News items for September 15, 2023

demo in Bonn at the beginning of COP 23, November 4, 2017 by Leonhard Lenz

• 1. Learning from the least housed

  A case for agile, self-build, and bottom-up options to unlock housing choice… by many means necessary.

  Sightline Institute Homelessness, Housing, Tiny House

• 2. Autoworkers strike for a place in the EV future

  Some 150,000 US autoworkers have been poised to strike this week for better pay. This morning, the strike began as the union continues to push auto giants to ensure that green jobs won’t be worse jobs.

  Wired Electric Vehicles, Worker rights

• 3. ‘Zombie trout’ unsettle Montana’s fly-fishing scene

  Warming waters and other factors along the state’s rivers like the Big Hole appear to be contributing to alarmingly low numbers of the state’s renowned rainbow and brown trout.

  New York Times Ecosystems, Fish, Warming

• 4. Fighting for food sovereignty amid BC wildfires

  Major efforts to rebuild indigenous food systems were gone in an instant as a wildfire tore through the Southern Interior of B.C. But that won’t stop community organizers.

  The Narwhal Agriculture, First Nations

• 5. States granted more authority to block pipeline projects

  The Biden administration is giving states and tribes more authority to block certain projects, like pipelines that run through their waters, on water quality grounds. A new final rule from the EPA undoes the Trump administration’s efforts to limit states’ authority to block such projects.

  The Hill Pipelines, Policy, Water Quality

• 6. OR youth demand climate emergency declaration from Gov. Kotek

  Students across Oregon will walk out of school on Friday as part of a youth strike for meaningful climate action. Among the demands they’re making are a formal declaration of a climate emergency from Gov. Tina Kotek, direct relief to unhoused Oregonians during climate disasters, and more legislative support for clean energy.

  Oregon Public Broadcasting Climate Action, Climate Kids

• 7. The lifelines for thousands of BC foreign farmworkers

  Non-profits have stepped up to provide support and connection for workers isolated far from home.

  The Tyee Agriculture, Farmworkers

• 8. Supercharging Biden’s climate agenda

  Within President Biden’s landmark climate bill is a seemingly small tweak to IRS rules that, for the first time, lets companies sell their clean energy tax credits. Experts say that, by making clean energy tax credits more accessible, the move will help drive most of the government’s investment in the sector over the next decade and supercharge the industry.

  Grist Climate Action, Policy

• 9. Is housing a form of health care? WA says it is

  Apple Health and Homes has distributed $41M from Medicaid to shelter and support those with behavioral or other health issues.

  Crosscut Health, Housing, Policy

• 10. How to be (sort of) vegan. And how it would help the planet

  “We can have a real impact by replacing our meat and dairy consumption with plant-based alternatives—even just partially.”

  Washington Post Deforestation, Food production

More News from September 15, 2023

• A legal victory for the (very) little guys

  A new court settlement will put the Environmental Protection Agency on track to regulate pesticides more tightly.

  New York Times Endangered species, Pesticides

• Citing sustainability, Starbucks wants to overhaul its iconic cup

  In an era where concern for sustainability can be good business, the Starbucks disposable cup may be on its way to extinction thanks to an unlikely force: Starbucks itself.

  Associated Press Sustainability, Waste

• Biodegradable fishing gear isn’t good enough

  Lower efficiency makes the eco-friendly nets and ropes fall short. That’s a trade-off we might have to accept.

  Hakai Magazine Fishing, Sustainability