June 19, 2013

A photo essay on parking requirements and the ugly buildings they produce.

The lead federal agency reviewing Northwest coal-export terminals has rejected an area-wide approach in its study and will examine the terminals on a case-by-case basis, the US Army Corps of Engineers said today. Opponents of the terminals have insisted that the cumulative impacts on rail traffic and climate change call for a unified study, and only the Corps can undertake a review that would cross state borders.

A new survey finds support for coal export terminals has dropped over the past year among Northwest residents. It also finds support for a region-wide approach to measuring the environmental impact of exporting coal.

Pregnant women exposed to heavy diesel pollution are twice as likely to have a child with autism as those living in areas with low pollution, according to a study published today. Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health found that diesel, mercury, lead, manganese and methylene chloride in the air significantly increased the risk of having a child with autism.

Leah Treat, a 42-year-old rising talent in the national transportation circuit and a cyclist with big city credentials, has been named Portland’s new transportation director.  

Canada is the country of choice for many immigrants searching for a better life. It also happens to be a popular destination for would-be entrepreneurs.

In the beginning, Vancouver BC’s street food groupies went into border collie mode, chasing around and rounding up their favourite street food vendors. Now, for those impassioned folks, there’s an excellent app (Street Food Vancouver) that lists vendors, their locations, when they’re open, and the kind food they sell. Visitors to the city can book a street food tour in the name of efficiency.

The Obama administration is making a second attempt to systematically account for the dollar damage from greenhouse gas pollution, even with no consensus on how to forestall global warming or whether to do so. Supporters of the idea acknowledge the tremendous difficulties of trying to translate slippery estimates into a single mathematical factor.

Maybe he is a turncoat. A self-serving manipulator. Or, as the head of his own political party called him, “a lonely man who feels this need to be important.” But in the end, Rodney Tom won in Olympia.

One man’s hilariously detailed analysis.

The Army Corps of Engineers announced Tuesday at a congressional hearing that it will not consider the climate effects of burning US coal in Asia as part of its review of proposed coal export terminals in the Pacific Northwest

The federal agency in charge of approving Northwest coal export terminals delivered a setback for environmentalists, telling a congressional panel Tuesday morning that it will not be considering the area-wide effects of transporting coal, or the global impact of burning it in Asia.

A fun chat on humans’ inconvenient minds and why they make finding consensus on climate hard, but consensus on some smart energy steps easy.

You say you want to get around the city without spending the $9,000 to maintain and operate a car each year, and maybe get some exercise while you’re at it? And you know, the planet. But those bike lanes can look pretty intimidating, with all the mustachioed hipsters on their superbad fixies and the cars whizzing by. What you need is a video that squeezes basic bicycle skills into four action-packed minutes.

A coal port’s economic benefits are being underestimated, according to a Western Washington U. professor’s report commissioned by the Washington Farm Bureau

The US Army Corps of Engineers won’t look at rail traffic, coal mining or the effects of burning coal in Asia in its review of proposed Northwest coal export terminals, rejecting requests from  Oregon and Washington’s governors and project opponents for an all-encompassing study of potential effects.

A new report released Tuesday faults Washington state for lax oversight at the nation’s most contaminated nuclear site, saying the state employs too few inspectors and gives advance notice of inspections to the federal agency charged with managing the cleanup.

Community groups in Vancouver’s Chinatown have waded into the controversial topic of the future of the Georgia/Dunsmuir viaducts, voicing their support for tearing down the bridges that link downtown with the city’s east side.

Arsenic, cadmium, mercury and other potentially toxic chemicals would be phased out of some children’s products under a bill approved Tuesday in the Oregon House. Lawmakers voted 39-21 to approve House Bill 3162, which now heads to the Senate