Editor's Take: August 11, 2009
Photo: p medved, flickr
Green Eggs and Schools
Today, environmental challenges facing humans and animals are rife in the news. Species from orcas to mountain goats are struggling while human communities are wrestling with economic consequences. School districts are looking at budget slowdowns from a collapsing timber industry, while businesses look to sustainability to maintain profits. Workers are crossing their fingers for a future of green jobs and health care.
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Your editor today is Nate Kommers | View All Today's News
Egg producer says green is good business
Wenatchee World
08/11/2009
Wilcox Family Farms, the giant Pierce County egg producer, celebrates its 100th anniversary and finds itself on the cusp of a revolution in corporate food production. Sustainable practices have made it a darling of environmentalists trying to save Puget Sound.
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Oregon restoring Rocky Mountain goats
Oregonian
08/10/2009
Oregon and federal officials have released 18 Rocky Mountain goats into the Blue Mountain wilderness, part of an ongoing effort to rebuild the state's goat populations in their historic habitats.
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Hispanics watching health care debate closely
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
08/10/2009
Experts say health disparities among ethnic groups are great, with one in three Hispanics and one in five African-Americans not having health insurance, compared with one in eight whites. And as the recession deepens, the gap is growing along with rising unemployment and cuts to work-sponsored insurance.
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Pollution, noise and loss of salmon threaten Orcas
Everett Herald
08/10/2009
There aren't nearly as many real orcas in local waters as there are figurative ones on land. About four years after orcas living in Puget Sound waters were declared endangered, the prospects for their recovery are still unclear.
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Squid sightings show species' unusual trek
Toronto Globe and Mail
08/11/2009
The stranding of hundreds of giant squid on beaches near Tofino last week was the latest indication that warm-water species are pushing north on the Pacific Coast, perhaps as a result of global warming.
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Labor secretary expects more green job hiring
San Francisco Chronicle
08/11/2009
After a terrible start to the year there are signs of a rebound for alternative energy, in part because of a push from the Obama administration.
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Low timber prices hurt NW school budgets
Oregon Public Broadcasting
08/10/2009
Low timber prices means loggers are out of work and mills are closing. But the rock-bottom prices are also having a trickle-down effect on school kids. Some see the crisis as an opportunity to rethink the connection between logging and education in the Northwest.
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Report: Grizzlies will never roam Canadian Prairies again
Vancouver Sun
08/11/2009
Grizzly bears will likely never again inhabit their native range, which once stretched across Saskatchewan and as far east as Manitoba, according to a recent report from Environment Canada.
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Slaughterhouse on wheels aids 'locavore' movement
Seattle Times
08/11/2009
The locavore movement may be sweeping the nation, but there is a big gap when it comes to meat. Consumers want it, but farmers can't get it to them. A coalition of Puget Sound-area farmers is hoping an answer lies in a specially built, 45-foot, stainless-steel Mobile Meat Processing Unit.
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Looking at climate engineering to cool the planet
New York Times
08/11/2009
While still theoretical, climate engineering is looking more practical. Recent reviews of several ideas conclude that cooling the planet would be technically feasible and economically affordable.
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