Last month the Environmental Protection Agency released its action plan to clean up the Columbia River. Let me tell you, it’s long overdue! For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Columbia, it’s the largest river in the Western United States, and the 4th largest in the country. The last section of the river flows just north of Portland along the border of Washington and Oregon before finally emptying into the Pacific Ocean near Astoria, Oregon. Although Portland is about 80 miles inland from the ocean, the river is large enough to accommodate enormous container ships. It’s a startling site to see when you are hiking along a peaceful river trail on Sauvies Island or elsewhere, and then peak through the trees to see a gargantuan container ship floating by.

The Columbia River

Lewis and Clark followed this mighty river over 200 years ago for much of their cross country journey to the Pacific Ocean. I’m sure they would be disappointed to see what it has become today. Although the river is still beautiful in some areas it is full of dams and lined with paper, logging, and other industrial mills that sport huge smoke stacks which appear to be giving the finger to Mother Nature. The first major dam is the Bonneville Dam, which does to its credit produce a lot of clean hydro energy for our region, but still you have to wonder what other effects it has on the river and its ecosystem. To add to these unnatural eye sores is the Hanford site in the Tri-Cities (Kennewick, Pasco, Richland) area of Southwestern Washington State.

Bonneville Dam

Hanford, which was part of the Manhattan Project during the cold war years, is a huge nuclear site 1/3 the size of Rhode Island. It’s also located right along 50 miles of the banks of the formerly natural Columbia River. Like many nuclear wastelands in this country there is buried radioactive material that is now leaking into the water table. I found a very detailed article from the Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman’s Associations outlining the problems this site has caused for salmon. I’m worried about the salmon too, but what really got my attention was this paragraph:

The site now contains 177 underground storage tanks in a huge “tank farm,” holding millions of gallons of high-level radioactive waste in a soup of highly corrosive chemicals and potentially explosive. At least 67 of these underground tanks have leaked at least one million gallons of highly radioactive waste into the groundwater. More tanks begin leaking each year as they continue to corrode. More than 200 square miles of Hanford’s groundwater aquifer have now been contaminated. Further contamination comes from 2,300 tons of corroded spent nuclear fuel rods held in two water-filled basins less than 500 yards from the Columbia River. The place is one huge Superfund toxic waste site, which the law requires the federal government to clean up.

Holy contamination full of radiation Batman! This stuff could be in our drinking water!!! If you want to know more about how to get clean drinking water see my post on “Got Water”. As for the salmon and other local fish populations, it’s a no-brainer that they are being affected too. If you don’t live locally and think no big deal, it’s NIMBY (not in my backyard), well you might want to think again. Pacific Salmon which is served nationwide could be sourced anywhere from California to Alaska. The Columbia River and polluted Puget Sound near Seattle are big producers of these fish. Fortunately Salmon spend much of their lives out at sea, but you still might want to check for an orange/yellow glow before taking a bite.

In additional to these contamination problems, you have fertilizer and pesticide runoff from all the regional farms near the Columbia and other rivers and creeks that empty into it. If that isn’t enough to cause you concern, let me tell you about the frequent sewage spills that affect our local rivers during the rainy season. This is untreated sewage that spills into the rivers, not that treated sewage is any less gross, but at least it’s sanitary. However treated sewage doesn’t mean everything bad is necessarily removed, just what is required by law. There have been growing concerns that many of the pharmaceuticals our society and others are becoming addicted to are finding their way back in the water supply through the toilet. Think about it – something in-something out, it’s the law of nature. As an example, this article mentions how Prozac was found in the drinking water supply in England. It further outlines how the problem is much worse in third world countries that do not filter or sanitize their waste at all. If you are thinking NIMBY again, just remember it all ends up in the ocean at some point, and we all share that. By the way if you’ve ever wondered what happens to toilet waste once its flushed down then check out this interesting toilet reading material.

Unfortunately I’ve had my fair share of experience with most of the above. When I was growing up in Florida we would sometimes see processed sewage flowing into the inlet and out to sea. Let me tell you nothing ruins a day at the beach quicker than that! While living in Colorado I became very familiar with the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons production facility just 10 miles north of Denver. It was at one time considered the most toxic 25 square miles on the planet. Protesters forced the government to clean it up in the 80′s, so they basically hauled all the toxic leaking nuclear waste down to New Mexico where there were no protesters. The question for Oregonians and Washingtonians is what are we going to do about our pollution problem in the Columbia River. The EPA is taking the first step, but I’m sure they can use all the support they can get. You can write your elected officials, but realistically most of us will never go through with that most likely useless effort. So my answer is to just start talking about it, or blog about it. Public awareness and concern is the way to create buzz and change. In the meantime I’ve written the first couple verses of a song called the “Columbia River Blues”. Maybe someone much more talented and artistic than me would like to finish and record it.

