Energy Update #20 - Suscribe / Unsubscribe
9 June 2006

Dear friend,

Citizens for Vashon Public Utilities, led by Cliff Goodman, reports that the necessary signatures have been gathered to put the PUD on the ballot in November. They have put up their website, www vashonpud.org. For more information about their work or to volunteer, go to the website. IERE will be sponsoring several informational events over the months between now and November, to answer the questions of the community about how a PUD would work.

IERE recently received a grant from The Russell Family Foundation to work with South Seattle Community College to integrate sustainability into apprenticeship classes there. The concept is that the apprentices will learn about sustainability in the context of their trade, and how they can make better choices in their careers.

The first project was the development and delivery of training to the meat cutters apprenticeship. The meat cutters apprentices from local 81 learned about the environmental impacts of agriculture and what questions they need to ask producers to get more sustainable meat into their stores, as well as how they can operate their shops to minimize environmental impacts. IERE arranged for pig carcasses that had been grown more sustainably to be sent to the college, and the meat went to FareStart, a Seattle NGO that feeds the homeless and teaches them basic job skills in the restaurant business.

The next project will be to work with the maintenance crews at the Seattle Parks District, developing a curriculum for green building maintenance. Seattle Parks manages 500 structures, so this has a significant impact on our public parks. What will be learned there will be shared at the National Parks Industry conference, which will be here in Seattle in October.

The American Center for Life Cycle Assessment (ACLCA) is a program of IERE. ACLCA sponsors an international conference, attended by 250-300 people, mostly LCA professionals. This year the conference will be held in Washington, DC October 2-4. For more information you can go to www.lcacenter.org. Of course, none of this could happen without the generous support of our donors and volunteers. Some of our sponsors this year include the Society of Automotive Engineers, the American Plastics Council, the North American Insulation Manufactures Association, First Environment, the Steel Recycling Institute and the United Nations Environmental Program.

Thanks to all of our supporters. Your financial gifts and your gifts of time are important to us. To donate, please go to www.iere.org and click on donate.
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Rita Schenck
Institute for Environmental Research and Education
PO Box 2449
Vashon, WA 98070

Phone 206-463-7430
Fax 206-279-1570
www.iere.org

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