Disqus - Latest Comments for stevezemke

Re: Trump trashes 50-year-old environmental law, blames coronavirus

Steve Zemke — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 16:49:30 -0000

Voting matters. Four years of Trump have reversed many environmental protections. Think what another 4 years will do.Work now to get Joe Biden elected President. Work to help flip the Senate blue. We need to eliminate the Trump enablers. They are the same ones who opposed President Obama's efforts for 8 years. Unfortunately the GOP at all levels are opposing protecting people's health and the environment. It's up to us to change things. If not you, who? Let's make 2020 a big Blue Wave. Our future depends on it.

Re: Perils in the Concrete Jungle

Steve Zemke — Sat, 04 Apr 2020 12:52:49 -0000

I think you may mean 36 million trees a year, not 36,000.
"New research suggests that American cities and their surrounding areas have been losing as many as 36 million trees a year."See https://cleantechnica.com/2...
See also "National results indicate that tree cover in urban/community areas of the United States is on the decline at a rate of about 175,000 acres per year, which corresponds to approximately 36 million trees per year."
https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/p...

Re: shoreline-trees-protest-developement

Steve Zemke — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 01:35:01 -0000

We can have more density and trees. They are building townhouses here but could have been instead more high rise buildings and saved some of the grove of mature trees that were some 75 years old or more. A lot of the space did not have trees. The Shoreline City Council up zoned the area for more high rise buildings and said the developers did not have to preserve any trees. So the developers removed almost all of the trees and left one token tree but removed the grove of mature trees.

Re: Seattle's trees are dying. Blame the beetles

Steve Zemke — Wed, 18 Sep 2019 17:09:42 -0000

Changing heat patterns affect rainfall. Heat can also increase evaporation. Impacts can vary by area where more heat may actually increase rainfall as they have seen with the hurricanes on the east coast. The climate crisis is altering what have been fairly stable climate conditions which have changed slowly over long time periods. Things are now accelerating which makes it difficult for plants, especially trees to adapt to new conditions in a short period of time.

Re: Seattle's trees are dying. Blame the beetles

Steve Zemke — Wed, 18 Sep 2019 16:59:05 -0000

Problem is the trees dying are native trees that evolved with the past climate conditions. The climate is now changing rapidly and the trees are stressed and weakened by drought conditions. This leaves them vulnerable to insect and other infestations that kill them prematurely. Big leaf maples ate natives as are Western Red Cedars trees. The Seattle Parks department says they are no longer planting Western Red Cedars as they believe they will not survive with the current climate crisis evolving.

Re: Dozen advisory measures on the ballot will tax voters’ attention

Steve Zemke — Mon, 09 Sep 2019 15:56:08 -0000

The Washington State Legislature needs to end Eyman's push polls. They are worthless exercises meant to incite anti-tax sentiment. The format for the so-called advisory votes were written by Tim Eyman, not by the State's Attorney General as is the language for all other ballot propositions. Urge your Legislators in January to pass Senator Patty Kuderer's SB 5224 to eliminate this ballot advertising for Eyman's anti-tax views paid for by Washington State's taxpayers.

Re: South Seattle residents want greener neighborhoods — without more gentrification

Steve Zemke — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 16:06:00 -0000

You can see a copy of the draft Tree and Urban Forestry Protection Ordinance as revised by the Seattle Urban Forestry Commission at the suggestion of Councilmember Bagshaw.here:. https://www.seattle.gov/Doc...

Re: South Seattle residents want greener neighborhoods — without more gentrification

Steve Zemke — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 16:00:36 -0000

Not true, we have fewer trees because the government is not involved enough. As other cities around the country have moved to update their tree ordinances, Seattle has not. In 2017, the city internally completed a review of the current Tree Protection Ordinance and concluded it was not working.. The city council in passing the MHA Ordinance agreed that the city needed to update its Tree Protection Ordinance. See discussion and a link to the Tree Regulations Research Project here. https://friends.urbanforest...

Re: South Seattle residents want greener neighborhoods — without more gentrification

Steve Zemke — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 15:49:15 -0000

The issue is one of keeping Seattle livable. Our urban forest is part of what makes Seattle a desirable city to live in. It provides many benefits like cleaning our air of pollutants, reducing stormwater runoff which pollutes the Sound, providing green and nature in the city, calms traffic, reduces noise and visual pollution - We need to build smart to incorporate trees and the urban forest in the city, not do as some developers do, scraping lots clear of all trees because it is easier for them to do. It is a choice we make that other cities have done like Portland Oregon - require permits to remove and replace trees, including by developers. If the trees can't be replaced on site, then funds can be paid to the city to replace them elsewhere in the city where they can help do things like clean the air and reduce the heat island effect, needed particularly in some areas of South Seattle that would greatly benefit.

Re: South Seattle residents want greener neighborhoods — without more gentrification

Steve Zemke — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 12:18:25 -0000

Not true, based on DC'sI past attempts to remove protections for exceptional trees and the city's position to make it easier for developers to build, the proposed draft could be significantly weakened.

