Editor's Take: October 06, 2009
Photo: showbizinbc, Flickr
Beetles and Bills
Livelihoods in the NW are affected by nature as well as recession. Timber companies are marketing beetle-damaged timber, and a mild winter might help some with heating costs. Governments seem to be ahead of many corporate interests on climate change. On another note, today is the start of Sightline Daily’s Getaway to Seattle sweepstakes. Refer your friends and be entered to win two nights out in Seattle!
Editor's Top Picks
Your editor today is Nate Kommers | View All Today's News
Little beetle a big puzzle for Canadian lumber
Toronto Globe and Mail
10/05/2009
Western Canada's mountain pine beetle infestation has left forestry firms with both the short-term problem of how to make money in a tough market from beetle-killed trees, and the long-term risk of a fibre shortage. If the industry is lucky, the spectators at the 2010 Games will take their eyes off the athletes speeding around the skating oval and spend a few moments looking at the newly built facility's "wood wave" ceiling.
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OR roadless rule roadblock
Ashland Daily Tidings
10/05/2009
Federal economic stimulus money totaling $2 million has been earmarked for a wildfire fuels thinning project in the Ashland Watershed, but the project is in limbo because of a nationwide controversy over what activities will be allowed in roadless areas.
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Households may get break on winter heating costs
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
10/06/2009
There's good news for people who heat their homes with natural gas. This winter's heating bill should be about $105 less than last winter, the government said Tuesday. Households using fuel oil, electric heat or propane also will save money.
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WA family turns back yard into food source
Seattle Times
10/05/2009
Hidden behind Kim Gensman's two-story home is a virtually never-ending supply of nutrition for her Kelso family. Kim, who was born in the Ostrander-area house, and her husband, Daniel, have cleared and tilled their land. They built the equipment they need to keep their family supplied with fruits and vegetables as late as early January.
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Obama puts government on greenhouse-gas diet
Seattle Times
10/05/2009
In an executive order signed Monday, Obama directed all agencies to set the first-ever targets for reducing climate-altering pollution from government buildings, fleets and federal workers' commutes.
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Is this economy a climate opportunity?
BBC News
10/06/2009
The global recession provides a window of opportunity to curb climate change and build a low-carbon future, says the International Energy Agency (IEA).
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Mighty caribou herds dwindle, warming blamed
Juneau Empire
10/06/2009
From wildlife spectacle to wildlife mystery, the decline of the caribou - called reindeer in the Eurasian Arctic - has biologists searching for clues, and finding them. They believe the insidious impact of climate change, its tipping of natural balances and disruption of feeding habits, is decimating a species that has long numbered in the millions and supported human life in Earth's most inhuman climate.
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Climate change endangering national parks, says report
Seattle Times
10/05/2009
The Natural Resources Defense Council and the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization say 25 national parks are threatened by climate change, including Mount Rainier National Park in Washington.
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Views: US chamber is a dinosaur on climate change
Tri-City Herald
10/06/2009
The US Chamber of Commerce, which purports to be the voice of the nation's businesses, has turned into a dinosaur when it comes to clean energy. The chamber's strong opposition to climate change legislation makes clear its allegiance to the destructive oil- and coal-based industries of yesteryear.
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Views: A Klamath dam removal deal, maybe
Eugene Register Guard
10/06/2009
Last week's tentative agreement to remove four Klamath River dams was a welcome breakthrough on an issue that in recent years has divided local, state and federal officials, farmers, fishermen, Native Americans, environmentalists -- and a disputatious host of others.
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