Our Organic Northwest

Sick Workers Say They Hope Others Will Be Saved From Beryllium Disease

RICHLAND, Wash. – An investigative branch of the U.S. Department of Energy told a group of citizen advisors [today] Tuesday that it's launching an inspection into beryllium [BER-ill-ee-um] exposure at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. It's a metal that can be inhaled into people's lungs. One of the people in the audience in Richland was Tom Peterson. He got sick in 1993 from beryllium. Now, Peterson wears an oxygen tank where ever he goes. He says he's skeptical of the federal investigation but hopes it could lead to help for his friends.

Tree Farmers May Profit From Climate Regulation

(Photo: Small woodland owner Ken Falk hopes to sell carbon offsets tied to these trees in Monroe, Oregon.)

MONROE, OR - Some airlines are starting to do it. Some Northwest ski resorts, too. They’re inviting people like you to pay a little bit extra to offset the global warming pollution resulting from an activity such as a trip. A carbon offset is a bit like an indulgence... a polluter pays someone else to remove an equivalent amount of global warming gases from the atmosphere. In our region, private timberland owners, farmers, and some tribal governments are dreaming dollar signs.

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Oregon Lawmakers Approve Field Burning Rampdown

(Flickr photograph by chrisjohnbeckett)

SALEM, OR - Oregon lawmakers narrowly gave final approval on Monday to a bill that would end most field burning in the state over the next two years. The smoke from the burns is blamed for health problems in nearby communities. Some grass seed farmers say they need to burn their fields after harvest to combat pests and weeds. But Charlie Tebbutt with the Western Environmental Law Center dismisses the farmers’ argument. (Full Story)

A Wet June Helps Idaho Fish Down the River

(Snake River Flickr photograph by oregon ducatisti)

COEUR D'ALENE, ID - Most of the Northwest has had normal or drier than usual weather this spring. But some of the traditionally driest areas have experienced one of their wettest Junes in years. Some areas of southern Idaho and eastern Oregon have had three or four times the normal rainfall. That’s good news for salmon. Inland Northwest Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports.