Editor's Take: May 05, 2009
dave 7, flickr
Goodbye Gas Guzzlers
Congressional leaders have tentatively reached agreement on a "cash for clunkers" program that would pay Americans to take gas guzzlers off the road. And there's more good news for carbon-free commutes: Vancouver is poised to cede two lanes of a busy bridge to cyclists and walkers, Seattle is unveiling its pedestrian master plan and Tacoma wants to make its streets friendlier to foot-powered travel.
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'Cash for clunkers' deal struck
Wall Street Journal
05/05/2009
Consumers would get as much as $4,500 from the government to trade in their gas-guzzling cars under a compromise plan being forged in Congress that could help advance a broad measure to combat climate change.
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Vancouver leaning to feet and pedals
Toronto Globe and Mail
05/06/2009
It was first attempted more than a decade ago but drivers rose up in indignant revolt. Now Vancouver City Council, led by an environmentally minded mayor, is poised to once again cede a key chunk of the city's roads to cyclists and pedestrians on one of the city's busiest bridge spans.
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Seattle pedestrians to drivers: Back off!
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
05/06/2009
Seattle is expected this week to unveil its Pedestrian Master Plan to promote pedestrian safety and healthy lifestyles. In a city where 468 pedestrians were hit by drivers last year, everyone from regular walkers to Seattle police agree that some drivers don't know how to share the road.
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Portland growth blurs rural-urban borders
Oregonian
05/05/2009
The land used to be known simply as the family farm. Now it's part of what's called the urban-rural interface, and complications sprout alongside the crops.
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Cutting tax breaks for corn ethanol
Los Angeles Times
05/05/2009
The Obama administration on Tuesday proposed renewable-fuel standards that could reduce the $3 billion a year in federal tax breaks given to producers of corn-based ethanol. The move sets the stage for a major battle between Midwest grain producers and environmentalists who say the gasoline additive actually worsens global warming.
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Tacoma's bringing sexy back (to streets)
The Tacoma News Tribune
05/05/2009
Tacoma is trying to make city streets appealing to more than just drivers. That means putting in sidewalks, bike lanes, turn lanes, trees and rain gardens. So what good do these things do besides getting urban planners' pheromones pumping?
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Invasive caterpillars' ride ends at Seattle port
Seattle Times
05/06/2009
After a shipment of fencing coming through Seattle's port from China was found to contain many crop-sensitive invasive caterpillars, federal inspectors began holding all fence shipments from the company. They uncovered an assortment of pests that if unstopped could have damaged thousands of dollars in crops.
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Orca suit makes waves in Canada
BC Local News
05/05/2009
Killer whales are making a splash in Canada's federal court, and their ripples could be felt by BC whale watching companies. The main issue in the lawsuit brought by environmental groups is focused on orcas' food, but vessel traffic and acoustic disturbances could come into play.
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Health insurers offer to cut women's rates
Los Angeles Times
05/05/2009
Health insurance companies, facing the threat of a government health plan, have offered to reduce rates for millions of women and accept close federal regulation of their industry. The higher premiums, based on the premise that women cost more during childbearing years, affect 5.7 million women, many self-employed buying their own coverage.
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Economy grim for BC newcomers
Vancouver Sun
05/05/2009
The bloom of immigrants' initial attraction to their adopted BC home is starting to fade. In its place is a growing anxiety over an inability to land any kind of work as the recession shifts newcomers - who only last year were hailed as vital to the booming Canadian economy - to the bottom rung of the employment ladder.
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