• Business,  ENERGY,  Fossil Fuels

    Portland’s Coal Problem

    According to Mayor Sam Adams,Portland receives 68 percent of its power from non-renewable fossil fuels and over 44 percent is produced by coal. A great deal of that coal-fired power generation originates in the Rocky Mountains. Oregon’s only coal-fired electric power plants is located in Boardman, Oregon. It is the state’s largest stationary source of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and other pollutants including mercury. PGE owns 65 percent of the Boardman coal-fired power plant and is seeking to submit an alternative operating plant that would phase out the facility or switch to non-coal fuel by 2020. In January, Adams announced his support of PGE’s work to rethink the…

  • Earth Bag House built by Earthen Hand
    BUILDING

    Earthen Hand

    The Local Application of Traditional Building Techniques According to Scott Howard, founder of Earthen Hand Natural Building, the materials and methods in natural building construction are highly sustainable because they are readily available and easy to use. Structures built of earthen materials are more likely to last for many centuries in contrast to a few decades for most contemporary stick-framed buildings. Wood-framing remains the most popular way to build homes in the Pacific Northwest where plentiful forests were once thought of as monstrosities to be cut into submission. The popularity of wood construction over time is a contributor to deforestation worldwide. Some estimates state that we have used 90% of…

  • BUILDING,  Construction,  RE-THINK,  Recycle,  Reuse

    Portland Garden Cottages – Intimate Spaces from Recycled Building Materials

        There’s an ongoing debate in my house over what constitutes a “too small” dwelling, so I’m always on the prowl to bolster my position that we can live well in small spaces. Evidence: The Portland Garden Cottages designed and built by Jeffrey Gantert and Brad Bloom.   Gantert and Bloom built two small, (364 square-feet) cottages from mostly used building materials. The cottages took advantage of an empty lot in the Mississippi Historic District of the upper Albina neighborhood of Portland. They are designed to fith with the history and character of the neighboring structures, a mixture of ordinary working-class homes and ornate Victorian-style architecture. From the outside,…

  • OSU doctoral student Wen Bai develops rubber composites in an OSU laboratory
    ENERGY,  TRANSPORTATION

    Tires Made from Trees Save on Fuel and Energy

    Kaichang Li, an associate professor of wood science and engineering in the OSU College of Forestry believes that microcrystalline cellulose, a material made from trees and other plant fibers, may be able to replace about 12% of the silica used as a reinforcing filler in rubber tires. Photo: Materials scientist and OSU doctoral student, Wen Bai, develops rubber composites in an OSU laboratory using a new technology that incorporates microcrystalline cellulose – an approach that may lead to automobile tires which cost less, perform better and produce improved vehicle mileage. Lower production costs, more heat-resistant, fuel-efficient tires similar in traction and strength to conventional tires appear to be some of…