Current Stories
Editor's Top Picks
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.
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In S.F., thou shalt compost: It's the law
Sacramento Bee
07/02/2009
A new San Francisco law gives the city authority to fine residents and small businesses $100 -- and impose penalties up to $1,000 on big firms and apartment owners -- if they refuse to segregate leftover fish bones, watermelon rinds, and watercress salad into compost bins.
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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.
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New Oregon law will improve storage, water planning
Oregonian
07/01/2009
A bill passed by Oregon lawmakers improves planning for water use and provides $2.5 million for the next phase of a project to create underground water storage in the Umatilla Basin.
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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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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.
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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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CA chains must fork over calorie counts
Sacramento Bee
07/01/2009
Today California becomes the first state to require that chain restaurants supply calorie counts for virtually everything they serve. There will be no guessing – or denial – about that double Western Bacon Cheeseburger from Carl's Jr.: 960 calories.
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Views: The spill, 20 years later
Fairbanks Daily News Miner
07/01/2009
It has been just more than 20 years since oil spilled from the Exxon Valdez and soiled the biology and economy of Prince William Sound, ruined lives, and forever tainted the image of what is now the world’s largest company. Now, the end of the legal chapter of this story is near.
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Setback for BC's guest farm worker union
The Tyee
06/29/2009
Labourers at Greenway Farms have filed to withdraw from the union certification won by the United Food and Commercial Workers.
If the de-certification attempt is successful in hearings slated for June 30 at the LRB, it will mark a set-back for the UFCW's multi-year drive to unionize agricultural workers in Canada.
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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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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?
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Obama praises climate bill's progress
Washington Post
06/28/2009
In an interview with a small group of energy reporters in the Oval Office, Obama brushed aside criticisms about compromises and savored last week's narrow victory in the House on one of his top domestic priorities: a climate bill designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency.
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CA fingerprints all over climate policy
San Francisco Chronicle
06/28/2009
When California passed sweeping laws to fight global warming nearly three years ago, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and other state politicians hoped the move would force a reluctant federal government to act. They got their wish.
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Why Seattle booted soybean biofuels
NPR
06/28/2009
Just a couple of years ago, ethanol and biodiesel were celebrated as homegrown alternatives to foreign oil. But now, not so much. Policymakers are starting to pay attention to long-standing criticisms of crop-based fuels, and even green-minded cities like Seattle are backing away.
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First foods inform tribe's conservation
Indian Country Today
06/28/2009
Resource management on the lands of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon took a unique turn a couple years ago when the board of trustees approved a plan built around consideration for their first foods: water, salmon, fish, big game, roots and berries.
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WA county puts brakes on rural growth
Bellingham Herald
06/29/2009
A package of proposed changes would reduce development potential in dozens of rural areas throughout WA's Whatcom County, but it would still allow some rural centers to continue moderate growth.
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Starbucks unveils eco-friendly store designs
Seattle Times
06/26/2009
Starbucks is opening far fewer stores than it used to, and it has come up with a new formula for them. The chain of more than 16,000 stores wants its new locations to be environmentally friendly, to be made with local materials, and to have new looks that reflect their neighborhoods. The first example opened across the street from Pike Place Market in Seattle.
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Suddenly farming is cool with kids
Astoria Daily Astorian
06/25/2009
A funny thing happened on the way to the 21st Century. Americans rediscovered agriculture. They want to know where their food comes from. And young people are interested in farming.
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Metro Vancouver to compost food waste
BC Local News
06/25/2009
Curbside pickup of food waste is coming to Metro Vancouver neighborhoods as part of a new organics composting program that aims to help cut the amount of garbage going to landfills.
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Views: WA should scrap biofuels mandate
Seattle Times
06/25/2009
Washington state should rescind its mandate that state vehicles use 20 percent biodiesel, argues guest columnist Duff Badgley. The law actually causes more harmful greenhouse gases because of conversion of natural lands to grow biofuel crops.
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Seattle halts use of soybean-based biofuels
NPR
06/28/2009
Just a couple of years ago, ethanol and biodiesel were celebrated as homegrown alternatives to foreign oil. But now, not so much. Policymakers are starting to pay attention to longstanding criticisms of crop-based fuels, and even green-minded cities like Seattle are backing away.
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Green empowerment on Vancouver Island
BC Local News
06/24/2009
Don't just stand there, plant something, carpool, and support local farmers. Messages of green empowerment echoed through the recent Seeds For Change conference in Duncan where Vancouver Island locals got stoked to take action and green Cowichan themselves, rather than waiting for politicians to do it.
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Oregon farmers matched with local businesses
Oregonian
06/25/2009
Just in time for the summer bounty, a Portland environmental group is launching a new initiative to connect the region's farmers and businesses.
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