News items for October 18, 2024
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1. Washingtonians will cast the year’s most consequential climate vote
Ballot Initiative 2117 would repeal the state’s groundbreaking climate law—and cut off funds for public land and water restoration.
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2. $3B in projects proposed to improve power grid across PNW
The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), which owns more than 75% of the Pacific Northwest’s high-voltage transmission lines, proposed more than a dozen new projects this week intended to alleviate pressure on a grid facing rapidly increasing demands from the shift to renewable power, the electrification of cars and appliances, and the rise of data centers using massive amounts of electricity.
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3. Supreme Court allows EPA to limit power plant emissions
The Supreme Court has provisionally allowed the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency to enforce limits on carbon emissions from power plants, despite ongoing legal challenges from Republican-led states.
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4. OR approves ‘precedent setting’ plan to put state forest in a carbon market
The decision, which officials said would fight climate change, makes Oregon the second state after Michigan to dedicate an entire state forest to storing harmful emissions while selling carbon credits for revenue
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5. Seattle mayor unveils new version of housing growth plan
Seattle took a step toward denser housing as Mayor Bruce Harrell unveiled the latest version of his administration’s 20-year growth strategy for the city, along with detailed maps of potential zoning changes. The proposal would roughly double Seattle’s theoretical zoning capacity for new homes from 167,000 to 330,000.
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6. A rare water collaboration is overcoming regulatory obstacles. And benefitting fish
Water users in Washington and Oregon are working together to keep streams flowing in the Walla Walla River Basin.
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7. To prepare for the climate of tomorrow, WA foresters are branching out
At a reforestation site in Washington, forest managers are experimenting with “assisted migration”—planting trees from warmer, drier regions—to boost the forest’s resilience.
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8. Opinion: Labor and environmental groups can both win in the clean energy transition. Here’s how
The energy transition offers both environmental justice organizations and unions an opportunity to build a pipeline for clean energy jobs. The International Labor Organization estimates about 13.3 million new jobs will be created by 2030 thanks to the energy transition, as well as new revenue and reduced pollution.
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9. Climate change is transforming homeownership in the US
In California, Oregon and Washington state, wildfire risk has lopped 3.9% off home prices. On the U.S. coasts, prices for properties vulnerable to sea-level rise sell for 7% less than safer comparable homes.
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10. Where have all the swifties gone?
This fall, a beloved annual bird migration left Portlanders hanging.