Editor's Take: July 25, 2008
Credit: Michelle Gomes/Flickr
More Than Just the Money
What if we started valuing local
economies for more than just the money? That's exactly what a new study
explores: the value of Puget Sound's natural resources.
Ecosystems have wide-ranging impacts, from human health, to resource
availability. BC is valuing its ecosystem too, as the Nature
Conservancy of Canada just bought more than 550 square-miles of biodiverse
land.
Editor's Top Picks
Your editor today is Christina Claassen | View All Today's News
Making Cents of Puget Sound's Eco-Economy
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
07/25/2008
Lower doctor bills. Drinking water. Protection from floods. Food.
Those are just a few items on a newly compiled list of goods and services provided to people living around Puget Sound by the "natural capital" of the region's forests, mountains and waterways, says a report being released Friday by a team of economists.
Go to article.
Nature Conservancy Buys Biodiverse BC Estate
Vancouver Sun
07/25/2008
A German duke's Cold War refuge has been turned into the largest single private conservation project ever undertaken by a non-profit organization in Canada.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada announced in Vancouver Thursday that a 550-square-mile (1,425-square-km) property in southeastern B.C.'s South Selkirk Mountains has been purchased as a conservation area.
Go to article.
Canada's Smaller Cities Benefit From Immigration
Vancouver Sun
07/25/2008
Canada's mid-sized cities are enjoying an immigration boom while the stream of newcomers flatlines or even declines in the large urban centres that typically act as magnets, according to new figures from Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
The change reflects shifting economic and employment prospects across the country and the successful efforts of smaller centres to woo newcomers, experts say.
Go to article.
Oregon Considers Socially Responsible College Fund
AP
07/24/2008
Oregon's five-member college savings board is discussing a socially responsible option for its 529 college savings fund.
Go to article.
Housing Crisis Hits Exurbs Hard
Christian Science Monitor
07/24/2008
While new exurbs, those once fast-growing communities at the fringe of major metropolitan areas, will rebound much more slowly than traditional suburban and urban communities, housing experts say, city leaders in Victorville, California, are more upbeat. They have one advantage: They've learned how to handle downturns, offering one model of survival for other exurbs reeling from the housing crisis.
Go to article.
Demand Up for Idaho Foodbank's Free Lunches
Boise Idaho Statesman
07/25/2008
A 35 percent increase in the number of free lunches the Idaho Foodbank has handed out so far through its Picnic in the Park program may be yet another sign of local families' economic struggles.
More children than ever are using the program, which provides healthy meals during the summer, when free or reduced school lunches aren't available.
Go to article.
Record Number of Sockeye in Columbia River
AP
07/24/2008
Sockeye salmon are heading back up the Columbia River this summer in numbers unseen since 1955, and nobody is sure why.
Some credit a federal court order releasing extra water over dams in 2006 and 2007 to ease the young salmons' passage to the sea, The Oregonian reported.
Go to article.
Boise City Staffers Ending the Idle
Boise Idaho Statesman
07/25/2008
Boise police officers and other city staffers are working to reduce the amount of time their cars idle to save gas and curb pollution.
The policy was informally adopted by Mayor Dave Bieter and his executive management team in recent months, spokesman Adam Park said Thursday. The anti-idling policy is set for final approval and adoption into the city's employee handbook on Monday, Park said.
Go to article.
Views: California's Warming Up To Climate Solutions
San Francisco Chronicle
07/25/2008
When it comes to implementing California's "Global Warming Solutions Act," some in the business community are not warming up to the solutions.
All too often, those voices of opposition dominate the news. Yet in Silicon Valley, and throughout the innovation economy, companies are eager to devise ways to curb climate change, to reduce dependence on foreign oil, and to curtail our use of fuels that produce greenhouse gases.
Go to article.
California Makes Tough Emissions Restrictions for Ships
San Francisco Chronicle
07/25/2008
State air-quality officials approved the toughest-known restriction on ship emissions in the world Thursday, cutting the diesel exhaust that exposes millions of people along the California coast to harmful air pollution.
The measure, adopted by the state Air Resources Board, requires ships traveling within 28 miles of shore to replace heavy fuel oil with lower-sulfur products. About 2,000 ships call at California ports every year.
Go to article.
