Reintroduce the North Cascades grizzly bear

E. Fudd

Please sign this petition to help protect Seattle’s Trees!

Petition by Treepac Board Member Richard Ellison, MS Botany (click link to sign)

The City of Seattle wants to encourage single family homeowners to build additional ADU’s (accessary dwelling units, sometimes called mother-in-law units), both attached and unattached. Currently, you can build one or the other, but not both, on the same property. The City proposes allowing both, while also reducing minimum lot sizes from 4000 sq ft to 3200 sq ft and increasing the backyard structural footprint from 40% to 60%.

We believe the ADU-DEIS is highly flawed in claiming there will be no significant impacts to Exceptional Trees, Significant Trees and Tree Groves as a result of the proposed changes. Cumulative impacts, unavoidable adverse impacts, impacts to critical root zones, increased stormwater runoff, urban island heat effects, are all issues poorly addressed, if at all.

It is inconceivable to us that the ADU-DEIS cannot identify even one adverse impact, considering Single Family (SF) zones are 67% of the land and have 72% of Seattle’s tree canopy on 135,000 lots. The DEIS is silent as to how increases in lot coverage and reductions in minimum lot size, among many other issues, will be such that “No significant adverse impacts are anticipated to land use; therefore, no mitigation measures are proposed.” (The DEIS in 4.3.3 Mitigation Measures, Page 4-120 notes)

E. Fudd

Sweden starts construction on fossil fuel-free steel plant

BERLIN (AP) — Sweden has started construction on a factory that will test whether it’s feasible to make steel without burning fossil fuels.

Utility firm Vattenfall said Tuesday it has teamed up with steel company SSAB and mining firm LKAB to build the 1.4-billion Swedish krona ($158 million) pilot plant.

Existing plants produce large amounts of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, when coal is used to turn iron into hardened steel.

The new factory being built in the northeastern town of Lulea by 2020 will use hydrogen instead of coal and coke. The companies’ joint venture, called HYBRIT, aims to have an industrial process in place by 2035.

Vattenfall said the technology could potentially cut Sweden’s total carbon dioxide emissions by ten percent, helping meet the country’s goals under the Paris climate accord.

E. Fudd

Closure to Snow Crab fishery to protect North Atlantic Right Whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence

So I’ve been volunteering at the U District Food Bank over on Roosevelt (right across the street from decades-long fave store Scarecrow Video) – was there today watering, thought I’d throw up some pics – looks like a bountiful harvest coming later this summer! You can click on a pic for an even bigger image…

Way up there in front on the right is a beehive; behind me on either sides are compost bins and storage, watering hose is in the middle (the one I use, anyway) – they are getting a drip irrigation system set up but it’s not running yet, afaik. Enjoy the view!

there is a special place in h-e-double-hockey-sticks for you, Pruitt. It’s a melting plastic vat of oil waste…..! FIRE SCOTT PRUITT!!!

Judge Rules Pruitt Must Provide Evidence for his Climate Denial

E. Fudd

Bring. IT.

From The Seattle Times:
King County sues big oil companies for downplaying global warming

E. Fudd

These 6 Women Activists Won This Year’s Top Environmental Prize

E. Fudd

Dear Mayor Durkan and Seattle City Council Members,

We urge you to take action now to strengthen significantly Seattle’s tree ordinance to protect our trees and urban forest. Seattle’s urban forest is an integral and vital part of Seattle.

The urban forest provides many benefits to those living in our city, including (but certainly not limited to):

• helping to clean our air,
• reducing stormwater runoff,
• countering climate change,
• decreasing heat,cold and wind impacts,
• increasing property values,
• providing habitat for birds and wildlife, and
• providing a connection with nature in our neighborhoods.

Seattle’s rapid growth is all but eliminating these beneficial effects as trees are (literally) being removed every day by developers and builders with little to no oversight for tree protection and urban forest enhancement.

We urge you to take action now by updating our current tree ordinance and regulations as follows:

1. Adopt a policy of no net loss of tree canopy, with the goal of increasing tree canopy – including maintaining and strengthening current protections for exceptional trees, trees groves, Heritage Trees, critical areas and natural areas.

2. Expand the existing tree removal and replacement permit, notice and posting system already used by SDOT to cover all public and private trees 6” DBH and larger on both public and private property in all land use zones, and to allow removal of no more than 3 significant non-exceptional trees every 4 years.

3. Require replacement of all trees removed that are 6” DBH and larger with equivalent sized trees (e.g. small, medium or large) – on site, or pay replacement and mitigation costs into a City Tree Replacementand Maintenance Fund. Allow this Fund to accept fines, donations and grants, and allow the fund also to be used for acquiring land and easements and to set up Tree Protection Trusts.

4. Establish one city-wide database to use in applying for tree removal and replacement permits. Post online all permit requests and permit approvals for public viewing. Expand SDOT’s existing tree map toinclude all trees that are removed and replaced.

5. Require a detailed Urban Forestry Canopy Impact Assessment for all development projects – This detailed tree inventory, prior to development, should be entered into a public database, including data on replacement trees using equivalent tree size at maturity.

6. Expand SDOT’s existing tree service providers’ registration, and certification to include ALL tree service providers working on trees in Seattle.

7. Consolidate tree oversight into one city entity: The Office of Sustainability and Environment, as was recommended by the Seattle City Auditor in 2009. Give OSE the additional authority to insure that trees have advocacy for their protection, with the necessary independence to avoid conflicting goals inherent in other city departments.

8. Emphasize native trees and vegetation, particularly conifers, to maximize sustainability and environmental effects, such as reducing stormwater runoff, protecting wildlife habitat and minimizing climate impacts. Require the removal of invasive plants during development. Increase incentives for protecting trees, and provide financial assistance for property owners who need help complying with the city ordinance. For non-compliance, and to increase compliance, increase the current penalties, fines and enforcement.

Thank you,

The Citizens of Seattle.

India’s turtle warriors embrace mission to save threatened species

E. Fudd