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Saturday
April 14, 2007

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Global warming is melting icecaps, prompting the local question:
How would a 20 foot rise in sea level redefine Seattle's waterfront?
The Watermark Project
sought to visualize the change by tracing
the predicted new high watermark in downtown Seattle with a temp-
orary line made of sunflower seeds. A procession of 20 dressed in
black solemnly marked the 2-mile route. Most who saw the action
were puzzled at first but quickly got the point. The only objection
came from some hotel employees who griped about having to sweep
the seeds from the sidewalk their job is to keep immaculate. "Just
feeding the birds," I said. It was lucky that seed was used instead of
dirt as had been originally intended. John Bacon had pointed out that
dirt would runoff and cloud the water, making it hard for salmon to
find their way back to spawn. Plus the seed sounded nice as it gently
rained on the pavement. The procession crossed paths with the large
Step It Up! march--thousands who'd come out to say enough's enough.

seeds of awareness