News items for November 13, 2024

Friends kayaking in Bear Glacier, Alaska

• 1. Washington voters stand up for climate action

  The state’s landmark climate law survived a repeal effort, and has raised billions of dollars. Here’s where that money is going.

  High Country News

• 2. Portland’s new city council bodes well for bicycling

  While a few of the true bicycling believers didn’t get elected, there’s a solid majority of folks who “get it” when it comes to the need for making Portland a place where people drive less often. And maybe even one or two who might emerge as the next great champion for cycling.

  BikePortland

• 3. Postcard from Seattle, birthplace of modular home design

  Robert Humble of Hybrid Architecture started making homes from upcycled shipping containers in the early 2000s, a milestone in eco-design.

  The Tyee

• 4. Effort to protect Seattle’s Black history could block affordable housing

  The Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections has taken the unusual step of delaying an affordable housing development of a 49-unit apartment building just off E Madison to determine if the 108-year-old building currently in that location should be protected on the grounds that the property holds historical and cultural significance.

  CHS Capitol Hill Seattle News

• 5. Vancouver working towards housing target, affordability trickier

  Vancouver has fallen short in the first year of its provincially mandated housing targets, but city staff expect the city’s “strong development pipeline” will help it exceed the five-year goal.

  The Vancouver Sun

• 6. The other side of the world’s largest dam removal

  Removing dams from the Klamath River in Northern California seems like a clear win for fish and rivers. Why do some locals hate it?

  Hakai Magazine

• 7. Despite promise to protect old growth, BLM keeps cutting them down

  An Oregon Public Broadcasting and ProPublica analysis found the Bureau of Land Management has allowed timber companies to cut mature and old-growth forests at a faster pace, even after an executive order signed by Biden earlier this year was signed to protect them.

  OPB

• 8. EPA to charge oil companies first-ever methane fee

  Oil and gas companies for the first time will face fines for emitting methane, a potent greenhouse gas that leaks from wells, pipelines and storage facilities, the Biden administration announced on Tuesday.

  The New York Times

• 9. Podcast: What if there was a better way to fight the climate crisis?

  In today’s The Big Story podcast, we tend to see the challenge we face in terms of raw numbers and targets that need to be hit. But focusing on the numbers doesn’t change the fact that a shift to a net-zero world is inevitable now, and we’re just arguing over the timeline and how much damage we’ll do on the way.

  CityNews Vancouver

• 10. 13 states will have women governors next year, a new record

  A record number of women will serve as state governors next year, building on the historic gains made during the 2022 elections.

  OPB

More News from November 13, 2024

• Here’s what’s going right with global climate action

  A survey of 130,000 people across 125 countries found that 89% want to see more political action addressing climate change, and 69% would be willing to pay 1% of their income to fight climate change.

  Christian Science Monitor

• 2024 fossil fuel emissions are headed for a record

  One year after world leaders made a splashy promise to shift away from fossil fuels, countries are burning more oil, natural gas and coal than ever before, researchers said this week.

  The New York Times

• Scientists report another bump upward in annual carbon emissions

  Even as Earth sets new heat records, humanity this year is pumping 330 million tons (300 million metric tons) more carbon dioxide into the air by burning fossil fuels than it did last year.

  OPB