Editor's Take: August 28, 2008
amen-ra, flickr
Oregon's Energy Future
Renewable energy is the wave the future, but Oregon Governor Kulongoski is rethinking what can be done in the meantime to meet Oregon's energy demands. Meanwhile, the news is full of stories about smart solutions in California from less driving and sprawl to pay-as-you-drive insurance, let's take some cues from the sunny, southern side of Cascadia.
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Your editor today is Eric Hess | View All Today's News
Oregon Governor Looks to Energy Future
Portland Oregonian
08/27/2008
During six years in office, Gov. Ted Kulongoski has convened countless summits and appointed scores of advisory groups. But the meeting he convened Wednesday and the advisory group he intends to create by the end of September will focus on what he calls "the most important public policy question facing the state."
"How do we give power to the people?" Kulongoski said.
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Pay-As-You-Drive Insurance Gains Momentum in Cali
Los Angeles Times
08/28/2008
California drivers could be offered a new -- and often cheaper -- kind of car insurance next year under a voluntary pay-as-you-drive plan proposed Wednesday by Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner. His plan would base annual rates partly on the exact number of miles driven and would allow people to pay less if they drive less.
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Views: California Bill Curbs Sprawl for Climate
Los Angeles Times
08/28/2008
The number of miles Californians drive is growing almost twice as fast as the state's population, as housing developments sprout farther and farther from commercial centers. Not only does this urban sprawl put upward pressure on gasoline prices, it creates freeway gridlock, worsens air pollution and makes fighting global warming next to impossible. California lawmakers have tried and failed for decades to bring sprawl under control, but they may finally be on the verge of success.
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Low Arctic Sea Ice Indicates a Tipping Point
Seattle Times
08/28/2008
More ominous signs Wednesday have scientists saying a global-warming "tipping point" in the Arctic seems to be happening before their eyes: Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is at its second- lowest level in about 30 years.
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Poll: Most Oppose California Gay Marriage Ban
Los Angeles Times
08/28/2008
California voters remain closely divided on the concept of gay marriage, but a significant majority of likely voters oppose a measure to ban it, according to a poll released Wednesday by the Public Policy Institute of California. Proposition 8, which would amend the state Constitution to allow marriage only between a man and a woman, is trailing 40% to 54% among likely voters, according to the poll.
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Cheaper Gas Doesn't Spur California Travelers
Press Democrat
08/28/2008
Gas prices are dropping even as millions of Americans prepare to hit the nation's highways and skyways for the last three-day weekend of summer. Dropping below the $4 mark for the first time in three months in Santa Rosa, the average cost of a gallon of gas would seem to favor a Labor Day weekend getaway. Or does it?
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Inflation Is Tough On Income
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
08/28/2008
Data released this week from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey show that median household income in 2007 rose from the previous year in Washington and the greater Seattle region, and that the poverty level dipped slightly. But inflation erased most of the income gain, and the poverty figures are misleading, some analysts say.
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Flextime Has Green Appeal
Washington Post
08/28/2008
They have replaced incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents, cut the number of cars in their fleets and embraced hybrids. They have planted native grasses to cut down on lawn maintenance and, with it, fuel consumption. Now a growing number of businesses and state and local governments from Fairfax to Detroit to Salt Lake City are pondering a strategy for saving on utility costs and being kind to the environment: telling their workers, stay home.
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Cutting Carbon, Cutting Home Costs
New York Times
08/28/2008
You know your shoe size. But you probably don't know your carbon footprint, particularly the footprint of your home. Breaking old habits is not easy, but experts say the rewards are worth it, not only for the environment but also for the pocketbook. Those who reduce their carbon footprint by decreasing their energy use, they say, usually reduce their energy costs as well.
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Views: Headway with the Homeless
Christian Science Monitor
08/28/2008
After 30 years, one of America's most intractable social problems is finally turning around: Overall homelessness has fallen 12 percent since 2005. Thanks goes to a eureka insight, followed by a coordinated nationwide push. The progress proves that Americans at all levels can tackle difficult challenges if they commit to them.
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Editor's Take: August 27, 2008
Seattle-Area Population, Sightline Institute
It's All About the Census
Census data is rolling in, with mixed results. The good news: Oregon's uninsured rates are leveling off, Seattle's household size is lowest in the region, and U.S. poverty levels are decreasing. The bad news: Rural Oregonians have a greater income gap than their urban counterparts, California's median income is slipping, and statistics may not reflect the economy's latest dive.
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Your editor today is Christina Claassen | View All Today's News
Census Data: Good News or Bad News?
Seattle Times
08/27/2008
Wages for working Americans increased, the number of people without health insurance decreased and the poverty rate was essentially unchanged in 2007, according to census figures released Tuesday.
