News items for May 3, 2024
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1. Undamming the Klamath
The Klamath Tribes in Oregon have not seen salmon, much less been able to fish for them, for over a century. But now, with dam removal underway, tribal nations are restoring the river while reclaiming and revitalizing their cultural heritage.
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2. Ranked-choice voting could soon appear in Tacoma charter
Tacoma’s charter is up for review this year in a once-in-a-decade process that allows changes to be made to the city’s constitution. By May 7, the 15-member Charter Review Committee will submit recommendations on a variety of topics including ranked-choice voting.
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3. Big Oil spent decades sowing doubt about fossil fuel dangers
The U.S. Senate held a hearing to review a report that demonstrates the fossil fuel industry’s shift from explicit climate denial to a more sophisticated strategy of “deception, disinformation and doublespeak.”
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4. Surge in electricity demand = Tricky path ahead for PNW utilities
Demand for electricity is spiking across the Pacific Northwest and its potential to outpace supply in the years ahead is growing. Clean-energy goals are forcing the closure of power plants run on fossil fuels, but renewable projects aren’t outpacing that lost power by much, if at all.
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5. Empowering tenants in Portland
City officials will soon unveil a proposed policy that would require landlords of existing duplexes and larger apartment buildings to disclose an apartment’s monthly energy costs and health and climate risks to prospective tenants, including risks associated with natural gas stoves and air-conditioning and other cooling measures.
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6. US saw drop in wind power last year, despite new turbines
For the first time since the 1990s, U.S. wind generation dropped last year, according to government figures. The slump is the result of weak winds, and it comes despite the continued buildout of wind turbines nationally.
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7. Appeals court rejects climate change lawsuit from OR kid activists
A federal appeals court panel rejected a long-running lawsuit brought by young Oregon-based climate activists who argued that the U.S. government’s role in climate change violated their constitutional rights.
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8. EPA takes on abandoned coal ash ponds, but it might be too late
Will utilities clean up toxic waste at power plants, or run out an election-year clock?
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9. How climate and deer are impacting caribou in western Canada
Ecologists haven’t known whether a warmer climate in these forests is drawing deer north, or whether human land development might play a bigger role.
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10. Just how much can you save on fuel by switching to an EV?
There’s a new calculator that can tell you.
More News from May 3, 2024
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Anchorage’s first protected bike lane coming this summer
The summer pilot could lead to more year-round bike infrastructure.
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Views: When it comes to food safety, Europe and the US are oceans apart
The European Food Safety Authority has the freedom to follow the science, while the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has stagnated.
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Peeking into the ocean’s microscopic baby boom
Springtime delivers the world’s tiniest zoo babies.