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I was visiting friends and family in the “heartland” and the South this last week. In one of these “true American” cities, I told a gas station that their water-hose was running on the side of the building and it appeared that it had for quite some time. They didn't seem to care (it was serving no function except to run), so I went around and turned that waste off myself. Then, they looked at me as if I was crazy for rejecting their plastic bag in favor of the one I had brought.

I also noticed that living carfree, as I do, was practically impossible in these places.  Also, I think I went to a gas station more times in those eight days then I had in all of 2007. It is such a normal staple of life to “get gas” that it is incredible. Oh, and 3.2 beer…why?

So, this post from Jennie Day at the Portland Water Bureau definitely hit the spot.

When I moved to Portland several years ago, I knew that my life would be different. There were obvious differences like the winter rain and differences that took me longer to notice like Portland's love of coffee, beer and dogs. Differences or not, I have fallen in love with this city and have no plans to move back to the Midwest anytime soon.

Last week, like so many others, I braved the airports and headed home for a holiday visit. Every time I visit, I notice something new about my hometown that just doesn't quite compare to Portland. This time I noticed the water. For one thing I noticed the lack of water bottle recycling- granted Portland seems to be far ahead of many other American cities in the recycling arena anyway- but very few people made an effort to recycle water bottles (or much else for that matter). It made me cringe, I must admit. I desperately wanted to dig those bottles out of the trash and take them to the recycling center….continue reading