Editor's Take: September 02, 2010
Scrunchleface, flickr
Miles To Go
In the Northwest, many of us take pride in the region's progressive policies, but here's how far we still have to go: women and minorities are underrepresented on Portland bike paths, the lives of black Oregonians have worsened in the last year, and Washington state asks its poorest families to pay more in taxes than any other state in the country.
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Your editor today is Jennifer Langston | View All Today's News
Many miles to go
Portland Mercury
09/01/2010
Portland officials hope one in four residents will regularly get on a bicycle by 2030. But a new report by a leading bicycle advocacy group shows how city leaders are falling short: On Portland's bike paths, women, poor people, and minorities are getting left behind.
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A national look at tax fairness
Sightline's Daily Score
09/01/2010
Sightline has developed a new pair of maps that illustrate the fairness of tax systems in the 50 states. The reason Washington is the brightest red of any state is that the poorest 20 percent of Washington's families pay 17.3 percent of their income in state taxes. It's by far the highest amount in the nation.
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Lives of black Oregonians no better this year
Oregonian
09/01/2010
The lives of black Oregonians have not improved in the last year compared with whites and have worsened in some cases, according to a study released by the Urban League of Portland. "We are still last, or virtually last, in every significant category for quality of life," said the organization's president.
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The dirt on organic produce
Sightline's Daily Score
09/01/2010
A new study from Washington State University soil scientists is one of the most comprehensive, persuasive studies yet to show the nutritional and environmental benefits of organic farming. The results are pretty convincing: organic strawberries are healthier, tastier, and better for the soil than conventional strawberries.
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"Free" parking costs Eugene $220,000
Eugene Weekly
09/02/2010
A free parking test program in downtown Eugene flopped last year, but the city council ignored the results, voting in effect to spend $220,000 a year to subsidize free parking downtown. The expenditure for a dozen blocks of free on-street parking comes at a time the city is cutting services and raising fees to cover increasing budget deficits.
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A dishonor to be nominated
The Stranger
09/01/2010
Dilapidated and low-density housing projects in Seattle may accidentally be preserved as historic landmarks, if arguments prevail that Yesler Terrace should be preserved as one of the country's first low-income garden communities. (Never mind the crumbling plumbing and roving vermin that run through those lawns now.)
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Environmentalists stunned by failures in CA
Los Angeles Times
09/01/2010
Environmental activists expected big gains in Sacramento, but a ban on plastic grocery bags, another on a chemical used in baby bottles and a bid to boost alternative energy fell short in the face of heavy industry opposition.
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First OR solar program up and running
Oregonian
09/01/2010
Within a few weeks, onion farmer Jeff Ramp will start receiving monthly checks from his utility - Portland General Electric Co. - which will pay him a premium for solar energy he produces and consumes. The checks will keep coming for 15 years and could exceed $600 a month, ultimately more than repaying his investment.
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BC urged to get tough on urban wildlife
Victoria Times Colonist
09/01/2010
BC municipalities say they are being overrun by wild animals that are threatening public safety and befouling urban amenities, and they are asking the provincial government for help. Possible solutions include allowing residents to hunt with bows and arrows inside city limits, and developing effective contraception for wildlife.
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Rage against the machines
Eugene Weekly
09/02/2010
Picture the oil monsters: Giant earth gobbling machines slowly barging up the Columbia River, making their ponderous way past endangered salmon, through the craggy gorge to the Snake River and then bellying up to a dock at Lewiston where they hit the highways to the Alberta tar sands. Oregon will be the gateway to this fossil fuel hell.
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Editor's Take: September 01, 2010
michaelrighi, flickr
Skyline for Sale?
Clearly, times are tough. Portland's transit agency is raising bus fares while cutting service, and school lunches may cost Puget Sound students more. But a proposal to lure businesses to downtown Seattle will most certainly be challenged: the city's planning department wants to let corporations put their logos on top of downtown skyscrapers.
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Your editor today is Jennifer Langston | View All Today's News
City wants corporate logos on Seattle skyline
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
08/31/2010
Like your Seattle skyline free of corporate logos? That could change with a city proposal to allow big companies to put their names at the top of downtown skyscrapers.
