Sustainable Bellevue Climate Leaders

Call to Actions

• Class 3 CTA’s

  by kaanemreakdogan, about 4 hours ago
  Individual: Since visiting Türkiye, we nearly used 100% public transportation. But here for the most part it makes travel easier compared to a private vehicle. I will also be using buses in my commute when I get back.

  
  Systemic Actions:
  
  I read about the Transportation District Benefit Tax in the Bellevue Newspaper! I do think it is nice to invest in local transportation but I believe this doesn’t really get down to the bottom of the issue of why most people prefer not to use public transportation in the USA, let alone Seattle. I believe for the most part public... Continue reading

  Individual: Since visiting Türkiye, we nearly used 100% public transportation. But here for the most part it makes travel easier compared to a private vehicle. I will also be using buses in my commute when I get back.

  
  Systemic Actions:
  
  I read about the Transportation District Benefit Tax in the Bellevue Newspaper! I do think it is nice to invest in local transportation but I believe this doesn’t really get down to the bottom of the issue of why most people prefer not to use public transportation in the USA, let alone Seattle. I believe for the most part public transportation in Seattle is highly inconvenient any travel outside of a municipality, you have yo use multiple bus and subway routes, and even then you will walk so much. A distance of 30 minutes can easily become 1.5 hours. I think if we want to reduce emissions, we should invest in integrating rideshare apps into local transportation so that they are convenient for daily commute.

  
  

  
  

  
  

• Class 3 Homework

  by laurencastellon, 1 day ago
  Individual Action:

  I constantly take the Bellhop Circuit, but recently I have been using the Lime scooters. I challenge myself to walk around town, but only drive when grocery shopping.

  Systematic action:

  I convinced my neighbor to download the choose your way Bellevue app. I also introduced him to the light rail and how convenient it can be.

  I also convinced all my friends going to the UW football game to take the light rail with me this upcoming Saturday.

  Individual Action:

  I constantly take the Bellhop Circuit, but recently I have been using the Lime scooters. I challenge myself to walk around town, but only drive when grocery shopping.

  Systematic action:

  I convinced my neighbor to download the choose your way Bellevue app. I also introduced him to the light rail and how convenient it can be.

  I also convinced all my friends going to the UW football game to take the light rail with me this upcoming Saturday.

• Class 3 Transportation Call to Action

  by afan, 5 days ago

  I plan to use public transit for some of my trips, including a trip to downtown Bellevue this weekend. I also took transit to Puyallup last week.

  I read the city's proposed Transportation Benefit District tax. Overall, the proposal seems reasonable. I hope that the revenue can be used on the most value-generating infrastructure improvements, since some transit options do not get used that much.

  Also, one notable transportation infrastructure gap in my neighborhood, Lakemont, is that it is practically infeasible to go anywhere else in Bellevue without driving since there are no nearby transit stops. It would be good... Continue reading

  I plan to use public transit for some of my trips, including a trip to downtown Bellevue this weekend. I also took transit to Puyallup last week.

  I read the city's proposed Transportation Benefit District tax. Overall, the proposal seems reasonable. I hope that the revenue can be used on the most value-generating infrastructure improvements, since some transit options do not get used that much.

  Also, one notable transportation infrastructure gap in my neighborhood, Lakemont, is that it is practically infeasible to go anywhere else in Bellevue without driving since there are no nearby transit stops. It would be good to add some stops in our neighborhood or add on-demand shuttle service. King County Metro and the city council could implement that.

• Week 1 CTAs

  by Nidhi Dwivedi, 12 days ago

  For my individual/family action - I enrolled our home in PSE Flex.

  While I was immediately excited and up for it, I had to convince my husband to shift his habits, but he supported me.

  For essential actions like laundry and cooking, timing them outside the event window surely helps the grid, but in addition, I also see these event windows as an invitation to also just cut down my energy use. I get off screens and read a book or do some quiet reflection or garden or even fast some evenings or really just exist in a bit... Continue reading

  For my individual/family action - I enrolled our home in PSE Flex.

  While I was immediately excited and up for it, I had to convince my husband to shift his habits, but he supported me.

