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News

Sunday | January 2, 2011

"Future Is Black" Asserts Triumphant Will
In a recent op-ed, Washington Post columnist George F. Will found the opportunity give a big "thumbs up" to big coal while offering a backhanded "complement" to Portland ("a green reproach to the rest of us"). Will also pointed out the apparent irony that Oregon and Washington are phasing out coal-fired electrical generation even as Cowlitz County, Washington (just up the road from Portland) has "approved construction of a coal export terminal from which millions of tons of U.S. coal could be shipped to Asia annually." Taking another dig at the presumed eco-poseurs he imagines, Will smirks that "the future looks to greens as black as coal." In that case, the future is also more mountains with their tops savagely ripped off of them, more acid rain, more lung disease, more runaway climate change, more resource wars. Indeed, the future looks as bleak as coal.

Go to story: China has seen the future, and it is coal

New Year's Day | Saturday | January 1, 2011

Happy New Year & Joyride To The World!
From time-to-time, Portlandians may find themselves feeling a teensy bit smug over the breathless accolades routinely laid at the pearly gates of our greenily fragrant Rosebudtown. Portland is frequently praised as the "greenest" or "most sustainable" or even the "most bicycle friendly" city in the United States.^[1]^[2]^[3] Portland is also widely celebrated for having the foresight to establish an effective Urban Growth Boundary to try and control urban sprawl long before anyone else thought Urban Growth Boundaries were cool.^[4] But it took lots more work than merely drawing up urban growth boundaries for Portland to establish its "green cred." And Mia Birk is one of the many who're doing the hard work. For the past twenty years, Birk has helped lead a "crusade to integrate bicycling into daily life."^[5] But the fight for "sustainable living" is far from over. For instance, China--once considered "bicycle kingdom"--is now known for sixty mile traffic jams that last for weeks.^[6]^[7] Obviously, there's a lot more work to do. If you need a little inspiration, or just want to know where to start, you can come hear Birk talk about her experiences as she pitches her book at Powell's Books on Burnside this coming Tuesday, January 4th @ 7:30PM.

Go to story: Joyride

Go to Powell's preview: Joyride: Pedaling toward a Healthier Planet

New Year's Eve! | Friday | December 31, 2010

Suction For Life
Are you a gossip hound? Do you like to eavesdrop on stray bits of chitchat that swirl around you? Well, today is your lucky end-of-the-year day! Now you can document the li'l tidbits that catch your ear.^[8] Here's today's aural captive:
(Two women exit a hospital emergency room and walk towards our gossip hound.)
Woman 1: So I said someone better get in there and suction him before he dies...
Woman 2: HAHAHAHAHAHA!
Woman 1: ... because I sure ain't gonna do it!

Go to story: Suction him

Thursday | December 30, 2010

BONE THUGS-N-HARMONY, TRAGEDY, MIKEY VEGAZ; 8pm Thursday; Berbati’s Pan.

Thug World Order
Lookin' to get an early start on New Year's partying this eve of New Year's Eve? How 'bout some hip-hop straight outta Cleveland? Krayzie Bone, Layzie Bone, Bizzy Bone, Wish Bone and Flesh-n-Bone with Bone Thugs-n-Harmony appear tonight at Berbati's Pan. This Mike Thrasher Presents show also features Tragedy and Mikey Vegaz. Show starts at 8:00 p.m. at Berbati’s Pan; $25.00 advance, $30.00 day of show; All Ages!

Go to calendar: Portland Show Guide @ PC-PDX.com

Wednesday | December 29, 2010

Food Foragers Frequently Favor Farm Fresh Feasts
Portland's farmers markets attracted 700,000 food shoppers this past year, up from 620,000 in 2009. In addition to opening new markets at Pioneer Courthouse Square and on Northwest 23rd Avenue, Portland Farmers Market doubled the size of its Portland State University location. Portland Farmers Market closed for the season on December 17th and reopens on Saturday, March 19, 2011.

Go to story: Farmers Market gains traffic, sales

Go to market: Portland Farmers Market

Tuesday | December 28, 2010

Pilogorobics^[9] at the Joy Adventure Club.

Spreading Holiday Joy With The Joy Team
Do life's little aches and pains--like endless wars, predator drones, bailed out Wall Street casinos, CIA torturers, chronic unemployment, teabagger takeover of Congress, more bad news from WikiLeaks and whatnot--leave you feeling a bit less than chipper every now and then? Take heart! A cabal of area business interests feel your pain and are ready and willing to step up to the plate and thrust out a helping hand. Who? Why, it's The Joy Team of course!