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Spare change? Portland bus riders need it
Oregonian
08/31/2010
On Wednesday, Oregon's largest transit agency will raise fares by 5 cents. Then TriMet will make its fourth round of service cuts in the past year. It's the latest lug nut to fall off the wheels of local transit, say riders' advocates.
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LA mayor, Latino activists take on oil companies
Los Angeles Times
09/01/2010
The mayor of Los Angeles, flanked by Latino community activists, rebuked refinery companies for bankrolling a measure that would effectively scuttle the state's efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions. A recent poll found that ethnic state residents were more likely than whites to be concerned about climate change and more likely to see air pollution as a problem.
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CA rejects ban on plastic bags
NPR
09/01/2010
California lawmakers have rejected a bill seeking to ban plastic shopping bags after a contentious debate over whether the state was going too far in trying to regulate personal choice.
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Frogs and felons
KUOW
08/31/2010
This month the Oregon Zoo announced a $5,000 grant to go towards raising spotted frogs. The unlikely grant recipient - the Washington State Department of Corrections, where prisoners have been able to raise larger, healthier frogs than the Woodland Park Zoo, the Oregon Zoo, or any other institution that's tried.
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Ziplining past the 'war in the woods'
The Tyee
09/01/2010
More than 25 years after clashes saved Clayoquot Sound's old growth forests, a new tribal park in BC offers a model for land use collaboration.
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Lunch to cost more at some WA schools
KPLU
08/31/2010
As kids head back to school over the next couple of weeks, some of them will have to fork over more lunch money. The lunch lady may ask hungry teenagers in Puget Sound for an extra quarter or two, which more adequately reflects the true costs of producing the meals.
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What if the bottled water tax and repeal both pass?
Publicola
08/31/2010
What happens if measures to repeal Washington sales taxes on candy, soda, beer and bottled water and another that would use the bottled water tax to finance bonds to weatherize public schools both pass? A state spokesman says the repeal would take precedent over the bond-funding bottled water tax, leaving the school energy efficiency bonds without a funding source.
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Slideshow: Taking bike activism to the streets
Grist
08/31/2010
The pervasive attitude that roads were made for cars, not bikes, has pushed cyclists toward guerrilla street art to get their point across. In homage to those creative forces pushing non-gas pedals across the nation, we invite you to strap on a helmet and steer yourself into the "I'm loving bikes" lane with these artistic examples of bike activism taken quite literally to the streets.
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Views: Income-tax initiative's math adds up
Everett Herald
09/01/2010
Through I-1098, 197 out of 200 Washington taxpayers will see their taxes go down, while just 3 will pay the initiative's new income tax on the wealthy. And our state will gain $1.6 billion for education and health care.
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Editor's Take: August 31, 2010
Photo courtesy: MorgueFile, dzz
Environomics
Personal, environmental, and economic health are knit together in today's news. The ugly: air pollution in Fairbanks causing more hospital visits, the national costs of car accidents and cancer-causing toxics from tar sands operations; and the optimistic: stickers on cars that give climate scores and banks getting smart about green business. It's not freakonomics, it's environomics.
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Your editor today is Anna Fahey | View All Today's News
Cancer-causing pollutants tied to Canadian tar sands
The Tyee
08/30/2010
Despite repeated government claims that the world's largest energy project doesn't contaminate the Athabasca River, a new scientific study released today shows that air pollution from the oil sands industry combined with extensive watershed destruction has released a highly toxic brew of heavy metals into northern waterways.
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Unhealthy air in Fairbanks boosts hospital visits
Fairbanks Daily News Miner
08/30/2010
Hospital visits for heart disease, stroke and lung afflictions in Fairbanks rise as the air quality deteriorates, according to new study by the state of Alaska.
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Agriculture fuels the Fraser Valley's white smog
Vancouver Sun
08/30/2010
Forty years ago the Fraser Valley was filled with pastures and dairy cows, well-water was clean and automobile emissions were hardly cause for concern. Fast-forward to today and the picture looks quite different.
