Editor's Take: June 17, 2008
Credit: Oregon State University
Prairie and Prayer
The Register-Guard offers a pair of interesting features: one on an effort to restore Oregon prairie and another on the dichotomy of Oregon's 4th District, where everyone loves trees, but "half love them vertical; the other half love them horizontal." Plus: How rising gas prices are affecting American churches.
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Oregon's 4th District Passionate About Forests
Eugene Register Guard
06/16/2008
Mark Rey, undersecretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, sounds glib when he says this, but it rings true: 100 percent of the people in U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio's district love trees. Half love them vertical; the other half love them horizontal.
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Project Restores Native Oregon Prairie
Eugene Register Guard
06/16/2008
The heavy, sweet scent of tarweed, one of more than 50 rare upland native prairie species that once carpeted the Willamette Valley, engulfed 4-year-old Amelia Cascade as she explored the Walama Restoration Project's butterfly meadow. The meadow is a showcase for efforts to develop cost-effective, herbicide-free techniques to restore some of the upland prairie that formerly covered half the Willamette Valley.
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Views: $4 Gas Will Change Exurb Way of Life
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
06/17/2008
In exurbia the great American energy crisis and the great American housing crisis converge. Between 2000 and 2006, these communities grew three times faster than the overall population. But now the disadvantages of this new civilization are obvious in the ever-rising energy bills.
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Clergy Question the Car's Role in Society
Los Angeles Times
06/17/2008
Religious leaders are struggling to help their members cope with high gas prices, spinning new themes about a society that has become almost sinfully reliant on motorized transport. Others are viewing the energy-price squeeze as a test of the way they serve God and their communities.
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First Nation's Plan Means Economic Growth
Vancouver Sun
06/17/2008
Last week, Canadians saw our prime minister make history by apologizing for the racism, abuse and near elimination of this country's first peoples. This week, with the Tsawwassen First Nation, we are now being offered a chance at a more positive future.
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Views: Carbon-tax Rebate Puts Green Ideals to Test
Victoria Times Colonist
06/17/2008
Here's what your $100 carbon-tax rebate check will buy you: A whole round of golf; half a pair of Fluevog shoes; an eighth of an ounce of marijuana; a ninth of an ounce of gasoline. Or you could put your money where your mouth is and do something green.
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McCain Seeks to End Offshore Drilling Ban
Washington Post
06/17/2008
Sen. John McCain called for an end to the federal ban on offshore oil drilling, offering an aggressive response to high gasoline prices and immediately drawing the ire of groups he's courted for months. Energy policy is now a top-tier issue in the campaign, forcing both candidates to shift their attention from other domestic issues and foreign affairs.
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Portland Tries Bold "Carfree" Experiment
Oregonian
06/17/2008
On Sunday, six miles of public thoroughfare in Portland will be shut entirely to traffic in the hopes people show up on foot and by bike to mingle, dance, shop and dine. This bold experiment, modeled after a popular street shutdown in Bogota, Colombia, is timed to a conference starting today in Portland.
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The Geography of Green Consumerism
The Economist
06/17/2008
Ignore, for a moment, whether green consumerism is a contradiction in terms. Pass over the question of whether these products actually deliver the benefits they promise. Who buys them--the rich, the idealistic, the penny pinching or the guilty? Two UCLA economists might have the answer.
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Exxon Ruling Delay Tied to Stress
Alaska Public Radio Network
06/17/2008
For months now, residents of spill-affected communities have eagerly awaited the court's decision. Now, a sociology professor says he has a study which shows that spill litigation may be responsible for unusually high psychological stress levels in one of the towns hit hardest by the spill.
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