By Roy L Hales
At a time when the United States government appears to be falling under the control of the fossil fuel sector, cities are taking the lead in transitioning to a cleaner economy. In Oregon, for example, Portland is poised to curtail new fossil fuel infrastructure.
Continue reading Portland Poised To Curtail New Fossil Fuel InfrastructureBy Roy L Hales
There have been salmon die-offs since the mid-1990s. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was on the verge of addressing this issue more than a decade ago. Vested interests objected. The idea was shelved until last year’s drought. After water temperatures rose 4 degrees above the lethal ceiling (68 degrees F), 96% of the returning adult sockeye died before they could pass beyond the Lower Granite dam. Now a coalition of environmental groups is forcing EPA to protect salmon in the Columbia and Snake rivers.
By Roy L Hales
There are currently only one or two trains going through the Columbia River Gorge every day. Imagine what would happen if all the fossil fuel projects in this region were approved. Up to a hundred trains, averaging between a mile and a mile and a half in length, and would make this same trek weekly. Six months ago, a truck driver was killed in a railway accident within Portland’s city limits. The flames spread to eight railway cars, carrying oil or asphalt, which luckily did not catch fire. There was another oil-by-rail fire near Portland today.
Continue reading Another Oil-By-Rail Fire Near PortlandBy Roy L Hales
On June 1, 2016, the Governors of Washington, Oregon and California joined British Columbia’s Environment Minister and representatives from six West Coast cities, in the Borgia Room of San Francisco’s Westin St. Francis Hotel, to sign what history may show was a key milestone in the struggle to mount a concerted defence against the ravages of global temperature rise. The 2016 Pacific Coast Climate Leadership Action Plan has a strong emphasis on issues like ocean acidification; the integration of clean energy into the power grid; “support for efforts by the insurance industry and regulatory system to highlight the economic costs of climate change; and so-called “super pollutants” (also known as short-lived climate pollutants).” This sounds good, but do the Pacific Coast’s “Climate Leaders” mean business?
Continue reading Do The Pacific Coast’s Climate Leaders Mean Business?By Roy L Hales
Leucadia National Corp has decided it will no longer fund the proposed $6 billion LNG terminal in Warrenton, at the mouth of the Columbia River. A determined coalition of local residents, fishermen and environmentalists blocking their way. Now the ten-year-long fight against Oregon LNG is over.
Continue reading The Ten-Year-Long Fight against Oregon LNG Is Over