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Puget Sound Partnership devises progress indicators
KPLU
08/30/2010
The state agency in charge of leading the clean-up of Puget Sound has come up with a set of what it calls "dashboard indicators" to measure progress toward that goal.
Some are science measures, such as marine water quality and the abundance of salmon and orca whales.
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Banks move away from dirty fuel business
New York Times
08/30/2010
Blasting off mountaintops to reach coal in Appalachia or churning out millions of tons of carbon dioxide to extract oil from sand in Alberta are destructive activities. But they are also legal and lucrative. For a growing number of banks, however, the risks to reputation and planet are too high.
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Don't overfish salmon, warns BC native leader
CBC BC
08/30/2010
First Nations fishery adviser is warning against allowing commercial fishermen to scoop up as many sockeye salmon as possible during this year's massive salmon return on the Fraser River.
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Assessing the national bill for car accidents
New York Times
08/30/2010
Motor vehicle accidents cost the nation almost $100 billion dollars a year, about $500 for each licensed driver, according to government data.
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Grades for car fuel economy
NPR
08/31/2010
Cars with higher fuel economy and very low tailpipe emissions would get an A, while less-efficient cars could get a D.
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Nuclear industry takes new path for new plants
Seattle Times
08/31/2010
Power utilities are trying to buy the next wave of nuclear reactors much like a consumer buys a light bulb: right off the shelf.
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Whole Foods CEO: Healthy food is affordable necessity
USA Today
08/30/2010
It has been widely imitated in style and concept. Its pricing has garnered it the pop culture nickname "Whole Paycheck." The relatively tiny chain, which has 300 units in 38 states, has had a cultural impact more akin to that of Starbucks, which has more than 11,000 U.S. locations.
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Views: What will the Indian health system look like?
Indian Country Today
08/30/2010
Mark Trahant says: "Answers are up to us." Right now nearly half of all American Indians and Alaska Natives are either uninsured or rely solely on the Indian Health Service. But health care reform changes that. Beginning in four years, hundreds of thousands of people will become eligible for insurance through government programs because of new income rules.
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Editor's Take: August 30, 2010
David Lieberman, Flickr.
Invisible Families
The Seattle Times is running an impressive package of stories delving into the growing problems and emerging solutions for Northwest homelessness. Homeless families are the fastest-growing segment of folks who are without a stable abode. The answer is more affordable housing, experts are saying, and they make the case for government to foot the bill.
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Your editor today is Lisa Stiffler | View All Today's News
Fastest-growing local homeless population: families
Seattle Times
08/29/2010
Parents with children are the fastest-growing yet least-visible segment of Washington's homeless population, far more likely to be doubled up in the homes of friends or living in their cars than to be at a busy intersection asking for help.
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Portland streetcar success fuels interest elsewhere
USA Today
08/29/2010
A decade ago, the Pearl District in Portland was a dicey warehouse area. A streetcar line that opened in 2001 helped transform it into a lively neighborhood with boutiques, condos, and restaurants.
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Klamath Basin's water worries extend to wells
Oregonian
08/29/2010
During the last big drought crisis in the Klamath Basin, in 2001, Carleton Farms filed for bankruptcy. Nine summers later, amid drought crisis No. 2, heavy pumping of wells that Jim Carleton and his neighbors installed since 2001 is saving his bacon, or, more precisely, his alfalfa, potatoes, wheat, cattle and 12 employees who work his 2,000 acres.
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BC program schooling kids with fresh, local fare
Toronto Globe and Mail
08/29/2010
BC's Farm to School program is providing fresh, local fare to students while teaching them about where their food comes from -- and the kids are eating it up
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Showdown over closing Oregon coal plant
Oregonian
08/29/2010
Portland General Electric Inc. says state environmental regulators may be about to squander an historic opportunity to negotiate the early closure of Oregon's only coal-fired power plant.
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Tiny houses simpler, easier on the environment
Missoulian
08/29/2010
The LaTrays of Missoula want to design a home for the way they actually live -- and not someone else's idea of how they should live. They also want to build small to shrink their carbon footprint and save money.
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NW forests offer carbon dilemma
Olympian
08/30/2010
Scientists suspect that the forests with the biggest trees store the most carbon, and the Northwest forests are probably among the largest carbon sinks in the world. However, younger trees also absorb more carbon as they grow rapidly.
