Legalizing Green

White Pages phone books are required by law to be delivered to every address regardless of whether you want or need them. An "opt-in" program for white pages, in which customers would only receive directories if they requested them, could save 1,200 tons of paper a year in Washington State.

In some communities Home Owners Associations ban the use of clotheslines. Sunshine and wind offer free solar clothes drying and sunlight kills bacteria. Clothes that are hung out to dry last longer than those dried in a gas or electric dryer. A typical American household could "prevent 1,500 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere each year simply by turning off the dryer and hanging out the wash."

Making it possible to sell auto insurance by the mile instead of by the year would encourage people to find alternatives to driving; provide people another way to save money on transportation and make insurance affordable for many drivers who otherwise drive without insurance. 

"A single year of alcohol impaired driving kills more Americans than the last decade of war, but our land-use codes practically encourage driving home from taverns. Bar owners can be held legally liable for their patrons who imbibe too much, but our laws force owners to offer parking for their customers." In Portland and Seattle with some exceptions bar owners are required to provide almost as much on site square footage for parking as for customers.

These and many other topics worth review by our state legislature and lobbying by businesses and residents of Washington are thoughtfully presented in detail in Sightline Institutes "Making Sustainability Legal" report published February of this year. 

The report includes a detailed analysis of how current laws that mandate a continued increase in spending on fixing combined sewage and storm water systems despite diminishing returns, stands in the way of reducing water pollution more effectively in other ways.

Success stories confirm what is possible when outdated laws are changed to make common sense measures legal. For example it is now legal to own and use a rain barrel. Grey water recycling is also legal. 

Much credit goes to Sightline Institute's staff for doing the research that the general public and the State legislature needs to make smart changes to our legal system that make sustainability accessible.