Current Stories
Editor's Top Picks
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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Takeout, eco-style
Ashland Daily Tidings
11/05/2009
An Ashland High School graduate has created a reusable takeout container that is being used at 200 workplaces and universities nationwide - including Southern Oregon University. Audrey Copeland, 24, created the Eco-Takeout clamshell container after she was inspired by a college environmental studies project.
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Sustainable meat hits its hot spot
Willamette Week
11/04/2009
Portlander Berlin Reed used to be a militant vegan, until a series of off-restaurant jobs left him working behind a sustainably run butchery counter. "There was pretty much no argument against it. I knew exactly where the animals came from and how they lived. So I took a nice bite of rib eye at work and was like, 'I'm sold.'"
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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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Views: The cool factor matters
Toronto Globe and Mail
11/03/2009
Auto companies big and small are so focused on the technology of green cars – the hybrid drive systems, the batteries, the electric motors, the controllers and software that are the “brains” of the things – they seem to have lost sight of something very important: electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids need to grab buyers with their looks.
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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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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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Portland aims for Denmark-style bike culture
Willamette Week
11/02/2009
If city planners have their way, Copenhagen will be the model for Portland's urban transportation network. Bikes account for 55 percent of all trips in the Danish city, and 37 percent of commutes. Portland's commuting number -- near tops among large US cities and growing -- is a comparatively scanty 8 percent.
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Dog's eco-pawprint vs. driving an SUV?
Seattle Times
11/02/2009
A New Zealand study claims a medium-size dog leaves a larger ecological footprint than an SUV. Sightline's Clark Williams-Derry disagrees.
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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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Recycled paper business booming
Seattle Times
11/02/2009
For retailers, the "100 percent recycled" label on a product is a badge of honor declaring civic responsibility. For consumers, it's a status symbol showing environmental awareness. For manufacturers, such as Longview Fibre Paper and Packaging, the label can be a gold mine.
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Want to build green? Demolish with care
Bend Bulletin
11/01/2009
Some builders are swapping their bulldozers for more careful methods of taking down old homes, citing the environmental gains of reusing materials as well as job creation.
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Seattle startup gives eco-rating to products
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
10/29/2009
A Seattle startup launched Eco-rate, a Web-based rating and comparison resource for shoppers looking to make ecologically intelligent choices on everything from autos to dishwashers to TVs to paint to water heaters.
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Oregon city becomes lab for sustainability
Oregonian
10/27/2009
Gresham, OR was chosen for the first collaboration with 250 University of Oregon students and professors working toward a more sustainable, livable city. Students will analyze suburban development, possible designs and locations for new buildings, development of a brownfield site, incorporating natural light into transit hubs and ways to make schools more sustainable.
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Urban sprawl no fun for Canada's kids
Vancouver Sun
10/27/2009
Kids these days: they rarely walk anywhere in Canada. They don't ride bikes, they don't play outside - not like they used to, anyway. But can we blame them?
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Views: Maternity leave for the self-employed
The Tyee
10/28/2009
Without it, there's no level breeding field.
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Portland opens new downtown park
Oregon Public Broadcasting
10/27/2009
The city of Portland will advance toward a long-held vision by opening another urban park in the heart of downtown, called Director Park. The lead landscape architect says the space presents interesting challenges, sitting atop an underground parking garage, on uneven ground.
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How can Seattle make TOD work?
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
10/28/2009
The debut of Sound Transit's light rail line through Seattle already has been the impetus for plans to build new clusters of high-density development around transit stops. To make it happen, officials will have to depoliticize decisions on transit, find new funding solutions and work more effectively between transportation and land-use silos, according to a new report.
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Portland's climate plan is ready for action
Oregonian
10/28/2009
After eight town hall meetings, more than 400 responders and some 2,500 comments and suggestions, Portland's Climate Action Plan is ready for review. Brought on by climate change and the need to reduce carbon emissions, it covers everything from public safety in the case of more severe weather to improving sidewalks and roadways in underserved communities.
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Views: Greenest place in the US is not where you think
Yale environment 360
10/27/2009
Green rankings in the US don't tell the full story about the places where the human footprint is lightest. If you really want the best environmental model, you need to look at the nation's biggest-and greenest-metropolis: New York City.
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Thousands rally for action on climate
Vancouver Sun
10/25/2009
About 5,000 people, including a shouting, sign-waving group of secondary school students, demonstrated on Vancouver's Cambie Bridge as part of the International Day of Climate Change. They were among millions of people around the world who took part in weekend demonstrations demanding government action on climate change.
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Food plants make comeback in Oakland
San Francisco Chronicle
10/25/2009
At a time when most industries in CA are suffering, Oakland's food business - including everything from tofu to doughnuts - appears to be expanding and hiring workers for living wage jobs.
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Survey: Safer roads=happy bikers
Portland Tribune
10/26/2009
Despite Portland's reputation for being bike-friendly, respondents in Eugene and the Bend-Sisters area reported using their bikes more, according to a new survey of cyclists in OR and southern WA. It also found that as bicyclists feel safer on the road, the number and percentage of weekly trips taken by bike increase significantly.
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Rallying for (climate) change
Oregonian
10/25/2009
Kayakers and canoeists formed a giant 350 in the Willamette River this weekend joining actions in 181 countries that urged world leaders to act quickly and aggressively to reduce carbon emissions that cause climate change. Many climate scientists say the Earth can remain healthy at a top limit of 350 parts per million of carbon in the atmosphere.
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CA may push for energy-saving TVs
San Francisco Chronicle
10/22/2009
California regulators, concerned over the proliferation of flat-panel television sets that guzzle electricity, could soon impose first-in-the-nation laws that restrict how much power televisions can consume.
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