Current Stories
Editor's Top Picks
Pine beetle an environmental disaster
Vancouver Sun
03/18/2010
A new report on the mountain pine beetle epidemic describes it as one of North America's largest natural environmental disasters that will shutter 16 major BC sawmills and lead to long-term US lumber shortages.
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Cohousing trend hits Seattle
Publicola
03/18/2010
Cohousing -- "intentional" living communities where residents occupy their own houses or condo units but otherwise share everything from potlucks to P-Patch duty with neighbors -- is resurfacing in metro Seattle for the first time in more than a decade.
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Arrests in massive shellfish poaching
Seattle Times
03/18/2010
Wildlife police arrested two men in connection with the theft of several hundred thousand dollars worth of oysters and clams from public and private beaches along Puget Sound's Hood Canal.
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Green economy on the rise
Olympian
03/19/2010
Green jobs in Washington's private sector grew by nearly 33 percent last year, according to a state Employment Security Department report released Thursday.
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Carbon credits from Olympic forest
Oregonian
03/18/2010
A subsidiary of Portland-based EcoTrust has signed its first deal to sell carbon credits from forest land it owns, putting 3,276 acres on the Olympic Peninsula into the market for credits designed to offset greenhouse gas emissions.
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Views: Is Seattle ready for design, density, affordability?
Seattle Times
03/18/2010
Over the past two decades, Seattle has been inundated by a wave of poorly designed cookie-cutter town-house development. Known commonly as "Four Packs," these buildings have been a blight on our city. Now Seattle is considering changes to its zoning code.
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'Green' jobs in Washington up by a third
Puget Sound Business Journal
03/18/2010
The number of "green" jobs in Washington state's private sector grew to about 62,000 last year from slightly more than 47,000 a year earlier.
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Low pesticide levels found near salmon
Seattle Times
03/18/2010
Low pesticide concentrations, generally below levels that violate water quality standards, have been detected in five Washington watersheds where salmon are found. Levels at some sites may harm aquatic life that serves as a food source for salmon.
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Thin snowpack has NW farmers worried
KUOW
03/17/2010
From Oregon's Klamath Basin to Washington's Yakima Valley, Northwest farmers know they are in for a tough summer. Growers are scrambling around their crop plans. The region's three governors are considering drought declarations for certain parts of their states.
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Protect whales or the salmon they eat?
Bellingham Herald
03/17/2010
When it comes to dinner, Puget Sound's killer whales show no respect for international boundaries. Using new tests, scientists say that as much as 90 percent of the Chinook they eat are from Canada's Fraser River.
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Turning muddy pits into green spaces, parking
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
03/18/2010
Seattle is drafting legislation to help give idle construction sites another purpose, including turning them into parking lots and green spaces as well as locations for art installations and mobile food vendors.
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Riders take to faster buses
Everett Herald
03/18/2010
The Swift line runs more buses and stops less frequently than other routes, which speeds up trips from Everett to Seattle. Swift's per-bus boardings are growing and are now comparable to those of other routes, officials said.
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Human trafficking: Farm labor, forced labor?
KUOW
03/18/2010
Farm worker advocates say that ag industry rules make it too easy for human trafficking crimes to occur unnoticed. We'll learn how one man found himself in Washington trapped, penniless, in debt, and fearing for his family's safety.
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Views: Law is a boost to fluorescent light recycling
Olympian
03/18/2010
The 2010 Washington state Legislature has passed a bill that will make it much easier for residents to recycle their used fluorescent lights. This legislation is attractive on several fronts.
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Urban fringe farms interest developers
Crosscut
03/17/2010
While big farms are slipping in number, Washington is seeing a rise in small farms, the main suppliers of farmers markets. Developers are now treating a small farm as an attractive amenity, attracting those hooked on the FarmVille fantasy game.
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Personal experience colors economic turnaround
KPLU
03/16/2010
Professional economists tend to judge the state of things with big numbers, like the unemployment rate and gross domestic product. But often we can see the state of the economy with our own eyes. A recent public radio poll turned up these personal economic indicators.
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Taking odds on the tunnel
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
03/16/2010
What's the likelihood that Seattle's ambitious Alaskan Way Viaduct tunnel will finish on time and on budget?
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Garbage disposals gumming up Seattle sewers?
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
03/16/2010
A convenience in nearly half of US households, the garbage disposal churns food scraps into tiny particles that slip easily down the drain. But some wastewater officials say garbage disposals encourage people to flush down fatty foods that shouldn't go in the drain because they clog up the sewer system, causing overflows.
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Pacific smelt listed as threatened
Seattle Times
03/16/2010
The Pacific smelt, a small silvery fish that was a staple of Northwest American Indian tribes when the Lewis and Clark expedition arrived, is getting federal protection because it's been declining toward extinction due to global warming and other factors.
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Views: Rainwater runoff the key to a green city
Victoria Times Colonist
03/17/2010
Stormwater runoff carries vast quantities of pollution into our streams and oceans. But rainwater management practices have recently been developed that make the 21st-century green city possible. Instead of relying heavily on pipes and concrete, this new approach relies upon soil, trees and open space to naturally absorb, store, evaporate and filter rainwater.
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Pacific smelt listed under Endangered Species Act
Oregonian
03/16/2010
The Obama Administration has decided to list the Pacific smelt population that frequents the Columbia River as threatened. The decision doesn't pack the drama or economic wallop of salmon listings, but it will affect river habitat plans, fishing seasons, water flow from dams and permits for dredging and other work in and around Northwest rivers.
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Green MBAs gaining ground
Seattle Times
03/16/2010
University of Washington offers a course called "Cases in Sustainability." Sounds like an Environmental Studies class, right? It's actually for MBA students, and green business courses are on the rise.
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Orcas have big brains to go with their brawn
Los Angeles Times
03/16/2010
Interest in killer whales has surged since one killed a Florida trainer. Researchers are amazed by orcas' intellect and communication skills, as neuroscientists explored the brain of a dead killer whale with an MRI and found an astounding potential for intelligence.
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Thin snowpack worries NW farmers
Oregon Public Broadcasting
03/16/2010
From Oregon's Klamath Basin to Washington's Yakima Valley, Northwest farmers looking at a lack of mountain snowfalll know they are in for a tough summer. Growers are scrambling around their crop plans, the region's three governors are considering drought declarations for certain parts of their state.
Go to article.
How to make urban alleys work
Crosscut
03/17/2010
Urban alleys in Seattle may soon be making a comeback, thanks to a recent design competition that highlighted how safe, active, and delightful they could be with the right design talent, programming. and management.
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