Bellingham Scoop: Tuesday Morning

Good morning, Bellingham! Let’s wrap up the year with some good news: the Port of Bellingham is going all-in on making our community cleaner, greener, and more sustainable. They’ve just shared their 2023–2024 Sustainability Report, and here’s what that means for all of us—in plain English.

First, here’s what’s happening today and this week:

Today’s Events:

• Jazz Night at Aslan Depot: Chill out with some live tunes from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. More info.

• 80’s Ballroom Bash: Break out the shoulder pads and neon—dance into the New Year at Chuckanut Bay Distillery from 8 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Details here.

• Ring of Fire & Hope at Birch Bay: A glowing community event at 7 p.m. Learn more.

This Week’s Events:

• Padden Polar Dip (Jan 1): Kick off the year with a chilly splash at Lake Padden at 11 a.m. Event info.

• Polar Bear Plunge at Birch Bay (Jan 1): Take the plunge at noon. Details here.

Now, here’s the scoop—Port Sustainability Made Simple:

1. Solar Power at the Airport: The Port slapped a bunch of solar panels (250, to be exact) on the airport. Now they’re making enough clean energy to power about 14 homes for a year! [Source: Sustainability Report, page 6].

2. Helping Salmon: They cleaned up Little Squalicum Beach by getting rid of a ton of old junk (literally—7,000 tons of it!) and planted hundreds of native plants. Now it’s a way better place for baby salmon to grow up. [Source: Sustainability Report, page 4].

3. Electric Vehicles Everywhere: The Port added electric trucks to their fleet, put in four public EV chargers, and helped bring two new bus routes to the waterfront. Getting around sustainably is getting easier! [Source: Sustainability Report, page 6].

4. Less Trash, More Recycling: At the Portal Container Village, they recycled and composted over half of the waste they created—more than 23,000 gallons of stuff stayed out of the landfill! [Source: Sustainability Report, page 6].

In short: the Port is working hard to make Bellingham cleaner and greener, whether that’s cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 78% since 2019 or building platforms to keep ospreys (those cool fishing birds) safe. If you want to dig deeper, check out the full report here: Port of Bellingham.

Happy New Year’s Eve, Bellingham! Let’s head into 2025 with a little extra sparkle and sustainability! 🎉

Thank you to our sponsor: Cascade Home Cleaning