Search Results

Here’s a good reason to build rain gardens and green roofs, and to plant and protect trees: It’ll save you money. That’s the conclusion of a new report from the American Association of Landscape Architects called “Banking on Green.” The study surveyed green stormwater projects from across the US, plus a handful from Canada, and determined that in 41 percent of the cases, the environmentally friendly approach was cheaper than...

Anna: I just read a book—on a whim—called Skinny Bitch. Yes, it’s a diet/self-help kind of thing. I picked it up at the library for some bitchy straight talk about some addictions I want to kick—namely, sugar and dairy (a chapter is devoted to each). It turned out to be a really great read about the politics of big Ag, the dairy and meat industries, and how industry money and...

Today the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication released the second report from their latest national survey. Reinforcing several polls that show a recent uptick in American concern about climate change, this study (fielded in March) shows that despite more immediately pressing priorities—namely economic ones—Americans are surprisingly open to climate solutions—across party lines. In fact, Yale/George Mason found that “majorities...

Here’s data from the latest coal report from the US Energy Information Administration, taking us up through the end of 2011. Driving by falling volumes leaving the Seattle Customs District, overall coal exports for the West declined during the last two quarters of 2011. The Seattle District shipped a bit less than 4.9 million metric tons in 2011, but fourth quarter exports totaled less than 1 million and were down...

Eric dP: My favorite piece of the week was republican meteorologist Paul Douglas explaining why climate change is real and frightening, and why it shouldn’t be treated as a partisan issue. EarthFix reporters Amelia Templeton and Bonnie Stewart have a terrific feature on the history and future of coal in Coos Bay, Oregon. Among other fascinating elements, we see that Oregon’s state economist acknowledges that coal exports will yield little benefit...

A poll released yesterday by Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication shows that Americans are connecting the dots between recent extreme weather and global warming. The New York Times sums it up: “a large majority of Americans believe that this year’s unusually warm winter, last year’s blistering summer and some other weather disasters were probably made worse by global warming....

Call me a dreamer. I want to flush with rainwater. Rain barrels already anchor my downspouts. I want to hitch them to my toilet tank. It would save me money and leave the city’s drinking water for better uses. Yet so far local plumbing rules aren’t helping me, or thousands of others in the Pacific “Northwet,” make the rain-barrel connection. It’s not so much that rules prohibit it but that...

The Vancouver, BC, City Council just gave the nod to expand the city’s street food program by allowing a dozen new carts to set up shop this year—bringing the grand total to 103 carts operating in the city. And the people rejoiced: Yay. But those 12 carts were selected from 59 applicants. Despite all-around success for the last two years, the city is still capping the number of food carts well...

The Northwest is home to more than 1.4 million people who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino. In this installment of my ongoing analysis of the region’s demographics we’ll take a closer look at the geography associated with Northwest Latinos. (Past examinations have included Chinese American and black residents.) Overall, the three Northwest states have remarkably similar shares of Latino residents. Oregon’s population is 11.7 percent Hispanic, compared with 11.2 percent...

In a story about the decline of youth car culture, the New York Times quotes an advertising exec on the feelings of today’s youth toward the auto: “They think of a car as a giant bummer,” said Mr. Martin. “Think about your dashboard. It’s filled with nothing but bad news.” True dat. I’m not young anymore, but looking at my gas gauge is one of the biggest downers of my day....