When I moved to Portland, I was a little worried. I thought a city as environmentally conscious as Portland would inundate me with rules and regulations. I expected vegan artisans to slow down on their vintage bicycles to ensure that I recycled all of the parts of my coffee cup in the correct recycling bins (pro tip: there’s more than just one). I of course care about the environment and try to implement more sustainable practices in my life every day, but to be honest, I didn’t know if that was enough for Portland.
To my surprise, Portland is not the environmental bully I expected it to be. The city has made huge strides to be as sustainable as possible—an admiral goal in such a large, urban area—yet it’s still a regular city. There are non-electric, gas consuming cars here. People don’t scowl at you for forgetting your reusable grocery bag. There’s even a McDonalds! Instead of feeling constantly on edge to be as “green” as possible, I feel comfortable and am excited to live sustainably…even if I make a few mistakes along the way.
I think this is the key to Portland’s continued success. It is easy to barrage people with public service announcements and berate them for their slip ups, but it is smarter to provide the necessary tools to be sustainable and let them make their own decisions. More frequent recycling bins, available public transport and access to local, organic foods at farmer’s markets make being sustainable in Portland convenient and fun. People don’t want to have to completely rearrange their lives to fit a greener mold; they want to be able to fold cleaner practices into their lifestyle. It’s this perspective that makes Portland’s environmental efforts feel more community based than government enforced.
So don’t be afraid to come to Portland! You don’t have to wear hemp pants, be a vegetarian or drive a car that runs on non-fat, sugar-free fruit juice—you just have to have an open mind.
Elizabeth McGlamry, Trinity '16
To my surprise, Portland is not the environmental bully I expected it to be. The city has made huge strides to be as sustainable as possible—an admiral goal in such a large, urban area—yet it’s still a regular city. There are non-electric, gas consuming cars here. People don’t scowl at you for forgetting your reusable grocery bag. There’s even a McDonalds! Instead of feeling constantly on edge to be as “green” as possible, I feel comfortable and am excited to live sustainably…even if I make a few mistakes along the way.
I think this is the key to Portland’s continued success. It is easy to barrage people with public service announcements and berate them for their slip ups, but it is smarter to provide the necessary tools to be sustainable and let them make their own decisions. More frequent recycling bins, available public transport and access to local, organic foods at farmer’s markets make being sustainable in Portland convenient and fun. People don’t want to have to completely rearrange their lives to fit a greener mold; they want to be able to fold cleaner practices into their lifestyle. It’s this perspective that makes Portland’s environmental efforts feel more community based than government enforced.
So don’t be afraid to come to Portland! You don’t have to wear hemp pants, be a vegetarian or drive a car that runs on non-fat, sugar-free fruit juice—you just have to have an open mind.
Elizabeth McGlamry, Trinity '16