One of the (only) good things about the economic downturn is that government agencies at all levels have to get creative about how they provide services.  The City of Seattle is asking residents to adopt storm drains to help with the huge chore of removing leaves and debris that clog the drainage system especially during the rainy season.  The new program, akin to the popular Adopt a Street program, provides volunteers with a storm drain kit.

David Owen, New Yorker staff writer and author, has written a book, "Green Metropolis" about the energy savings inherent in living and working in highly populated and dense areas.   Owen says that the most realistic way to reduce our carbon footprints is to live in "densely-settled, pedestrian-friendly, public-transit-oriented cities like New York".  Furthermore, he suggests that cities such as New York stop worrying about what he calls "environmental fixations" such as residential solar panels and LEED-certified buildings and instead concentrate on “old-fashioned quality-of-life concerns” such as education, crime, noise, and recreational amenities in order to draw people back into the cities.

Seattle residents can apply to get free apple and cherry trees under a pilot program provided by the City of Seattle's Neighborhood Matching Fund.  If interested, check out Seattle's ReLeaf Web site.  The program, the City of Seattle's Tree Fund, created to absorb carbon dioxide emissions, filter air pollution, reduce noise pollution, and provide habitat for birds and wildlife.

Jim Wilcox, of the Wilcox Family Farms, has slowly become a believer in sustainable agricultural methods.  According to an article in the Tacoma News Tribune, he says of Wilcox Farm's shifts, “We’re changing for two reasons.  One, it’s good business, and, two, it’s the right thing to do.” . . . “Twenty to 30 years ago, we weren’t very good stewards of the land,” he said. “We’ve kind of seen the light.”

Wilcox Farms has been in business 100 years this week. The family has 1,500 acres along a mile-long stretch of the Nisqually River; they've been selling milk and eggs, at one point selling 1 million gallons of milk a week.

Our neighboring city to the north, Vancouver B.C., is fast becoming one of the most innovative, green cities in the world.  It draws 90% of its energy from renewables.  Under the progressive governance of Gregor Robertson, the just-reelected mayor, they are looking to become a hub for green jobs and sustainable industry.   Unlike most other North American cities, Vancouver appears to be meeting the coming climate crisis head-on.

The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) released a list of the smartest cities (large, medium and small) and Seattle was ranked as the top large city (population over 250,000) in the  country, followed by San Francisco and Portland.  The rankings were based on a set of 10 criteria, including air quality, water quality and conservation, energy and conservation, and transportation.  It's hard to see how Seattle would have make top of the list without yesterday's start-up of light-rail.