Paddling down the Columbia River,
Navigating the waterways of waste,
Oh no, no, no
I don’t have medical insurance
So I’m hoping the toxic water don’t splash up in my face
Oh no, no, no

The EPA says lets clean this river up,
No more mercury, jet fuel, fertilizer, pesticide, or nuclear contamination,
Oh, Yeah, yeah, yeah,
Put your hands together and clap now
The Columbia is a going back to nature
Yeah, yeah, yeah,

A view of the Bonneville Dam from the summit of Hamilton Mountain

By now just about everyone knows about the new swirly looking CFLs (compact fluorescent light bulbs) and just how big an advancement they are in energy conservation. What people don’t know is that they need to be recycled properly to maximize the benefit they provide to the environment. The main reason for this is that there is a small amount of mercury in the bulb that needs to be disposed of properly so it doesn’t end up back in our water table or on our dinner table in the form of a fish. Don’t let this scare you off from using CFLs though. Even when they aren’t recycled properly they still let less mercury into the environment than a standard old school incandescent, and much less greenhouse gases when you consider the electricity savings. Ironically most electricity is produced from coal burning factories which happen to be where most of the mercury pollution currently comes from. If you want to double-do your part by using and recycling CFLs just drop them off at your local Home depot where they will recycle the expired CFL bulbs for free. If you don’t live near one of those stores just check these links from the EPA and energystar more info.

EPA CFL recylcing page
EnergyStar FAQ about CFLs

According to this Energystar Webpage a CFL light bulb uses approximately 75% less energy than an incandescent bulb, and produces 75% less heat which makes them safer. Additionally the CFLs can last up to 10 times longer than incandescents. Overall it is estimated that you will save at least 30 dollars in electricity costs per bulb. The CFLs do cost a little more initially but if you shop places like Costco you’ll find them very cheap compared to your typical hardware or superstores.

Something to be aware of before you outfit your entire house with CFLs is the different color variations. Some CFLs appear to be yellowish in color while others emit a whiter brighter and more natural color, which I personally prefer. This webpage gives more detail about that and which specs to look for according to your needs.

I encountered another quirk when I bought some CFLs for recessed lighting in our kitchen, which was basically a small CFL bulb inside a larger dome bulb to fit the recessed light area. I thought this was a genius idea when I bought them until they all burned out a few months later. These lights normally last for years so I figured it had to be because of the bulb inside a bulb inside of a recessed area built up too much heat and caused the burnout. Recently I’ve found out that you need specific types of CFLs to handle dimmer switches which our kitchen lights are on, so this could’ve been a problem. Since then I’ve replaced them with regular CFL bulbs and haven’t had any problems. Most people don’t look up at the ceiling to see what a bright glowing light bulb looks like so the cosmetic difference is really nil.

Just one other thing I wanted to mention about lights is how awesome outdoor solar lights are. We bought some to put around our front yard to light up the area and deter break-ins. Even in Oregon we get enough light to charge them up every day. They turn on automatically at night and really do an outstanding job of lighting up the yard at no additional energy cost. If you haven’t switched over CFLs and solar yet it’s time to wake up and smell the pollution!

Agriculture is one of the most important developments in human history. About 10,000 years ago humans figured out how to obtain food from cultivated plants and herded livestock enabling us to put our roots down (so to speak). This incredible advancement in human history allowed humankind to make the leap from hunter-gatherers to civilized society. Someday the advent of the Internet may be looked at in history as the key advancement that made globalization possible, much like agriculture made local societies and culture possible. So I figure why not grow our own and blog about it so we can be part of history and the future too.

Since moving to the Pacific Northwest region in 2006, we have significantly changed the way we eat and buy food. With an abundance of farmers markets, produce stands, and great weather, we are eating more and more fresh fruit and vegetables. Additional local items like honey, breads, pickles, seafood, wine, beer, and many others are readily available as well. What’s even better than buying locally is growing locally, in your own yard! Consider that commercial produce and other products are full of pesticides, preservatives, artificial flavorings, among other mystery ingredients. The choice is clear, for healthy food and peace of mind- grow your own.

Having your own garden can be rewarding in many other ways than just having super fresh food on the table. It brings out your nurturing abilities, much like taking care of a pet or child. In return you are rewarded with delectable gifts that taste oh so much better than anything bought at the store. Speaking of that, most store-bought produce is picked early so they ripen on the way to the store, and then sit on the shelf for a while before going rotten. In your own garden you can pick your food ripe on the vine so it is fully developed and ready for consumption on the spot. There is a rewarding sense of accomplishment that comes with gardening. It is a natural way of getting back to basics and tuning into the way things used to be, instead of being like so many people today who just tune into the TV while eating a TV dinner.

Another green benefit to having a green thumb is there is practically zero emissions associated with the food you grow, and very little with locally bought produce or CSA’s. Think of all the transportation that is involved with commercial bought produce that travels an average of 1500 miles to your table. Last summer I almost bought a bag of oranges. They looked so good and I was really craving some citrus, but being from South Florida I knew something just wasn’t right with fresh oranges in July. I checked the label and sure enough they were from South Africa, which explains the high price and why they were ripe in the summer instead of the usual winter season. Nothing against South Africa, but I thought to myself do I really want to support buying produce that is shipped half way around the world when I can just buy something else that is local and in season for much cheaper? I put the oranges back and decided that I would buy locally grown or at least domestically grown whenever possible.

In addition to gardening and buying at farmers markets we are subscribing to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). The CSA share is a big movement in Oregon that we just learned about last year. This season we have paid upfront for a summer full of fresh CSA fruits and veggies from SunGoldFarm. Starting in June we will pick up a basket of fresh fruit and veggies every week. The baskets are surprisingly cheap for the large quantities you get. Each week the basket contents will be a little different since various fruits and veggies ripen at different times. With the CSA it’s up to us to be creative and find a way to use the items we get, or give away the ones we don’t use. I’m looking forward to some culinary creativity in the kitchen. Who knows we may just go vegan for the summer!

A small harvest from our garden.