News items for August 26, 2024
![Chum salmon leaping by US Fish and Wildlife Service used under CC BY 2.0 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwshq/6088542755) A fish leaps from the ocean water](https://www.sightline.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Chum-salmon-leaping-275x183.jpg)
Chum salmon leaping by US Fish and Wildlife Service used under CC BY 2.0
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1. Indigenous leaders burn PRGT pipeline agreement, blockade BC road
Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs are blocking a road that leads to a work camp for the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline, set to begin construction this weekend. Indigenous youth are at the forefront of opposition to the new fossil fuel infrastructure.
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2. USDA warehouse changes lead to commodity delays to Native American tribes
Tribes are grappling with shipments of expired food, delayed food or incorrect shipments following a nationwide consolidation affecting commodities.
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3. Conservationists are on the trail of OR’s coastel martens
With only a few hundred in existence, researchers are worried that a single catastrophe could send the species on the path to extinction.
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4. ‘Definitely dissuasive’: Skyrocketing farmland prices a struggle for Canada’s young farmers
Farmland prices across the Prairies have grown for the past 20 years, but they took a marked jump in Saskatchewan in 2011 and have continued to see huge increases since then.
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5. In BC, the road toward transforming human waste into power
We usually don’t think about what happens after we flush our waste, but a team of researchers in British Columbia is experimenting with ways to convert our sewage into energy.
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6. The right to repair electronics is now law in 3 states. Is Big Tech complying?
Right-to-repair laws passed in Oregon will take effect in January 2025. These laws close one big outstanding loophole: They ban parts pricing, the practice of serializing parts and using software to sync them with specific devices during repair.
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7. Extended ‘nightmarish’ drought puts heavy strain on BC water systems
The shortages come during a nearly year-long spell of drought that has lasted through the winter, with record heat and unprecedentedly low snow levels.
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8. UW program works with tribes to fight toxins behind shellfish harvesting closures
In June, shellfish poisoning made at least 31 people ill in Oregon and resulted in the closure of recreational shellfish harvesting in Oregon and Washington. Now, a Forks-based University of Washington program is partnering with Washington tribes to bolster responses to crises and improve monitoring methods.
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9. Idaho Gov. Little unveils new wildfire plan that includes less liability for electrical companies
The Idaho wildfire mitigation report said the threat of liability can “immediately destabilize the financial health of electric companies,” particularly small customer-owned utilities in rural Idaho.
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10. Scientists may have found a radical solution for making your hamburger less bad for the planet
Researchers in California are working to genetically engineer the cow microbiome — and in the process, eliminate methane emissions.