Re: South Seattle residents want greener neighborhoods — without more gentrification

Steve Zemke — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 00:14:53 -0000

The Tree Protection Ordinance update has been going on for 10 years now. The Seattle Urban Forestry Commission has been advising the Mayor and City on it for 10 years. Councilmember Rob Johnson spent a year and a half on it before he abruptly left. When the MHA Ordinance passed the Council unanimously passed an accompanying resolution that they agreed to in what needed to be updated in the ordinance. At Councilmember Bagshaw's direction the Seattle Urban Forestry Commission submitted to her their recommendations for changes in the latest draft. This draft is posted on the Seattle Urban Forestry Commission's website. There is no need to delay the process as trees continue to be removed every day and are not even replaced. Many incoming Council members agree with the council resolution. https://treepac.org/seattle...

Re: South Seattle residents want greener neighborhoods — without more gentrification

Steve Zemke — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 00:00:21 -0000

One problem is that we currently have a complaint based system, which means by the time you hear a chainsaw it is too late. Requiring a permit and posting it means that there is a check on people illegally removing trees. Other cities do this like Portland, OR. SDOT does it - a permit is required to remove a tree and replace a tree in the right of way. Cities also set limits on the number of significant non-exceptional trees that can be removed in a year. With permits this can be checked.to stop 5 or even 10 trees being removed from a lot.Tree are green infrastructure benefiting the city with cleaner air and reducing stormwater runoff and reducing the heat island effect. Remove them and you lose these benefits.

Re: South Seattle residents want greener neighborhoods — without more gentrification

Steve Zemke — Tue, 30 Jul 2019 19:58:21 -0000

Clarification - developers will not decide where trees are to be planted if they can not replant on the lot. The city would - meaning areas like South Seattle could see more trees planted as part of a race and social justice program. They would have to file for a Tree Removal and Replacement Permit to remove any tree over 6" diameter at 54" high. Tree replacement would depend on the size of the tree,its volume,not canopy area. A 100 foot tall Douglas fir has a lot of canopy volume helping to clean the air and reduce stormwater runoff. If the developer can not replace the tree on the lot they would pay the city the cost to replace the tree elsewhere. This is what other cities like Portland, OR currently do.

Re: South Seattle residents want greener neighborhoods — without more gentrification

Steve Zemke — Tue, 30 Jul 2019 19:44:50 -0000

The Seattle Urban Forestry Commission and the City have been involved in considering and responding to race and social justice issues. Here is one example in a presentation given in 2018 to the Urban Forestry Commission - Duwamish Valley Program Advancing Environmental Justice and Equitable justice by Alberto Rodriquez (OSE) and David Goldberg (OCPD) . There is a lot of useful information in here regarding how the city is responding.
https://www.seattle.gov/Doc...

Re: South Seattle residents want greener neighborhoods — without more gentrification

Steve Zemke — Tue, 30 Jul 2019 18:47:48 -0000

The so called death of the Tree Protection Ordinance in this article is premature. Five members of the Seattle Urban Forestry Commission met this morning with Seattle Deputy Mayor David Moseley who said the Mayor's office supported moving the ordinance update forward with a goal of passing it in early December. Again not guaranteed but movement forward. A key component is to get more input from diverse interests that would be affected by the passage of the ordinance.

Re: Climate change is the top issue for registered Democratic voters: Poll

Steve Zemke — Sat, 08 Jun 2019 15:37:09 -0000

Why isn't Washington state Governor Jay Inslee mentioned in this article. He was the first to make the climate crisis a key issue in his campaign? https://www.realclearpoliti...

Re: Seattle’s Draft Tree Protection Ordinance Maintains Protections For Smaller Significant Trees

Steve Zemke — Sun, 05 Aug 2018 19:09:24 -0000

While there are a number of good provisions in this draft, it also eliminates a number of significant tree protection measures in the current ordinance. Removal of the provisions against cutting down exceptional trees, which includes protecting tree groves, puts large trees at great risk of being cut down.Large trees provide the most benefits to Seattle residents like cleaning our air, reducing stormwater runoff and reducing heat island effects. Removal of the limit of not cutting down more than 3 trees a year also will result in more tree loss. The new draft also removes the prohibition of cutting down significant trees on vacant lots not undergoing development. It does not require replacement for trees removed if they do not go below the zone wide canopy goal. This means a net loss of trees over time because the canopy goal is an average of lot canopy over the zone, meaning that many lots have more than the average. You can contact jenny.durkan@seattle.gov and council@seattle.gov to urge they strengthen the ordinance to cover the issues I mentioned. Thanks. Follow the citizen effort at www.friends.urbanforests.org

Re: Trees + Density = Livability

Steve Zemke — Sat, 26 May 2018 03:37:02 -0000

Rob Johnson's draft proposal is half a proposal, letting developers off the hook for removing trees while asking already developed property owners to get permits and replace trees. Green factor is not tree replacement and a proposal to plant a tree on a property that maybe had 5 or 6 before developers removed them is not "green" That's greenwashing. We can do better. Other cities like Portland, OR and Atlanta, GA do not give developers free reign to remove trees and not replace them. Why is Seattle doing this and putting the burden on taxpayers then to replace the trees?

