Top Northwest Sustainability Headlines
May 21, 2013
1. On PDX fluoride vote day, a brief history of US fluoride wars
The fluoride battle has a lengthy history. One article, published in 1985, described the fluoridation fight as “America’s Longest War.”
Washington Post | Health
2. A survival plan for America’s tornado danger zone
It’s worth beginning a conversation about ways to live and design safer in such hazard zones.
New York Times | Climate impacts
3. We say, “Stop the coal trains”
17 leaders from across Washington publicly oppose the expansion of coal exports.
The Stranger | Coal exports
4. Inslee signs $8.7 billion transportation budget
Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed off on an $8.7 billion transportation budget Monday that puts money toward maintaining state roadways and continues spending on existing big-ticket projects.
The Seattle Times | Transportation
5. Could the Monsanto Protection Act get repealed?
The Monsanto Protection Act allows farmers to plant GM crops before they’ve been declared safe by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley is proposing an amendment to eliminate this bilaterally opposed special interest provision.
Grist | GMO
6. Want to build your brand in hip urban centers? Sponsor a bikeshare
In addition to providing residents and visitors to major cities access to alternative, quick, and easy transportation, bike shares are an increasingly popular way for forward-thinking brands to get more attention.
GOOD Magazine | Bikes
7. How city wastes light rail in SE Seattle
Does anyone responsible for guiding Southeast Seattle’s transit-oriented renaissance have a clue what’s going on there?
Crosscut | Transit
8. Night biking: You’re overestimating your visibility
People who ride bikes at night consistently overestimate their visibility to other road users, a new study has found.
Bike Portland | Bikes
9. The global afterlife of your donated clothes
Charities only have so much room and can only keep clothes for so long. At some point, they call in a textile recycling company.
NPR | Waste
10. No cans, no trash?
In a big win for those who advocate personal responsibility above heavy-handed government, the U.S. Park Service is expanding the rugged-individual approach to a service typically left to Uncle Sam: trash hauling.
Washington Post | Waste
More News from May 21, 2013
Green businesses balk at Vancouver bike lane
A proposal to create a separated lane on the edge of Vancouver’s Chinatown has generated anxiety among the kinds of green, local businesses that Mayor Gregor Robertson frequently touts as the future of the city.
Toronto Globe and Mail | Bikes
Birds fly the coop under urban stresses
A bird of prey can get so stressed out by city noise that it might abandon its nest—eggs and all, according to a new study by researchers at Boise State University.
KPLU | Wildlife
What do we eat? New food map will tell us
Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are creating a map of what foods Americans are buying and eating.
The Tacoma News Tribune | Food
When oil forecasts get it wrong
Oil forecasts fail so often that it’s puzzling that the media, governments, corporations, and the public put so much faith in them.
Christian Science Monitor | Oil
