Tag Archives: Oregon

Environment

Portland’s Oil-By-Rail Resolution Passed 4-0

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By Roy L Hales

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Two and a half hours were allotted for this meeting, but there was not enough time for everyone to testify. More than a hundred signed up to speak. The crowd spilled into two overflow rooms. Only one of the two proposed fossil fuel resolutions was voted on. Commissioner Amanda Fritz proposed adopting policy opposing any increase in the amount of crude oil being transported by rail through the city of Portland and the city of Vancouver, Washington. Portland’s Oil-by-rail Resolution Passed 4-0 .

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Environment

The Fight Over Jordan Cove LNG Will Continue

By Roy L Hales

The struggle has been ongoing for more than a decade. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) approved the first incarnation of this project in 2009 and few are surprised to hear they  issued a Final Environmental Impact Statement today.  The energy company Veresen’s President and CEO, Don Althoff, calls this “a significant regulatory milestone,” which came about after working “closely with federal, state and local regulatory agencies and with local communities over the past three years.” Forrest English, of Rogue Riverkeeper, said “FERC has never turned down a new LNG terminal.” The fight over Jordan Cove LNG will continue.

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Water

The Drought’s Next Victims

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California’s drought spread across most of the West Coast this year. There have been reports of record high temperatures, water shortages and increased ravages from wildfires. The Drought’s next victims could be salmon.

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Cost of Climate Change, Fire

The Fires – Is This Climate Change?

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Across the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Victoria, a brownish haze clings to the Olympic Peninsula’s shore.  There are reports of ash raining from the sky in Vancouver, Salt Spring Island and Nanaimo.  The sun was a reddish-brown color in Qualicum Beach. There are severe wildfires along the West Coast, from Alaska to California. There may be more than drought behind the fires: Is this Climate Change?

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Cost of Climate Change

What Climate Change May Bring To The West Coast

By Roy L Hales

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The situation in California is intensifying. More than half of Oregon is now officially in extreme drought conditions. Washington’s snowpack has disappeared and more than a quarter of the state’s rivers are at record time lows. Though the emergency has not yet reached British Columbia, the province predicts “some regions will likely experience significant water supply shortages.” The drought shows us what Climate Change could bring to the West Coast.

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