News items for August 22, 2019

Global Warming by Klemas used under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

• 1. WA appeals court rules against coal export terminal

  A Washington state appeals court has ruled against a company that wants to build the largest coal export terminal in the country on the Columbia River. The decision could be a fatal blow for a controversial project that could have increased global greenhouse gas emissions.

  Inside Climate News Coal

• 2. Did segregation cause your traffic jam?

  Sprawl: Among other things, a deliberate attempt to enforce racial segregation with physical space.

  Sightline Institute Segregation

• 3. The West’s disappearing estuaries

  Most of the West Coast’s estuary habitat has vanished, according to a new study, the most thorough of its kind. The mapping project found that, today, less than 15% of historic estuaries remain along the Washington, Oregon and California coastlines.

  Jefferson Public Radio Ecosystems

• 4. A tale of restored tribal lands turns bittersweet in wake of OR wildfire

  Tribes who’ve reclaimed federal lands are learning that the US was a less-than-ideal steward, which puts them at risk for catastrophic wildfire.

  Crosscut Native American

• 5. Seattle experiment helps families with housing opportunities

  Researchers from Harvard University-based Opportunity Insights worked with the Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) and King County Housing Authority (KCHA) to find families with at least one child under 15 who received a Section 8 housing voucher and run an experiment on housing opportunities.

  Real Change Housing

• 6. Seattle’s ‘microtransit’ experiment drives people to light rail

  Called Via to Transit, these vans look like they could be an Uber spinoff. In fact, passengers dial up the rides through an app similar to any ride hailing service. But as the King County Metro Transit logo emblazoned on the door indicates, the vans are part of a county-run experiment with on-demand “microtransit.”

  Crosscut Transit

• 7. New lawsuit seeks protection zone for NW orcas

  A new US lawsuit filed Monday seeks to establish a whale protection zone for endangered orcas in the Pacific Northwest.

  Peninsula Daily News Orcas

• 8. Can backyard cottages help Seattle families reconnect?

  Recent zoning changes make it easier to build these dwellings. They could mix up the modern middle-class American life.

  Crosscut ADUs

• 9. The tilling catch-22: Erosion vs. superweeds

  A wheat farmer in the inland Pacific Northwest is looking for a way out. He’s not the only one.

  Sightline Institute Farming

• 10. It’s Black Women’s Equal Pay Day: Here’s what that means

  Black women have to work almost 20 months to earn the amount earned by some white male middle manager over the course of just 12 months.

  Fast Company Equal Pay

More News from August 22, 2019

• Trans Mountain Pipeline construction set to restart

  Construction on the controversial Trans Mountain pipeline project is set to restart within a month.

  Vancouver Sun Trans Mountain Pipeline

• SEIU’s new approach to union bargaining

  SEIU president Mary Kay Henry is demanding laws allowing unions to bargain for workers as a whole, and Democratic candidates are signing up.

  Vox Unions