Articles by Sarah van Schagen

Win an eco-Valentine's Day package valued over $400

Subscribe to our weekly Seattle email -- a guide to the green scene in our hometown -- for your chance to win dinner for two at Stumbling Goat Bistro, an organic bouquet from TerraBella Flowers, the organic Aphrodisiac Collection from Theo Chocolate, and a private tour of the Theo Chocolate factory.

It's everything you need for the perfect green Valentine's Day ... except for an actual valentine, of course. (Good luck with that!)

Plus, by signing up for the Grist Local email, you'll learn about upcoming events, sustainable businesses in the area, and important political goings-on -- all zapped straight to your inbox every week. Each email also features an interactive event map, local green job listings, and news links that will keep you informed about eco-issues throughout the Puget Sound region.

Already a Grist Local subscriber? Invite a few friends to sign up, and you'll be entered, too.

The deadline is 3 p.m. next Tuesday, Feb. 10, so sign up now!

Seattle museum opens coffee exhibit, downs third cup of the day

Coffee culture is king in Seattle. Whether it's because of the eternally gray weather, the cool, rainy climate, or our inability to socialize outside a dimly lit café, there's no denying the importance of the caffeine bean in a Seattleite's daily life.

And certainly we've earned our rep as a highly caffeinated metropolis, with more coffee shops per capita than anywhere else in the country -- many of them artisanal roasters selling specialty coffees. But the story of your steamy mug of joe doesn't begin and end with a moody barista.

In fact, it probably started in the hands of someone like Edwin Martinez, a third generation coffee grower who has been picking coffee beans in Guatemala with his family since he was a young boy. From there, they may have passed through a co-op set up to help small farmers process and market their beans. Then they'll move on to someone like David Griswold, the founder of Sustainable Harvest, a specialty coffee importer who bridges connections between the farmers in tropical coffee-growing nations and the roasters in, say, Seattle.

The roasting process will awaken the coffee beans' complex aromas and flavors -- and they'll soon be passed from barista to half-awake patron. And though you might be sipping on a half-caf soy latte with sugar-free vanilla syrup, you've really got the whole world in your cup.

It's this story that a new exhibit at Seattle's Burke Museum aims to tell. Opening weekend of Coffee: The World in Your Cup featured exhibit tours, coffee tastings, and informative talks by Martinez, Griswold, and University of Washington professor Max Savishinsky. "We're really putting a huge topic in a small space," said Education Director Diane Quinn.

Washington governor unveils green jobs legislation

Last night, NBC Nightly News aired a short segment on how hard the recession is hitting Seattle. It's quite depressing, especially amid the ever-gray skies ...

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire (D) is not unaware of this fact and, as I've mentioned previously, is trying to boost the state's economy by putting monies toward major building projects and other job-creating ventures.

Yesterday, she announced a legislation package that focuses more concretely on the creation of "green jobs" -- as well as lowering the state's carbon footprint.

The legislation contains House Bill 1819 and its equivalent Senate Bill 5735. Both bills would implement a cap and trade system in partnership with six states and four Canadian provinces, which are part of a coalition called the Western Climate Initiative.

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In addition to the cap and trade bill, a proposed $455 million will be invested for projects that emphasize energy efficiency and clean-energy technology. These investments would help support 2,900 jobs for the next two years, according to the Office of Financial Management.

There will be public hearings on both bills next Tuesday, and if passed, the cap-and trade-program would go into effect in 2012.

From Chia to Chard

Chia leader The grass is always greener on the other side of the Atlantic. And speaking of decorative planters: It’s O-O-O-bama! She’s a poet and didn’t gnaw it Two buses […]