http://www.portlandtribune.com/sustainable/index.php Portland and surrounding area community news and information http://www.portlandtribune.com/sustainable/story.php?story_id=128141289502380700 2010-08-12 00:00:00 http://www.portlandtribune.com/sustainable/story.php?story_id=128141289502380700 en-us Oregon’s electronics recycling program is doing better in its second year, collecting 11.9 million pounds of old computers, TVs and monitors so far this year. State Department of Environmental Quality officials reported that the Oregon E-Cycles program has collected about 2.4 million pounds ... http://www.portlandtribune.com/sustainable/story.php?story_id=128138001676191200 2010-08-12 00:00:00 http://www.portlandtribune.com/sustainable/story.php?story_id=128138001676191200 en-us Kristina Salmi Klotz was known as the Lavender Laundress back in Vermont, where she once earned a living as a craft soap-maker. Now happily ensconced in a modest North Portland home with her husband, 4-year-old daughter Beatrix, and a huge Newfoundland dog, Salmi Klotz saves money by making her ... http://www.portlandtribune.com/sustainable/story.php?story_id=128138003607791200 2010-08-12 00:00:00 http://www.portlandtribune.com/sustainable/story.php?story_id=128138003607791200 en-us Every day, Jennifer Freda-Cowie dumps her family’s food scraps into a small covered bin in the kitchen of her Southeast Portland home. Later, the scraps are brought outside and deposited into a large yard-debris cart placed near the curb. Freda-Cowie’s household in Portland’s ... http://www.portlandtribune.com/sustainable/story.php?story_id=128137996092721100 2010-08-12 00:00:00 http://www.portlandtribune.com/sustainable/story.php?story_id=128137996092721100 en-us Of course we’d like to wash our laundry in cold water. Between 80 and 90 percent of the energy used to wash clothes comes from heating the water. So a typical Portland family washing four loads a week could save $50 a year on their electric bill simply by switching from warm-water to ... http://www.portlandtribune.com/sustainable/story.php?story_id=128138014797899600 2010-08-12 00:00:00 http://www.portlandtribune.com/sustainable/story.php?story_id=128138014797899600 en-us Joan Ottinger set out to transform her featureless parking strip in Northeast Portland into a beautiful and productive vegetable garden, and discovered it can grow more than just plants. “This is good for knowing your neighbors,” Ottinger says of the hours she spends outside tending ... http://www.portlandtribune.com/sustainable/story.php?story_id=128138007415891600 2010-08-12 00:00:00 http://www.portlandtribune.com/sustainable/story.php?story_id=128138007415891600 en-us It’s a dilemma whenever the economy sours: How do you choose between jobs and the environment, between pocketbook and sustainability concerns? Well, you don’t have to choose. Here’s a dozen ways to lighten your expenses while doing good for Mother ... http://www.portlandtribune.com/sustainable/story.php?story_id=128137994096195900 2010-08-12 00:00:00 http://www.portlandtribune.com/sustainable/story.php?story_id=128137994096195900 en-us When Charles Fox visited Haiti in June – just six months after a devastating earthquake – he was struck by Haitians’ belief that they would rise from the rubble a stronger country. Fox, founder of a new local company called Pacific Green Innovations, shares this conviction. He ... http://www.portlandtribune.com/sustainable/story.php?story_id=128138362467856500 2010-08-12 00:00:00 http://www.portlandtribune.com/sustainable/story.php?story_id=128138362467856500 en-us Sustainability is a logical goal at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, the Wilsonville prison that houses Oregon’s entire population of female convicts. There, inmates help reduce costs by reusing materials and growing their own food. And, through environmental stewardship, they are gaining ...