[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] This is part two in a four article series about how voters respond to ranked ballots and proportional voting systems. You can read the other articles in this series here: Part 1, Part 3, and Part 4. Imagine you are running for office and you’ve got a strong base of voters who know you … Read more
This is part one in a four article series about how voters respond to ranked ballots and proportional voting systems. You can read the other articles in this series here: Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. US voter turnout is pitifully low compared with other democracies around the world. Though Oregon and Washington have … Read more
Exciting democracy changes are afoot in Cascadia. This year the Washington state legislature passed a suite of bills affirming its citizens’ right to vote. Benton County, Oregon, is about to become the first Cascadian jurisdiction in nearly a decade to use ranked-choice voting. And British Columbians will decide this year whether to make their elections … Read more
Last month, senior research associate Margaret Morales was a guest on “Democracy Speaks!” to discuss democracy reform with host Cindy Black. Margaret provided an overview of the work Sightline is doing in the democracy realm (campaign finance, access to voting rights, and reforming voting systems) before focusing on proportional representation. Listen to the hour-long interview in its entirety … Read more
“Trial of the century” is a bold claim given some of the competition (Bush v. Gore, same-sex marriage), yet there is climate-change litigation that will take place in Oregon that may be justified in claiming the title. In fact, the significance of the upcoming 2018 trial may be one of the few points of agreement … Read more
As I wrote about a few weeks ago, corporations have a long and storied history of “crying wolf” when people try to protect themselves from industrial pollution or safety hazards. Business interests also have a history of paying consultants to produce studies that “prove” the wolf is really there. For example, in 2017, Oregon Business … Read more
So we’ve debunked the myths that a polluters-pay program to curb carbon pollution would hurt Oregon’s economy and, in particular, Oregon’s rural residents. Neither of those claims is true; they’re the tired, unfounded bunk we’ve heard over and over from the well-funded special interest actors working hard to block the climate action that Oregonians want—specifically, … Read more
In my last article, I described how making polluters pay for their pollution, contrary to fossil fuel industry whining and myth-telling, in fact would help Oregon’s economy—just as it has helped the economies of other states, provinces, and regions that have demanded that polluting industries do their part to act on climate. A common comeback … Read more
[content_box type=”border” button='{“url”:”https://www.sightline.org/2018/02/27/video-autonomous-electric-vehicles-and-their-future-in-cascadia/”,”title”:”Watch video”}’]Watch Daniel Malarkey’s appearance on Q13’s newscast in which he discusses the future of autonomous electric vehicles.[/content_box] Climate hawks know the best way to decarbonize our economy is to electrify everything, fast. But we’ve made little progress electrifying transportation, the source of over half of the carbon emissions in Oregon and Washington. … Read more
This is an exciting moment for Cascadia, a time when BC has doubled down on its carbon pollution tax, when Oregon and Washington have promising bills moving through legislature, and when state leaders are acting on the clearly expressed climate action wishes of their constituents. It is also an urgent moment, as climate impacts take heavier … Read more