  For essential actions like laundry and cooking, timing them outside the event window surely helps the grid, but in addition, I also see these event windows as an invitation to also just cut down my energy use. I get off screens and read a book or do some quiet reflection or garden or even fast some evenings or really just exist in a bit of twilight, we all live such simulated lives in bright lights and with screens. 5 events have happened since I enrolled and each of those has seen a successful savings in energy at our home.

  
  

  For my systemic action - I started the journey to try to revive compost collection in my residential community.

  Until a couple years ago, my residential community, with ~125 condo units, had compost bins, but sadly it was discontinued. I understand the huge impact of methane production from landfills and while feeling earnestly that we needed compost collection back, sadly I was not able to take any action with my HOA around this. But I did now. To begin with, I have started to talk to my neighbors, to understand what they feel around this climate action and if they would participate in the compost program. Eventually I will discuss this matter with our HOA.

  As a renter, I am not a part of the community WhatsApp group or also don’t have much direct access to HOA. I have mostly relied on my “owner” neighbours to relay my messages to those channels if I have needed anything in the past. So that is a barrier I will have to overcome. Other than that, one of the reasons for discontinuation was residents didn’t sort the waste well. So I will have to approach that education delicately. While it may take me more than a few weeks, I will see this through. I would love to leverage any city resources around education for HOA or education on waste sorting for residents as well.

• Class 2: Energy Call to Actions

  by AbhishekZ, 13 days ago

  Individual Action:

  Transitioned to transit-as-default for work / point-to-point travel like our classes.

  
  

  Systemic Action:

  'Change starts at home' - So, I thought getting educated on my own household electricity carbon footprint was an interesting (and necessary) aspect to look into.

  Never having paid any attention to this before [Thanks! Bellevue Climate Leaders program for the inspiration :) ], my research started with the obvious question 'how do I calculate carbon footprint from a utility bill?'. Jumping through websites, I happily discovered that there is considerable documentation and online calculators available. Here are some that I found helpful... Continue reading

  Individual Action:

  Transitioned to transit-as-default for work / point-to-point travel like our classes.

  
  

  Systemic Action:

  'Change starts at home' - So, I thought getting educated on my own household electricity carbon footprint was an interesting (and necessary) aspect to look into.

  Never having paid any attention to this before [Thanks! Bellevue Climate Leaders program for the inspiration :) ], my research started with the obvious question 'how do I calculate carbon footprint from a utility bill?'. Jumping through websites, I happily discovered that there is considerable documentation and online calculators available. Here are some that I found helpful and easy-to-use:

  • EPA GHG Calc (easiest): https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator#results
  • EPA Carbon footprint Calc (includes more holistic household factors): https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/carbon-footprint-calculator#
  • PSE Renewables Calc (gives CO2 lb reduced): https://www.pse.com/en/green-options/Renewable-Energy-Programs/greensolarcalculator

  WA Dept of Ecology - 2026 Utility Specific Carbon Intensity Values for producers (gives emissions breakup as Upstream, Production-to-Consumption and CI*: https://apps.ecology.wa.gov/publications/documents/2614021.pdf

  *New (to me) unit of measure:

  Carbon Intensity (CI): Measures life-cycle GHG emissions to produce a unit of energy, shown as grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per megajoule (gCO2e/MJ)

• Class 2 Homework

  by laurencastellon, 13 days ago

  Individual Action:

  Walked when I had time; used Lime scooters instead of the Bellhop Circuit. It was hard to use the Lime scooters because construction is happening by my apartment, and sometimes they close the sidewalks.

  
  

  I plan to walk to City Hall for tonight's class!

  
  

  Systemic action:

  My mom shared their most recent utility bill, their household used 972 kWh of electricity. Using PSE's emissions factor of 0.901 pounds of CO₂e per kWh, their household produced approximately 875.8 pounds of CO₂e from electricity use during the billing period.

  Carbon footprint: ≈ 876 lbs CO₂e

  My family can make small... Continue reading

  Individual Action:

  Walked when I had time; used Lime scooters instead of the Bellhop Circuit. It was hard to use the Lime scooters because construction is happening by my apartment, and sometimes they close the sidewalks.

