By Roy L Hales
The oil train you see above may be one of the last to pass through Hood River, Oregon. Three weeks ago a near catastrophic derailment/fire occurred in the neighbouring town of Mosier. The town is still dealing with the aftereffects. Thursday the Federal Rail Authority’s (FRA) Preliminary report blamed the incident on Union Pacific’s failure to maintain their tracks. Now the Governors of Washington and Oregon are calling upon the FRA to halt Pacific Northwest oil trains.
By 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
It has been nine months since the Governments of California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia embarked upon a shared initiative. In their joint press release, group spokesperson Governor Kate Brown explained “The West Coast Electric Fleets initiative leads the way in helping fleets scale up zero-emission vehicles to reach our goal that, by 2016, 10 percent of all new purchases are electric vehicles.” How is the West Coast Electric Fleets Initiative Doing?
Continue reading How is the West Coast Electric Fleets Initiative Doing?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 OverBy Roy L Hales
The 2009 “Green Highways bill” (HB 1481) opened the door for Washington state’s EV infrastructure. With the help of funding through the Federal Recovery Act, Governor Chris Gregoire announced construction of “the nation’s first true electrified highway” in June 2010. It was to stretch out along the 276 miles of the I-5, which connects to Oregon and Canada. None of this would have come into being if it were not for an active EV community. Yet in 2013 – the year there were more Teslas sold in Washington than any other state in America – things started stalling. The good news is that Washington’s EV development is ready to move forward. Will the state legislators make this possible?
