environment Archives - Page 8 of 8 - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Fight Over Salmon-Killing Roads In Washington Now A Supreme Court Case About Native Rights

By Eilís O'Neill March 31, 2018

Salmon on their way up from northwest Washington's Skagit River have to leap two feet onto the jagged edge of this pipe to make it to habitat upstream. CREDIT: EILIS O'NEILL/EARTHFIX

Seventeen years ago, 21 tribes sued Washington state to fix road culverts. On April 18, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to take on the case. The question is whether state taxpayers should have to dish out billions to dig up roads so salmon can get through. The court’s decision will have repercussions for tribes all over the West.Read More

Study: Olympic National Park Among Best Places To Bring Back Gray Wolves

By Courtney Flatt March 19, 2018

One of the most ideal places in the world to bring back gray wolves is right here in the Northwest, according to a new study. Researchers have found bringing the large carnivores back to the Olympic National Park could greatly help the ecosystem — and the predators.Read More

Not Too Late To Save Northwest’s Critically Endangered Orcas Say State Leaders And Feds

By Tom Banse March 15, 2018

An endangered Southern Resident orca pursues a coho salmon off San Juan Island. CREDIT: CANDICE EMMONS / NOAA FISHERIES/NORTHWEST FISHERIES SCIENCE CENTER

The Northwest’s beloved orcas will not survive unless humans do more to ensure adequate food and cleaner, quieter waters. That was one of the messages at a crowded signing ceremony in Seattle convened by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee. The population of genetically-distinct resident orcas has dwindled to a critically low level. Only 76 remain as of the last count.Read More

Interior Secretary Zinke: West Coast Lacks ‘Resources Of Any Weight’ For Offshore Drilling

By Ericka Cruz Guevarra March 13, 2018

Drilling platform off Southern California

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke told Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell that his proposal for offshore oil and gas drilling will reflect the “interests of Washington.” “You should know off the coast of Oregon, Washington, most of California, there are no known resources of any weight,” Zinke said. Read More

How This Washington Family Brought Oysters Back From The Brink

By Ruby de Luna March 7, 2018

Jerry Yamashita stands with his mother, Masako, and father, Masahide, in 1927. Courtesy of Patrick Yamashita

Oysters are a cornerstone of Pacific Northwest cuisine. But there was a time when our region’s oysters were in trouble, all but obliterated by over-harvesting and pollution. Then a Japanese immigrant helped turn things around.Read More

Electric Car Tax Break Could Disappear In The Northwest

By Tom Banse March 6, 2018

Plug-in cars charge up at the Washington State Capitol Campus. A disproportionately high number of the state's legislators drive electric vehicles compared to the general population. CREDIT: TOM BANSE

If you're thinking about buying an electric car in Washington, you might want to act fast. That's because the state Legislature is on the verge of letting a hefty sales tax break expire. In Oregon, an electric car rebate faces a challenge in court next week.Read More

Washington Could Be First State To Ban Toxic Firefighting Foams

By Courtney Flatt February 28, 2018

EA-16G Growler Jet - Jared Rusk KCTS9-EarthFix

Washington lawmakers have agreed to ban firefighting foam that contains harmful chemicals. Perfluorinated chemicals are used in firefighting foam to help contain petroleum fires. Firefighters have sprayed the foam around Washington’s military airstrips and fire-training facilities.Read More

Washington’s Port Of Vancouver Votes To Immediately End Oil Terminal Lease

By Molly Solomon February 27, 2018

A bowl of buttons sit on top a pile of campaign signs against various fossil fuel projects in the Pacific Northwest. CREDIT: MOLLY SOLOMON

The long-proposed Vancouver Energy oil terminal project officially died Tuesday. Vancouver, Washington, port commissioners made it official by unanimously voting to cancel the lease.Read More

Climate Activists Protest Puget Sound Energy Plan To Keep Using Coal

By Eilís O'Neill February 22, 2018

Activists gather outside the Renton Community Center to protest Puget Sound Energy's plan to continue using electricity from coal.

