Editor's Take: November 06, 2009
SoulRider.222,flickr
Bridging the Recession
The recession has changed family dynamics - more women have become breadwinners, housework is being shared (for now) and young workers are struggling mightily to find work. And on the border of Washington and Oregon, groups are arguing a massive and expensive I-5 bridge project over the Columbia River should be downsized to reflect the times.
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Your editor today is Jennifer Langston | View All Today's News
Groups push for a less expensive I-5 bridge
Portland Tribune
11/06/2009
Groups are urging WA and OR leaders to toss out the proposed massive $4 billion, 12-lane Columbia River Crossing bridge project and start over, using a new approach that starts with region's shared values of economic vitality, affordable transportation, safe and healthy neighborhoods and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
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Anxiety ebbs over Green River flooding
Seattle Times
11/06/2009
The odds of severe flooding in the Green River Valley have dropped substantially due to repairs on the Howard Hanson Dam. But that relief was followed by barely contained frustration that months of high anxiety have come at great psychic and financial expense - and that the wait for a permanent fix could sap the region further even if a flood never comes.
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Generation recession
The Nation
11/05/2009
When David Thyme was an even younger man, his fantasies of early adulthood did not include a 9:30 pm curfew and a bed in Covenant House, a shelter for homeless youth. They also didn't include a recession so severe that his financially strapped father would ask him to help with rent - or kick him out when he couldn't find an entry-level job to do so.
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Ready to jump off the grid?
Oregonian
11/05/2009
Researchers believe the day is coming when the electricity you use will be your own. Instead of relying on large central generating stations - hydroelectric dams, coal plants and the like - scientists say we're moving toward an era of "personalized solar energy."
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Study: Options are key in sex ed curriculum
Washington Post
11/06/2009
Sex education programs that encourage teens to delay sexual activity but also teach them how to reduce their chances of getting pregnant or a sexually transmitted disease cut risky sexual behavior, increase condom use and lower the chances of getting the AIDS virus and other infections, an independent expert panel concluded in a report released Friday.
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From he-cession to housework?
Toronto Globe and Mail
11/05/2009
An estimated two million wives are now the sole breadwinners in families across America as more men than women have been laid off in this recession. Experts say that unemployed husbands are probably taking on more of the housework and childcare duties - for now. But they don't expect that change to stick.
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Canada plans inquiry into disappearance of BC sockeye
Vancouver Sun
11/06/2009
Canada will stage a judicial inquiry into the collapse of sockeye salmon runs on the Fraser River, which have been in a two-decade decline and hit a 50-year low in summer 2009. It has prompted concerns that sockeye are heading for a population failure on the scale of the collapse of Atlantic cod.
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Rural NW could receive economic boost
Oregonian
11/05/2009
Rural and disadvantaged communities in the Northwest could receive an economic boost thanks to $30 million in new markets tax credits allocated to Portland-based Ecotrust. The nonprofit organization plans to target former timber towns struggling to recover jobs and tribes working for economic benefits by improving the health of forests.
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Target, Kmart and Toys-R-Us settle lead claims
Los Angeles Times
11/06/2009
Three major retailers have agreed to pay nearly half a million dollars to settle a lawsuit stemming from the companies' sale of toys containing excessive amounts of lead, the California attorney general's office said Thursday.
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Climate change: Threat or opportunity?
Washington Post
11/06/2009
A curious debate has broken out among American environmental groups, as the Senate balkily starts to focus on the threat of climate change. Is this really the time to talk about shrinking glaciers?
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Editor's Take: November 05, 2009
heidi peters, Flickr.
Guerrilla Gardening
Lack of government leadership and budget shortfalls are pushing residents to take charge of public spaces. In Eugene, empty and abandoned lots are blights on the city, leading some residents to call for guerrilla gardening -- unsanctioned, citizen-led plantings -- to re-green the landscape. In Seattle, the cash-strapped public utility is asking residents to keep their storm drains clear to prevent flooding.
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Your editor today is Lisa Stiffler | View All Today's News
Can guerrilla gardening save downtown?
