Editor's Take: October 30, 2009
lynneluvah, Flickr.
Head Out on the (Electric) Highway
Alternatives to fossils fuels are cropping up in the Northwest. An Ashland manufacturer of electric motorcycles sends riders out to follow the route of American car execs who went begging for federal dollars. Oregon wind energy holds promise, but will require upgrades to the grid. A BC power generator must shift from gas to renewables to cut carbon emissions.
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Your editor today is Lisa Stiffler | View All Today's News
Electric bikes trace route of car execs to DC
Coos Bay World
10/29/2009
An Oregon company that makes electric motorcycles thinks it has a homegrown solution to the nation's energy woes. To prove it, the company sent two riders on a 10-day odyssey from Detroit to Washington, re-creating the 2008 trip of automobile company CEOs looking for billions of dollars in government aid.
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The great BC real estate bust
Toronto Globe and Mail
10/29/2009
Offering mountain views and golf on the doorstep, developers spared no expense to draw retiring boomers to rural, sprawling BC housing complexes. Now the projects are in creditor protection.
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US lags with patchwork approach to e-waste
Scientific American
10/30/2009
One of the world's largest producers of electronic refuse, the US imposes no federal restrictions on what materials can be used to make electronic devices or how they can be discarded, leaving states to lead.
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Wind energy's success creates power grid challenge
Oregonian
10/29/2009
The rows of white turbines spinning over wheat fields and ridgelines in eastern Oregon are ample evidence that renewable energy from wind is real and growing. So much so that the aging network of transmission lines and power stations that carries energy around the region is loaded to its limits.
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Habitat protections sought for Inlet belugas
Anchorage Daily News
10/29/2009
An environmental group that has pressed the federal government to provide protection for Cook Inlet belugas says it will sue over the government's failure to secure habitat for the declining whale population.
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Local waters may become "Salish Sea"
KPLU
10/30/2009
The Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the Georgia Strait are parts of a connected marine ecosystem. Now, a Washington board is likely to approve a new name for these inland waterways: The Salish Sea.
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US getting better at conserving water
Seattle Times
10/30/2009
Americans are using less water per person now than they have since the mid-1950s, thanks to water-saving technologies and a push to safeguard dwindling supplies. Experts said it was particularly welcome news in the burgeoning West.
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BC clears way for greener power expansion
Vancouver Sun
10/30/2009
The Canadian government wants power-supplier BC Hydro to focus on sources of clean, renewable, and cost-effective electricity, shifting away from a gas-fired plant.
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Fishing rights between BC native, commercial claims
Toronto Globe and Mail
10/30/2009
The fight for fishing rights in BC waters is at its most ferocious when the salmon are scarce. This fall, hungry grizzlies are having to get in line behind the gillnetters, sports fishermen, and native communities sparring over meager runs.
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Views: A chemical we can live without
Oregonian
10/29/2009
All of us carry around unwanted harmful substances in our bodies. They come from mercury in our fish, stain repellants in carpet, flame retardants in sofa cushions, phthalates in our shampoo, and bisphenol A in our children's sippy cups.
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