Editor's Take: August 15, 2008
christopher chan, flickr
The Booming New Economy
A new economy is booming in Cascadia as companies within the region and without invest in renewable energy projects. In Oregon, this means a burst of hot jobs; in the bay area, PG&E is investing in enough solar to power 239,000 homes; and venture capitalists say the future is now for clean tech. But nationally the senate fails to continue renewable energy tax credits.
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Oregon Creates Hot Jobs in Green Energy
Oregonian
08/15/2008
Columbia Gorge Community College is churning out technicians for the booming wind farms of the mid-Columbia. Having developed a curriculum that fits the wind power companies' needs, the college has placed 50 to 55 graduates who maintain the electronic and mechanical systems of the 400-foot-tall wind turbines that have sprouted in the rolling hills of north-central Oregon and across the river in Washington.
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For Clean Tech, Future is Now
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
08/15/2008
What's it going to take to see more innovation around solar, biofuels and electric vehicles in this country? More money. More government assistance. And real changes in consumer behavior.
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PG&E Goes Big in California Solar Power
San Francisco Chronicle
08/15/2008
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. announced plans Thursday to buy 800 megawatts of photovoltaic solar power from two Bay Area companies - a giant deal that would provide enough electricity to power 239,000 homes and would create the country's first utility-scale photovoltaic plants.
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Friedman: Losing Tax Credits for Renewables
New York Times
08/14/2008
On July 30, that the Senate voted for the eighth time in the past year on a broad, vitally important bill that would have extended the investment tax credits for renewable energy. Both the wind and solar industries depend on these credits, which expire in December, to become competitive with coal, oil and natural gas. Unlike offshore drilling, these credits could have an immediate impact on America's energy profile.
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Portland is a Hub for the Car-free and Carefree
USA Today
08/15/2008
When guests at Portland's studiously hip Ace Hotel want to break away from their bedside turntables for urban exploring, they can borrow a Dutch-designed cruiser and a cycling map laced with hints: Do steer clear of train tracks and yield to pedestrians; don't blow through red lights or ride while using a cellphone. "And remember," the map cautions. "Drinking and smoking while riding is for professionals only. Do not attempt!"
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Study: WA Farmworkers Face Low Quality of Life
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
08/15/2008
From living out of cars to rodent-plagued cabins, Washington farmworkers interviewed for a new survey offer a glimpse into the quality of life for many of the more than 170,000 people who form the backbone of the state's large agricultural sector.
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Medicaid Bears Brunt of States' Budget Crunch
Christian Science Monitor
08/14/2008
Low-income Americans, beware. Facing budget deficits, two of the nation's most populous states, California and New York, are proposing changes in Medicaid that could affect the eligibility of hundreds of thousands of people or decrease funding for hospitals, doctors, dentists, and pharmacists.
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Three R's Go Green
San Francisco Chronicle
08/15/2008
Move over reading, writing and 'rithmetic, the three R's of education have gone green. These days, recycle, reduce and reuse is the new mantra in schools as educators, politicians and parents push for increased environmental education and ecological awareness in California classrooms.
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Food or Fuel? The Ethanol Battle
Portland Tribune
08/15/2008
Ethanol - the granddaddy of the biofuels movement - is in a food fight. Or a fuel fight. Or a food-versus-fuel fight. How about these for fighting words: A United Nations food expert recently described ethanol as "a crime against humanity."
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Views: Four Offshore-Drilling Myths
The Christian Science Monitor
08/15/2008
There is no hotter button right now than the debate over whether Congress should lift the 27-year-old ban on offshore drilling. I've read a lot of news reports and editorials about this issue, and I've seen a lot of misinformation - some of it implicit, but a lot of it outright falsehood, too.
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