Eugene Weekly
11/05/2009
If Eugene's city officials fail to act to beautify its long derelict property, fed up residents could arm themselves with agricultural implements and storm the blight with guerrilla gardening.
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California water overhaul caps use
New York Times
11/04/2009
Prompted by a protracted drought -- which has reduced water supply, harmed the fishing industry, and contributed to crop loss -- environmentalists and agricultural interests have agreed to broad concessions in a package of water legislation approved Wednesday.
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Deadly foam gone, more than 10,000 seabirds die
Oregonian
11/04/2009
The deadly foam that clobbered seabirds in the Pacific Northwest has subsided and several hundred birds rescued from the slime are being released. But the death toll worries conservationists.
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Farmed salmon's ecological finprint measured
New Scientist
11/04/2009
The first cradle-to-grave analysis of the environmental impact of salmon farms has found that in some ways they're less harmful than, say, raising beef cattle -- but that there is plenty of room for improvement.
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Senate Democrats advance climate bill without GOP
Seattle Times
11/05/2009
Ignoring a Republican boycott, Senate Democrats pushed a precedent-setting climate bill through a key committee Thursday.
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Haggling over abortion compromise in health bill
New York Times
11/04/2009
US House Democratic leaders struggled Wednesday to strike a deal that would restrict the use of federal money to pay for abortions under sweeping health care legislation headed for debate on the House floor this week.
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BC has enough power for millions of electric cars
CBC BC
11/04/2009
There's enough under-used capacity in British Columbia's power grid to charge 2.5 million electric vehicles, almost the number of vehicles on BC roads right now, a new study suggests.
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Storm drains seek adoption
Seattle Weekly
11/04/2009
Government entities are cutting services, and the city of Seattle is applying that ethos to storm drains and sewers, just as they're becoming leaf-clogged and prone to flooding in our typically damp autumn weather.
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The rise of the non-veggie vegetarian
BBC News
11/05/2009
Vegetarianism used to be simple -- its protagonists foreswore the flesh of any dead animal. Today there are "veggies" who eat fish, and people who eat no meat but don't call themselves vegetarians.
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Most common Clunkers deal: Old pickup for new pickup
Contra Costa Times
11/05/2009
The most common deals under the US $3 billion Cash for Clunkers program replaced old Ford or Chevrolet pickups with new ones that got only marginally better gas mileage.
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Editor's Take: November 04, 2009
dreamsjung, flickr
Many Happy (Election) Returns
Washington progressives got some good news in election returns: voters were approving an expanded domestic partnership law and rejected Tim Eyman's latest government-gutting initiative. Seattle's mayor's race, however, remained too close to call. In other news, Portland plans to offer stormwater "treebates" and Oregon is reining in tax breaks for renewable energy.
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Your editor today is Jennifer Langston | View All Today's News
'Everything but marriage' backers smell victory
Seattle Times
11/04/2009
Supporters of gay rights were buoyed by first-day returns that showed Referendum 71 leading by a narrow margin Tuesday evening. The trends looked positive for the measure, which would expand Washington's domestic-partnership law.
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McGinn leads tight Seattle mayor race
Seattle Times
11/04/2009
Seattle's mayoral race was too close to call Tuesday night, with environmentalist attorney Mike McGinn holding a narrow lead over T-Mobile executive Joe Mallahan. McGinn's insurgent campaign was outspent 3-to-1 and threw a Hail Mary pass by backing away somewhat from his signature campaign issue: opposition to the deep-bore tunnel planned for Seattle's waterfront.
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'Treebates' help stormwater programs branch out
Portland Tribune
11/04/2009
A rebate to plant trees? That's the city of Portland's plan to encourage property owners to plant more trees, which help suck up hundreds of gallons of rainwater every year, reducing the amount that flows into storm drains and, eventually, into local rivers and streams.
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Sustainable meat hits its hot spot
Willamette Week
11/04/2009
Portlander Berlin Reed used to be a militant vegan, until a series of off-restaurant jobs left him working behind a sustainably run butchery counter. "There was pretty much no argument against it. I knew exactly where the animals came from and how they lived. So I took a nice bite of rib eye at work and was like, 'I'm sold.'"
