If you live in Portland, you have your May ballot in hand. Don’t just pick a presidential candidate and mail it in. Keep going: past all those unopposed judicial positions, yes, all the way at the bottom of the second page you’ll find “Measure 26-173: Temporary Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax for Street Repair, Traffic Safety.” … Read more
Last time, I explained how the rise of independent voters and the popularity of party outsiders Sanders and Trump show that American voters want more options, and how the path to change in the United States is through the individual states themselves. Here, I describe a few ways Oregon and Washington could do what New … Read more
Several West Coast communities are considering whether to roll out the welcome mat for new coal export terminals. In evaluating the merits of these proposals in places like Oakland, California, and Longview, Washington, it’s useful to examine the industry’s real-world track record. As one study of coal port operations put it, “coal terminals by their … Read more
Along with the steady stream of sobering news showing us the costs and heartbreak of climate damage, there’s also good news on the climate front. Clean energy solutions are booming. Some of the fossil fuel industry’s tactics to stall solutions are being exposed and public scrutiny of fossil fuel projects is increasingly intense. And, public … Read more
Update 4/4/16: The Gateway Pacific Terminal project has requested a temporary suspension of the proposal’s environmental review process. If the coal industry gets its way, the Columbia River Gorge will soon host dozens of loaded coal trains each day, carrying as much as 96 million tons annually to export terminals in Washington. It’s an amount of coal … Read more
For the first time in four decades, non-toxic, fire-safe couches are widely available throughout North America. In response to tireless advocacy and in spite of a campaign of chicanery orchestrated by the chemical industry, recent code changes transformed how upholstered furniture is made and sold in California, in Cascadia, and beyond. How Big Chem bullied us into … Read more
Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on Oil Check Northwest. It it reprinted here with permission. Earlier this month, in a decision that caught everyone from activists to the Governor’s office by surprise, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) rejected plans to build a massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal, known as Jordan Cove, in Coos … Read more
In 2016, the Northwest public will have a chance to voice its views on the two remaining coal export terminals proposed for Washington state. These projects would be the first and second largest coal terminals in North America, weighing in at 48 million tons per year (in Whatcom County) and 44 million tons annually (in Longview). That … Read more
The executives of bankrupt coal industry giant Arch Coal, which declared itself insolvent back in February, apparently were quite proud of themselves for driving their company into the ditch. So proud, in fact, that they decided to give themselves $8 million in bonuses right before filing bankruptcy paperwork. Arch Coal Inc. paid its top executives more … Read more
What would you do to save a few pennies? Thirty to 45 percent of shoppers will remember their reusable grocery bags to save on a five-cent bag tax. Consumers will wash out and return 70 to 80 percent of recyclable bottles to cash in on bottle bill refunds. But fewer than two percent of coffee … Read more