Re: Lawmakers want to rein in Washington’s many tax breaks

Steve Zemke — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 01:11:08 -0000

The problem with our tax exemption system is that we currently give away more in tax exemptions than we collect as revenue from the same tax base. This is a broken system. The amount of money involved is much higher than you mention. The Department of Revenue's 2016 Tax Exemption Report projected that these off budget tax expenditures (as most other states call the exemptions) for the 2015 - 2017 biennium would total some $40 billion while only collecting some $32 billion in revenue.
Of the 694 exemptions in the report some 450 are discretionary, while the rest are required by the State or Federal Constitution or Federal law. For the 2017 - 2019 biennium they projected some $54 billion in tax expenditures and noted that about $30 billion would fall into "potential revenue gains"
Creating a Tax Expenditure Budget as part of the biennial budget process would allow State Legislators to weight these exemptions against other budget expenditures in the budget appropriations process. This way both tax expenditures and revenue spending would be considered equally in their complying with the State's Priorities of Government.which includes things like education funding, creating jobs, health care and protecting our environment.

Re: Judd Gregg: Nuclear power presents opportunity for Trump

Steve Zemke — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 02:34:05 -0000

How about some reality here - Toshibia has filed chapter 11 bankruptcy this year for its Westinghouse's nuclear division after some $12 Billion in losses. on 2 plants in Georgia and South Carolina. "The U.S. government granted loan guarantees totalling US $8.3 billion to the utilities commissioning the Georgia project." US Taxpayers on the hook again. Some things don't seem to change. The Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPSS) in the early 1980's defaulted on billions in bonds after 5 nuclear plant costs ballooned to some $24 billion and 4 of the 5 plants were never finished. Ratepayers and bond holders suffered huge losses. http://business.financialpo...

Re: Trump threatens Hanford Reach; locals are unenthused

Steve Zemke — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 01:37:58 -0000

You can express your support for continuing protection of the Hanford Reach as a National Monument as well as the other areas Trump is asking for comment on. Many are threatened with opening to oil drilling and mining with significant threats to natural habitats for plants and animals and recreation. Click on this link to see a list of areas threatened and to submit your public comments them. https://www.regulations.gov...

Re: Eyman initiative is starving rural Washington

Steve Zemke — Tue, 06 Dec 2016 23:25:42 -0000

One way to get more accountable use of available tax revenue is require the state legislature to pass a tax expenditure budget as part of the regular budget appropriations process, Such a bill has been before the Legislature the last 2 years with 25 sponsors in the House and 12 in the Senate. The state through 694 tax exemptions gives away more revenue through tax exemptions aka tax expenditures than it collects. In the 2016 WA St Dept of Revenue Report on Tax Exemptions they note eg that in the 2015-2017 budget cycle the state gives away in B&O tax exemptions some $11.36 billion and only collects some $7.43 billion. This is a broken system. Tax exemptions need to be considered at the same time other state budget spending occurs for things like education and transportation and public safety and decisions made based on state priorities for spending. It's time to end these unaccountable tax loopholes in Washington State!.

Re: Pipeline project poses major threat to San Juan region

Steve Zemke — Tue, 06 Dec 2016 22:27:13 -0000

Nov 29, 2016 - New York Times - "In a decision that will almost surely prompt showdowns with environmentalists, indigenous groups and some political allies, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada approved on Tuesday the expansion of a pipeline linking the oil sands in Alberta to a tanker port in British Columbia.
The Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain project will increase the capacity of a 53-year-old pipeline to 890,000 barrels a day from 300,000 and expand the tanker port."

Re: California Freeways Will Soon Generate Electricity - NationofChange | Progressive Change Through Positive Action

Steve Zemke — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 13:08:02 -0000

Sounds like a good idea to do a pilot project on.

Re: Tacoma Weekly | Our view: State inaction pits schools, educators against each other

Steve Zemke — Sun, 14 Aug 2016 22:25:09 -0000

This has become a partisan issue. Republicans who control the State Senate are blocking action to come up with more funds for our public schools. Just as they have done nationally they are opposed to raising new revenue. Among other proposals Democrats are advocating new revenue like a capital gains tax. Our current tax system has been labeled as the most regressive in the country. In "Who Pays? report by the non-partisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Washington state has “by far” the most regressive tax system in the nation. Poor residents here pay 16.8 percent of family income in state and local taxes while the wealthiest 1 percent pay only 2.4 percent." http://www.seattletimes.com... Vote for Democrats if you want to see action on reforming our regressive tax system. Republicans support the status quo which adds to the wealth of the 1% and lack of state funds for educating our students. Our kids deserve a better future.