Green Portland

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Comment by Tyson Wilson 7 hours ago

Hey y'all! I'm a local green plumber (www.eco-plumber.com) looking to do my part for the permaculture revolution and the changeover to renewables. My focus right now is especially on rainwater and graywater harvesting. Interested in networking or exchanging ideas with like-minded individuals, or helping you design and/or build your system. Hit me up!

Comment by Kolin Leishman on August 9, 2010 at 2:42pm

Hello PDXers! I just wanted to drop a line to this online community and say that I have worked with sustainable businesses here in Portland for 4 years now. I am excited to have joined this group and I am more than willing to share any knowledge I might have with all of you. Feel free to drop me a line or inquire about anything dealing with the sustainable movement here in Portland.

Comment by Jadene Fourman on July 25, 2009 at 9:29pm

Hi, I'm introducing myself. I just joined this website and group. I'm a Permaculture designer and artist. I have a cat named Andrew and love hiking and biking around P-town. How's it going?

Comment by Mark on May 27, 2008 at 9:48pm

Angela - French drain systems are usually built along a foundation as an aid to divert rain/ground water away from a house (i.e., to prevent basement flooding). A residential soakage trench, while also designed to capture rain water runoff, would be located away from the house (e.g., in the middle of a yard). I think some of the design elements in the two systems are similar though. Many years ago, we looked into installing a french drain system around our house, but it was way too expensive. Unfortunately, as it is now, our yard does not have enough slope to allow me to use splash blocks to divert our gutter system. If I did disconnect our downspouts, our basement would flood. This is why I am thinking I might be able to use a soakage trench instead.

Comment by Angela Higgins on May 25, 2008 at 2:01am

Hey Mark, how is a soakage trench different from a french drain? Sounds similar?

Comment by Mark on May 22, 2008 at 8:45pm

This summer and next, I am going to redo the landscaping in my front and back yards. My 17 year old son will be my helper. I plan to replace much of my lawn with native trees, shrubs, grasses and plants. (Someone from work is giving me a hand figuring all of this out.) I am also thinking about building a soakage trench in my back yard to channel the rain runoff from my garage roof and possibly 1/2 of my house roof. Dealing with the other 1/2 is another problem...

I have found some good info online about soakage trenches (see below), but I would really like to see a "real life" trench and hear first hand what a person had to go through to get the necessary permits, build it, maintain it, etc. If you or any of your neighbors can help me out, I would really appreciate it!

Private soakage trench info

Comment by Lorri E. on May 7, 2008 at 6:05am

Recycling is about to get easier in Portland. Those tiny little yellow bins are being replaced by mondo blue bins with wheels, and you are allowed to combine all your stuff together.

Read more.

Comment by Angela Higgins on April 29, 2008 at 8:03pm

GAS prices blow me away. Does anyone know if TriMet prices are going up based on the continued gas $$ hikes?

Interestingly, a co-worker reminded me that gas is like $8 a gallon in Europe. And people still drive! WTF!

I bike almost everywhere in my neighborhood, reserving the car for work (I am an ass, need to stop that!) and Monday classes at Marylhurst....

50 bucks a week on gas is stupid.

Comment by Lorri E. on April 29, 2008 at 6:28am

More trips, more time on the road... and Gas Prices!


Each household in the region travels approximately 39 miles a day. If a person’s car gets 22 miles per gallon and gas costs $3.00, then those 39 miles represent $5.32 a day in gas alone. That’s about $1,941 a year!

Each household in the region makes almost 45 car trips a week.

The average commuter today spends an extra 39 hours per year on the road
due to gridlock.

By 2025, area residents will spend an additional 50 hours in traffic per year as
our population grows.

Travel speeds decrease…


Travel speeds have decreased as congestion has increased.

Non-work trips add to traffic flow woes…


Non-work trips (for shopping, recreation and errands) are estimated to account
for 67 percent of all trips in the region. Almost half of these trips are made by
individuals driving alone.

Individuals can make a difference…


If each household in the region eliminated two car trips per week, there could be a four to five percent reduction in cars on the road.

What residents are saying…
A recent 2005 regional study shows that residents are willing to reduce single-person car trips…

Congestion is the leading transportation-related concern today in the Portland metro and SW Washington area.

Most residents believe it is important to reduce single-person car trips to ease traffic congestion.

It is widely recognized that taking fewer single-person car trips would help reduce pollution and our country’s dependence on foreign oil.
Nearly two-in-three residents believe it would not be difficult to take one less car
trip each week.

Nearly two-in-three residents believe it would not be difficult to take one less car trip each week.

More than eight-in-ten residents say they would be likely to take fewer car trips
to save on gas and time.

Trip chaining is the most likely option for residents in reducing single-person car
trips followed by mass transit.

Note: A “car trip” is defined as a single, one-way trip.

Here are the current gas price trends:
Gas Price Trends
View gas price trends for Oregon and SW Washington. (Provided by AAA and Drive Less/Save More.)


National Average (Regular Unleaded)
Current $3.603
Month Ago $3.282
Year Ago $2.942

[Date last updated: April 28, 2008]



Regional gas prices
Area Current Month Ago Year Ago
Statewide $3.568 $3.442 $3.12
Portland $3.642 $3.39 $3.224
Eugene/Springfield $3.671 $3.459 $3.263
Salem $3.614 $3.37 $3.221
Medford/Ashland $3.717 $3.474 $3.277
Vancouver, WA $3.681 $3.462 $3.22

[Date last updated: April 28, 2008]


Record Gas Prices
National $3.503 04/21/08
Statewide $3.568 04/21/08
Portland $3.642 04/28/08
Eugene/Springfield $3.68 04/27/08
Salem $3.614 04/28/08
Medford/Ashland $3.719 04/26/08
Vancouver, WA $3.681 04/28/08

[Date last updated: April 28, 2008]
From www.drivelesssavemore.com

Comment by Cynthia Ferguson on April 23, 2008 at 11:29am

Thanks for this group. I am a Sustainable Designer, started waaaay back, now prices are lower and products are so much easier to get. I know Ross has information about home buyers incentives for chosing "Green" and Sustainable products. Thanks for all the links. It's funny, my electric bill never exceeds the $10.00 basic...however with all the taxes it's always $35.00. I called them once and asked how I could get it lower, the man said "you cannot go any lower, live a little and turn on an extra light now and again". NO WAY, like the comments below, I use CFL's and am freakish about turning lights off, unplugging, bla, bla, bla.

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