Search Results
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This Clause in the US Constitution Is Being Wielded to Attack Climate Change Policies
Earlier this year, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed legislation requiring that oil transported by rail to refineries in the state must meet a reduced “vapor pressure” threshold, the measure of a liquid’s volatility. The law is designed to address a history of oil trains catastrophically catching fire after derailing, including one explosive incident in a small town in Quebec that killed dozens of residents. North Dakota has been a vocal...Read more » -
The Role of Community Land Trusts in Cascadia’s Quest for Affordable Housing
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Herbicide Use on Washington Wheat Fields Has Quadrupled. Tech Could Slash That.
When Bryan Jones drives a spade into his soil, he unearths signs of life: earthworm-sized pinholes lace the soil profile, aerating his fields and making pathways for spring rains to soak in. Bryan is a fourth-generation wheat farmer in Whitman County, Washington, near the heart of the Pacific Northwest’s wheat country. He credits his two decades of conservation tillage with bringing the worms back to his family’s farm, after generations...Read more » -
Agroforestry Could Help Cascadia’s Farmers and Dwindling Salmon Populations
Nick Pate can look across the street from his farm into Washington’s Snohomish River, where five salmon species swim to their spawning beds. The salmon are fighting a losing battle with habitat loss, declining water quality, and rising water temperatures. Chinook are among the hardest hit—less than 10 percent of their historic numbers now swim in the river. When Nick bought his farm a little over a decade ago, he...Read more » -
What Would Our Cities Look like If We Took Our Climate Change Values Seriously?
Matthew Gardner, the chief economist at Seattle’s Windermere Real Estate, earlier this year digitally superimposed a map of Paris atop a map of Seattle for a talk he gave about how outdated single-detached zoning is. It’s a familiar theme for Sightline readers who have been tracking our arguments about housing shortages and climate change. The image spread at Twitter speed through Seattle’s small world of housing and climate hawks and...Read more » -
Eliminate the Senate!
Author’s note: This is a longer version of an Oregonian op-ed from July 21. American voters, thinkers, media outlets, our policy partners, and we at Sightline have been saying for years that broken institutions of democracy block progress on all the things we care about. In June, the Oregon senate showed just how true that is. By fleeing the state to prevent a quorum, a tiny number of senators were...Read more » -
Democracy Wins in Oregon, Despite Lawmakers’ Walkout
It was a dark day for democracy when 11 Oregon senators successfully blocked a major climate and clean energy bill by leaving the state to prevent a quorum. But, in other ways the Oregon lawmaking session was a smashing success for democracy. Here are four bills that will make elections more fair and meaningful, and a bonus success that suggests democracy is working. 1. National Popular Vote Interstate Compact Oregon’s...Read more » -
Seven Bombshells in the Blackjewel Bankruptcy
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Seattle Says Yes to the Best Rules in America for Backyard Cottages
Seattle City Council took a big step Monday toward creating a more sustainable city, voting unanimously to enact legislation that will make it easier for homeowners to build in-law suites, garage apartments, and backyard cottages—modest homes the wonks call accessory dwelling units (ADUs). The vote caps an epic process during which obstructionists abused state environmental laws to drag things out for four years, as pro-housing affordability forces built up steam...Read more » -
Oregon Just Voted to Legalize Duplexes on Almost Every City Lot
Oregon legislators took a historic leap toward greener, fairer, less expensive cities Sunday by passing the first law of its kind in the United States or Canada: A state-level legalization of so-called “missing middle” housing. If signed by Gov. Kate Brown in the next month, House Bill 2001 will strike down local bans on duplexes for every low-density residential lot in all cities with more than 10,000 residents and all...Read more »