Environmental living

Green Oregon shows the world how to be green.

In 2006, at the Oregon Leadership Summit, an influential crew of politicians, was told by economic development expert and Harvard professor, Michael Porter, that Oregon might distinguish itself as a leader in environment living given its already solid advance in green technology - and they listened!
Many Oregon businesses were already producing products and services dedicated to environmental living and business was behind green technology all the way. Out of this meeting came the ìOregon Business Plan 2.0î headed by the Oregon Associated Business group, devised to put Oregon on the cutting edge, world wide, of environmental sustainability.

Oregon, deeply dependent on its trees, was already practicing environmental sustainability in order to keep its lumber industry competitive and sustainable. Trees are a renewable resource. As well as having a biological importance, that of absorbing carbon from the air and breathing oxygen into it, thereby cleaning and renewing air, trees also provide fuel.

One of their lumber companies uses wood, or ìbiomassî, to power their electric generators. By using biomass to fuel their boilers, they don't have to burn the two million therms of natural gas that it would otherwise take. Even the emissions are used as process gases. Here's a perfect example of what a company dedicated to environmental living can do.

That's what an Oregon company is doing in deference to the environment. Their achievements can serve as an example throughout the world of how, with just a little consideration for environmental living, companies can reduce their negative impacts on the environment and save some money as well (seen the price of gas lately?).

Moreover, Oregon has, per capita, more green buildings than all other state. Since 2001, Oregon has also mandated recycling, encouraged shared commuting, and promoted compositing. The state honors the LEED certification, which is the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design certification of the U.S. Green Building Council, giving preference to those developers who are intent on developing buildings radically oriented to upholding and advancing environmental living standards.

A lofty example of such a building is found in Portland, a sixteen story building, 400,000 square feet, that is 61 percent more energy efficient that what even Oregon requires of all building in its major city. Then Oregon, in the Northwest Vesta, boast of windmill turbines powering businesses and home. And this is just what dedicated Oregon businesses have done to advance sustainable living, and set Oregon's green revolution in high relief throughout the world.

Oregon is not only leading in examples, but also in products. Oregon is a leading manufacturer of solar energy cells. She is a leader in the entire photo-voltaic field, and its university is renown for its state of the art green facilities, as well as a curriculum dedicated to environmental living on the professional level.

You will find trombe walls, which are heaters that run from collected solar energy, bio-swale filters for cleansing collected rain water atop buildings which returns the water to the rivers. These are just to name of few of the products Oregon is producing to make the world a livable place in times to come.

Hats off to Oregon, the green state that is standing as tall as its pines in defense of the earth and the future of the human race.