Go to story: Could Portland, Ore., be the Holiday JOY Capital of the World?

Go to Joy Team: The Joy Team

Go to Joy Adventure Club: Joy Adventure Club

Monday | December 27, 2010

Yellow Pages Replaced By "Google Pages"?
Heck, who even uses a land line anymore? And even those of us who do, the last thing we want kicking around our living spaces is that huge, ugly, unwieldy telecom-age dinosaur: the yellow pages directory. Unfortunately, countless main street businesses operating in their local communities once depended on the print ads they ran their local yellow pages directory to drive new business. Although most "mom & pop" shops hated to do it, they would often agree to pay outrageously exorbitant rates the directories charged in fear of the business they'd lose to their competitors if they refused. But the overall usefulness of yellow pages ads has steadily declined for nearly a decade, with few viable alternatives in sight.^[10]^[11] Until now?

Go to story: Ring, Ring. Hi, It's Google

Go to Google Boost: Advertise your local business with Google Boost

(Go to older news stories >>>)

References

[1] America's 50 Greenest Cities

[2] SustainLane Presents: The 2008 US City Rankings

[3] Minneapolis Dethrones Portland As Bike-Friendliest City

[4] Planning a Sustainable City The Promise and Performance of Portland's Urban Growth Boundary Carl Abbott The Moral Origins of Metropolitan Planning

[5] Mia Birk's Joyride: Pedaling Towards a Healthier Planet

[6] China ends 'bicycle kingdom' as embracing cars

[7] China Traffic Jam Could Last Weeks

[8] Overheard in PDX

[9] Pil-oga-robics for Pennies

[10] Yellow Pages, who uses them? A serious case of pulp friction The phone books still pile up, but have they outlived their usefulness?

[11] Let Your Fingers Do the Clicking

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 __NOTOC__
 == News ==
+=== Sunday | January 2, 2011 ===
+[[File:World primary energy demand by fuel.jpg|thumb|World primary energy demand by fuel.]]
+'''"Future Is Black" Asserts Triumphant Will'''<br />
+In a recent op-ed, ''Washington Post'' columnist George F. Will found the opportunity give a big "thumbs up" to big coal while offering a backhanded "complement" to Portland ("a green reproach to the rest of us"). Will also pointed out the apparent irony that Oregon and Washington are phasing out coal-fired electrical generation even as [[Cowlitz County]], [[Washington]] (just up the road from Portland) has "approved construction of a coal export terminal from which millions of tons of U.S. coal could be shipped to Asia annually." Taking another dig at the presumed eco-poseurs he imagines, Will smirks that "the future looks to greens as black as coal." In that case, the future is also more mountains with their tops savagely ripped off of them, more acid rain, more lung disease, more runaway climate change, more resource wars. Indeed, the future looks as bleak as coal.<br />
+:''Go to story'': [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/29/AR2010122902899.html China has seen the future, and it is coal]
+{{clear}}
 === New Year's Day | Saturday | January 1, 2011 ===
 [[File:Bicycle Girl.png|thumb|Joyrider]]
@@ Line 50: / Line 57: @@
 :''Go to story'': [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703814804576036252770969080.html Ring, Ring. Hi, It's Google]
 :''Go to Google Boost'': [http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2010/10/advertise-your-local-business-with.html Advertise your local business with Google Boost]
-{{clear}}
-=== Sunday | December 26, 2010 ===
-[[File:UseHipCodes.png|thumb|Put the "hip" back into zip codes.]]
-'''What's ''Your'' Zip Code?'''<br />
-Sure, the post office is largely an anachronism; hardly anyone remembers how to address an envelope, much less actually ''mail'' a card or letter. But this post-Christmas, why not express your gratitude for all the gifts you received by actually ''mailing'' your thank-you cards, rather than simply blasting out a quick email, text message, Twitter or Facebook post? To see if you're ready for such a dramatic leap into the unknown, try answering this simple riddle: What is ''your'' zip code?<br />
-:''Go to Portland zip code map'': [http://hipcodes.com/Oregon/Portland/ Portland Oregon ZIP Code Map]
-:''Go to Portland neighborhood zip code chart'': [http://www.portlandneighborhood.com/portlandzipcodes.html Portland Area Zip Code Chart by Neighborhood]
 {{clear}}