Stuff YOU Should Know
Oregon Republicans Hide to Avoid Climate Vote Earlier this month, btw brought you the story of Oregon’s new climate change bill. In essence, the bill would require companies to purchase a certain number of “permits” for their pollutants (fewer and fewer permits will be available over time), and would then use that money to invest […]
Oregon’s New Climate Change Plan
Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez’s “Green New Deal” . . . clean energy bills . . . the ongoing debate over nuclear versus coal. Many agree that reducing pollution and carbon emissions is a good idea for our planet, it’s much harder to come up with a plan for change that everyone can get behind. But […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
Paradise, California: Six Months Later Six months ago, btw brought you the story of the devastating California Camp fire, which killed at least 85 people and destroyed thousands of structures, including homes. Eight thousand families survived the blaze, but lost their houses. Today, half a year later, roughly a thousand families in the town of […]
New Plan(t) to Fight Climate Change?
The battle against climate change may feel overwhelming at times. But a company called Northwest Innovation Works LLC has come up with a plan that it thinks could help: building a new clean-energy plant in the Pacific Northwest. Here, btw takes a closer look at the proposal, the possible benefits, and some of the criticism […]
The President vs the Sage-Grouse
This week’s story update on the Election Central Web site examines the impact of some Trump Administration environmental goals on western animal fauna. On December 6, the Department of the Interior announced a proposal to open up millions of acres in the Western United States for mining, drilling, and other resource extraction. This should come […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
Fishermen vs. Fossil Fuels While there is a great deal of proof that fossil fuel emissions have dire consequences for the environment–including contributing to climate change–oil, gas, and coal companies have been causing other environmental impacts as well–according to some in the fishing industry. Last month a group of fishermen in California and Oregon, called […]
Wave Power
You’ve heard of solar power and wind-generated power. But what about power that comes from ocean waves? That’s right: the U.S. government is spending up to $40 million to build a new wave energy test facility six miles off the coast of Newport, Oregon. But wave-generated power may be more complicated than it initially seems. […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
Wildfires Rage Across the West As summer heats up across the United States, the effects in some areas could be deadly. In the West, exceptionally hot and dry conditions, paired with high winds, have led to an outbreak of wildfires. As of last Thursday, 43 fires were considered out of control in the western United […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
Standoff in Oregon Ends Last month, btw brought you news of the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon by a group protesting federal land rights. Many of the residents of Harney Country, while generally sympathetic to the cause of the so-called “Citizens for Constitutional Freedom, had become displeased by the ongoing disruption to […]
Occupation in Oregon
As the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon by armed militia closes out another week, btw brings you news of what is happening and what both sides hope to accomplish in a standoff. Background Father and son ranchers, Dwight Hammond (73) and Steven (43), own about 12,000 acres of land located in […]