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Hundreds of dolphins in waters of southwest BC
Vancouver Sun
08/30/2010
Marine biologists are stumped as to why dolphins, which are typically found in offshore waters near the north and west side of Vancouver Island, are being seen more often in the inlets and closer to shore.
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Will Portland finally have a green jobs generator?
The Skanner
08/30/2010
The real story in Clean Energy Works Portland's bigger impact is this: Dozens of under-represented businesses and individuals met for months to hammer out a community workforce agreement that many say is a game-changer for workers of color hoping for a green jobs-style career.
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Views: The growing clout of the 'clean rich'
Oregonian
08/29/2010
America is witnessing the twilight of the dirty rich and the move of economic power to the clean rich. What's more, enviro values are spreading fast through affluent America, with more superwealthy individuals putting their money behind green causes and more upscale voters expecting government action to protect the planet.
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Editor's Take: August 27, 2010
webhamster, Flickr.
Power to the People
Big news comes from California, which has approved the first new large-scale solar thermal power plant in the US in 20 years. The state is also launching an innovative project that allows developers to bid on renewable energy projects. In Oregon, farmers are getting energy audits to help cut consumption. Bellingham celebrates a new policy to fast-track green home construction.
Editor's Top Picks
Your editor today is Lisa Stiffler | View All Today's News
California's 'eBay' for green energy
Grist
08/26/2010
It's been a big week for Big Solar. On Wednesday, the California Energy Commission approved a license for the nation's first new large-scale solar thermal power plant in two decades. Less noticed but equally momentous were developments this week on the small-scale solar front.
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Audit helps farmers save on energy
Corvallis Gazette-Times
08/27/2010
It's not often anyone claims to have had a good experience after an audit. But an Oregon State University program targeting the state's farmers and rural businesses is using students to assess energy output and provide an audit with recommendations to boost efficiency.
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The Goliath of beets
Sightline's Daily Score
08/26/2010
As of a recent court hearing, a multinational biotech company feels threatened, thousands of farmers in the Pacific Northwest see impeding doom, and half of the US sugar industry is potentially depleted. What could be causing all this ruckus? The sugar beet.
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Clearing up the scenery
Wenatchee World
08/26/2010
If that view of the North Cascades doesn't seem quite as clear as it used to, you're not the only one who's noticed. People living in the western US who could once see an average of 140 miles away can now see an average of only 90 miles away on a good day, and 35 miles away on a day with poor visibility.
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Victoria to focus on new 'urban villages'
Victoria Times Colonist
08/27/2010
Victoria's development over the next 30 years will be focused more on new urban villages than the downtown core.
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Hanford workers solving burial pits' mysteries
Tri-City Herald
08/27/2010
Work is nearly complete to help identify the type and amount of radioactive and hazardous materials at the 618-10 Burial Ground, one of the most hazardous sites on the Hanford nuclear reservation.
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US energy use in record drop
Fortune
08/26/2010
Energy use in the United States fell nearly 5 percent last year, marking the largest annual drop on record. Despite the drop in overall energy use, there was a substantial increase in alternative sources of energy, including gains in solar, hydro, and wind power.
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'Expedited' green home finished, celebrated
Bellingham Herald
08/27/2010
The first home to go through the city of Bellingham's expedited permitting process for environmentally friendly homes is complete, and officials are holding an open house for contractors to learn about it.
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Tiny apartment shows the value of a good fit
Seattle Times
08/26/2010
Homeowners are building smaller in general. It's economical and ecological. But few do it in 11-feet-3-inches wide, by 16-feet-2-inches deep, by 10-feet-4-inches tall with two beds, a full kitchen with a dishwasher, bathroom with a shower, a soaking tub set into the floor just inside the front door.
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Views: Giving credit to improve energy efficiency
Sustainable Industries
08/26/2010
Washington, unlike Oregon, has yet to amend its century-old founding document to allow the lending of public credit for energy efficiencies, something that has put the state behind the times in promoting retrofits in the residential and commercial sectors. It might be time to change that.
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