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Generation recession
The Nation
11/05/2009
When David Thyme was an even younger man, his fantasies of early adulthood did not include a 9:30 pm curfew and a bed in Covenant House, a shelter for homeless youth. They also didn't include a recession so severe that his financially strapped father would ask him to help with rent - or kick him out when he couldn't find an entry-level job to do so.
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Ready to jump off the grid?
Oregonian
11/05/2009
Researchers believe the day is coming when the electricity you use will be your own. Instead of relying on large central generating stations - hydroelectric dams, coal plants and the like - scientists say we're moving toward an era of "personalized solar energy."
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From he-cession to housework?
Toronto Globe and Mail
11/05/2009
An estimated two million wives are now the sole breadwinners in families across America as more men than women have been laid off in this recession. Experts say that unemployed husbands are probably taking on more of the housework and childcare duties - for now. But they don't expect that change to stick.
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Rural NW could receive economic boost
Oregonian
11/05/2009
Rural and disadvantaged communities in the Northwest could receive an economic boost thanks to $30 million in new markets tax credits allocated to Portland-based Ecotrust. The nonprofit organization plans to target former timber towns struggling to recover jobs and tribes working for economic benefits by improving the health of forests.
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Climate change: Threat or opportunity?
Washington Post
11/06/2009
A curious debate has broken out among American environmental groups, as the Senate balkily starts to focus on the threat of climate change. Is this really the time to talk about shrinking glaciers?
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Missoula ordinance targets sidewalk sprawlers
New West
11/05/2009
Once Missoula’s pedestrian interference ordinance takes effect on Thursday, less space will remain available for sidewalk sprawlers. The ordinance itself does not expressly target homeless people but debate leading up to the vote pit downtown commercial interests against advocates for the homeless.
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Views: Energy initiative should spark broader dialogue
Tri-City Herald
11/06/2009
Promoting clean energy development in the Mid-Columbia region is a natural fit, but we need a broader conversation about our economic future. That includes serious talks about potential uses of those parts of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation that are cleaned up and no longer are needed by the federal government.
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Childhood poverty in US will worsen
CBC BC
11/04/2009
Nearly half of all US children will be on food stamps at some point during childhood and the current recession could push those numbers even higher.
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McGinn leads tight Seattle mayor race
Seattle Times
11/04/2009
Seattle's mayoral race was too close to call Tuesday night, with environmentalist attorney Mike McGinn holding a narrow lead over T-Mobile executive Joe Mallahan. McGinn's insurgent campaign was outspent 3-to-1 and threw a Hail Mary pass by backing away somewhat from his signature campaign issue: opposition to the deep-bore tunnel planned for Seattle's waterfront.
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Constantine wins King County exec
Seattle Times
11/04/2009
Riding a late-breaking wave of liberal support, Dow Constantine - a pro-abortion-rights, pro-labor, pro-transit Democrat - handily defeated Susan Hutchison on Tuesday in a rancorous race for King County executive. Now he has to clean up the county's budget, which is projected to face a $110 million shortfall over the next two years.
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Oregon reins in renewable tax breaks
Oregonian
11/03/2009
Oregon energy officials released new rules Tuesday aimed at curbing a controversial state program that grants lucrative tax subsidies for wind, solar and other renewable power plants. The changes are intended to rein in some of the runaway costs of the program.
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Al Gore is my co-pilot
Los Angeles Times
11/03/2009
We're used to GPS car units telling us where to go. Now they also have the ability to urge us to be more eco-friendly drivers. So, would this be a handy service, or would it be more like having a grumpy Al Gore in the passenger seat?
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Views: Initiative 1033's fatal flaw
Seattle Times
11/04/2009
Tim Eyman's latest effort to mess with government, Initiative 1033, seems to have gone down in flames. Eyman's initiative reached beyond state government and deep into local courthouses and city halls, close enough for many people in small towns to see very clearly that Eyman's usual one-size-fits-all approach was not going to fit their communities, not at all.
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Views: Smart, green and humane
Vancouver Sun
11/04/2009
According to the latest UN population projections, the next 40 years will see an almost doubling of urban populations. This growth will offer both unprecedented challenges and great opportunities to cities around the world.
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Bay Area has high housing burden
Contra Costa Times
11/03/2009
A research group that promotes affordable housing has unveiled a new way of calculating what many already know: Housing and transportation costs eat up nearly 60 percent of the median income of Bay Area families.
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Seattle supports affordalbe housing levy
Seattle Times
11/04/2009
Seattle voters approved Proposition 1, continuing a pattern of generosity toward affordable-housing measures despite an ongoing economic crunch.
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WA, OR on cutting edge for green jobs
Vancouver Columbian
11/03/2009
The green research firm, Clean Edge, has released a study of "clean-tech" jobs, identifying the top 15 metro areas in the US for jobs in fields such as renewable energy and energy efficiency. The Puget Sound region (Seattle, Tacoma, Bremerton) and the Portland-Salem area in Oregon, ranked seventh and eighth, respectively.
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Green energy tax incentives cost Oregon more than predicted
Coos Bay World
11/02/2009
According to an investigation by the Oregonian, OR officials underestimated the cost of Gov. Ted Kulongoski's plan to lure green energy companies to Oregon with big subsidies, resulting in a program that cost far more than expected. Kulongoski's staff says that they had no idea the program would be this popular when they designed the policy.
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Northwest energy efficiency better in 2008
Coos Bay World
11/02/2009
Improved energy efficiency reduced power demand by an amount equal to about 148,000 homes across the Northwest last year.
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BC seeking green energy proposals from private industry
Toronto Globe and Mail
11/03/2009
British Columbia will ask private industry for a new slate of green electricity proposals in the spring, Premier Gordon Campbell says, as the government pushes to more quickly develop clean energy for the province and for export.
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Backyard cottages OK'd in Seattle
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
11/02/2009
Backyard cottages will be allowed in single-family zones throughout Seattle under an ordinance approved unanimously by the City Council. City Councilman Tim Burgess said it would help people provide housing for family members or to offer low-cost rental units. "That's a positive way to create affordable housing in our city."
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Study: Half of US kids will receive food stamps
USA Today
11/02/2009
Whether for the long term or for getting through a temporary financial crisis, half of American kids will live in households receiving food stamps before age 20, according to a study reported Monday in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
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Views: Want to cut emissions in the US? Change the discussion
Christian Science Monitor
11/02/2009
In times of war, the US government has successfully appealed to citizens' patriotism. That can work now, too.
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More Oregon farmers grow their own electricity
Coos Bay World
11/02/2009
More farms are installing renewable energy, said Stephanie Page, renewable energy specialist for the Oregon Department of Agriculture. The motivation was sparked by the 2008 spike in fuel prices, and is being fanned by a range of grants and tax credits handed out by state, federal and private agencies.
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How H1N1 could sideswipe Canada's economy
Toronto Globe and Mail
11/02/2009
Flu season is becoming the latest headwind for the Canadian economy, which has already been hit by a strong dollar and tepid demand.
The H1N1 flu means up to 8 million more Canadians could fall ill, the Winnipeg-based International Centre for Infectious Disease estimates, with absenteeism posing a threat to productivity just as the economy is struggling out of recession.
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