Editor's Take: May 10, 2009
beta karel, flickr
Bicycles for All
Bike-To-Work Week gets rolling with happy news: Vancouver has invested millions in street improvements, and Seattle is bringing bikes to low-income kids. Elsewhere, Boise's economy is probed as a national microcosm, Puget Sound's abalone are unlucky in love and a national investigation questions whether road-building stimulus money will be spent wisely.
Editor's Top Picks
Your editor today is Jennifer Langston | View All Today's News
Free fall's over, but where are we landing?
New York Times
05/11/2009
Will the Obama administration's apparent achievement in arresting an economic free fall yield a sustainable revival, creating millions of jobs? Or will federal spending amount to a pinata at a children's birthday party, with the proceeds scattered willy-nilly? In Boise, Idaho, the local economy presents a microcosm of the recent American experience, making it a useful laboratory to seek those answers.
Go to article.
Bike-to-work easier in Vancouver
Vancouver Sun
05/10/2009
Vancouver cyclists hitting the road Monday for Bike to Work Week will find their commutes safer, faster and more relaxing. The city has spent $20 million on two new greenways designated for cyclists and pedestrians, five new bikeways, extended bike boulevards and increased numbers of cyclist signal buttons at busy intersections.
Go to article.
Equal access to bikes in Seattle
Seattle Times
05/11/2009
Seattle's Cascade Bicycle Club has launched biking clubs for disadvantaged kids around King County to promote fitness, recreation, alternate transportation and independence. But cycling can be cost-prohibitive for some families. "It's like golf, or tennis," the program's director said. "So this is all about creating access."
Go to article.
Oregon House approves energy efficiency bill
Oregon Public Broadcasting
05/10/2009
Oregon's carbon footprint would shrink under a bill narrowly approved by the Oregon House. The measure would affect everything from the fuel you buy to the tires you drive on, but the centerpiece of the legislation is a section that requires a 10 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicle fuel.
Go to article.
Abalone: Overfished, lonely and almost extinct
Seattle Times
05/10/2009
Because so many abalone have been taken from Puget Sound that survivors can't get close enough to reproduce, scientists with kitchen utensils and model-train glue are now trying to mate them in a lab. As populations of marine creatures plummet across the globe, the fate of abalone shows how easy it is to misread the consequences of overfishing, and how complicated it can be to repair the damage.
Go to article.
Is micro-hydro a dirty word?
Everett Herald
05/10/2009
The Snohomish County PUD wants to construct miniature dams - "micro hydro" in industry jargon - in the upper reaches of streams and creeks, above already existing natural barriers to salmon and other migratory fish. But some conservation groups who worry they could still harm the environment call it greenwashing for the hydropower industry.
Go to article.
Poll: Canadians wary of carbon tax costs
Toronto Globe and Mail
05/10/2009
Canadians are willing to flirt with a nationwide carbon tax to fight climate change, but bets are off when it comes to paying the bill, a new poll has found. Support for the tax was lowest in BC, the only province that actually has one.
Go to article.
Not guilty verdict in Grace asbestos trial
Missoulian
05/10/2009
After deliberating one full day, jurors in the W.R. Grace & Co. trial unanimously acquitted the global chemical company and three former executives, ending the largest environmental crimes prosecution in United States history.
Go to article.
Road stimulus shorts neediest counties
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
05/11/2009
Counties suffering the most from job losses stand to receive the least help from President Barack Obama's plan to spend billions of stimulus dollars on roads and bridges, an AP analysis has found. Although the intent of the money is to put people back to work, many struggling communities lack projects waiting on a shelf and can't afford millions for required plans.
Go to article.
Views: Obama errs on polar bears
Eugene Register Guard
05/10/2009
The Obama administration has decided to keep a Bush-era policy that limits protection of the polar bear from global warming. The disappointing decision means the government cannot use the federal Endangered Species Act to reduce greenhouse emissions.
Go to article.
