en-us Copyright Sightline Daily - all rights reserved newsfeeds@sightline.org newsfeeds@sightline.org Most recent US Northwest headlines from Sightline Daily, the Northwest news that matters http://daily.sightline.org Plone http://daily.sightline.org/logo.gif 427 69 Which draws more juice from the electric grid, a big-screen plasma television or recharging a plug-in hybrid car? The answer is the car. But the electricity draw by plasma televisions is easing the minds of utility company executives across the nation as they plan for what is likely to be a conversion of much of the country's vehicle fleet from gasoline to electricity in the coming years. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/07/22/financial/f200125D36.DTL&feed=rss.business Energy Environment Solutions Sprawl & Transportation US Northwest 07/22/2008 San Francisco Chronicle The National Marine Fisheries Service has proposed a new environmental review process for fish management decisions. Conservation and fishing groups fear the update is dangerous. Little wonder. Regional fisheries management councils would assume new environmental authority, even though the councils continue to have members with commercial fishing interests. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/371644_fisheriesed.html Environment Policy US Northwest United States 07/22/2008 Seattle Post-Intelligencer Utilities and independent developers are poised to more than quadruple the amount of wind power in the Northwest, a huge increase that underscores the region's push for renewable energy. http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1216529717321800.xml&coll=7 Energy US Northwest 07/21/2008 Portland Oregonian A slurry of rocks and mud sounded like a freight train when it ripped through a popular Mount Rainier hiking destination in 2001 and scared some television viewers who believed their homes were in the path. As it turned out, the debris flow at Comet Falls proved less dangerous than initially believed, but it gave scientists insights into a phenomenon that continues to mystify. http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/418472.html Climate US Northwest 07/21/2008 Tacoma News Tribune California has been hit by 2,000 fires this year, and climate scientists are predicting that the situation will worsen as temperatures rise. The American West has been warming dramatically during the past 60 years at a rate surpassed only by Alaska. This year has been particularly dry for California, with less snowfall, earlier snowmelt and lower summer river flows. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/20/MNSC11Q7RD.DTL Environment Forests California US Northwest 07/21/2008 San Francisco Chronicle It’s been 10 long months for northwest tuna lovers, but they have finally made it to the North Coast on their summer migration across the Pacific. Each year millions of younger Albacore travel up the Oregon coast in mainly August and September to feed on sardines and other smaller fish. http://northcoastoregon.com/articles/local_news/oregon_coast_albacore_tuna_has_arrived Economy Food & Farms Wildlife Oregon US Northwest 07/21/2008 Portland Oregonian The late Sen. Warren Magnuson, D-Wash., would be chagrined at how the Bush administration is seeking to weaken the landmark fisheries law he championed three decades ago. The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act is the nation's primary law governing marine fisheries management. Environmental reviews have helped reduce the mortality of endangered sea turtles, protect thousands of square miles of coral formations and begin the rebuilding of depleted fish populations. http://www.oregonlive.com/editorials/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1216427114253890.xml&coll=7 Environment Policy Wildlife US Northwest United States 07/21/2008 Portland Oregonian Thirty years ago, as new computing and communications technology started to come to the fore, technology researchers and analysts began to talk confidently about the coming paperless society. Today, many such experts would settle for a society that simply uses a little less paper. http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9875348?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com Forests Sustainable Living California US Northwest 07/21/2008 San Jose Mercury News For decades, the unwritten motto at shellfish hatcheries in the Pacific Northwest was "Better oysters through science." Scientists mated the heartiest, fastest-growing stock to produce plumper, sweeter oysters for slurping raw on the half-shell or frying up to dip in tangy sauces. Suddenly, oyster research bogged down as a riotous bloom of bacteria went on a West Coast killing spree, wiping out billions of oyster larvae. http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-me-oysters13-2008jul13,0,4701553.story Environment Food & Farms US Northwest 07/21/2008 Los Angeles Times