Earth Share of Washington - News

Bicycling community and City of Seattle team up to improve facilities

By Dave Janis, from Earth Share organization Bicycle Alliance of Washington

One of the outcomes of BikeSummer 2004 held in Seattle is the Bicycle Facilities Collaborative, an effort launched by City Councilmember Richard Conlin and the Bicycle Alliance of Washington. Its purpose is to identify and prioritize additions and improvements to the city’s bicycling facilities.

The first step in the process was dividing up the city into six geographic areas (NW, NE, W, E, SW, and SE), based on the neighborhood planning sec...Read the full story

January 31, 2005 | Comments Off

Lack of snow may take toll

Many of the 500 or so workers at Stevens Pass ski area have been idled from an acute lack of snow. Some are still collecting pay checks; many have gone on vacation to ski or snowboard. Matt Gormley cruises along the top of the pipe that is desperately in need of more snow.

Balmy weather that has stripped the Cascades of its customary winter cloak of snow could take a toll on apples, salmon and more than a million water consumers by summer.

State climatologist Philip Mote yesterday warned that most basins in the mountain range have a snowpack just 20 percent to 30 percent of ...Read the full story

January 27, 2005 | Comments Off

Summit wraps up vast plan to restore salmon

Diverse group of interests is set to deliver ideas to U.S.

TACOMA -- Poised to unveil sweeping plans to rebuild Puget Sound salmon runs, representatives of builders, environmentalists, timber companies, tribes, farmers and local governments are girding this week for an onslaught of challenges.

Five years after headlines heralded Endangered Species Act protections for the Sound's struggling chinook salmon, the people of the region are about to tell federal authorities how they plan to bring the fish populations back to healthy levels.

But what looms a...Read the full story

January 27, 2005 | Comments Off

Stories of a Wildlife Rescue - "Lasting Impact"

by Naturalist Kevin Mack from Earth Share of Washington member PAWS Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, published in the January 26, 2005 edition of Wild Again

On Saturday, January 15th, I was standing on the edge of a shrubby field in Olympia, WA. To my right, a row of alders hugged the banks of a shallow, salmon-bearing stream. I did not know that the stream bore salmon because I had seen them. I had not, in fact, even seen the stream itself, but the sound of flowing water was clearly audible. I knew that...Read the full story

January 26, 2005 | Comments Off

Eco-friendly home-improvement store reopens after fire

Lisa Bellefond couldn't stop fingering the recycled tiles that reminded her of colored beach glass, envisioning them in the kitchen backsplash of her new Ballard home.

Nearby, guys at the Environmental Home Center marveled at denim insulation they could incorporate into walls -- a cotton product made of scraps from jeans manufacturers.

Two friends who shanghaied Bellefond last weekend to celebrate the reopening of the store's showroom were plotting to persuade a husband to spend this year's tax refund on a new bathroom.

Last August, a warehouse fire destroyed the Sod...Read the full story

January 25, 2005 | Comments Off

Strict car emission rules look likely

Dealers protest, but California limits have legislators' support

OLYMPIA -- Washington is likely to join California and six other states in adopting tighter vehicle emissions standards, despite protests from auto dealers.

The proposal, which is drawing strong support in the Legislature, would require the state to adopt the tougher regulations starting in 2009. By 2016, all new cars sold in Washington would have to comply with the new standards, with proponents claiming that emissions would be reduced by 30 percent.

The rules would apply only to cars ...Read the full story

January 24, 2005 | Comments Off

A slow recovery for Puget Sound

Many of Puget Sound's declining herring populations have rebounded, the acres covered by the invasive grass spartina are half what they were a few years ago and sites once contaminated with heavy metals are slowly being cleaned up, according to a biennial report by the state on Puget Sound's health.

But toxic chemicals still can be found in the fat and livers of some fish and marine mammals; runoff continues to flush pollution from parking lots and streets into the Sound; and populations of seabirds, such as grebes and scoters, are still down dramatically from the 1970s.

The...Read the full story

January 19, 2005 | Comments Off

Earth Saving Tips - Outdoor Winter Fun

Courtesy of Earth Share of Washington organization, Union of Concerned Scientists

For those who enjoy the outdoors, winter can be an opportunity to enjoy the unmatched peace and beauty of a snow-covered landscape. Preserving the quiet and pristine qualities of America's winter wonderlands, however, requires choosing a low-impact means of access-whether you're looking to explore the backcountry or just your local woods.

Many people are already familiar with concerns related to the use of snowmobiles. Studies by the Environmental Pr...Read the full story

January 18, 2005 | Comments Off

Six Great Snowshoe Excursions in Washington

Courtesy of Earth Share of Washington organization Washington Trails Association

This time of year, cabin fever gets the best of many of us hiker types. We find ourselves staying at home, leafing through hiking guides, longing for June to come so we can go outside and play in the mountains. We need not wait until June! Washington State abounds with snowshoe opportunities, and snowshoeing is fast becoming a favorite winter recreational activity for Washington hikers.

Where to go, you ask? Below is a short list of Washington Trails Ass...Read the full story

January 15, 2005 | Comments Off

A Northwest Bright Green Hodge-Podge

This article is courtesy of author Alex Steffen at WorldChanging.com

I don't tend to hesitate in sharing my criticism of the Pacific Northwest when I think things are going wrong, so I thought I'd point out some things I'd noticed recently that seem to be going quite well.

