Sightline’s policy director Eric de Place joined KBOO Community Radio‘s Barbara Bernstein this week to discuss how American communities are staying energized and fighting fossil fuels at the local level. Eric detailed how state and local power will play an increasingly important role in protecting regions like Cascadia from coal, oil, and gas projects. He also emphasized how … Read more
On Monday, Sightline’s director of energy finance, Clark Williams-Derry, joined KBOO Community Radio‘s Barbara Bernstein to discuss what the next four years of US energy policy may look like. The two discussed the future of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), legally, politically, and financially, given various divestment efforts around the US. Clark also detailed the … Read more
As you may have heard, the Trump administration recently signed orders designed to pave the way for two controversial oil pipelines, Dakota Access (DAPL) and Keystone XL. Surprisingly, though, the main beneficiaries of this move may be Canadian, not American. This seems clear enough the case for the Keystone XL pipeline, which was explicitly designed to move … Read more
When my daughter was four-and-a-half, she asked me point blank about climate change. You’d think I’d be equipped for this conversation. After all, this is what I do for a living! For over a decade, I have studied the communications literature and issued dozens of talking points memos on climate challenges and solutions. But her … Read more
Yesterday, the Trudeau administration approved a proposal by Texas-based energy company Kinder Morgan to build a large new oil pipeline through British Columbia to the shores of the Salish Sea. Having obtained support from the Canadian federal government, Kinder Morgan will now move forward with its plans, aiming to begin construction in September 2017 and … Read more
Fifteen pounds. Thanks to Catalog Choice, Seattle’s phone book opt-out, and vigilance against Red Plum and other advertisers, I have purged and pinched my annual junk mail tally down to 15 pounds. Last time I weighed in, in 2013, it was 26 pounds; in 2012, it was 33 pounds (half of it from the hated … Read more
Just after midnight on October 13, 2016, the tug Nathan E. Stewart and its 287-foot oil barge ran aground on British Columbia’s central coast, spilling about 27,000 gallons of diesel and 1,300 gallons of oily lubricants. The inadequate response to the spill’s aftermath confirmed the fears many in BC and Washington have about the two … Read more
Editor’s Note August 2016: Last week during the Lummi Totem Pole Journey stop in Seattle, Sightline senior researcher Tarika Powell had the privilege of speaking alongside leaders from the Lummi Nation, Quinault Nation, White Swan Dakotas, and more, about the fight against coal, oil, and gas infrastructure in the Northwest. The ceremony brought together 300 people and strengthened connections between tribes, people … Read more
In 2009, the citizen-driven Tea Party spread like wildfire, shocking the American political establishment and pundits. Overnight, well funded backers were leaping at the chance to harness this new display of public power. Eventually, hundreds of local Tea Party groups across the US translated their collective strength into substantial results, putting favored candidates into office … Read more
Kristin E. I just read Raising the Floor: How a Universal Basic Income Can Renew Our Economy and Rebuild the American Dream by former SEIU president Andy Stern. I highly, highly recommend. After successfully organizing Labor, Stern started to feel concerned about the future of Labor, so he spent years asking economists, labor leaders, DEOs, and … Read more