Editor's Take: August 01, 2008
Credit: Jeff Youngstrom, Flickr
Save Bucks, Take the Bus
Here's one more reason to use transit:
more than $8,000 of annual savings, not to mention the break it'll give the
atmosphere. Give the planet breathing room and forego that new super-useful,
time-saving gizmo. The creation of consumer
goods is tough on earth's climate. Alternative energy is getting a green bill, with promising reports for Oregon
and the nation.
Editor's Top Picks
Your editor today is Christina Claassen | View All Today's News
Get On a Bus and Save $8,400
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
08/01/2008
A Seattle driver who gives up his or her car to ride the bus could save more than $8,400 a year, a transit advocacy group said Thursday.
But is that enough incentive for Seattleites to give up their wheels?
Go to article.
Climate Change? Blame Your Stuff
Oregonian
08/01/2008
To cut energy use, save money and, while you're at it, live a greener life, you can turn down the air conditioning, back off the accelerator, hop on a bike.
But when it comes to your personal energy tally, there's another big but not as commonly considered source: The stuff you buy.
Go to article.
A Used Prius a Hot Commodity
USA Today
08/01/2008
Buyers are so eager to start saving gas with the nation's best-selling hybrid that they're paying more for a used Prius than they'd pay for a new one if they were willing to wait.
Go to article.
Oregon Solar Projects Get a Big Boost
Oregonian
08/01/2008
State utility regulators gave the go-ahead Thursday to dozens of solar-electric projects in a ruling that cleared away legal questions hanging over a popular financing plan.
The decision was a sweeping endorsement of the financing deals, which allow outside investors to tap into lucrative tax breaks by building solar projects for cities, counties and other public entities.
Go to article.
Sorting Trash in San Francisco
San Francisco Chronicle
08/01/2008
Under a new proposal by San Francisco's Mayor Gavin Newsom, trash collectors will have to inspect San Francisco residents' trash to make sure pizza crusts aren't mixed in with chip bags or wine bottles.
And if residents or businesses don't separate the coffee grounds from the newspapers, they would face fines of up to $1,000 and eventually could have their garbage service stopped.
Go to article.
Headed for the Wild at the Speed Of ... a Turtle
Seattle Times
08/01/2008
An endangered western pond turtle awaits its release back into the wild Thursday at a refuge area in Lakewood, Pierce County.
It was one of two dozen 10-month-old reptiles released there and at an area in Mason County by the Woodland Park Zoo and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Go to article.
Rural Oregon Left in the Lurch
High Country News
07/31/2008
It's a tale that is repeating itself all over western Oregon, as counties face the expiration of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act. The law, enacted in 2000, was a response to the decline in logging in the 1990s.
For some counties, it furnished more than half of their general discretionary fund, the money used to pay for police officers, mental health services and other basic government operations.
Go to article.
Washington Promotes Child Health Program
AP
07/31/2008
The Department of Social and Health Services has started a statewide bus tour to enroll more children in the medical assistance program for low- and middle-income families.
Gov. Chris Gregoire got the "Apple Health for Kids" bus rolling at an event Thursday in Seattle. It will stop at 15 cities over the next month.
Go to article.
Views: Ideas for Green Jobs in California
San Francisco Chronicle
08/01/2008
Today is the final day for public comments on the draft plan for implementing AB32, California's global warming solutions plan, and one area that has still received far less attention than it should is the key role California's workers must play in restructuring our economy to reduce our carbon footprint.
Go to article.
Reports Raise Hopes on Alternative Energy
New York Times
08/01/2008
Storing energy is a crucial but expensive component of plans to turn intermittent sources of energy, like wind and sun, into reliable replacements for coal and natural gas. But two new scientific papers show progress in materials science and chemistry that could cut the cost.
Go to article.