  
  

  I plan to walk to City Hall for tonight's class!

  
  

  Systemic action:

  My mom shared their most recent utility bill, their household used 972 kWh of electricity. Using PSE's emissions factor of 0.901 pounds of CO₂e per kWh, their household produced approximately 875.8 pounds of CO₂e from electricity use during the billing period.

  Carbon footprint: ≈ 876 lbs CO₂e

  My family can make small changes that can contribute to that, and I will help them by sharing what I am learning!

  
  

• Energy Call to Actions

  by Jennifer Louie, 14 days ago

  Systemic Action:

  Infrastructure: Taking my utility bill and calculating the carbon footprint of my home for the most recent bill statement (usage of 225 kwH), I get: 202.725 lb CO₂e/kWh.

  According to PSE, this is less than what other similar homes in my neighborhood use. We live in a LEED-certified apartment complex.

  
  

  Systemic Action:

  Infrastructure: Taking my utility bill and calculating the carbon footprint of my home for the most recent bill statement (usage of 225 kwH), I get: 202.725 lb CO₂e/kWh.

  According to PSE, this is less than what other similar homes in my neighborhood use. We live in a LEED-certified apartment complex.

  
  

• Sharing Ideas for Energy Efficiency

  by anna_b, 14 days ago
  I shared the PSE Green Power and Flex programs with family and friends. We talked about how taking steps towards sustainability can benefit our community's health and preserve resources for the future.

  
  

  They were interested in both programs, but were mostly curious about Flex because they saw it as a feasible and budget-friendly way to save energy. Some shared their concerns about scheduling their work day around managing appliances, but were reassured that they were notified of peak energy times and could choose when they wanted to participate. They figured in the long-term the rewards and a cleaner environment would... Continue reading

  I shared the PSE Green Power and Flex programs with family and friends. We talked about how taking steps towards sustainability can benefit our community's health and preserve resources for the future.

  
  

  They were interested in both programs, but were mostly curious about Flex because they saw it as a feasible and budget-friendly way to save energy. Some shared their concerns about scheduling their work day around managing appliances, but were reassured that they were notified of peak energy times and could choose when they wanted to participate. They figured in the long-term the rewards and a cleaner environment would outweigh the inconveniences. We talked about how Flex would be practical during the summer when energy needs are lower. But it could take more convincing to encourage people to use during the shoulder seasons when the weather is more unpredictable.
  

  
  

  We talked about how we can prepare for the upcoming months by adjusting appliances and monitoring insulation in our homes.

• Promoting PSE Flex to the Turkish Community

  by kaanemreakdogan, 15 days ago
  I have sent a message to a group chat of Turkish people in Seattle area about the PSE Flex program. Some people reacted to the message suggesting engagement, with hundreds of people seeing the message.

  
  

  I also talked about PSE flex to my parents, and they were very enthusiastic about it.

  I don't think there are any challenges to PSE Flex. It is very straightforward. Good for the environment and it saves you money.

  I have sent a message to a group chat of Turkish people in Seattle area about the PSE Flex program. Some people reacted to the message suggesting engagement, with hundreds of people seeing the message.

  
  

  I also talked about PSE flex to my parents, and they were very enthusiastic about it.

  I don't think there are any challenges to PSE Flex. It is very straightforward. Good for the environment and it saves you money.

• Getting Data Behind Energy Usage

  by afan, 18 days ago
  My family's most recent bill had 1047 kWh of usage, which is 943 lb CO2e of emissions.

  
  I also let a family friend know about PSE Flex.

  
  

  It was interesting finding the data behind my energy usage, which is average for a home of my size, but it will take significant infrastructural improvements to reduce it. I am also unsure to what extent other people will be interested in programs such as PSE Flex, although getting rebates sounds attractive.

  My family's most recent bill had 1047 kWh of usage, which is 943 lb CO2e of emissions.

  
  I also let a family friend know about PSE Flex.

  
  

  It was interesting finding the data behind my energy usage, which is average for a home of my size, but it will take significant infrastructural improvements to reduce it. I am also unsure to what extent other people will be interested in programs such as PSE Flex, although getting rebates sounds attractive.