Protecting the Forests, and Hoping for Payback
Leah Nash for The New York Times Logs cut to thin the Deschutes National Forest in Oregon, an effort to promote sustainability. By WILLIAM YARDLEY Published: November 28, 2009 SISTERS, Ore. — A patch of ponderosa pines here in the Deschutes National Forest has been carefully pruned over the last few years to demonstrate the […]
Greening the City
November 24th, 2009 – 11:02 am Posted by Jaclyn Abergas Tagged as: Environment Portland, Oregon, and San Francisco, California, top the list of the greenest cities in the US. But how is that ranking determined? Which factors are considered to be placed in the list of green cities? Air Quality Top green cities all have […]
Greenland’s Ice Sheet Melting Faster than Ever
By Christoph Seidler Everyone knows that the ice sheet on Greenland is melting. But new research shows it is disappearing much faster than previously thought. The findings could mean that ocean levels are also rising more quickly. The dimensions of this frosty giant go way beyond human imagination. With a surface area spanning […]
Projected carbon emissions skyrocket
Region’s transportation hopes conflict with greenhouse goals By Steve Law The Portland Tribune, Nov 12, 2009 The Portland area’s $20 billion transportation wish list and its pledge to reduce greenhouse gases are on a collision course. A new Metro study shows that population growth coupled with a soon-to-be-approved Regional Transportation Plan will result in so […]
Linking a sustainable Portland with how fair it is to all
By Eric Mortenson, The Oregonian October 30, 2009, 7:00AM Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian When Myron Orfield first visited Portland 15 years ago, Northeast 15th and Alberta was Portland’s poorest Census tract. Now it’s a gentrified example of change. Everyone tells us we’re great. We recycle, use trains and buses, capture our rainwater, support local farmers and […]
Michigan school buses go the “extra miles” on biodiesel
Bus rolls over 300,000 miles, highlighting performance and health benefits Contact: Jenna Higgins/NBB 800-841-5849 October 26, 2009 JEFFERSON CITY, MO. – School bus driver Linda Rogers remembers the winter days with thick, blue smoke fouling the air around the buses. Those were the days before her district switched to B20, a blend of 20 percent […]
The Economic Case for Slashing Carbon Emissions
Wed Oct 21, 2009 2:28pm EDTBy Yale Environment 360 – Yale Environment 360 By Frank Ackerman The climate change news from Washington is cautiously encouraging. No one in power is listening to the climate skeptics any more; the economic stimulus package included real money for clean energy; a bill capping U.S. carbon emissions emerged, battered […]
PCC gets stimulus money to go “net zero” on energy, carbon emissions
By Harry Esteve, The Oregonian October 20, 2009, 3:47PM Portland Community College is poised to begin work on a $15 million project aimed at eventually turning the Sylvania campus into what’s called “net zero” — newspeak for generating all energy on site and offsetting all carbon emissions. Plans for the first phase, expected to begin […]
Green Briefs • Green and affordable homes?
The Portland Tribune, Oct 8, 2009 RENDERING BY BONN DESIGN Artists rendering of Juneberry Lane. The Clackamas Community Land Trust broke ground in late September on 12 homes in Oregon City designed to be affordable and earn the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum rating, a set of green building standards. Homeowners in […]
Mayor Rescinds Support for 12-Lane Bridge
http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/suspension-of-belief/Content?oid=1676337 SIX MONTHS AFTER Mayor Sam Adams led city council in voting for the largest, most expensive possible option for replacing the I-5 bridge to Vancouver—a $4.2 billion bridge up to 12 lanes wide—Adams is back where his green allies want him. Last Friday, September 18, the mayor officially rescinded his support for a 12-lane […]