Environmental News
Below are current news stories from regional and national sources on topics of concern to the Brainerd Foundation.
- Blumenauer: Put a Price on Pollution
Oregon's bow-tied state representative, Blumenauer, is best known as a transportation wonk but says this issue is important to him because global warming will have a huge impact on the Pacific Northwest, which depends on abundant rain to build the snowpack that feeds the rivers that provide our water and our power. He is pushing for a regional cap and trade system to cut global warming pollution. (Jul. 18, 2008) Portland Tribune
- EPA Report on Warming: Poor, Elderly Most at Risk
Global warming will affect the health and welfare of every American, according to a new White House science report. The 284-page report, mostly written by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said every region of the country will be hit by worsening health from heat waves and drought. It said all but a handful of states would have worse air quality and flooding. It predicts an increase in diseases spread by tainted food, bad water and bugs. (Jul. 18, 2008) Seattle Times
- Pope: World's Resources Being Squandered
The world's natural resources are being squandered in the pursuit of insatiable consumption, Pope Benedict XVI said Thursday in a speech urging followers to care more for the environment and reconnect with the principle of peace. (Jul. 17, 2008) Anchorage Daily News
- Gore: US Can Rise to Challenge
Just as John F. Kennedy set his sights on the moon, Al Gore is challenging the nation to produce every kilowatt of electricity through wind, sun and other Earth-friendly energy sources within 10 years, an audacious goal he hopes the next president will embrace. (Jul. 17, 2008) Boston Globe
- The Race to Save the World's Coral Reefs
Last week, scientists issued their latest, grim assessment of the world's coral reefs. But as Steve Connor reports from Florida, extraordinary new ocean reseeding techniques mean there may still be time to halt – or even reverse – the destruction of mother nature's marine marvels. (Jul. 17, 2008) Independent
- Interior Dept. opens Alaska oil reserve to drilling
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management estimates that the 2.6 million acres of the Northeast National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, opened Wednesday by the Interior Department for oil exploration, contains an estimated 3.7 billion barrels of oil. (Jul. 17, 2008) New York Times
- Rey maps out details of USFS, Plum Creek talks in Montana
U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey said he'll soon provide detailed maps of road easements addressed in closed-door meetings between the U.S. Forest Service and Plum Creek Timber Co. to Montana's federal, state and local officials. (Jul. 17, 2008) Missoulian
- EPA Unveils First Rules on Carbon Storage
In its first regulations on the burial of carbon dioxide underground, the EPA on Tuesday unveiled measures to protect drinking water from the gas behind the bubbles in carbonated beverages. The fledgling technology, known as carbon sequestration, is critical to reducing carbon dioxide released into the air from coal-fired power plants, one of the country's largest sources of the greenhouse gas. (Jul. 16, 2008) San Francisco Chronicle
- Premiers See No Hope for Deal on Green Plan
Canada's premiers have concluded it's impossible to get an agreement among themselves for a pan-Canadian plan to reduce greenhouse gases, with some saying they may have to wait until after the U.S. elections to kick-start the process. Their reasoning comes as a number of premiers, including leaders of energy-rich provinces, are expected to criticize Liberal Leader Stephane Dion's Green Shift when they meet in Quebec City Wednesday for the annual gathering known as the Council of the Federation. (Jul. 16, 2008) Toronto Globe and Mail
- Missoulian: Bitterroot National Forest Approves Quarry Plan
The Bitterroot National Forest has approved a controversial plan to let Ravalli County use a rock quarry in Lost Horse Canyon. Chuck Oliver, Darby district ranger, said the forest has approved the county's request to take about 1,000 cubic yards of rock out of the old quarry, which has seen very little use in the past 20 years. (Jul. 16, 2008) Missoula Missoulian
- Pine Beetle Spreads in the West
As wildfires roar through tinder-dry forests in California, the mountain pine beetle is silently killing even more trees - hundreds of thousands of acres of towering trees, mostly lodgepole pine, according to Robert Mangold, director of Forest Health Protection for the U.S. Forest Service. An epidemic of this magnitude hasn't been seen in the Mountain West in 25 years, he said. (Jul. 16, 2008) USA Today
- USFS gets scaled-back proposal for Montana's Bitterroot Resort
After the U.S. Forest Service denied Bitterroot Resort's proposal for a four-season resort in the Lolo and Bitterroot national forests in Montana due to concerns about the impact it would have on lynx habitat and big-game winter range, the resort submitted a revised proposal that eliminates all Nordic skiing in the Lolo National Forest, among other changes. (Jul. 16, 2008) Missoulian
- Court: Land Plan Should Consider Wilderness
Federal appeals judges have told the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to take another look at its plans for about 4.5 million acres in Eastern Oregon — and to consider wilderness values when it does. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday the bureau’s plans for the area are too narrow. The judges say the bureau should include in its management plans areas where grass, sagebrush and juniper are reclaiming unused roads. (Jul. 15, 2008) Coos Bay World
- Portland Gets Power From the Pot
The city of Portland has found a way to harness an unusual source of energy: human waste. The Columbia Boulevard Wastewater Treatment Plant last month celebrated the completion of an $8 million co-generation project. (Jul. 15, 2008) Portland Tribune
- Investigation: Weyerhauser's logging practices tied to Wash. mudslides
After a wild December storm triggered more than 730 mudslides in one Washington state basin, the Seattle Times investigated, and found a disproportionate number of those slides occurred on slopes that had been clear-cut by Weyerhauser. (Jul. 15, 2008) Seattle Times
- Sustainable Change Driven with Dollars
What if an entire nation treated its shopping dollars as if they held real power (which they do) to create a more healthy, sustainable Earth? It's a tall order to change the world, but each consumer can take small steps every day to fuel the revolution. (Jul. 14, 2008) Vancouver Columbian
- Getting Off Our Energy Addiction
Yes, three decades after we chose to ignore the warning shot of the 1970s energy crunch, Americans are finally looking to smaller cars again. But we can do more (Jul. 14, 2008) Christian Science Monitor
- Sportsmen panel works on decade-long national wildlife policy
The Sporting Conservation Council, a panel of 12 experts put together by then-Interior Secretary Gale Norton in 2006, took a comprehensive look at wildlife, and the threats that are reducing species and habitat, and released a report last week that is the first step in developing a national wildlife policy. (Jul. 14, 2008) Casper Star-Tribune
- Wind-generation companies rush to lease Montana lands
Wind development companies are courting landowners in southcentral Montana, where the potential for wind-generated energy is classified as outstanding. (Jul. 11, 2008) Billings Gazette
- EPA will ask for more public input on emissions' role in climate change
Despite pressure from the U.S. Supreme Court and federal officials to act now to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, the Environmental Protection Agency will announce today that it will continue to seek public comments on the threat climate change poses to human health and welfare. (Jul. 11, 2008) Washington Post