Search Results
-
How Proportional Representation Could Give Washington Voters More Voice
Voters across North America feel their votes don’t matter and wonder if the system is rigged. This fall, voters in BC will have the chance to upgrade their democracy by switching to proportional representation—a form of voting where more voters have more choices and the legislature more fairly represents the voters. Washington could make the switch to proportional representation, too. The Washington state legislature, like the US Congress and other...Read more » -
The Supreme Court Just Reminded Us—Americans Don’t Have the Right to Vote
On Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down a stunning but predictable decision in Husted v. Randolph, the case about the state of Ohio purging thousands of voters from the voter rolls. Stunning because it gives state legislatures unprecedented powers to prevent eligible voters from voting. Predictable because, contrary to popular assumption, the US Constitution actually does not guarantee citizens a right to vote. Freedom of speech and...Read more » -
British Columbia’s Surprisingly Reasonable Democracy Revolution
-
Why Trans Mountain’s Oil Spill Liability Is Problematic
On Wednesday morning, Justin Trudeau’s government announced a new round of financial supports for the proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which would ship massive volumes of oil from Canada’s tar sands region to the British Columbia coast. This time, the government has promised to reimburse the Canadian subsidiary of Houston-based pipeline giant Kinder Morgan for any financial losses caused by the BC government’s opposition to the pipeline. Trudeau’s finance minister...Read more » -
Kinder Morgan’s Oil Spill Problem
On April 8, Kinder Morgan Canada held an unusual Sunday conference call to announce an immediate halt to all non-essential spending on the controversial Trans Mountain pipeline, threatening to pull the plug on the project completely unless the escalating political conflicts over the pipeline could be resolved by May 31. Kinder Morgan’s announcement set off a furor of finger-pointing and political posturing. Alberta’s premier threatened trade retaliation against British Columbia for...Read more » -
Spring Update from the Thin Green Line
“This is more fun than I’ve ever had in my life.” That’s how activist Don Steinke summed up his tireless work opposing a giant oil train terminal on the Columbia River to reporters. His enthusiasm has been contagious: communities all around the Northwest have been chalking up big wins against big oil. Stopping oil trains has been a highlight for the Thin Green Line, the opposition movement to fossil fuel...Read more » -
British Columbia’s LNG Industry Faces Gloomy Economic Prospects in Today’s Global Market
Just a few years ago, it seemed as if British Columbia stood on the brink of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export boom. Today, progress on the province’s LNG proposals has ground to a virtual halt. Sightline’s latest report details the three key trends that turned BC’s LNG boom into LNG gloom:Read more » -
Meet the Well-Funded Players Working Hard to Thwart Oregon’s Climate Progress
Oregon is on the cusp of a climate protection breakthrough in 2018. The state legislature is weighing the Clean Energy Jobs bill, a remarkable opportunity to join its West Coast neighbors in lowering carbon pollution while raising money to invest in clean energy and transportation. The money raised would also provide assistance for low-income state residents. (Sightline’s Kristin Eberhard wrote an excellent summary of the legislation.) Nevertheless, Oregon’s climate proposal...Read more » -
Family Planning Kick-Starts Prosperity
Cascadia is known for mountains and salmon, technology, and modern urban gateways to Asia. But wellbeing is marred by economic hardship for a third of families, who struggle to pay for basic household necessities. For many, unsought pregnancy compounds this hardship, with poverty and mistimed or unwanted pregnancy fueling each other in a cycle that stacks the odds against many parents and their children. Poverty is a complex equation. But...Read more » -
When Historic Preservation Clashes with Housing Affordability
Every city wrestles with the tension between preservation and evolution, the tricky balance between saving great old buildings and not freezing neighborhoods in amber. The tension is especially acute in any metro area that lacks enough homes for all the people who want to live there. Historic preservation, when it interferes with homebuilding, can worsen a city’s shortage of homes, driving up rents and pushing out low-income residents. Case in...Read more »