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Communities across Oregon and Washington are growing increasingly agitated about the risks of fossil fuel export. Proposed coal terminals generated unprecedented opposition from local residents and, more recently, dramatic increases in oil train traffic have many questioning the grave safety risks associated with a cargo so prone to explode. Yet at the very same time, the state governments of both Oregon and Washington are bankrolling coal, oil, and gas infrastructure....

Many business owners and workers worry that carbon pricing will hurt local economies. They need to know: How would carbon pricing affect businesses and job creation in Washington and Oregon? In particular, how would it affect energy-intensive businesses that compete in national and international markets with companies not yet covered by carbon pricing? Will these energy-intensive, trade-exposed (EITE) businesses, like steel and aluminum manufacturing, still be able to compete with...

Pretend you’re the governor of Oregon or Washington, or the head of a key committee in the state legislature in Salem or Olympia. Let’s say you’re convinced: Climate change is real, it’s a huge risk, and we need a fast, smooth transition beyond carbon fuels. Putting a price on carbon is the single best way to nudge the whole economy in that direction. What do you do? Designing an entire...

Nearly a year ago, I conducted a simple commuting test. Who could get me to work faster: a plain old cab or Lyft? At the time, the pink mustachioed Jeep that I conjured with my iPhone was a relatively new thing. But it got me where I needed to go 34 minutes faster than a taxi, plus no one yelled at or hung up on me. Since then, drivers for...

Despite its widely discussed woes, every year the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) cuts more carbon pollution than the entire state of Oregon spits out. That’s no small feat. The EU cap-and-trade program limits carbon dioxide emissions from more than 11,000 power stations and industrial plants in 31 participating countries, covering 45 percent of the EU’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The market has operated for nearly a...

If you still need to meet Reggie, you can get introduced in Part 1. (1) Yes, you can lower emissions without harming the economy. RGGI’s CO2 emissions from electricity dropped by more than 40 percent between 2005 and 2012 while the region’s economy improved. The entire US economy has been slowly backing away from its unhealthy, codependent relationship with energy use, but RGGI’s economy has really broken it off. Below,...

Alan At Seattle’s latitude, fully dark night is currently lasting only two hours. At Bellingham’s, there is no fully dark night right now. That’s what the Cliff Mass says. Initially intended as a weekend reading item, my reflection on Rebecca Solnit’s stunning Wanderlust grew into a full-blown blog article. Read it here. Jennifer Given my daughter’s obsession with the as-yet empty bird nest on our front porch, I was peculiarly...

Carbon pricing’s time may have come. California Governor Jerry Brown is crusading for climate regulation, Washington Governor Jay Inslee is considering cap and trade, and government leaders in Oregon are contemplating a carbon tax. New US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) carbon regulations may drive states across the country to join the Northeast’s well-established cap-and-trade program. What’s that you say? You didn’t know the Northeast has the oldest carbon pricing program...

Pam I spent twelve years of my life biking to work nearly every day. Now, the fears and stress predominate when I ride. Will the poor pavement throw me from my bike? Will someone open a car door in front of me? Will a driver simply not see me and collide? (Yes, that’s all happened, though I almost always arrive to work or home unharmed.) So I often take the...

Have you heard the urban legend that keeps making the rounds—that exporting massive amounts of coal to Asia could actually be good for the climate? Well, when I was a kid, I was convinced that eating Pop Rocks and Coke could kill you. Someone had told me that Mikey, the kid from the Life cereal ad, died that way. And while the story seemed preposterous, it seemed too wacky for someone to have just...