How does a growing, prospering city stay affordable for all kinds of people? At the most basic level, when there aren’t enough homes, prices will keep rising. And when there are plenty of homes, it helps prices stay down. It’s like a huge game of musical chairs. If there aren’t enough chairs when the music … Read more
Editor’s note: We updated this article on May 29, 2018 to reflect projects that have been withdrawn, and include updated information about current projects. This article also features a third version of the graphic. The Northwest is home to a range of project proposals to expand gas consumption. At first glance, they appear quite different … Read more
What a difference an election can make. On September 11, the British Columbia New Democratic Party (NDP) released its four-year budget, revealing that it will increase the province’s carbon tax by $5 per metric ton each year, reaching $50 per metric ton in April 2021. Hallelujah! This exciting change in BC climate policy is thanks … Read more
When it comes to condominium development, Cascadia’s two largest cities couldn’t be more different. Last year nearly 60 percent of new housing starts in the city of Vancouver, BC, were condominiums; meanwhile, Seattle saw no new condominium buildings open. And that’s not changing anytime soon: less than 10 percent of all building slated for downtown … Read more
Kinder Morgan, a Texas-based energy giant, continues to advance its designs on the Pacific Northwest for a pipeline and tanker project. But communities across Cascadia are joining together to reject the corporation’s plans and the risks they pose to the region’s people, economies, and iconic natural resources. Next Thursday, Eric de Place will speak at … Read more
Eric Cliff Mass makes the case that we should ban personal fireworks. I was a skeptic going into the piece, but he convinced me. Among other things, check out the air quality chart documenting the almost unbelievable spike—most especially in Tacoma—of harmful air contaminants that presumably arise from fireworks. It’s wonderful to see Lindy West … Read more
Untangling the role of foreign investment in the Vancouver and Seattle housing markets.
On Thursday the British Columbia Legislature will take a vote that portends nothing but bad news and headaches for the province’s floundering liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry. With that vote, the BC Liberals—a party that wholeheartedly supported LNG development, going so far as to put LNG exports at the center of the party’s economic platform—will likely … Read more
Sightline has tracked Northwest fossil fuel transport developments since 2010 when the region saw its first proposal for large-scale coal exports. Since that time, communities from Coos Bay, Oregon, to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, have weathered wave after wave of schemes from the coal, oil, and gas industries. Yet, much to the surprise of most observers, … Read more
Contact: Eric de Place, eric@sightline.org, 206-447-1880 x105 The Lower Columbia River region is more threatened by fossil fuel development schemes than any other place in the Northwest, according to a new report from Sightline Institute that ranks locations throughout the region on their vulnerability to these developments. The report, “Northwest Targets,” provides risk assessments for … Read more