The local Master Builders Association has not always been known for taking the greenest stances, particularly when it comes to growth management. But their Read the full story

January 14, 2005 | Comments Off

Clean Car Standards Gain Broad Support

Committee of Businesses, Governments and Civic Groups Recommends Clean Car Standards for Washington

In a report released this week, a group of Washington state stakeholders recommended adopting clean car auto emission standards as part of a set of priority recommendations to address climate change. The stakeholder group, formed by Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, includes representatives from Boeing, BP/Arco, Puget Sound Energy and other major industry groups, as well as local governments and public interest organizations.

One of the key recommendations of th...Read the full story

January 14, 2005 | Comments Off

Ecological changes linked to wolves

Ten years ago today, the first of eight travel-weary wolves stepped out of its cage and into Yellowstone National Park.

Those steps -- the first known wolf prints in Yellowstone in decades -- created ecological and social currents that are changing the landscape in parts of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.

The return of one of the region's top predators, now numbering up to 900, may be altering everything from elk behavior to tree growth to beaver populations. Ranchers manage their livestock differently, and some face wrenching losses. Hunters now pursue wolf-spooked elk.

Read the full story

January 12, 2005 | Comments Off

Wildlife Stories - "The Choice"

by Naturalist Kevin Mack from Earth Share of Washington member PAWS Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, published in the January 12, 2005 edition of Wild Again

She first appeared sometime last August. I discovered her early in the morning, but I knew she had spent most of the previous night hanging out in the doorway to my apartment. I knew this because at the time I was wearing the result of her night's labor; a fine mesh of silk that caught on my forehead as I walked out the door. As sleepy as I was, the ...Read the full story

January 12, 2005 | Comments Off

North American Auto Show Highlights Clean Cars

U.S. automakers, stung by environmental groups' complaints, say they will bring to market by 2008 an additional six gas-electric-powered vehicles.

DETROIT -- Stung by environmental groups' complaints that they weren't living up to their promises, General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. said Sunday that they would add a total of six gas-electric-powered hybrid cars and trucks to the market by 2008.

Ford made the biggest commitment, promising to add four new models to the hybrid sport utility vehicle it began selling last year. GM said it would add a new type ...Read the full story

January 11, 2005 | Comments Off

'Critical habitat' for salmon in peril

A new proposal would strip Salmon Creek of its designation as key habitat for its namesake fish.

Fish continue to dwell within the 27-mile tributary, which runs through the heart of rapidly urbanizing Clark County. But the same economic pressures to build, dike and develop the land along its banks over the past century have reduced the creek's value as a refuge for salmon and steelhead.

So the National Marine Fisheries Service, complying with a recent court settlement, wants to remove Salmon Creek from a list of so-called "critical habitat" protected under the Endangered Spe...Read the full story

January 10, 2005 | Comments Off

2004: The Year of 1%

By Alan Durning, republished from the Cascadia Scorecard Weblog, courtesy of Northwest Environment Watch

This was the year of small but significant percentages: 1 percent or less. I'm speaking not only of Washington's governor race, the Montana legis...Read the full story

January 07, 2005 | Comments Off

PC Makers, Critics Join EBay Recycle Push

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Online auction company eBay Inc. on Thursday unveiled an initiative to join personal computer makers and their environmental critics in an effort to recycle more of the up to 400 million electronic products that are thrown out every year.

EBay plans to promote the program on its site at http://www.ebay.com/rethink, where consumers can go to resell, recycle or donate used electronics.

EBay Chief Executive Meg Whitman said that while information technology companies have created "some pretty innovative programs, I...Read the full story

January 06, 2005 | Comments Off

Arctic Refuge drilling top priority for energy chief

WASHINGTON D.C.--The top U.S. Senate Republican with authority over energy matters on Tuesday named oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as his first priority for the coming congressional session.

New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici, after being re-elected chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, immediately issued a news release touting his plans for the 1.5 million-acre coastal plain in Alaska's northeast corner.

"We are going to make a push to develop our vast oil resources in the Arctic Refuge in a way that leaves the environment pristine w...Read the full story

January 05, 2005 | Comments Off

Trying to make biodiesel a cash crop

King County has teamed with University of Washington professors and a Yakima farmer to get a biodiesel project up and running. A grant for $75,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture is helping make it a go.

At the demonstration site in Prosser, Benton County, byproducts from wastewater treatment in King County are fertilizing test plots of canola, a crop whose crushed seeds yield oil for biodiesel.

Like ethanol, its better known corn-based cousin, biodiesel is a mix of vegetable oil and fossil fuels that's used to power cars and trucks. European gas stations have...Read the full story

January 04, 2005 | Comments Off

HOV lane deal to help salmon

State to restore prime spawning ground to offset construction damage

Car-pool lanes are designed to help commuters, but a project to add them on part of Interstate 5 in Pierce County also will benefit threatened Chinook salmon.

This month, the state Department of Transportation bought a 27-acre wetland site in Federal Way on the West Hylebos Creek. The state plans to restore the area, the best spawning ground for Chinook salmon on the creek, said Chris Carrel, executive director of Friends of the Hylebos Wetlands.

"I'm absolutely elated," Carrel said...Read the full story

January 03, 2005 | Comments Off