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Streetcars are our desires
Boise Idaho Statesman
11/03/2009
In Boise, a proposed $60 million trolley plan became a major theme of local elections Tuesday but also represents an American revival. Some 80 US cities have proposals for streetcars, which they hope will become engines for prosperity that will reduce congestion and air pollution by turning back the clock.
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Constantine wins King County exec
Seattle Times
11/04/2009
Riding a late-breaking wave of liberal support, Dow Constantine - a pro-abortion-rights, pro-labor, pro-transit Democrat - handily defeated Susan Hutchison on Tuesday in a rancorous race for King County executive. Now he has to clean up the county's budget, which is projected to face a $110 million shortfall over the next two years.
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OR adds 10,000 children to health plan
Corvallis Gazette-Times
11/03/2009
More than 10,000 children have been added to the state health plan under a new law aimed at expanding health insurance coverage to nearly every child in Oregon, officials said Tuesday.
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Oregon reins in renewable tax breaks
Oregonian
11/03/2009
Oregon energy officials released new rules Tuesday aimed at curbing a controversial state program that grants lucrative tax subsidies for wind, solar and other renewable power plants. The changes are intended to rein in some of the runaway costs of the program.
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Al Gore is my co-pilot
Los Angeles Times
11/03/2009
We're used to GPS car units telling us where to go. Now they also have the ability to urge us to be more eco-friendly drivers. So, would this be a handy service, or would it be more like having a grumpy Al Gore in the passenger seat?
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Views: Initiative 1033's fatal flaw
Seattle Times
11/04/2009
Tim Eyman's latest effort to mess with government, Initiative 1033, seems to have gone down in flames. Eyman's initiative reached beyond state government and deep into local courthouses and city halls, close enough for many people in small towns to see very clearly that Eyman's usual one-size-fits-all approach was not going to fit their communities, not at all.
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Editor's Take: November 03, 2009
Image courtesy: Escape Vehicle, Flickr.com
Who Will Win the Green Jobs Race?
As British Columbia leaders take steps to push the province to the clean-energy cutting edge, Oregon and Washington received good marks on efficiency and green jobs. But what's the cost of rolling out the carpet for clean-tech? Oregon's clean-tech subsidy program is being scrutinized by The Oregonian. It may have worked too well, with success meaning cost overruns.
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Your editor today is Anna Fahey | View All Today's News
Campbell announces sweeping BC energy policy goals
Vancouver Sun
11/02/2009
BC's premier aims to make the province an international leader in green power development -- both for local energy needs and for export to the US and elsewhere in Canada. He's rolling out the red carpet, seeking proposals from private industry.
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WA, OR on cutting edge for green jobs
Vancouver Columbian
11/03/2009
The green research firm, Clean Edge, has released a study of "clean-tech" jobs, identifying the top 15 metro areas in the US for jobs in fields such as renewable energy and energy efficiency. The Puget Sound region (Seattle, Tacoma, Bremerton) and the Portland-Salem area in Oregon, ranked seventh and eighth, respectively.
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Green energy tax incentives cost Oregon more than predicted
Coos Bay World
11/02/2009
According to an investigation by the Oregonian, OR officials underestimated the cost of Gov. Ted Kulongoski's plan to lure green energy companies to Oregon with big subsidies, resulting in a program that cost far more than expected. Kulongoski's staff says that they had no idea the program would be this popular when they designed the policy.
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Northwest energy efficiency better in 2008
Coos Bay World
11/02/2009
Improved energy efficiency reduced power demand by an amount equal to about 148,000 homes across the Northwest last year.
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BC seeking green energy proposals from private industry
Toronto Globe and Mail
11/03/2009
British Columbia will ask private industry for a new slate of green electricity proposals in the spring, Premier Gordon Campbell says, as the government pushes to more quickly develop clean energy for the province and for export.
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Backyard cottages OK'd in Seattle
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
11/02/2009
Backyard cottages will be allowed in single-family zones throughout Seattle under an ordinance approved unanimously by the City Council. City Councilman Tim Burgess said it would help people provide housing for family members or to offer low-cost rental units. "That's a positive way to create affordable housing in our city."
