Picture from 350.org's Day of Climate Action

Above is a picture from 350.org’s international climate action day that took place on October 24th, 2009. Across our blue planet, people took up the effort to convince world leaders that we should bring atmospheric carbon dioxide back down to 350 parts per million. This is the level at which, scientists say, life as we know it can continue to thrive.  For more information about this number, please visit Bill McKibben’s website, 350.org.

Now those world leaders are set to start meeting at the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen next week to begin drafting an international plan that could set future limits on CO2 emissions and lay out strategies for reaching those limits. To be successful, they need to hear from us – the people that their decisions will affect. They need to hear that we are paying attention to what they’re deciding, and that we care.  There are at least two different petitions that you can sign to add your voice to the chorus: 350.org and Hopenhagen.org. These websites also provide updates on developments as they happen in the United States and around the world. Please join us in encouraging the UN to take strong action on this important issue.

To see more inspiring pictures from October 24th, please visit 350.org’s flickr stream.

Here at home, Ecohaus is trying to do our part – cutting our carbon footprint by providing local materials as much as possible, and by offsetting our carbon output by purchasing carbon credits in local forests through the Northwest Natural Resource Group.

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Check out the number on this certificate!

As carbon credits are in the news so much these days, it seems like a good time to toot some horns about the new local carbon offset program called NW Neutral.

NW Neutral is a program of one of our community partners, the Northwest Natural Resource Group. It pairs local private forestland owners interested in using their forests for carbon sequestration with buyers interested in offsetting their carbon emissions.

CO2 emissions are widely believed to contribute to global climate change – and forests have a big effect on levels of CO2. Forests in the U.S. currently capture about 10% of total CO2 emissions nationally but the loss of forestland accounts for approximately 25% of the worlds’ annual increase of carbon dioxide. From these numbers it is clear that investing in standing forests will be key to combatting rising CO2 levels. 

The advantage to a local program like NW Neutral is that buying credits from local landowners keeps the benefits of standing forests (better air quality, better water quality and functional ecosystems) in the neighborhood!  That’s why, in March, Ecohaus became their first customer. Now the CO2 that we emit through the process of distributing floor finish, delivering countertops, or keeping our showroom warm in the winter gets balanced by our investment in trees standing right here in the Pacific Northwest!

NNRG’s new program was formally announced at a celebration at Ecohaus on March 12th. Washington State’s new Public Lands Commissioner, Peter Goldmark, was present to make the announcement. “Carbon offsets could create a new market for small forest landowners that would keep working forests working,” said Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark. “In these challenging economic times, we must innovate ways we can simultaneously fight climate change and protect forestlands from conversion.”

For over 15 years Northwest Natural Resource Group (NNRG) has been leading efforts to make ecological forestry a paying proposition in the Pacific Northwest. Their Northwest Certified Forestry program uses protocols designed by the Forest Stewardship Council (www.fscus.org) to provide a broad suite of economic, educational and informational benefits to small forest landowners in Washington and Oregon. More info at www.nnrg.org.

Commissioner Goldmark announced the new program.

NNRG and Ecohaus Representatives with Commissioner Goldmark and the first Carbon Offset Certficate through NW Neutral.

Over the month of March and into April we hosted some great community events to celebrate the opening of our Bellevue Store! Guests from a variety of cool local organizations visited our showroom to share their information with the public about everything from saving energy (check out the pictures of the City of Bellevue’s Carbon Yeti!) to local, organic farming.

The finale weekend of our celebration started off with a Friday evening Wine Tasting in our showroom with the Northwest Natural Resource Group (NNRG.) The event showcased wine from local vintners Wilridge Winery, Harlequin Cellars and Naches Heights Winery. The 70 guests who joined us also had the opportunity to learn about NNRG’s new local carbon-sequestration program “NW Neutral.” This program helps local companies off-set their carbon emissions, while keeping the environmental and financial benefits and of those off-sets environment in the Puget Sound region. Learn more about this program at www.nnrg.org. More information about the wines we tasted that evening can be found at www.winesofwashington.com.

We followed that event up the next day with a Barbecue and invited members of the Sustainability Community on the Eastside to come and talk to folks about environmental steps that people are taking east of the lake. Full Circle Farms was there signing people up for boxes of organic produce, 3 Degrees was there signing people up for PSE’s “green” power program “Green Up.” We had People tabling from the Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center, and the EcoBuilding Guild. And the City of Bellevue’s Stream Team came out to talk about Salmon in Bellevue’s rivers and streams. We found out that the stream that runs past our Bellevue Store is a “Salmon Watch” stream. We were very excited when The Carbon Yeti showed up around noon, to promote ways for Bellevue Residents to lower their “Carbon Footprint,” and Brad Liljequist delivered a presentation about Issaquah’s new Zero-Energy Townhome Project: zHomes.

Special thanks to all of our Grand Opening Event Guests and Partners:

King County Green Tool
The City of Bellevue: Stream Team and Carbon Yeti
The Northwest Natural Resource Group
Full Circle Farms
Synergy Design Studio
Renate Ruby Design
The Tasting Room
Green Fiber
Puget Sound Energy
The Cascade Water Alliance
The Eco Building Guild
The Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center
The City of Issaquah: zHome Project

We had over 70 people attend our Wine Tasting for NNRG!

The Carbon Yeti checks out some info tables.

The Carbon Yeti in our paint bar!