Results tagged “environmentalism”

JUST LIKE A DREAM: In a Dream chronicles the life of artist Isaiah Zegar and his wife Julia, both his mosaic art and their family life. The documentary is directed by their son Jeremiah, and he pulls no punches in showing how his father's obsessive, creative mind took its toll on his family. The intimate, emotional film has won awards from festivals as diverse as SXSW, the Philadelphia Film Festival, and the San Francisco Documentary Festival. In a Dream screens at the NWFF through Thursday. 7 p.m., 9 p.m. // Northwest Film Forum // 1515 12th Ave. // $9

After a committee vote yesterday, the full City Council is set to decide on Monday if Seattle will adopt a 20-cent fee for plastic bags at grocery, drug, and convenience stores, as well as a ban on polystyrene food and drink containers. If passed, the fee and ban will go into effect on January 1, 2009. Stores that use the plastic foam containers to package meat will have a year to figure out an alternative method. (May we suggest butcher paper? We imagine that is how it got its name.) While it might be annoying to get charged a few bucks for plastic bags after a big shopping trip, it will hopefully remind us to always bring a reusable bag, which is a benefit to everyone.

When Seattlest was just a wee lesbian growing up in a small southern town, we did what we reckon other wee small-town lesbians did: we listened to a lot of k.d. lang and the Indigo Girls. We went on long road trips across the whole state with the windows down, our other closeted friends with us, singing "Galileo" at the top of our lungs. Ah, those good ol' days of closeted small-town life.

This morning, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels announced a proposed ban on foam food containers and a fee for disposable bags at grocery stores. The ban on polystyrene foam products would outlaw common items like plates, meat trays, eggshell containers, and cups from both restaurants and grocery stores. The so-called "green fee" would apply to both paper and plastic bags at your local grocery store. The fee would impose a 20-cent charge for each disposable bag.