Portland is an awesome city. As much as I have loved the smaller towns we've been exploring, it is very refreshing to be in a bigger urban area (especially for an urban geographer such as myself :) ). Portland's neighborhoods are accessible and fun to navigate between. And the large number of people out on the streets and on bicycles makes you watch to ditch your car as soon as possible.
I think the coolest thing about Portland- well, besides their outstanding recycling program and the amazing local, fresh food Emily and I enjoyed at every meal- is that the people in Portland I spoke with acknowledge that 'going green' is a continuous process. Just because something gets the 'green' label (like the city of Portland as a whole) doesn't mean you then get to stop thinking about better, more energy efficient ways to lower impact. Basically, throughout the entire Tour, the most common answer I receive from, "What's going green?" is, "an environmental awareness"; it was the same in Portland but with one extra twist...for the Portlanders I spoke to, 'going green' is a continuous, growing awareness; they're very open to new ideas and new technologies.
As someone told me yesterday, "There's always room for improvement...and Portland is no exception." I think that statement alone reflects why Portland is one of the 'greenest cities'.
Sad news: I dropped Emily off at PDX this morning to head back to San Diego (she does have her own research to work on!), so I'm heading down to Eugene solo later this afternoon. Since I've absolutely loved Portland, I'm really looking forward to traveling to other parts of Oregon over the next few days. I'll be in Eugene tomorrow then Salem on Tuesday.
Another quick note about Portland: we stayed in the Northwest Hostel and it was incredible. It's in a super fun, trendy area surrounded by a ton of great little shops, pubs, and restaurants; plus, it was one of the cleanest, most comfortable hostels I've ever stayed in- two thumbs up from me!
Well, until next time...
6 comments:
Emily - sounds like a great trip, too bad research has to get in the way!
Your last couple of posts have started me wondering about something. For many people, "green" can have political implications as well. The communities you have visited seem to all be working together for some common "green" good. And at the same time the states you are traveling through tend to be more on the liberal side of politics. My question is - why? Would your green tour provide the research you are looking for if you were driving from Houston to St. Louis? I wonder what you would learn. My guess is that most, if not all people support improving the environment but that "green" has taken on a political definition that scares some people. It would be great if you could come up with some neutral way to describe and for people to embrace "green" that transcended the knee jerk political reactions (on both sides) we see to the environmental debate.
Continue to have a safe, fun and productive trip. I'm enjoying your updates.
Don
Thanks for the comment! I've definitely thought about the political side to the situation, and it's actually one of the main angles I want to take with the thesis. I'm looking at the places like Portland where the lifestyle and political 'green' are very connected compared to San Diego where the political aspects are slower to come around and the lifestyle changes dominate (the media mostly!). I am hoping that when I hit the spots in Southern California (the more conservative part of the state) I'll be able to show a bit of what you're talking about. Oh, and I agree with you about my route- I'm going to have to do quite a bit of justification in my thesis for that aspect.
I think you're right about the fear that 'green' might place in people politically speaking...it's unfortunate too, because the environment shouldn't be a right/left issue. It would be ideal if I could contribute to defining 'green' in a way that transcends the political connotations!
Thanks for reading!
"It would be ideal if I could contribute to defining 'green' in a way that transcends the political connotations!"
You are right, and somehow I know you can do it. I understand why there are different sides from a political perspective. I guess the goal is to clearly show how the benefits apply to everyone. If going green were illustrated by showing a pyramid and the benefits were at the top, the political arguments would be way at the bottom (I'm not sure that even makes sense to me).
Regardless, I'm looking forward to your future updates!
It's actually sort of poetic that "green" and "red" are opposites on both the color spectrum AND the political spectrum. Perhaps that's why the "green" label (in the 'environmental' sense) is scary to the political right.
Have you thought at all about how people frame the "greening" process in terms of its monetary cost/benefit? I would guess that a big part of why some communities reject it is that it appears expensive (when others might argue the exact opposite). Then again, that might be a whole other arm of your research (which already is starting to sound more like a doctoral dissertation than a masters thesis)!
Good luck.
I agree Spencer, the monetary aspect is a huge part of it all...I've heard the term 'eco-elitism' quite a few times in reference to those who think 'greening' is just for people who can spend more money (for the labels). I'm hoping some of that will come through in the film/research, especially since Emily and I spent quite a bit of time with some folks who were really interested in showing that low-impact living can be achieved without spending a lot of money.
As a personal note: I think sometimes people hide behind money issues because they're actually afraid to admit they don't want to give up time. It takes time to sort out recycling, turn off all power strips at night, bike/walk/public transport to work, etc...and those little things are just as (if not MORE) helpful than spending a ton of money...
There are about a million 'arms' to this project!
Hey Emily- I love your blog. Here's a cool organization in the Bay Area that works toward social and environmental sustainability inclusively--http://www.greenforall.org/. I know you are all pau (all done) with the green tour now, but I thought you might find it interesting in light of 'eco-elitism.'. See you in SD soon! Can't wait to hear more about your trip:)
Leah
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