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Today, the Seattle Times has something of a landmark op-ed on the eternal viaduct debate. It’s jointly signed by Governor Gregoire, King County Executive Sims, and Seattle Mayor Nickels. It seems to say some good things: In the year 2008—not 1950—we need a viaduct solution that not only moves traffic but addresses these larger issues so our children and grandchildren don’t have to wrestle with the legacy of shortsightedness. By...

Lead makes criminals: The first study to follow lead-exposed children from before birth into adulthood has shown that even relatively low levels of lead permanently damage the brain and are linked to higher numbers of arrests, particularly for violent crime. Previous studies linking lead to such problems have used indirect measures of lead and criminality, and critics have argued that socioeconomic and other factors may be responsible for the observed...

This isn’t exactly a balanced article—but luckily, its biases match mine.  So therefore it’s great:  a nifty roundhouse kick, straight from the Willamette Week, to the notion that widening a highway is a boon, either to the climate or the economy.  In this case, it’s the Columbia River Crossing, connecting Portland and suburban Clark County, WA, that’s in the crosshairs.  Here’s my favorite bit: The $4.2 billion [pricetag for a...

There’s lots of buzz about green-collarjobs these days (sort of like blue-collar jobs, but with a sustainable edge)—whether you’re listening to Obama, McCain, or Clinton; Gregoire, Kulongoski, or Schwarzenegger. You hear this kind of thing a lot: A study conducted by the RAND Corporation and the University of Tennessee found that producing 25 percent of all American energy fuel and electricity from renewables by the year 2025 would produce the...

Not much time to post today, unfortunately, but this struck me as nuts. In a transportation plan released Tuesday, [Washington gubernatorial candidate Dino] Rossi calls for replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a tunnel, building a new Highway 520 floating bridge that could ultimately hold eight lanes of traffic, and building a four-lane, six-mile highway from Interstate 5 to Highway 7 in Pierce County. Nobody’s ever accused me of being...

The Western Climate Initative just released an “allocation” recommendation for its cap and trade program, which (together with complementary policies) aims to reduce the region’s emissions 15% below 2005 levels by 2020. (“Allocation” refers to the method of distributing carbon permits, whether for free or by auction.) In case folks are interested in the highlights, I’ve selected key passages from the document: “Each Partner will auction a minimum percentage between 25%...

Noticed some changes in your yard? My rhododendron bush was blooming weeks ago  – in February. If you think that seems odd, you’re right. The major papers report that spring is arriving earlier – and it’s most obvious in the Pacific Northwest. See the Seattle P-I and the Oregonian. Please welcome freelance editor Christina Claassen to Sightline Daily’s team. Christina works three mornings a week from her home at the...

Note from Alan: One of the toughest challenges for families with young children living in cities is the lack of safe, accessible outdoor play space for kids—a narrow urban balcony is no substitute for a fenced backyard. But Seattle-area planner (and mother) Alyse Nelson, who spent six months in Copenhagen documenting how to make a city bicycle friendly, discovered the Danish solution to this problem. She discovered it by looking...

It’s hardly news at this point, but oil prices hit yet another new high yesterday.  Adjusted for inflation, oil is now as expensive as it’s ever been—even more expensive than it was during the energy crunch of the late 1970s and early 1980s.  Of course, part of the reason for the rise in prices is the fall in the value of the dollar against other international currencies.  When the dollar’s...

On February 19, we applauded British Columbia’s new carbon tax shift. I’ve now had time to digest the plan. It’s even better than we said, and the province could tweak it to make it better still. This policy is the purest instance of a tax shift that I’ve ever seen. It’s an exceptionally faithful implementation of tax shifting—a policy innovation Sightline has been promoting since 1994 and especially since our...