NY Times : Livable shade of green.
When President Bush travels to the Group of 8 summit meeting this week, he'll stiff Tony Blair and other leaders who are appealing for firm action on global warming.
Skip to next paragraph
"Kyoto would have wrecked our economy," Mr. Bush told a Danish interviewer recently, referring to the accord to curb carbon emissions. Maybe that was a plausible argument a few years ago, but now the city of Portland is proving it flat wrong.
Newly released data show that Portland, America's environmental laboratory, has achieved stunning reductions in carbon emissions. It has reduced emissions below the levels of 1990, the benchmark for the Kyoto accord, while booming economically.
What's more, officials in Portland insist that the campaign to cut carbon emissions has entailed no significant economic price, and on the contrary has brought the city huge benefits: less tax money spent on energy, more convenient transportation, a greener city, and expertise in energy efficiency that is helping local businesses win contracts worldwide.
That's Portland for you. Portland is one of the cities I liked the most in the U.S. Chicago was the other one. But I liked both of them for different reasons. The scenic view from the plane when you ride into Portalnd, Oregon is breathtaking. One gets a good scenic view of Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens at a distance. As the plane approaches Portland, you can see Columbia River flowing across the city. This part of the country has a great climate all through the year unlike most northern cities. Though I have heard some people find it very depressing when it rains incessantly during some months. When it is not raining there is a perpetual cast of clouds leading to a gloomy climate that tourists would find romantic.
When I first drove from Portland to Beaverton, I wondered is this for real or am I dreaming. Greeny landscape for miles and miles meticulously covered with all kinds of trees. It was around the same time of the year last year. Summer time. Lots and lots of tourists, the light rail mass transit system was packed with people, musicians playing on the streets. The first impression you get of this city is that it is a very diverse in both culture and landscape. In short, it is very lively that brings in the desire to live for fun!
One distinctive thing that I noticed was a rather high Indian population in the area - probably because of the number of technology companies and the weather. A high concentration of Indian restaurants. Beaverton is home to organisations like Nike, IBM. If you can take a tour of the Nike campus, then nothing like it. Every building is named after a sports player sponsored by Nike like Mia Hamm, Tiger Woods, Pete Sampras.
If you haven't been to Oregon, then you should. Take care when you book your ticket or board the plane. There is one Portland in Maine as well. V once told me a story of how a woman got on his plane to Portland, OR when her destination was the one in Maine. Poor lady! Oh and yes do visit the Powell's Book Store. You can spend a full day in the company of books and you won't get tired. Saying they have a huge collection is an understatement. Another place worth going for fun is the Saturday Market under the bridge.