Our Sustainable Northwest

Study: Northwest Wildfire Severity Not Getting Worse

The Panther Creek fire is currently burning in North Cascades National Park Photo by Kerry Olson, NPS

To a lot of people, it seems like catastrophic wildfires are getting more common in the Northwest. Now a newly published study on wildfires questions that conventional wisdom. Correspondent Tom Banse reports.

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Stimulus Projects Planned for Northwest Coasts

(Flickr photograph of the Oregon coast by ru 24 real)

Leading federal officials have announced close to 24 million dollars in coastal restoration projects. The plan is to improve habitat and provide jobs in Oregon and Washington. Head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and former Oregon State professor, Jane Lubchenco, laid out the rationale for the 50 projects across the country. They include nine along the coast of Oregon and Washington. (Full Story)

EPA gives states OK for tougher tailpipe exhaust rules

(Flickr photograph by aliciagriffin)

OLYMPIA, WA - West Coast states can forge ahead with tougher tailpipe emissions rules. The federal government has granted trendsetter California a long-awaited OK. But the Obama Administration’s plans to increase gas mileage standards on a national basis mean West Coast states will not go it alone. Correspondent Tom Banse reports.

Crabbers and Scientists Collaborate on Ocean Research

(Flickr photograph by bertabetti)

Oregon crabbers are helping researchers collect data on the ocean's temperature and oxygen levels. The unusual collaboration could help solve some of the mysteries off the Oregon coast. Rachael McDonald reports.

Gray Wolf Formally Delisted in Idaho and Montana

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has upheld a Bush administration decision to move the gray wolf in Idaho and Montana off of the Endangered Species List. Conservation groups say they’re disappointed and plan to appeal the ruling…as Inland Northwest Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports.

                                  Photo provided by National Geographic.

Copyright 2009 Spokane Public Radio

Listen to the report and interview with Suzanne Stone from Defenders of Wildlife.

Paul Stamets can think of at least 6 ways that mushrooms can save the world

which is well above the national average of 2 or 3 ways. That's because Paul Stamets spends a lot of time working on these things. fungal genome mycelium, a giant fungal network which is vital to the northwest ecosystem.

At 12 minutes into the talk, he mentions an NPR interview concerned with his work using fungi to combat smallpox. It can be found here. Further Stamets-related material can be found via the website of his Olympia-based Fungi Perfecti.

Here's another interesting video discussing Stamets' use of human hair and mycelium in remediating the Cosco Busan oil spill in San Francisco Bay.

New WSU Greenhouse Devoted to Columbia Basin Plants

Steven Link stands in front of the three new greenhouses built at Washington State University’s Tri-City campus in Richland. They open Monday.

Posted: Monday, August 4, 2008

RICHLAND, WA - A greenhouse that will help scientists learn more about the Columbia Basin’s native plants opens Monday in Richland. It’s part of Washington State University’s Tri-City campus. The three structures were paid for by a federal contractor after mistakes were discovered at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Correspondent Anna King reports.

Steven Link is wild about native plants. The WSU botanist now he has three sparkling new greenhouses. They’ll be used to study plants from Northwest deserts. Link wants to find out how to grow the finicky native plants better. That way commercial operations can reproduce more plants for restoration projects. Link says the need is urgent.

Link: With development our landscapes here are being taken over by us building houses. So the properties where a lot of these native species exist are being taken away or they are disappearing. So this resource is becoming more limited.

The half-million-dollar greenhouses are being paid for by a Hanford contractor. It’s part of a fine issued by the Environmental Protection Agency for mistakes made at the nuclear waste site.

Copyright 2008 Northwest Public Radio

Grass Farmers Put Burning on Hold For Olympic Trials

June 20, 2008

EUGENE, OR/During the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Willamette Valley grass seed farmers have agreed not to burn their fields. The Western Environmental Law Center is asking: why not ban it altogether? KLCC’s Rachael McDonald explains.
 
The temporary ban on field burning is to protect athletes’ health and keep the air smoke-free for visitors from around the world. Attorney Charlie Tebbutt has sent a letter to Governor Kulongoski asking him to use his authority to ban the practice outright for the sake of residents, whether they’re athletes or not. He says legendary runner Steve Prefontaine himself asked for a ban in 1975 after getting sick from the smoke at Eugene’s Hayward Field.
 

Recovering Rangeland Habitat, One Sage Seed at a Time

October 12, 2007

IDAHO/Idaho Governor Butch Otter is asking state residents to help collect thousands of pounds of sagebrush seed to re-vegetate vast areas of Idaho desert blackened by summer wildfires.

 

Image taken by Mike Fitzpatrick.

Guy Hand reports.

Wine Growers Take Aim at Global Warming

August 8, 2007

The wine industry is a relatively minor source of emissions, when compared to cars and power plants. But that hasn't stopped some in the industry from setting their own goals to reduce their environmental impact.

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