Current Stories
Editor's Top Picks
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.
Go to article.
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.
Go to article.
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.
Go to article.
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.
Go to article.
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.
Go to article.
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.
Go to article.
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.
Go to article.
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.
Go to article.
Private health coverage hits 50-year low
Seattle Times
07/02/2009
The percentage of Americans with private health insurance has hit its lowest mark in 50 years, according to two new government reports. About 65 percent of nonelderly Americans had private insurance in 2008, down from 67 percent the year before, according to preliminary data released Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Go to article.
Farms and sprawl: Living happily together?
New York Times
06/30/2009
New subdivisions - including one outside Boise, Idaho - are increasingly treating working agriculture as an amenity to lure homebuyers. Living around a farm can bring a buyer permanent views, fresh produce, wholesome activities for children, access to walking and riding trails and inclusion in an epicurean club.
Go to article.
With goodies for everyone, climate bill passed
New York Times
06/30/2009
As the most ambitious energy and climate-change legislation ever introduced in Congress made its way to a floor vote last Friday, it grew fat with compromises, carve-outs, concessions and out-and-out gifts intended to win the votes of wavering lawmakers and the support of powerful industries.
Go to article.
Tribes keep eye on health care reform
Missoulian
06/30/2009
As much as reform could affect any individual American, it has the potential to affect tribal members more. That's because of the unique relationship Indian nations have with the federal government, which must offer free health care on reservations. No one knows how national health reform may affect that agreement.
Go to article.
Should Obama try to reset the planet's thermostat?
Mother Jones Magazine
07/01/2009
The august National Academy of Sciences this month brought together leading scientists to discuss a crazy-sounding idea: Should the US consider geoengineering the planet's atmosphere to combat global warming? Once a fringe theory, the idea that humans can change the Earth's climate through direct intervention has begun to gain credibility.
Go to article.
Canada to match US climate change rules
Toronto Globe and Mail
06/30/2009
Canada will adopt climate-change regulations comparable to those of the United States - including new rules for oil sands producers and refiners - to avoid punitive "green" tariffs, Environment Minister Jim Prentice says.
Go to article.
Feds OK tougher emissions rules in CA
San Francisco Chronicle
06/30/2009
Federal officials cleared California to impose tough greenhouse gas limits on new motor vehicles that more than a dozen other states can follow immediately and that will form the basis of new nationwide rules in 2012.
Go to article.
Cantwell hints she might back public health plan
Seattle Times
07/01/2009
Sen. Maria Cantwell on Tuesday made her strongest statement to date supporting President Obama's idea to create a national public-health plan, but said she hasn't decided exactly which option she'll vote for. Cantwell was the most prominent member of Washington's congressional delegation who until now had not voiced wholehearted support for the public-plan option.
Go to article.
EPA gives California emissions waiver
Los Angeles Times
06/30/2009
The Environmental Protection Agency will announce today that it is granting California's request to impose tough restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks - reversing the Bush administration's position and opening the way for the state to take the lead on global-warming policy.
Go to article.
Views: Harper should spend on climate change
Toronto Globe and Mail
06/30/2009
US greenhouse-gas vision is missing in Canada.
Go to article.
A green way to dump low-tech electronics
New York Times
06/30/2009
Since 2004, 18 states have approved laws that make manufacturers responsible for recycling electronics, and similar statutes were introduced in 13 other states this year. The laws are intended to prevent a torrent of toxic and outdated electronic equipment - television sets, computers, monitors, printers, fax machines - from ending up in landfills where they can leach chemicals into groundwater and potentially pose a danger to public health.
Go to article.
Obama puts spotlight on energy-efficient lamps
San Francisco Chronicle
06/30/2009
President Obama, aiming to keep the focus on climate change legislation, Monday plugged his administration's efforts to make lamps and lighting equipment use less energy.
Go to article.
EPA proposes tougher clean air rule
Washington Post
06/30/2009
The Obama administration on Monday proposed to strengthen a key air pollution health standard to better protect children and people with respiratory illnesses.
Go to article.
Should renewable energy include nuclear?
Christian Science Monitor
06/29/2009
The US, China, and dozens of other countries are meeting today in Egypt to chart the course of a new international agency aimed at promoting renewable energy.
Go to article.
Climate bill shaped by compromise
Los Angeles Times
06/28/2009
President Obama's willingness to sit down with each group affected by a historic climate bill and compromise yielded a narrow victory in the House on Friday. The question is: did supporters give away so much in the process that the benefits to the environment ended up being slim to none?
Go to article.
Going whole hog on energy upgrades
Sacramento Bee
06/28/2009
Jon Pyle is trying to do right by the environment and his pocketbook by having double-pane windows installed in his home, but some energy experts say the California resident doing it all wrong. Like most people, he's doing piecemeal energy efficiency upgrades rather than embarking on wholesale change.
Go to article.
Views: Young mothers at the margin
Oregonian
06/28/2009
Lately, there has been a good deal of discussion on abstinence, teen pregnancy prevention, adoption and even the search for middle ground on the issue of abortion. Yet something is left out. We're not talking about how to support teen parents, the ones who have already gotten pregnant and whose babies are here.
Go to article.
