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Update!—Location has been changed to a larger space. Please see below. *** Sightline Fellow Yoram Bauman is hosting the Northwest Carbon Pricing Conference. I’ll be speaking at it, but that’s not the main reason you should go. It’s going to be a good event because of what it’s not going to be: a line-up of the usual suspects. The speakers are a genuinely heterodox group of Northwest leaders who are...

Anna: As we pause to consider the anniversary of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, here’s some food for thought (or ire) brought to you by ThinkProgress at the Center for American Progress Action Fund: “After writing off the losses incurred from the tragedy they created, BP received nearly a $10 billion dollar credit on their 2010 federal tax return—compare that to the EPA’s annual budget of...

Hi. My name is Anna and I’m a sugar addict. (“Hi, Anna…”) But I’m giving it up. Really! Since my toddler started mimicking my every move, I decided that instilling in her the best possible food habits meant kicking my own worst ones. For the past two months, I’ve had a zero-sugar policy on all weekdays. (Next step: no-sugar weekends). I’ve been clean for, um, let’s see, about 43 hours...

Eric H: Sightline staff are well-acquainted with the battle of the office candy jar–but could sweets be worse than we think they are? The New York Times Magazine takes a look at whether or not sugar is toxic. Also, if you’ve got free time in Seattle next week, check out Seattle’s GoGreen conference to hear some smart people talk about sustainable business. Eric dP: It was as a dry spell...

In the Northwest, coal often feels like someone else’s problem. But the truth is coal is big in our region. The two coal-fired power plants in Oregon and Washington are some of the largest polluters in our region, but efforts are underway to transition the region away from this dirty energy source.

The Census Bureau is debuting a new version of its poverty count, the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) that should represent an improvement over the old flawed version. The new measure is supposed to be broader and more reflective of factors like a family’s size, geographic location, and whether it is receiving benefits such as food stamps, energy assistance, a housing subsidy, or tax credits. Additionally, the new measure takes into...

This weekend, my in-laws came to town. Which was a very happy occasion. I handed over my two-year-old daughter (and four pages of instructions) to them while my husband and I fled to a hotel in downtown Seattle for two glorious nights. We drank martinis at the Mayflower Park Hotel (among other places, but those were the best), got to see the new Coen brothers movie, slept as late as...

‘Tis the season for making a list and checking it twice, and no, it’s not Santa who’s coming to town but state lawmakers. And Northwest enviros have made their wish lists in preparation for the 2011 legislative sessions. Despite losing green-leaning leaders during November’s elections, progressives are still pursuing ambitious environmental agendas, which can be perused right now for Washington, Idaho, and Montana; Oregon doesn’t get rolling until February and...

I know everyone is supposed to be dour and disheartened about the prospects for climate policy right now. And while I can’t say that I’m thrilled with where we are, it’s useful to take stock of what’s happening because it’s not insignificant: California. Next week, regulators are expected to approve a cap-and-trade program for the Golden State. It should be a slam dunk given that Proposition 23—the oil company funded gutting...

One of the privileges of working at a sustainability think tank is being able to read about (and share!) ideas and research tidbits that I find genuinely interesting.  For me, the most valuable ideas are those that run to counter common sense, or that buck the conventional wisdom:  solid research that challenges my gut instincts is what’s most likely to open my mind to new ways of thinking about the...