Daily Score Blog

(Update: We've created a better version of this here.)

Look how much we're spending on oil and gas in the Northwest states:

If you have javascript enabled on your computer, you should be seeing the year-to-date totals rack up, at a pretty astonishing rate -- about $19.2 billion per year.

Of course, the counter above assumes that energy spending patterns will be the same in 2007 as in 2006. So far, that doesn't look too far off the mark.

This isn't the freshest bit of news, but it's still interesting: The Washington Post reports that killer commutes aren't a misnomer.

[A] long commute can be harmful to your health. Researchers have found that hours spent behind the wheel raise blood pressure and cause workers to get sick and stay home more often. Commuters have lower thresholds for frustration at work, suffer more headaches and chest pains, and more often display negative moods at home in the evenings.

Sadly, that seems about right to me.

1. “In 1971, I participated in the second Earth Day and became the coordinator of an interdisciplinary Environmental Studies program at West Georgia College.”

Find out here.

2. On the occasion of the first Earth Day: "[there is an] absolute necessity of waging all-out war against the debauching of the environment.”

Find out here.

3. “Our nation has both an obligation and self-interest in facing, head-on, the serious environmental, economic and national security threat posed by global warming.”

Find out here.

4. “We simply must do everything we can in our power to slow down global warming before it is too late. The science is clear. The global warming debate is over.”

Find out here.

Lesson: Stewardship is a value that should always transcend party politics.

The occasion of Earth Day always produces a rich mix of environmental news stories. The Sunday Oregonian offered a good package on how Portlanders' habits are changing. Reporter Michael Milstein drew up a green report card for the city with some surprising findings. A companion piece by Gail Kinsey Hill reviews how different people define "sustainability" -- "a six-syllable brain-teaser with meanings that stretch from the mundane to the audacious to the profound," she quips.

In Seattle, it's the same old angle: the dance of political leadership between Ron Sims and Greg Nickels. The P-I publishes a "who's greener" piece. The paper also provides a good summary of the 2007 Legislature, which ended yesterday.