About 100 activists gathered Wednesday, Feb. 21 to protest Puget Sound Energy’s plan to keep producing electricity from coal until 2035. PSE is the company that likely keeps your lights and Wifi on if you live in the Puget Sound area but not in Seattle. Their main concern was climate change.Read More

Listen Up: Northwest Researchers Have Started Tracking Salmon With Sound

By Courtney Flatt February 21, 2018

Adult fall Chinook salmon in the Priest Rapids Hatchery. CREDIT: PACIFIC NORTHWEST NATIONAL LABORATORY

Salmon researchers in the Northwest are turning to sound to learn more about the fish they’re trying to understand.Read More

How A Grassroots Effort In Vancouver Fought Big Oil — And Won

By Molly Solomon February 16, 2018

East Vancouver residents Alona and Don Steinke have been protesting the Vancouver Energy oil terminal since 2013. CREDIT: MOLLY SOLOMON

Early this year, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said no to a massive oil-by-rail terminal proposed in Vancouver, Wash. The $210 million Vancouver Energy project, a joint venture from Tesoro and Savage, would have brought up to 360,000 gallons of crude oil a day on trains traveling along the Columbia River.Read More

Trump Administration Budget Proposes Selling Off Bonneville Power Transmission Lines

By Courtney Flatt February 15, 2018

President Trump's proposed budget includes a plan to sell off the Bonneville Power Administration's transmission assets. CREDIT: KEVIN DOOLEY

The Trump administration wants to sell off publicly-owned utility transmission lines. The most recent budget proposal also suggests a move that could raise rates for Bonneville Power Administration customers.Read More

Researchers In Seattle Show Polluted Stormwater Hurts Fish Survival

By Eilís O'Neill February 13, 2018

Jenifer McIntyre, WSU researcher, scrutinizes juvenile coho salmon that had been exposed to stormwater in this 2012 file photo. CREDIT: KATIE CAMPBELL

Each time it rained during an eight-week period in the winter of 2015, someone from Jenifer McIntyre’s team drove up to Seattle and collected stormwater near the Highway 520 bridge across Lake Washington.Read More

Critics Call Proposed Cuts To Hanford Cleanup Budget ‘Downright Dangerous’

By Anna King February 12, 2018

Demolition work at the Plutonium Finishing Plant at the Hanford Site is a year behind schedule and the project has been plagued with the spread of radioactive waste. CREDIT: ANNA KING

Reaction in the Northwest was swift to President Trump’s proposed cuts to the cleanup budget at the Hanford Site. The budget request cuts $61 million from the budget for Hanford's Office of River Protection, and $169 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Richland Operations Office.Read More

How Do Whales Respond To Noise Pollution? Drones May Tell Us

By Cassandra Profita February 9, 2018

Dr. Leigh Torres releases a drone to study audio pollution in the area. CREDIT: EARTHFIX

The whales off the West Coast depend on sound to communicate, navigate and find food. So, what happens to their health when we fill their habitat with noisy ship traffic?Read More

Washington ‘Valve Turner’ Sentenced To Prison For Shutting Down Oil Pipeline

By Courtney Flatt February 7, 2018

The five climate activists arrested after shutting down Canada-to-U.S. pipelines pose for a photo. They were identified by Climate Direct Action as (left to right): Emily Johnston, Annette Klapstein, Leonard Higgins, Ken Ward, and Michael Foster.

A Washington climate activist is the first “valve turner” to go to prison for shutting off the flow of oil from Canada’s tar sands region into the U.S.Read More

Washington Could Use Taxes, Lawsuits To Oppose Offshore Drilling

By Courtney Flatt February 6, 2018

Washington doesn’t want your offshore drilling. That was Gov. Jay Inslee’s resounding message at a press conference Monday, where he spoke out against a federal plan for offshore oil and gas drilling.Read More

New Portland Lead Dust Rules Could Pave Way For Safer Demolitions Statewide

By Amelia Templeton February 2, 2018

Portland City Council closed a major loophole in regulations protecting children from exposure to lead in paint. Lead-based paint in homes is the leading cause of lead poising in the nation.Read More

Can Kelp And Seagrass Help The Northwest Adapt To Ocean Change?

By Jes Burns January 31, 2018

The oceans off Oregon and Washington are ground zero for acidification, and Northwest scientists are working on new ways to adapt.Read More

Washington Governor Jay Inslee Rejects Vancouver Oil Terminal

By Molly Solomon January 29, 2018

Vancouver Energy’s proposed facility at Terminal 5 at the Port of Vancouver.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee has rejected a permit to build the nation’s largest oil-by-rail terminal in Vancouver. Inslee sided with state regulators, who unanimously voted late last year to reject the project, citing significant and unavoidable risks. Read More

Q&A: What Are The Chances Of Offshore Drilling In The Northwest?

By Cassandra Profita January 26, 2018

Earlier this month, the Trump administration announced plans to reopen the West Coast to offshore oil and gas leasing. But with strong opposition and unproven oil and gas reserves, it’s unclear whether anyone will take that chance.Read More

As Seattle Booms, A New Reality: The Carbon-Concrete Conundrum

By Eilís O'Neill January 24, 2018

As the Pacific Northwest economy booms, it’s using a lot of concrete to build buildings, roads, and other infrastructure. Making all that concrete is a big part of our carbon footprint, and it all comes from one plant: Ash Grove in south Seattle. Read More

Only 11 Caribou Left In The Northwest (And Lower 48), Can They Be Saved?

