Environment

Washington Senator Patty Murray has proposed federal legislation to protect a broad swatch of land adjacent to Olympic National Park as part of the “Wild Olympics” campaign. The legislation is opposed by logging interests.

January 22, 2014 - KUOW

A new study reveals two findings on air pollution spewing from China's coal-burning factories. First, the pollution blows to the U.S and other nations. Second, 20% of the pollution can be traced to Western demand for cheap goods from those factories.

January 22, 2014 - Los Angeles Times - Science Now

A new biological opinion sets policy for the Federal Columbia River Power System until 2018. Critics say the new plan continues the unsuccessful status quo of habitat restoration—instead they want to spill water over four dams on the Snake River.

January 20, 2014 - Associated Press via The Oregonian

PBS' Hari Sreenivasan and guests share impressions of the North American Auto Show held in Detroit last week. Trucks and luxury cars were the focus, not electric and super-efficient vehicles. Debate on fuel efficiency standards is predicted in 2017.

January 20, 2014 - PBS NewsHour

Already under pressure from the fossil-fuel industry and Republicans over new environmental regulations, the Obama administration is facing a challenge from 18 of the nation's leading environmental groups over its "all of the above" energy strategy.

January 17, 2014 - The Washington Post

Some 5,000 properties in the picturesque lakeside town of Port Hope, ON, once home to a nationally owned uranium and radium refinery, will undergo testing for radon and gamma radiation as part of a cleanup effort scheduled to continue until 2022.

January 17, 2014 - The Toronto Star

As California faces its third dry year in a row, following the driest year in the state's recorded history, communities are facing the prospect of water rationing. However, some of the state's largest cities have been spared for the time being.

January 17, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

For urbanists who have reduced their carbon footprints by driving less and living more densely in smaller homes, researchers from UC Berkeley have some bad news. Your reduced emissions are canceled out by those in the suburbs ringing your city.

January 16, 2014 - Los Angeles Times - Science Now

It's not just melting ice that threatens to submerge communities along the East Coast of the U.S. Several other factor are conspiring to raise sea levels. Scientists are racing against time to predict how bad things are going to get, and how fast.

January 15, 2014 - The New York Times

The Northern California marijuana industry is booming, but issues with water consumption and downstream pollution produced by the large-scale cultivation of marijuana are threatening populations of salmon already on the brink of extinction.

January 14, 2014 - NPR The Salt

After years of declining carbon-dioxide emissions in the U.S., and growing hope in the country's ability to meet President Obama's emission reduction targets, preliminary data indicates emissions from energy sources increased 2% last year

January 14, 2014 - The Washington Post

In December, the Rockefeller Foundation chose the first 33 cities to receive funding and support through its 100 Resilient Cities Challenge. Here's what comes next.

January 13, 2014 - Future Cities

Three hundred thousand residents in nine counties in W.Va, including the state capital have gone without tap water since Thursday due to a massive chemical spill into the Elk River. All uses except flushing are off-limits. How much longer is unknown.

January 13, 2014 - The New York Times

In the wake of Toronto’s unprecedented ice storm - which saw 300,000 residents loose power for as long as 12 days - Christopher Hume argues that cost-cutting contributed to the extent of havoc wreaked by the city’s under-maintained tree canopy.

January 12, 2014 - The Toronto Star

The admission is the first from a Chinese official that puts a human cost on the country's huge air pollution problem, largely stemming from coal-burning power plants. But Shanghai had good news this week too. Rain brought blue skies and clean air.

January 11, 2014 - Marketplace

California's Office of Planning & Research has been tasked with moving environmental analysis away from standards based solely on level of service. The agency has released its preliminary evaluation of alternative methods of transportation analysis.

January 10, 2014 - California Planning & Development Report

Yes, and that's a good thing, say opponents of lifting the 1975 ban on crude oil exports. Brad Plumer examines this argument and explains the two other chief reasons, the environment and refinery lobbying, to maintain the ban on exporting crude oil.

January 10, 2014 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Over the last several decades, researchers have examined how our cities deplete natural resources and change the climate and ecosystems of their surrounding areas. But new evidence shows that such impacts aren't a purely modern phenomenon.

January 9, 2014 - Smithsonian

California's embattled high speed rail, which appears to be on life support following a Nov. court ruling, will receive funds from the state's carbon cap & trade program in Gov. Brown's budget to be released Friday. But will it make a difference?

January 7, 2014 - The Sacramento Bee - Capitol Alert

Biodiversity is not something “out there”, studied in labs, outside of our cities. It is a borderless organism that resists complete solutions to the problems arising in such interconnectivity.

January 6, 2014 - Steven Snell