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Cascadia scorecard

Today, Northwest Environment Watch released their annual Cascadia Scorecard. If you live in the Northwest -- or care about it -- you should give it a read.

Launched in 2004, the Cascadia Scorecard charts the Pacific Northwest's success at creating a sustainable economy and way of life.

The 2005 Scorecard gives a concise update on how Cascadia ranks in seven key trends--health, economy, population, energy, sprawl, forests, and pollution--but hones in on one of the most critical issues facing the region: energy.

It details the weaknesses of the region's energy system and argues that Cascadia can achieve true security, and a stronger economy, by investing in a clean-energy revolution that is already gathering force.

Most of the Scorecard data are available on the Web on the pages for each indicator; we also do daily updates on the Scorecard weblog.

Ich Bin Ein Cowboy

U.S., Germany agree on vague climate measures President Bush is on a tour of Europe, seeking ways to repair relationships with traditional allies that don’t involve changing any U.S. position on any subject — and that includes global warming. His stop in Germany yesterday to talk with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was a positive, if strained, […]

The problem

An extraordinary piece of writing by Alex Steffen over on Worldchanging. If you are looking for a reasonably comprehensive but concise description of the problem in which we -- that is, humanity -- find ourselves, now you know where to find it. Required reading.

Hazed and Confused

Appeals court rejects five-state plan for clean park air A market-based program used by five Western states to control haze in national parks and wilderness areas was rejected by a federal appeals court Friday. Brought to court in a challenge by a coal and utilities industry group, the states’ efforts to cut sulfur-dioxide pollution and […]

The Country Above Us

Canadian government unveils green budget Ottawa — that’s where the Canadian federal government lives, people — unveiled a budget yesterday with some $2.4 billion in new environmental spending. At the center of the eco-money is an $805 million Clean Fund that will dole out cash for private-sector projects that reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, as well as […]

Now we’re golden

You think the reason more people don't switch to solar is because it's expensive and, well, takes effort? Nope, turns out it's just a fashion thing. At least, that's the theory behind multi-national Kyocera's solar panels, which masquerade as common roof tiles. (Special thanks to Phil, stuck in snowy Boston, for pointing this one out.)

Using a somewhat less subtle approach, an Australian company is moving forward with plans to build a 3,280-foot-high solar tower. Proponents say the tower will power 200,000 homes, and they've just purchased a 25,000-acre sheep farm to host it. Let the sun shine in.

Because it’s there

It’s difficult to work up outrage these days, I know. But still. Republicans have long had a >hard on for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It’s never made any sense — the amount of oil we could get is a tiny fraction of what we need, and it’s 10 years out in the […]

Biodegradable plastics

An intriguing story on Japan's increasing development and production of biodegradable plastics.

In 2000, production of such plastics stood at slightly more than 2,000 tons.

"It will increase to 50,000 tons this year and to 200,000 tons in 2010," the official [of the Biodegradable Plastics Society] said. ...  "Biodegradable plastics will account for about 10 percent of the market in around 2020."

Cool.

Umbra on trains vs. cars

Dear Umbra, My girlfriend recently made a trip by train (about 600 kilometers, I’d guess), and it made me wonder just how much more ecological it is to travel by train instead of by car. What’s your take on this? MichaelOttawa, Ontario, Canada Dearest Canadian Michael, The train, it is better. The car, it is […]

Poop is not funny

OK, maybe a little. Hot off the, er, presses: a company in Australia is seeking donations of kangaroo dung to make recycled paper. Inspired by African and Asian operations that make sheets from elephant excrement, Joanna Gair hopes to make "Roo Poo Paper" a household name. The "pooey" product has proven useful as a conservation fundraiser in some places and is, of course, a hit with the kids. "It's taken my breath away just how popular this [idea] is," Gair says. Which is not a funny quote at all.

Folks in Milford, Nebraska, might want to consider the same plan, since they just spent four months battling a massive, burning pile of manure at a feedlot. The 100-foot-long heap, estimated to weigh 2,000 tons, began smoldering due to organic action at its center (here's to the power of composting!). After the state Department of Environmental Quality cited clean-air violations, concerned parties spent several weeks pulling the pile apart, and finally quelled the fire. What a relief that is.