Personal tools
|
Community NewsFebruary Cascade CourierBy Leah Pistorius from "Environmental News from our Community" via Environmental in Google Reader. Published on Feb 03, 2012. Open publication – Free publishing – More advocacySuccess for forest restoration & jobs creation on the ColvilleBy Erin Moore from "Environmental News from our Community" via Environmental in Google Reader. Published on Feb 02, 2012. The Forest Service has awarded the Northeast Washington Forest Vision 2020 project $968,000, naming it one of the top Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program projects in the nation. The project can now begin work in earnest for forest restoration and job creation on the Colville National Forest in northeastern Washington. “This is wonderful news," David Heflick, conservation associate for Conservation Northwest. "It not only affirms that the quality of our collaborative restoration work on the Colville National Forest is of national caliber, but it allows us to greatly increase the amount of restoration work we can do in the Kettle River Range. This is great for both wildlife and the community jobs.” Conservation Northwest has been part of the Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition in a decade-long collaboration in northeastern Washington singled out by Secretary Vilsack in 2009 as a “model for the nation.” The successful project creation was overseen by a 13-member steering team that included national forest leadership and members of the timber and conservation community. It rests upon almost a decade of collaborative and community history, through the Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition, through the Colville National Forest’s uniquely collaborative forest planning process, and through the leadership of Sen. Maria Cantwell and Rep. McMorris Rodgers, who convened a broad stakeholder roundtable in 2008. NEW Forest Vision 2020 centers on the Kettle River Range, nestled between the Cascades and Rocky Mountains. The diverse forests of the Kettles vary from lodgepole pine in high-elevation wild lands to dry ponderosa pine in the forests close to homes and communities. In between are gradients of mixed conifer and even pockets of coastal type cedar-hemlock. The newly awarded project includes restoration logging to restore damaged forests, increase forest resilience, and help restore older forest structure and function. Read more on our reaction.
Washington joins two other states in requiring assessment of climate riskBy suzanne from "Environmental News from our Community" via Environmental in Google Reader. Published on Feb 03, 2012. This move will allow regulators to better understand the ways climate change and extreme weather events are impacting insurers and make certain that best practices for dealing with climate change are being shared amongst insurance companies.Weekend Reading 2/3/12By (author unknown) from "Environmental News from our Community" via Environmental in Google Reader. Published on Feb 03, 2012. Eric dP:My top recommendation this week is the Boston Globe’s first-rate photo essay on the global coal industry. I got some laughs from Local Brew’s comedy series. (The snowmadgeddon piece is the best one.) And with a tip o’ the hat to former Sightline intern Matt Schoellhamer, I note that NBA superstar Lebron James could … read more » Washington joins two other states in requiring assessment of climate riskBy suzanne from "Environmental News from our Community" via Environmental in Google Reader. Published on Feb 03, 2012. This move will allow regulators to better understand the ways climate change and extreme weather events are impacting insurers and make certain that best practices for dealing with climate change are being shared amongst insurance companies.“What kid doesn’t like a good adventure?”By Erica Meurk from "Environmental News from our Community" via Environmental in Google Reader. Published on Feb 03, 2012. This article first appeared as the Cyclist of the Month column in the February 2012 issue of the Cascade Courier, our membership newsletter. Nominate a Cyclist of the Month! Cyclist of the Month: WILL SEEGERT Age: 7 Wheels: Fuji Ace 20 Occupation: Student Paul claims that his son, Will, is “just a normal kid.” And [...]$1 million win for Washington forestsBy Barbara Christensen from "Environmental News from our Community" via Environmental in Google Reader. Published on Feb 03, 2012. Washington forests and economies got a boost yesterday. The USDA announced $1 million in funding that will enable Conservation Northwest and our partners in the Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition to restore the Kettle Range to a healthier forest, better for wildlife and communities, and more resilient in a changing climate. We are thrilled to see this worthy vision funded and to see restoration, stewardship, and collaboration once again in the national spotlight. In his announcement, Secretary Vilsack revisited themes in his major 2009 speech on the future of our national forests. He highlighted that these forests are vital to the nation’s supply of clean water and other resources and face major challenges that call for a new vision of collaborative restoration. His vision for conservation and restoration resonated deeply with Mitch's own call for an ecological "Marshall Plan" for our national forests. In that 2009 speech, Secretary Vilsack called out the collaborative work on the Colville National Forest as a model for the nation. In 2012, a million dollars for restoration in the Columbia Highlands puts those props into practice on the ground. With the announcement of funding in northeast Washington and across the US, came the release of a special report, Increasing the pace of Restoration and Job Creation on our National Forests. The report lays out a plan to increase restoration on national forests through efforts such as expanding collaborative partnerships like our model coalition, expanding stewardship contracting, and improving the efficiency of restoration project planning. "Accelerated restoration efforts demonstrate a shared vision where environmentalists, forest industry and local communities are working together to build healthier forests and contribute to local economies," said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell. "The increased restoration work will benefit the environment and people, with more resilient ecosystems, improved watersheds and wildlife habitat, hazardous fuel reduction, and outputs of forest products." And the win goes beyond northeast Washington. Our work with the Tapash Collaborative, focused on critical restoration efforts in the Cascades, received renewed funding this year, too. Tapash projects include controlled reintroduction of fire to reestablish a fire ecology, improved roads and trails, and better fish passage on almost 168,000 acres in the GIfford-Pinchot and Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forests. [More of the Columbia Highlands collaboration story, on film]
