Editor's Take: July 17, 2008
kanaka's paradise life, flickr
Cascadia Underfoot
Today we see how Cascadian neighborhoods measure up against the rest of the nation and San Francisco takes the cake. Californians are rethinking offshore drilling and nuclear power. Meanwhile, the Pope warns us not to squander our natural resources, and Al Gore asks the next president to aim for the moon. Also, are better schools really the answer to solving income gaps?
Editor's Top Picks
Your editor today is Eric Hess | View All Today's News
S.F. Takes a Step Ahead as Most Walkable City
San Francisco Chronicle
07/17/2008
If you or your loved one is struggling to break the cycle of fossil fuel addiction, San Francisco may just be your Betty Ford Center. The city by the bay is the most "walkable" in the nation, according to rankings set for release today by WalkScore.com, a service designed to help those seeking a less automobile-dependent life.
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Shadow Falls on Sun Power in Oregon
Portland Tribune
07/17/2008
What is the outlook for Oregon's small but vibrant solar industry? For much of the year, the sun shone brightly. More homeowners are installing solar panels than ever before. Solar manufacturers are investing more than $1 billion in high-tech factories. Dozens of big solar projects are in the works. But a shadow is looming over this sunny parade.
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NW Biofuels Industry Gets Help In A Pinch
Oregon Public Broadcasting
07/17/2008
With gas prices hovering near record levels, you'd think it would be a good time to be an alternative fuel producer. But the West's ethanol and biodiesel industries are in a pinch. Prices for their product have gone up even faster than for petroleum. Plus, some consumers are questioning the true benefits of fuels made from food crops.
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Gas Prices Have Californians Rethinking
San Francisco Chronicle
07/17/2008
In a sign that record-high gas prices are changing the way Californians think and live, a new poll shows that state residents are losing their long-held hostility to nuclear power and may even reconsider their opposition to oil drilling off their scenic coast.
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Pope: World's Resources Being Squandered
Anchorage Daily News
07/17/2008
The world's natural resources are being squandered in the pursuit of "insatiable consumption," Pope Benedict XVI said Thursday in a speech urging followers to care more for the environment and reconnect with the principle of peace.
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Urban Farm May Cost the Lawn
Vancouver Sun
07/17/2008
The first step in building an urban farm is arguably the hardest. Craig Heighway learned that when he set about rototilling more than 4,000 square feet of lawn on the west side of Vancouver, B.C. "It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do," he said. Like wrestling an angry buffalo.
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Grower, Fisherman Grapple With a Cursed Summer
San Jose Mercury News
07/17/2008
Greg Ambiel and John Lupul live about 100 miles apart. One earns his living fishing salmon. The other owns a small tomato sales company. But in many ways their stories are one. In this summer of discontent marked by skyrocketing fuel prices, home foreclosures, bank failures and sagging stock markets, both men worry like all Americans. But for Ambiel and Lupul, a pair of economic curses appeared out of nowhere to threaten their livelihoods.
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Views: Do Better Schools Help the Poor?
Christian Science Monitor
07/16/2008
If taxpayers were not already frustrated enough by the performance of public schools, their mood was probably not improved by the release of contrasting manifestoes by two prominent organizations dedicated to improving education. At issue is the academic achievement gap between racial groups. Despite protracted efforts in the past decade, this problem continues to plague the nation.
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Gore: US Can Rise to Challenge
Boston Globe
07/17/2008
Just as John F. Kennedy set his sights on the moon, Al Gore is challenging the nation to produce every kilowatt of electricity through wind, sun and other Earth-friendly energy sources within 10 years, an audacious goal he hopes the next president will embrace.
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Can We Engineer a Cooler Earth?
The Christian Science Monitor
07/16/2008
Launch myriad mirrors into space to deflect a fraction of sunlight from reaching Earth. Seed the stratosphere with sulfur or other particles to cut some of the sun's rays. Bioengineer trees to soak up huge amounts of carbon dioxide from the air. Thinkers have posed a number of creative ideas on how to protect the planet from global warming.
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