By Emily Schwing January 23, 2018

The last herd of caribou found anywhere in the lower 48 states is in the Pacific Northwest. To be clear, this caribou herd is tiny.Read More

Researchers Will Soon Predict Northwest Snowpack Before The Powder Even Falls

By Eilís O'Neill January 23, 2018

Northwest farmers, cities and conservationists rely on melting snow to water their crops, feed their aquifers, and fill streams and rivers for fish. But, usually, no one has any idea how much snowpack—and, thus, snowmelt—to expect until it’s too late.Read More

Washington DNR Wants More Time To Decide On Logging Unstable Slopes

By Eilís O'Neill January 22, 2018

In the wake of the Oso landslide and the current situation unfolding at Rattlesnake Ridge near Yakima, Washington state public lands commissioner Hilary Franz is asking the Legislature for more time to review proposals from timber companies to log potentially unstable slopes.Read More

Feds Ease Rules For Wind Turbines (And Bird Advocates React)

By Courtney Flatt January 22, 2018

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MTBA) is the primary federal law protecting birds in the U.S. It initially targeted poaching and a feather-obsessed fashion industry that was laying waste to migratory birds across the continent.Read More

Killing Wolves Might Protect One Farm’s Livestock At Expense Of Others

By Tony Schick January 12, 2018

A new study claims government killing of wolves can increase the risk to nearby farms, providing further evidence for the ineffectiveness of the so-called “lethal control” policy approach. The report also casts doubt on an earlier research paper, which government agencies often use to support the practice.Read More

‘Climate Leader’ Seattle: Lots Of Promises, Lots Of Pollution

By John Ryan January 11, 2018

For more than 10 years, Seattle leaders have said the city will lead the nation in fighting climate change. But the lofty words have been matched by continuing clouds of carbon emissions. Seattle dumps as much carbon dioxide into the sky as it did 25 years ago.Read More

Climate Activists Urge Washington Lawmakers To Take Action In 2018

By Enrique Pérez de la Rosa January 8, 2018

Climate activists rallied today at the state capitol, the first day of the legislative session. They want Washington state to be powered exclusively by renewable energy within 10 years. Read More

Can Migratory Birds Survive Rapid Climate Change? The Answer May Be In Their Genes

By PBS Newshour January 8, 2018

By: Teresa Carey, PBS Newshour A migratory bird can predict its own future, and this crystal ball-like indicator can be found in its genes. In a study published Thursday in Science, biologists […]Read More

Money From Washington Carbon Tax Should Go to Rural Areas, DNR Commissioner Says

By Eilís O'Neill January 8, 2018

Washington’s commissioner of public lands is calling on the state legislature to put a price on carbon to try to curb emissions in the state. But Hilary Franz differs with Gov. Jay Inslee about how to use the money.Read More

Oregon Sues Monsanto For PCB Clean-Up Costs

By Jes Burns January 8, 2018

Oregon is suing the agro-chemical company Monsanto to help clean up toxic chemicals in the environment. The Attorney General’s Office filed suit last week in Multnomah County Circuit Court.Read More

‘A Lot More Work To Do’ To Recover Snake River Chinook, Steelhead

By Courtney Flatt December 13, 2017

A Chinook salmon. Listen One of Idaho’s struggling salmon species could eventually become self-sustaining in the wild under the federal government’s new recovery strategies. The two new recovery plans are […]Read More

Oil Train Safety Rules Getting Rolled Back By Trump Administration

By Courtney Flatt December 8, 2017

Chris Hooper, right, of White Salmon watches the fire caused by a derailed oil train in Mosier, Oregon, near Hood River in the Columbia River Gorge on Friday, June […]Read More

Mount Everest Has A Poop Problem. A Team From Seattle Wants To Clean It Up

By Courtney Flatt November 20, 2017

Sherpa carrying kit to base camp on Mount Everest. Listen It’s a unique problem: How to dispose of human waste on Mount Everest? The mountain’s climatic conditions and high […]Read More

Monarch Butterflies Are Disappearing, But They May Be Saved, Researchers Say

By Max Bartlett November 15, 2017

Monarch butterflies populations are shrinking, with fewer insects migrating every year. CREDIT: PETER MILLER

The western monarch butterfly is disappearing. With its distinct orange-and-black wings, the monarch is one of America’s best-known butterflies. But for the past few decades, their numbers have dropped, threatened by climate change, pesticides and habitat loss.Read More