing footprint. An open outdoor room with sliding doors extends living space to the pocket garden. In 480 sq. ft. of living space, features include a salvaged farm sink, wine barrel stave railings, day-lit loft and a mosaic bathroom designed and tiled by the owner.

The 240 sq. ft. pre-fab minibox from ideabox is designed to fit on a trailer for ease of transport anywhere in the United States. It can be a tiny house, a backyard retreat, an office space, a studio or a guest cottage. IKEA cabinets complement the modern, efficient, functional design aesthetic.

Walt Quade’s home, 80 sq. ft. pre-fab studio, teardrop trailer and 325 sq. ft. ADU for his sister-in-law is also featured on the tour.

Among other homes you’ll visit are an eclectic accessible remodel featuring Universal Design elements; Planet Repair Institute featuring shared community, natural building techniques and permaculture; the Whitridge Full Plane House expressing the homeowner’s deeply held values of a low-impact home suitable for raising children; and Cully Grove, a new pocket neighborhood of 16 dwellings, common gardens and guest house.  

New this year are drop-in workshops at several homes included with the ticket price. Topics included are small home communities, rainwater harvesting, Living Building Challenge, Energy Performance Score, permaculture and more.

The Info Fair at Green Depot is a prelude to the Tour with green vendors, demonstrations, food, drink and music. The fun begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 2 p.m. Green Depot is located at 819 SE Taylor, Portland. The Info Fair is FREE and open to all.

Tickets are required for the tour homes. These are available online or in person at Green Depot starting in mid-August.

• $15 general admission
• $10 honored citizens/students/alternative transportation.
• Children 13 years-old and under are FREE.

Want a free Tour ticket? Volunteer for the Tour or Info Fair! 

Want more info or have a project you’d like to be considered for 2013? Send an email to Valerie Garrett, tour coordinator, greenhotline@portlandoregon.gov.

BIG! is sponsored by Metro, Energy Trust of Oregon, Oregon Home, Solar Oregon, Green Depot, KINK-FM, City of Portland Bureaus of Development Services, Environmental Services, and Water.

There are many local resources to help you start buying used.

• Here are some tools to save more, live more.
• And here is an article on 10 things you should always buy used.

This uncertainty leads to food waste, either because we buy too much — not realizing how quickly it will spoil — or because we throw away food before its time. Waste is a huge problem for our climate, so knowing how to store dairy products is an easy and valuable tool in our efforts against global weirding.

Luckily, the folks at The Oregonian’s FOODday ran a piece a while back that demystifies the ins-and-outs of milk product spoilage. Apart from some common-sense guidelines about keeping dairy (your refrigerator should be at or below 40 degrees Fahrenheit; don’t let milk items warm before storing them), they have an excellent array of tips for products where the ‘sniff test’ doesn’t cut it. Check out the article for the full list, but here are a few handy rules of thumb:

• Mold: If you see mold on your sour cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, cream cheese, or any variety of soft cheese, discard immediately — mold spreads quickly through these products. If fuzzy spots appear on a hard cheese (such as cheddar), it’s okay to just cut off the affected area. (If the color or texture of the cheese looks off, though, that means the mold has worked its way through the whole block and it’s time  for the city's green compost  bin.)
• Keep time: Cottage cheese will keep around 5 days, cream 1 week, yogurt 1-2 weeks, and sour cream 2-3 weeks.
• Freezing is an excellent option for butter, buttermilk, cream, whipped cream cheese, and yogurt. Brick cream cheese, cottage cheese, and firm cheeses can be frozen, too, but their textures might be slightly altered by the cold. Soft cream cheese and sour cream should not be frozen.
• Taste test: Spoiled buttermilk might taste bitter. Spoiled yogurt might taste yeasty. Spoiled butter might taste strong or rancid.

Compared to conventional storage tank systems, high-efficiency water heaters can reduce energy consumption for heating water by half. There are a variety of high-efficiency applications to choose from, including gas, electric, heat pumps, tankless and solar thermal. 

When selecting an efficient system, look for the Energy Star label and the Energy Factor (EF) rating. The higher the EF the better, but note that this rating works best when comparing the same type of water heater. For instance, a tankless gas water heater EF should be compared to another tankless gas water heater rather than to a storage tank or an electric tankless water heater.

Incentives from the Energy Trust of Oregon can offset the additional cost of high-efficiency water heaters, and energy utilities occasionally offer rebates. Additionally, this investment can be offset by tax credits offered by the State of Oregon, and you may be eligible for on-bill financing through Clean Energy Works Oregon. 

1. Your commute can alter your genes. ^[1]
   According to Dr. Ruth Loos, a program leader at the Institute of Metabolic Science in Cambridge, England “Physical activity, even in small doses, may subvert genetic destiny. You don’t have to run marathons or work out in the gym. Walking the dog, cycling to work, weeding the garden — those all count” and provide enough moderate to vigorous physical activity to reap benefits. 