No Federal Funding Says CommitteeBy John Mauro from "Environmental News from our Community" via Environmental in Google Reader. Published on Feb 02, 2012. As you might know, cities and towns across Washington rely on federal funding for programs like Safe Routes to School that build local, safe bicycle infrastructure for everyone. You also may know that we take the threat of zeroed out funding by Congress very seriously. No federal funding would spell certain disaster for safer roads [...]Where Oh Where Does Your Money Go?By (author unknown) from "Environmental News from our Community" via Environmental in Google Reader. Published on Feb 02, 2012. My motivations for resolving to buy nothing new in 2012 are numerous, but chief among them is the desire to save money. It’s a point I want to stress because saving money appeals to just about everybody. Unlike cutting costs, though, efforts to live more sustainably have the potential to alienate some people. And while I hope my ‘year of nothing new’ will cut my family’s climate impact, I fear experiments like mine can … read more » Mining Montana coal comes with a high costBy suzanne from "Environmental News from our Community" via Environmental in Google Reader. Published on Feb 02, 2012. Mining, transporting and burning 1.2 billion tons of Otter Creek coal would increase annual CO2 emissions by about 250 percent every year for 30 years, an increase of around 186 million tons per year.Super-cool biocarbon tracking toolBy suzanne from "Environmental News from our Community" via Environmental in Google Reader. Published on Feb 02, 2012. This cool, new map-based web tool illustrates biocarbon resources around the world.The long-awaited moment on gay marriage in WA | CrosscutBy (author unknown) from "Environmental News from our Community" via Environmental in Google Reader. Published on Feb 02, 2012. How the Washington state Senate's only openly gay member helped achieve something he once thought was beyond dreaming about.Keystone XL opponents need a jobs program | GristBy (author unknown) from "Environmental News from our Community" via Environmental in Google Reader. Published on Feb 02, 2012. Environmentalists often respond to charges that their policies are “job killers” with research demonstrating that investment in solar, wind, and other forms of renewable energy and conservation creates far more jobs than equivalent investment in fossil fuels. This is a well-documented fact, but a hypothetical future job doesn’t put food on an empty table today.Study: Portland cabbies treated poorly | Portland MercuryBy (author unknown) from "Environmental News from our Community" via Environmental in Google Reader. Published on Feb 02, 2012. All Kedir Wako wanted was a day off. The Ethiopian immigrant and veteran cab driver was sick, but his company wouldn't cut him any slack on his weekly payment. It sent him on a mission to improve the lot of Portland's 900 cabbies—a campaign the city's revenue bureau bolstered last week with the release of a new study supporting the cabbies' widespread claims of poor treatment.The televisions of Super Bowls past | Oregon Public BroadcastingBy (author unknown) from "Environmental News from our Community" via Environmental in Google Reader. Published on Feb 02, 2012. This year, the National Retail Federation estimates 5.1 million people – or about 5 percent of those planning to watch the Superbowl – will buy a new television specifically for game day. So what happens to all the old televisions that are now looking puny, low-definition and boxy?WA tells insurers to disclose climate responses | New York TimesBy (author unknown) from "Environmental News from our Community" via Environmental in Google Reader. Published on Feb 02, 2012. Insurance commissioners in California, New York and Washington State will require that companies disclose how they intend to respond to the risks their businesses and customers face from increasingly severe storms and wildfires, rising sea levels and other consequences of climate change.PDX votes | Willamette WeekBy (author unknown) from "Environmental News from our Community" via Environmental in Google Reader. Published on Feb 02, 2012. A new site focusing on power, politics and gossip from Portland City Hall's campaign trail.NRDC: Beach pollution rules allow 1 in 28 to get sick | Los Angeles TimesBy (author unknown) from "Environmental News from our Community" via Environmental in Google Reader. Published on Feb 02, 2012. Proposed new beach pollution regulations from the US Environmental Protection Agency, meant to protect public health, instead would allow 1 in 28 beachgoers to experience some gastrointestinal illness after swimming, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.Seattle to create 2,000 green jobs? Not likely | The Seattle Post-IntelligencerBy (author unknown) from "Environmental News from our Community" via Environmental in Google Reader. Published on Feb 02, 2012. Nearly two years after Seattle announced an ambitious, $20 million weatherization program to create 2,000 jobs, officials said Wednesday that reaching that goal was unlikely. But the program is having an impact: more than 20,000 hours have been worked, and 226 people have received a paycheck.A bill of goods | GristBy (author unknown) from "Environmental News from our Community" via Environmental in Google Reader. Published on Feb 02, 2012. Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives unveiled their version of a national transportation bill this week: wiping out designated funding for bike and pedestrian infrastructure and gutting programs that help kids get to school without being flattened by a passing car. I mean, really, is nothing sacred?.Document Actions |