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Portland aims for Denmark-style bike culture
Willamette Week
11/02/2009
If city planners have their way, Copenhagen will be the model for Portland's urban transportation network. Bikes account for 55 percent of all trips in the Danish city, and 37 percent of commutes. Portland's commuting number -- near tops among large US cities and growing -- is a comparatively scanty 8 percent.
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Consumer group finds elevated BPA levels in food
Los Angeles Times
11/02/2009
A consumer advocacy group's analysis of canned goods has found measurable levels of the chemical additive bisphenol A (BPA) across a range of foods, including some that were labeled "BPA free." Children eating multiple servings of some of the tested food could get doses of BPA "near levels that have caused adverse effects in several animal studies."
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Study: Half of US kids will receive food stamps
USA Today
11/02/2009
Whether for the long term or for getting through a temporary financial crisis, half of American kids will live in households receiving food stamps before age 20, according to a study reported Monday in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
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Views: Want to cut emissions in the US? Change the discussion
Christian Science Monitor
11/02/2009
In times of war, the US government has successfully appealed to citizens' patriotism. That can work now, too.
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Editor's Take: November 02, 2009
borman818, Flickr.
Green's the Color of Money
Businesses are going green not only to appease their eco-consciences, but because it benefits their bottom lines. In Oregon, businesses doing dam removal and environmental restoration, wind power construction, and improving energy efficiency are growing. In Portland, smaller, efficient homes are bigger sellers. Check out all the great stories that didn't make the top 10 (there were lots today!) in the Daily News tab.
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Your editor today is Lisa Stiffler | View All Today's News
Going for the green in Oregon
Corvallis Gazette-Times
11/01/2009
Environmental and economic concerns increasingly converge to create a new class of Earth-friendly employment opportunities in Oregon, from dam removal to boosting energy efficiency in homes.
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Farmers growing electricity along with their crops
Corvallis Gazette-Times
11/02/2009
More Oregon farms are generating renewable energy with solar panels and micro turbines. Just how many remains unclear, but the motivation seems to be a desire to be green more than the bottom line, despite an increasing array of financial incentives.
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Seattle could lead electric car "revolution"
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
11/02/2009
Seattle could be a leader in the electric car "revolution" when next year it becomes one of five cities to get 2,500 charging stations under a $100 million federal grant.
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Portland-area builders shift to small, efficient homes
Oregonian
11/01/2009
For the Portland home buyers that remain after the market's collapse, the evidence points to stronger demand for modest, energy-efficient homes.
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Where's the birth control?
The Nation
11/01/2009
Just as the prognosis for our health-care system is beginning to look sunnier, another complication emerges: so far, reform legislation has failed to require insurers to cover some basic services for womens' health, including birth control.
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Millions without sick leave fear swine flu
Seattle Times
11/01/2009
For millions of Americans the rule is simple: If you don't come to work, you don't get paid. That idea drives an untold numbers of carpenters, day care workers, servers, and small-business owners to their jobs each day. Sniffles or not.
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Rare BC abalone easy pickings for poachers
Victoria Times Colonist
11/01/2009
Northern abalone can spend their entire lives within a pond-sized patch of BC coastline. And that is where their problems begin.
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Streetcars on the ballot amid trolley revival
Seattle Times
11/02/2009
A streetcar revival in American cities isn't just kicking up sparks from the tracks, they're flying down at city hall, too. In Idaho's capital, a proposed $60 million trolley plan has become a major theme of local elections Nov. 3.
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Vancouver bike-lane trial a success so far
Vancouver Sun
11/02/2009
The Burrard Bridge bicycle-lane trial in Vancouver, BC, is a success with cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers, according to a survey. That means the bike lane could remain well past this February's Winter Olympics.
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Climate change ethics explored in Oregon
Eugene Register Guard
11/02/2009
As people continue to debate the science behind climate change, a two-year program at the University of Oregon is moving beyond data to explore the moral and ethical implications of a warming planet.
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