3. Seattle, WA

Protecting a Promising Future

If Seattle’s 2006 SustainLane ranking had you considering a move to the coast, it’s time to call the movers. The Pacific northwestern metropolis is once again sitting pretty near the top of the SustainLane heap at number three. And by "pretty" we're referring to its location between Puget Sound and Lake Washington and to its easy access to just about any kind of outdoorsy activity your sustainable heart desires. It's no wonder Mayor Greg Nickels is so bent on protecting this prime piece of natural real estate. Since becoming the first signatory of the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement in 2005, Nickels' administration has continued to lead Seattleites in the sustainable charge. In 2006, more than 90 percent of the city's energy supply came from renewable sources. And by the time light rail plans are complete in 2016, Seattle 's streets should be free from car congestion, trees and green buildings ubiquitous, and two-wheeled commuter sightings more common than an overcast day.

"Seattle is at the forefront of all things Green. Our city has worked very hard to be #1 in Energy and Climate Change Policy and Innovation, and we're proud to be among the leaders in LEED Certified Buildings and the development of a Green Economy. These rankings provide the platform for friendly competition and a baseline for success. However, for us to be successful in the fight against Global Climate Change, every city has to embrace sustainable ideas such as smart growth, innovation, and progressive policy. Seattle is committed to do its part." --Mayor Greg Nickels

Seattle's Public Market (Photo by Wac)

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Stories and Perspectives

Rethinking Seattle's Viaduct Highway

The old adage, “My way, or the highway,” gets thrown around so much it’s become cliché. But for Seattle urban planner Cary Moon, it’s the cornerstone of her career. In 2004, Moon co-founded the People’s Waterfront Coalition, a grassroots group that supports sustainable alternatives to the city’s crumbling Alaskan Way Viaduct, a three-story highway that runs along Seattle’s west-side waterfront. The viaduct was badly damaged in a 2001 earthquake and has since sunk more than 5 inches. Its structural integrity is poor—yet 105,000 carbon-emitting cars still travel on it each day. All of which begs the question: would you like to be driving this roadway during the next earthquake?more »

"Be the We"

In her mid-40s, Vic Opperman was ready to take up the toughest job she'd ever love. The Seattle resident had long planned to join the U.S. Peace Corps, and the time to do so had finally come. "But right before the second Iraq war," she says, "I changed my mind. I decided the U.S. needs more help than some of these other countries." So instead, Opperman stayed put. And in 2003 -- along with Artemis Jones and David Wright -- she founded one of the most progressive green neighborhood groups in any of the country's large cities.more »

Turning a New Page

Shakespeare gave us Hamlet. Tolstoy gave us War and Peace. Joyce gave us Ulysses. Those were their gifts. But today, book lovers also bear the albatross of their literary art: millions of dead trees. In fact, some 4 billion trees are cut down each year for paper—and about 30 million of them are used for books bought in the U.S. alone. This fact didn’t sit right with friends Raz Godelnik, Eylon Israely, Oren Entin, and Gilad Ness-Berlin, four literature buffs who last year founded Eco Libris, a Seattle- and Delaware-based organization that works to balance out trees lost to book-making by planting new ones in developing countries, from Malawi to Guatemala.more »