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West Seattle Tool Library
We Need Your Help!

Ever borrow a tool from your neighbor? Ever wish they had a better selection? Sustainable West Seattle has won a grant from the City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods and has set up a tool lending library. You can find out more information or check out our inventory!

Community Solar Workshop @ Miller Community Center

September 18, 2010
10:30 amto12:30 pm

City Light and Northwest Seed are hosting an information session at Miller Community Center, Saturday, September 18, from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm, on a new program City Light is working called Community Solar.

Would you like to have your own solar photovoltaic system, but you live in an apartment or a house with no good sun exposure. Or maybe you want to invest in a system, but ...continue reading

Guided Tour of Georgetown Power Plant

September 11, 2010
10:00 amto2:00 pm

6605 13th Avenue S

Steam meets, free and open to the public, are held on the 2nd Saturday of each month, from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm. Steam meets include operating hot gas, gasoline, air, and steam engines, beverages, snacks, and guided plant tours including oral history and dynamic display of plant engines. Cited below are some links to videos and photos of this local but ...continue reading

The Energy Blog – A Plug On Your Next Car?

by Andy Silber

Should your next car have a plug?

One of my favorite stories ever on Prairie Home Companion was about a guy who couldn’t take the cold winters at Lake Wobegon anymore. He drove south until someone asked him about the plug hanging from the front of his car. He figured if it was warm enough that someone didn’t know what an electric block heater was, it was warm enough for him.

But starting late this year many people will ...continue reading

City Light Improves Streetlight Repair, Online Tracker Now Up

Back in 2004 more than 23,000 streetlight outages were reported and sometimes it took months for a light to be repaired. City Council has made changes and now the backlog has been reduced to less than 1,000 outages and there is a policy in place to repair streetlights within 14 days of notification that they are out.

To see the existing outages and to report a streetlight outage, go to http://www.seattle.gov/light/streetlight/tracker.asp to see the map, report streetlight outages and to track their ...continue reading

Visit a Living Building in Progress!

August 4, 2010
6:00 pmto7:00 pm

The Sustainable West Seattle stormwater action team is organizing a site visit at the Bertschi School Living Building Science Wing, which is now under construction.  We will explore how the school plans to incorporate rainwater harvesting and solar energy into its design.  The building will also be used to teach students about passive ventilation, net-zero water and net-zero energy consumption.

To learn more about the site, visit http://www.bertschi.org/campus/science.html

If you’d like to join us for an eveninging-time tour on ...continue reading

EOS Alliance Course on Evaluating Power Sources

July 23, 2010
9:00 amto5:00 pm

EOS Alliance is offering a course on Evaluating Power Sources with a Due Diligence Method for Assessing the Social, Economic, and Environmental Aspects of Electricity.  The course is a all-day course on July 23,  from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm with an online follow-up class on  September 3.

Registration is $250 with a reduced fee of $195 for Native American tribes; government employees; nonprofits; students). You may register by calling the Northwest Environmental Training Center at 206-762-1976, on ...continue reading

NWETC Offers Carbon Accounting & Climate Strategy Courses

July 14, 2010
9:00 amto4:00 pm
July 15, 2010
9:00 amto4:00 pm
July 16, 2010
9:00 amto4:00 pm

The Northwest Environmental Training Center is holding a three-day Carbon Accounting and Climate Strategy series on July 14, 15 and 16.

The Carbon Series - Carbon Accounting and Climate Strategy

July 14-16, 2010, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm at the Northwest Environmental Training Center, 650 South Orcas Street, Suite 220, Georgetown.

Climate Policy, Carbon ...continue reading

The Energy Blog - Fathers Day on a Wind Farm

On Father’s Day my wife asked want I wanted to do. I’m such an energy geek that I told her that I wanted to visit one of the wind farms that are popping up near Ellensburg, WA, just across Snoqualmie Pass from Seattle. So we loaded up our son and two dogs and drove two hours along I-90.

But first some history: in 2002 I founded the energy committee of the Cascade Chapter of the Sierra Club. At this time the ...continue reading

The Energy Blog - War of the Currents Round 2

By Andy Silber

War of the Currents: Round 2

The War of the Currents was fairly fought over 100 years ago and the winner was the undisputed better technology; a technology that has served us well. Electricity has worked its way into every facet of our lives and into almost every corner of the country. To be off-the-grid practically means to be Amish or The Unabomber. It’s so critical that when we had an extended power outage here in Seattle in ...continue reading

The Energy Blog - War of the Currents

By Andy Silber

War of the Currents: Round 1

Before there was HD-DVD vs. BlueRay, Mac vs. PC, or Beta vs. VHS there was AC vs. DC. And if you think that Steve Jobs and Bill Gates had a rivalry, check out Edison and Tesla, two of the greatest innovators ever and bitter foes in the War of the Currents.  This posting will be a bit more technical than I usually get, but I won’t assume you know anything about electricity ...continue reading