News items for May 24, 2022

Rush Hour on the Salmon Super Highway by Howard Ignatius used under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

• 1. The US has spent more than $2B on a plan to save salmon. The fish are vanishing anyway.

  The U.S. government promised Native tribes in the Pacific Northwest that they could keep fishing as they’d always done. But instead of preserving wild salmon, it propped up a failing system of hatcheries. Now, that system is falling apart.

  Oregon Public Broadcasting Salmon

• 2. West Coast states face pressure to sue Big Oil over climate

  Oregon and Washington state are climate-conscious, but they — unlike other blue states — have yet to launch a liability lawsuit against the oil and gas industry.

  Climate Wire climate lawsuit

• 3. Watch: Are urban growth boundaries effective or worthless?

  Many cities, including Portland and Seattle, have urban growth boundaries. How effective are they at managing housing supply and sprawl?

  The Urbanist Density

• 4. Could artificial reefs protect BC’s coastlines from climate change?

  Metro Vancouver will trial biorock technology as a way to create new habitat for sea creatures, regrow coastal infrastructure and protect shorelines threatened by climate change.

  Victoria Times Colonist Ocean

• 5. Hyperlocal community councils pack a lot of power

  As Puget Sound becomes denser, some community groups have unusual authority to veto land-use decisions within their neighborhoods, but won’t for long.

  Crosscut Governance

• 6. The forest that gives Seattle its water

  The Cedar River Watershed has been the largest source of drinking water for the greater Seattle region since 1901. Today, 1.5 million people rely on the area for water to drink, eat, cook and bathe.

  KUOW Forests

• 7. California shellfish farmers need greater flexibility to face climate change

  To adapt more nimbly to the challenges presented by climate change, shellfish farmers along the California coast say they need a streamlined regulatory process, better access to current data and stronger connections with scientists and other farms, a new Oregon State University study found.

  Oregon State University Aquaculture

• 8. US releases environmental study about new Idaho test reactor

  U.S. officials have released an environmental study for a proposed nuclear test reactor to be built in eastern Idaho that backers say is needed to revamp the nation’s fading nuclear power industry by developing safer fuel and power plants.

  Seattle PI Nuclear energy

• 9. California faces summer blackouts from climate extremes

  Energy planners are working to increase the grid’s reliability to keep the power on during droughts, wildfires and heat waves.

  Scientific American Energy

• 10. Views: The business case for net zero

  Cutting emissions is costly. But far less expensive than doing nothing and facing the economic consequences.

  The Tyee Emissions

More News from May 24, 2022

• Greater Idaho movement scales back plan for Oregon annexation

  Following a setback in the May 17 primary election, proponents of the plan for Idaho to annex parts of Oregon are reducing their scope to focus on just the state’s eastern half.

  Oregon Public Broadcasting Governance