5/11/2007--Seattle, WA, USA..Khiem Nguyen, a refugee from Vietnam, works on her small farm plot at Highpoint, a housing project built by the City of Seattle. Highpoint is a showcase of sustainable building, built with energy efficient homes, green spaces and sustainable water drainage systems. Built by the Seattle Housing Authority, the High Point community covers 120 acres that once was the site of temporary military housing and a high percentage of low-income families. It aims to be a sustainable, mixed-income community in West Seattle. All the houses are built 'Green certified', which requires builders to meet environmental standards that exceed local building codes. Many of the homes also are Energy Star certified, which means homes are 15 percent more efficient than state or local energy codes...As part of the project, organic farm plots such as this have also been built so that locally-grown produce can be made and sold in the city of Seattle. The Worldwatch Institute estimates that the average food item now travels between 1,500 and 2,500 miles before people eat it, burning fossil fuels all the way so events such as this in Seattle hope to encourage people to eat more eco-friendly local cuisine. The foods are also organic, meaning fewer fossil fuels used to produce fertilizers...©2007 Stuart Isett All rights reserved.....©2007 Stuart Isett All rights reserved
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