Editor's Take: April 17, 2008
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Portland: Greenest of Them All?
“Mirror, mirror, on the wall. Who’s the greenest of them all?” Many Portlanders would expect to see a reflection of their fair city. Not so, says the Willamette Week. Stumptown may be known as the sustainability hottee, but other cities are passing her up. In related news, the Oregonian reports that suburban Clackamas County is getting serious about climate action.
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Portland is Green with Envy
Willamette Week
04/16/2008
Seven things Portland should do if we're serious about being green.
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Clackamas County Adopts Climate Plan
Oregonian
04/17/2008
Clackamas County has signed on to what advocates describe as one of the most ambitious pledges to fight climate change ever adopted by local government.
Promoted by the Sierra Club, the Cool Counties Climate Stabilization Declaration calls for an 80 percent reduction in global-warming emissions by county government by 2050.
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Bay Area Businesses to Pay Emissions Fee
New York Times
04/17/2008
Air quality regulators in the San Francisco Bay Area appear set to begin charging hundreds of businesses in the region for their emissions of heat-trapping gases.
It is believed to be the first time in the country that any government body would charge industries directly for emissions that contribute to climate change.
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Canadian Poll: Consumer Choice Trumps Policy
Vancouver Sun
04/17/2008
Many people see the environment as an individual responsibility, but a climate-change expert says government policy is more critical.
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SEIU Quakes. California is the Epicenter.
San Francisco Bay Guardian
04/17/2008
As it prepares to vote on several democratic reform measures at a convention in early June, internal fault lines have split the 1.9 million-member Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
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Chehalis Chinook Fishery Latest to Fall
Aberdeen Daily World
04/16/2008
Already facing sharply curtailed coastal sport and commercial salmon seasons, fishermen have now seen another season disappear.
The closure of the sport fishery for spring and summer Chinook salmon on the entire Chehalis River and its tributaries was announced Tuesday by the state Department of Fish & Wildlife.
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Maybe Money Does Buy Happiness after All
New York Times
04/16/2008
Two Brookings Institution economists argue that money indeed tends to bring happiness, even if it doesn't guarantee it. They point out that in the 34 years since Mr. Easterlin published his paper, an explosion of public opinion surveys has allowed for a better look at the question. "The central message," Ms. Stevenson said, "is that income does matter."
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Chris Gregoire: Whatcom County's Green Economy
Bellingham Herald
04/17/2008
Together, we will build an economy that is based on clean energy, on sustainable practices, and on highly efficient transportation and energy production.
This new, green economy means independence and opportunity for Washington. It is the future.
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David Suzuki: Fishing for Salmon Answers
Georgia Straight
04/15/2008
Yes, you heard me right: some types of aquaculture are okay. And yes, I eat some farmed seafood.
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Timothy Egan: Lost Town Blues
New York Times
04/17/2008
It's an old story, the grinding of winners into losers, a sort of geographic lottery. My town was Spokane, which has rebounded somewhat from the collapse of Kaiser Aluminum.
People who live in small towns that have been passed over don't need to be told that they're bitter, or heroic. They're stuck, is what they are.
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