Editor's Take: July 28, 2008
Credit: Draggin/Flickr
Weighing the Carbon Calculations
Carbon footprint calculators are nifty tools that many organizations
offer, but the numbers don't always add up, as the Seattle
P-I explores. Clark County
residents do their own number crunching, reducing to four-day
workweeks. While the economy is a bit rocky regarding housing aid and unemployment,
the wind is picking up for alternative energy and green
building.
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Carbon Footprint: Adding Up the Numbers
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
07/25/2008
"Carbon neutrality" is definitely in, with everyone from Al Gore to U2 to the Mariners calculating their carbon footprints and offsetting it with donations to wind-energy plants or tree-planting programs.
Now, many organizations have carbon calculators to help people figure out their personal footprint. But do these calculations really add up?
Go to article.
Clark County Residents Try A Four-Day Workweek
Vancouver Columbian
07/27/2008
Perhaps we are on the cusp of a great U.S. labor paradigm shift, finally prodded to adapt to elevated fuel prices, crazy commutes and seeming nonstop pressures that plague modern life.
The four-day workweek: It couldn't come soon enough for Carol Gralton, who swears by its virtues.
Go to article.
Coquille Tribe Takes Green Approach to Construction
Coos Bay World
07/27/2008
Cities aren't the only institutions trying to go green.
The Coquille Economic Development Corp., the business arm of the Coquille Indian Tribe and operator of The Mill Casino-Hotel, has embarked on a number of projects to do exactly that.
Go to article.
Oregon to Have World's Largest Wind Farm
Seattle Times
07/27/2008
A state energy panel has approved building what developers say would be the world's largest single wind farm in Gilliam and Morrow counties in northeastern Oregon.
Officials say the Columbia River Gorge wind farm will be capable of generating 909 megawatts at its peak, enough to power some 225,000 homes.
Go to article.
Eugene Residents Take Sustainable Bike Tours
Eugene Register Guard
07/27/2008
In the eight years Jan Spencer has lived at 212 Benjamin St., he has torn out his driveway, eliminated all the grass and built a chicken coop. He calls his creation "edible landscaping."
Spencer recently led 14 friends and neighbors on a bicycle tour of his River Road neighborhood to see what innovations people who use all or most of their yard space to grow food, keep chickens and produce solar power have made.
Go to article.
Views: Water for Fish and Cities
Seattle Times
07/26/2008
Abundant supplies of water for people and salmon are at the heart of agreements between the Eastside's Cascade Water Alliance and two Indian tribes.
This is a win for all parties. Striking a balance between the needs of growing communities and the region's iconic salmon runs is an achievement.
Go to article.
Inflation Affects Lower-Income Americans Most
Seattle Times
07/27/2008
Unlike the inflation of the 1970s and 80s, today's surging prices have disproportionately hurt lower-income Americans.
That's because inflation so far has been confined mainly to food and fuel. Such staples make up a bigger part of lower-income family budgets, so rising prices pack an extra wallop.
Go to article.
Housing Bill Won't 'Perform Miracles'
Washington Post
07/27/2008
Even as a huge bipartisan majority in the Senate voted yesterday to send a sprawling housing bill to the White House, economists, consumer advocates and other analysts said the package of programs for struggling homeowners and shaken mortgage lenders is unlikely to relieve the foreclosure crisis that is driving the nation toward recession.
Go to article.
Wind Farms Create New Careers
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
07/28/2008
With wind turbine towers popping up on the U.S. landscape at a rate of almost 10 per day, the need for people to maintain and repair them is reaching the critical point.
Community colleges in North Dakota and other states are jumping at the chance to help fill that need and develop a niche for themselves at the same time through wind tech programs.
Go to article.
Federal Farm Bill Includes Sustainability Funds
Salem Statesman Journal
07/26/2008
Oregon's Sens. Gordon Smith and Ron Wyden said Friday that a farm spending bill headed for the Senate floor contains almost $5.9 million for sustainable agriculture programs and research in the state.
More than $4.8 million of the money would go to the Wood Utilization Research Center at Oregon State University to research new bio-products, composite materials, biofuels and nanotechnology.
Go to article.
