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Northwest drivers using less gas
KPLU
07/02/2009
If it seems like you're buying less gas these days, you're probably right. A new study from a Seattle-based sustainability think tank finds total gasoline consumption across the Northwest dropped sharply last year. In fact, per-capita gasoline use has dropped in 8 of the last 9 years, and it's now at its lowest level since 1965.
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Veterans to be trained for green jobs
Los Angeles Times
07/01/2009
Seventeen groups nationwide, including the Long Beach office of United States Veterans Initiative -- which will receive $500,000 -- have been awarded grants to train and find green jobs for veterans. The jobs include work associated with residential and commercial solar energy systems and wastewater treatment.
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Protection sought again for giant, spitting worms
Wenatchee World
07/01/2009
Fans of the giant Palouse earthworm are once again seeking federal protection for the rare, sweet-smelling species that spits at predators. They filed a petition Tuesday with the US Fish and Wildlife Service requesting the worm be protected as an endangered species.
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BC gets greener at the gas pump
CBC BC
07/01/2009
British Columbia got a little greener on Wednesday: The province celebrated the first anniversary of its carbon tax with a price bump at the gas pumps. A recent poll by Environics suggests almost half of BC residents support the tax, and it is also gaining favor across the country.
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Portland's neighborhood groups shape communities
Oregonian
07/02/2009
Portland's neighborhood associations are flexing their political muscles on public and private projects proposed for their communities. It's part of a quiet transformation under way among the 95 associations, one that leaders say bodes well for the future of civic involvement.
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Climate change from Europe to the Oregon Coast
Oregon Public Broadcasting
07/01/2009
A majority of climate scientists agree -- the planet is warming. The question now is how climate change will change our lives, our landscapes, our economy, and the ecological web around us. So we decided to focus on the impact of climate change on one small town -- the town of Denmark, Oregon.
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US obesity rates balloon
Vancouver Sun
07/02/2009
Americans have been adding significantly to their waistlines over the past year, with obesity rates rising in almost half of the 50 states, and falling in none, an annual survey released Wednesday shows.
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In S.F., thou shalt compost: It's the law
Sacramento Bee
07/02/2009
A new San Francisco law gives the city authority to fine residents and small businesses $100 -- and impose penalties up to $1,000 on big firms and apartment owners -- if they refuse to segregate leftover fish bones, watermelon rinds, and watercress salad into compost bins.
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Using grazing sheep, goats against invasive weeds
USA Today
07/02/2009
Grazing vineyards is just one application of a growing niche industry that is harnessing the eating power of animals to control invasive weeds, maintain lawns, and clear fire-prone grasses.
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Energy efficiency at home: simple, accessible, and possible
Astoria Daily Astorian
07/02/2009
Most people who live in existing housing are baffled about how to make their lifestyle more sustainable. Here's how.
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Winter snowpack melts into waterfalls
Seattle Times
07/02/2009
A record hot June and a winter snowpack more than 2,000 percent of normal in places have combined to detonate an explosion of waterfalls this summer in the Central Cascades.
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Landfill gas to power homes in northern California
Contra Costa Times
07/01/2009
The largest landfill gas-to-energy project in the Bay Area will produce 12 megawatts of power at a constant rate, drawing on a potentially bottomless source of renewable "green" power that has proved more predictable and reliable than either solar or wind energy.
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Say "I Do" to a recession wedding
Toronto Globe and Mail
07/02/2009
The recession has left a lot of victims in its wake -- weddings included.
According to the consulting firm The Wedding Report, Inc., couples planning their weddings are significantly scaling back spending on their day of bliss by at least 10 per cent this year, on top of an already larger cutback in 2008.
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Transportation secretary watches US-made streetcar debut
Oregonian
07/02/2009
US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood came to Oregon on Wednesday to tout metro Portland's mass transit innovations and lavish praise on the first US-made streetcar in nearly 60 years.
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One in 4 Oregon adults obese
Oregonian
07/01/2009
One in four Oregonian adults is obese, putting Oregon smack in the national midriff bulge -- 28th among states -- according to a new report on America's weight problem. One in four kids in the state is overweight.
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New Oregon law will improve storage, water planning
Oregonian
07/01/2009
A bill passed by Oregon lawmakers improves planning for water use and provides $2.5 million for the next phase of a project to create underground water storage in the Umatilla Basin.
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Affordable-housing project gets national green award
Oregonian
07/01/2009
A mixed-use, affordable-housing project, built on land in southwest Portland long considered environmentally unsound, has received a national award for incorporating outstanding "green" practices.
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Judge overturns Bush admin. logging rule
Oregonian
07/01/2009
A federal judge on Tuesday struck down the Bush administration's change to a rule designed to protect the northern spotted owl from logging in national forests.
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Views: Solving obesity epidemic starts with kids
Oregonian
07/01/2009
Deep in the new national obesity report is a small portion of hope: Oregon has one of the lowest rates of obese and overweight kids. That rate is 24.3 percent, and yes, you get a sense of the challenge when it is considered heartening that "only" one in four Oregon kids aged 10 to 17 is seriously overweight.
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Views: Affordability is key to real health care reform
Oregonian
07/01/2009
While there's a good chance that Congress will enact some type of health care reform this year, all will be for naught if the new system leaves the cost of care out of reach for many Americans. If affordability is not adequately addressed, the prognosis for the nation will be poor.
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Farmers fear water loss, sue to stop feedlot plan
Wenatchee World
07/01/2009
A group of farmers has joined two environmental groups in filing a lawsuit to block a feedlot proposed to be built near Pasco, Wash., from using a well that is exempt from state permits to water up to 30,000 cattle.
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Green triumphs muscle in car-choice survey
Vancouver Sun
07/01/2009
Is green becoming mainstream? A new global survey shows nearly six in 10 people would choose an environment-friendly car over a petrol-powered one, even if they had all the money in the world.
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EPA testing yards near former Spokane factory
Seattle Times
07/01/2009
Crews are testing residential yards near W.R. Grace & Co.'s former insulation factory in Spokane for asbestos fibers that can cause cancer. The work was prompted by the recent declaration of Libby, Mont., as a public health emergency.
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Resisting density in Portland project
Portland Mercury
07/02/2009
Neighbors are fighting a development -- a project that embodies Portland's shiny new ethos -- on the former site of an African-American landmark. Developers razed the dilapidated building to make way for a 72-unit complex that may qualify for a $1.12 million city tax break thanks to its sustainable, transit-oriented designs. At the heart of neighbors' anger is their distaste for perceived gentrification.
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An energy windfall for Oregon homeowner
Medford Mail-Tribune
07/02/2009
A single mother of four in Medford, Oreg., will get a home makeover that hardly will be evident to the naked eye, but provide some $25,000 in improvements to comfort and savings for what she calls her "energy hog of a house."
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