Experts cautioned, however, that the new data don't capture the effects of the economic slump that began late last year.
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Oregon's Rural-Urban Wage Gap Increases
AP
08/27/2008
The wage gap between northeastern Oregon and the state's I-5 corridor has widened since the 1970s.
In Baker County, for example, the average wage increased from $11,874 in 1980 to $28,043 in 2007. That compares to the statewide average wage increase from $14,301 in 1980 to $39,566 in 2007, according to information provided by the state. In other words, county wages were 83 percent of the state average in 1980 and 71 percent of the average last year.
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Views: A Demographically Extreme Seattle
Crosscut
08/27/2008
New demographic figures make clear what a statistical outlier Seattle is, with few families, few kids, high education, and rapid gentrification. Only San Francisco can compare.
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Median Income Slips in California
San Francisco Chronicle
08/27/2008
American incomes rose modestly between 2006 and 2007, but in California, the typical household lost ground slightly, according to census data released Tuesday, one of several economic indicators that may be a cause for worry as the economy takes another dip, some analysts say.
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Scientists: Save the Planet - Have Fewer Kids
Chicago Tribune
08/27/2008
There are plenty of ways to cut your carbon footprint, whether it's driving less or buying an energy-efficient refrigerator. But the British Medical Journal, in an editorial last month, urged a more controversial one: having fewer children.
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Wind Energy Bumps Into Power Grid's Limits
New York Times
08/27/2008
Expansive dreams about renewable energy, like Al Gore's hope of replacing all fossil fuels in a decade, are bumping up against the reality of a power grid that cannot handle the new demands.
The dirty secret of clean energy is that while generating it is getting easier, moving it to market is not.
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Governor Schwarzenegger Signs Rail Bill
San Francisco Chronicle
08/27/2008
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who promised not to sign any bills until lawmakers reach a budget deal, reversed his position Tuesday and signed a measure for a statewide bullet train system that he strongly supports.
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Democrats Defend Endangered Species Act
Alaska Public Radio Network
08/26/2008
A group of Democratic U.S. Senators are speaking out against proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act. Earlier this month the Bush Administration announced plans to revise the law that protects America's wildlife. It would be the biggest overhaul to the Act since 1986.
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Krill Rebound: Key Link in Ocean Food Chain
San Francisco Chronicle
08/27/2008
After three lean years, the ocean off California's coast this summer is suddenly rich in nutrients, and creatures - from microscopic krill to humpback whales - are thriving anew.
But whether this abundance will continue in coming seasons or is merely a bright blip in an otherwise discouraging picture year-after-year can't be predicted, say scientists monitoring the sea's productivity.
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Bay Checkerspot Butterfly Gets Protection
San Francisco Chronicle
08/27/2008
The federal government has designated thousands of acres in California as essential to the resurgence of a rare butterfly.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday selected 18,293 acres for protection in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. The Peninsula is the remaining home to the bay checkerspot, a 2-inch red-and-black butterfly that scientists say is threatened by global warming and suffers from loss of habitat.
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Editor's Take: August 26, 2008
US National Archives
Putting Pressure on the EPA
Twelve states, including Oregon, Washington, and California, are taking charge in the efforts against climate change by requesting that the EPA regulates emissions from oil refineries. "Washington state is doing its part to address climate change," said Washington Governor Gregoire, but the states find the lack of federal concern unacceptable. Meanwhile, developers race to submit renewable energy projects before federal tax credits expire.
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Your editor today is Eric Hess | View All Today's News
Western States Pressure EPA to Regulate Refineries
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
08/25/2008
Washington has joined 11 states, the city of New York and the District of Columbia in a federal lawsuit technically aimed at curbing air pollution from oil refineries but mostly intended to force the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to use its regulatory authority to better fight global warming.
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A Monumental Moment for a Nuclear Reactor
Seattle Times
08/25/2008
The federal government has designated the world's first full-scale nuclear reactor, built in 13 months to produce plutonium for an atomic bomb during World War II, a national historic landmark. The announcement Monday doesn't guarantee the B Reactor will never be torn down but likely opens the door for more public tours and moves it closer to becoming a museum.
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Bush Proposes Protections for Unspoiled Pacific
Los Angeles Times
08/26/2008
President Bush on Monday signaled his intention to protect some of the Pacific Ocean's most remote and unspoiled islands, atolls and coral reefs from fishing and deep-sea mining. The president asked for a plan that would protect parts of the Mariana Trench, the deepest place on the planet, as well as waters around Rose Atoll in American Samoa and various islands and reefs in the central Pacific that are under U.S. jurisdiction.
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