Current Stories
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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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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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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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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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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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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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Northwest drivers using less gasoline
Boise Idaho Statesman
07/01/2009
Idaho, Washington, and Oregon drivers cut back their per-capita gasoline consumption by 5 percent in 2008. Total gasoline consumption in the three states fell about 180 million gallons between 2007 and 2008, the largest drop since 1980, according to a new study from Sightline Institute.
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Draining every drop
Seattle Times
06/30/2009
Groups are starting to meet again on water supply in WA's arid Yakima River Basin, the heavily irrigated region that's home to thousands of acres of tree fruit, wine grapes, hops and other crops. In drought years, fish suffer in low rivers and farmers and towns with newer water rights have their water supply rationed.
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Cracks in Seattle's green-growth coalition
Crosscut
07/01/2009
Seattle politicians like to jockey over who is more green than the other. But candidates need business support too, and the battle for endorsements reveals some ideological divides between local environmentalists, developers, and independent thinkers who wonder if all urban growth is good.
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Abandoned fishing nets no more
Seattle Times
07/01/2009
Nearly all of the abandoned fishing nets in Puget Sound that kill marine animals and damage habitat will be removed with the help of $4.6 million in federal stimulus money.
The net-removal efforts are among six projects in the state that will receive $16.5 million for marine and coastal habitat restoration.
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Coastal restoration projects for habitat and jobs
Oregon Public Broadcasting
06/30/2009
In the Pacific Northwest, the federal agency that oversees ocean life will spend stimulus funding to reconnect tidal wetlands, remove obsolete dams and clean up marine debris by hiring dozens of out of work crab fishermen.
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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.
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Seattle's population growing, state's slowing
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
06/30/2009
While the tough economy has slowed the influx of new residents into Washington, Seattle's growth has sped up, according to new population estimates.
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Produce travels to Seattle quiet as whisper
Peninsula Daily News
06/30/2009
Let us follow a strawberry, flush from the field as it travels on wind and water - but without petroleum - from Sequim to the big, hungry city.
People in Seattle want these oil-free Sequim berries with the Nash's Organic name on them, according to David Reid, owner and operator of Seattle's Sail Transport Co.
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Kitsap Peninsula Clinics get stimulus funds
Kitsap Sun
06/30/2009
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., announced Monday that Peninsula, which has clinics in Bremerton, Port Orchard and Poulsbo, will receive an $861,275 grant as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s Capital Improvement Program, according to a press release from Murray’s office.
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Plan puts focus on Bremerton Park's natural features
Kitsap Sun
06/30/2009
Walking trails, picnic facilities and natural beauty are getting increased attention in a new master plan for Lions Park in East Bremerton.
If approved Wednesday by the Bremerton City Council, renovation of the park could begin next spring.
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WA, feds to discuss Yakima water
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
06/30/2009
State and federal officials plan to meet with other stakeholders in the Yakima River basin to talk about how to improve water supplies there.
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Guest workers in Washington to get higher wages
KUOW
06/29/2009
Agricultural guest workers in Washington State will be paid higher wages, starting Monday. But that's only for new hires. Workers who already have contracts will likely be stuck with a smaller paycheck.
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Even those with health insurance going broke
Seattle Times
06/28/2009
When Mark Moody and Glenda Krull could no longer afford both health insurance and mortgage payments, the Edmonds couple knew which had to go. They sold their house.
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Hohmmmm: The zen of saving energy
KPLU
06/28/2009
Tracking energy use is the first step toward reducing your carbon footprint and saving money on your utility bill. Now, Microsoft is coming out with free software that let's you analyze how your home uses energy. It's called Hohm: a combination of "home" and "ohm," the unit for measuring electrical resistance.
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Saving species no longer about the prettiest
Washington Post
06/29/2009
Are we ready to start saving ugly species? Though we gravitate towards iconic creatures like salmon, scientists say they're noticing a little more love for the unlovely lately. Plain-Jane plants, birds with fluorescent goiters and beetles that meet their mates at rat corpses are getting new respect - valued as homely canaries inside treasured ecosystems.
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Connecting Seattle rail to the beaten path
Seattle Times
06/29/2009
Seattle's new light rail trains won't quite take people to Columbia City's old brick storefronts built along an electric streetcar line. The challenge is to forge a transportation and psychological bond between the stop on Martin Luther King Jr. Way South and the bustle on Rainier. Otherwise, ridership will sag.
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Views: Replace WA property tax with BC carbon tax
Seattle Times
06/29/2009
It has been a roller-coaster year for anyone concerned about climate change. The Western Climate Initiative is stalled and federal legislation has an uncertain future. But Washington state could make strides to reduce carbon emissions by repealing the state property tax and imposing a carbon tax shift modeled on British Columbia's.
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San Francisco aims for universal coverage
Sacramento Bee
06/29/2009
Three years ago, this city turned itself into a laboratory for remaking the country's health care system with a bold experiment to expand services to the uninsured, working poor and medically underserved. It's early to tell whether it should serve as a national model, with researchers beginning to evaluate the program's early successes and longer-term limitations.
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4,500 reasons to trade in that gas hog
Everett Herald
06/29/2009
Owners of gas-slurping vehicles will soon get an offer President Barack Obama and a nation of auto dealers hopes they won't refuse: a promise to knock up to $4,500 off the price of a new fuel-efficient car if the owner trades in their old wheels. But some argue it's less about reducing carbon emissions than selling new cars.
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