2. Active transportation can save you money.  ^[2]
   The yearly average health cost savings for a physically active person (30 minutes or more of moderate activity/day for five days a week) is between $305 and $907.

3. Adults who bike to work have better weight, blood pressure, and insulin levels. ^[3]
   

4. Women who bike 30 minutes a day have a lower risk of breast cancer. ^[4]
   

5. Adolescents who bicycle are 48 percent less likely to be overweight as adults. ^[5]
   

6. The health benefits of cycling outweigh the risks by a factor of 20 to one. ^[6]
   

7. Sustainable transportation strategies can increase employee productivity 50 percent and cut sick time in half. ^[7]
   

8. Studies have demonstrated a significant link between commute stress and job satisfaction. ^[8]

Check out the Case for Cycling wiki for more on why bicycling benefits everyone, not just people who bike.

¹ “Physical activity attenuates the influence of FTO variants on obesity risk: a meta-analysis of 218,166 adults and 19,268 children.” PLoS Med.

² Colditz GA. Economic costs of obesity and inactivity. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1999;31(11, Suppl):S663–S667. Wang G, Pratt M, Macera CA, Zheng ZJ, Heath G. Physical activity, cardiovascular disease, and medical expenditures in U.S. adults. Ann Behav Med. 2004;28(2):88–94. Pratt M, Macera CA, Wang G. Higher direct medical costs associated with physical inactivity. Phys Sportsmed. 2000; 28:63–70.

³ Gordon-Larsen, P., et al., 2009

⁴ Luoto, R., et al., 2000

⁵ Menschik, D, et al., 2008

⁶ Hillman, M., 1992

⁷ Nieman, David, et al, “Immune Response to a 30-Minute Walk,” Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Jan. 2005, pp. 57-62.  Besser, Lilah, et al, “Walking to Public Transit: Steps to Help Meet Physical Activity Recommendations,” American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2005, Vol. 29, pp 273-280.

⁸ Wener, Richard, et al, “Commuting Stress: Psychophysiological Effects of a Trip and Spillover in the Workplace,” Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 1924, pp. 112-117.

Unfortunately it’s often the case: packaging is covered with words like ‘all-natural,’ ‘organically certified,’ and ‘non-GMO.’ Each seems to denote a healthful, minimally processed product. But do they deliver? We’re here to give you an idea of what you’re buying beyond the label.

Organic

Organic food in the US has been certified by a third party as meeting a specific set of criteria. Synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, hormones, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and various other substances can’t be used in the growth or handling of organic food. Organics are regulated by the USDA, which provides strict rules for the use of the term.

Natural

For meat and poultry, ‘natural’ denotes a minimally processed product with no artificial or color additives. For other food products, though, there is no regulated definition. This ambiguity—and lack of third-party certification—has caused problems: several lawsuits assert that manufacturers have used ‘natural’ labels deceptively.

Non-GMO

There is no legal requirement in the US to label foods with genetically engineered ingredients. Some manufacturers have voluntarily identified their food as non-GMO, but no regulatory structure exists to police these claims.

rBST/rBGH Free

Hormones are used in US milk production to increase lactation in cows (the practice is banned in Canada, the EU, and Japan). rBST- and rBGH free products are derived from cows not treated with these hormones. Like GMO labeling, these claims are not validated by a third party.

Note that the above terms denote what goes in a product; they say nothing about the product’s environmental footprint. While there’s a lively debate about the climate impacts of organic versus conventional production, it’s safe to say that a ‘natural’ product isn’t guaranteed to be environmentally friendly, or that a hormone-free cow produces any less methane than an rBST treated one. So while there are very compelling health and social reasons to pay attention to what’s on the label, there are other food choices toward a lighter climate impact.

For more information, visit the City of Portland’s FAQ about food labels.

But did you know that between Longview and Salem there are 15 different transit options? Whether you're heading to Astoria or Yamhill (no "Z" cities in Oregon) there's a bus that will take you there (and your bicycle too!).

And now in one beautifully designed map, you can point and click to learn more about each of these options. Take a look at our new image map of the region's transit options.

Along with the classic car share company Zipcar and peer-to-peer car sharing via Getaround, Car2Go's launch provides Portlanders with three distinct car sharing services.

Car2Go's service allows one-way car sharing trips for 35 cents per minute. The maximum rate per hour is $12.99 and the maximum daily rate is $65.99.

Similar to other car share companies, Car2Go requires you to be a member to use their vehicles. You can reserve a car online or go to any available car on their map and swipe your membership card to begin the rental.

Cars can be parked on any public street in the parking lane, including metered parking within the Car2Go "home area." The only exceptions are restricted spaces (e.g., valet, loading zone) or spaces restricted to parking for less than an hour.

Autoblog reports that in San Diego, members logged 25,000 Car2Go trips in the first 100 days.