“On the heels of the release of a draft environmental impact statement earlier this week, the Shell Puget Sound Refinery announced Thursday it is no longer pursuing the rail unloading facility addressed in the document,” the Skagit Valley Herald reports.
LaunchAt long last, Victoria region to get modern sewage treatment plant
Following decades of prodding, local leaders representing communities in the greater Victoria area have approved a plan to build a modern state of the art sewage treatment plant at McLoughlin Point in Esquimalt. When the plant is complete, Victoria will subject its sewage to a tertiary treatment process (the highest and best level available) instead of dumping raw sewage into the Strait of Juan de Fuca as it does today. The plant and related infrastructure is slated to be built by 2020.
LaunchHillary Clinton needs to take a stand against the Dakota Access Pipeline
“The fight at Standing Rock is a big damned thing,” writes Bill McKibben. “It’s a Flint-in-the-making, and it’s also a chance to for once do right by the continent’s oldest inhabitants. Surely Hillary Clinton can rise to the occasion. Can’t she?”
LaunchFlooding of coast, caused by damage to the climate, has already begun
“For decades, as the global warming created by human emissions caused land ice to melt and ocean water to expand, scientists warned that the accelerating rise of the sea would eventually imperil the United States’ coastline. Now, those warnings are no longer theoretical: The inundation of the coast has begun. The sea has crept up to the point that a high tide and a brisk wind are all it takes to send water pouring into streets and homes,” the New York Times reports.
LaunchWashington tribes stand with Standing Rock Sioux against North Dakota oil pipeline
“Tribes from across Washington and the Northwest have journeyed to remote Cannon Ball, N.D., to join the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in a peaceful occupation of ancestral lands where the tribe seeks an injunction to stop construction of an oil pipeline until its waters and cultural resources are protected,” Lynda Mapes reports.
LaunchBack to the dark ages: Power outage brings downtown Seattle to a standstill for an hour
We can’t do any work right now… The phones work, but the computers don’t. And attorneys are pretty much helpless without their computers. — Barbara
LaunchEarth’s relentless climate crisis just hit a terrible new threshold
“The number of climate records broken in the last few years is stunning. But here’s a new measure of misery: Not only did we just experience the hottest April in 137 years of record keeping, but it was the 12th consecutive month to set a new record,” Bloomberg reports.
LaunchNational Park Service calls on visitors to respect wildlife and safety regulations
The National Park Service is asking Americans and visitors to the United States to do their part to keep themselves and wildlife safe. In a
LaunchSix maps that will make you rethink the world
“We don’t often question the typical world map that hangs on the walls of classrooms — a patchwork of yellow, pink and green that separates the world into more than 200 nations. But Parag Khanna, a global strategist, says that this map is, essentially, obsolete,” writes Ana Swanson.
LaunchRuined Chernobyl nuclear plant will remain a threat for 3,000 years
We don’t have the technology to fix the problem… We don’t have the process to develop the technology to fix the problem, and we don’t
LaunchFDA sued over genetically engineered salmon
“Less than six months after the FDA approved the first genetically altered animal, it has its first legal challenge,” KING 5 reports.
LaunchWind and solar are crushing fossil fuels
Bloomberg’s Tom Randall documents and discusses the recent clean energy investment boom, which is outpacing oil and gas two to one.
LaunchBirds — and staff — return to Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
“In the aftermath of the winter occupation, spring birds are arriving and Malheur National Wildlife Refuge staff are making an uneasy return to their jobs and homes in Eastern Oregon’s Harney County,” reports Hal Bernton for The Seattle Times.
LaunchPower grab topples another defender of California’s environment
“The South Coast Air Quality Management District board fired Barry Wallerstein, center, the agency’s longtime leader, despite pleas from environmentalists and public health experts,” reports Steve Lopez.
LaunchHere’s how electric cars will cause the next oil crisis
“A shift is under way that will lead to widespread adoption of electric vehicles in the next decade,” writes Bloomberg’s Tom Randall.
LaunchSeas are rising at fastest rate in last twenty-eight centuries
While Republicans deny the science of the climate crisis, the consequences continue to felt. This just in from the New York Times: “The oceans are rising faster than at any point in the last 28 centuries, and human emissions of greenhouse gases are primarily responsible, scientists reported Monday.”
LaunchThe Elwha River: Roaring back to life
In a special report for The Seattle Times, reporter Lynda V. Mapes tells the story of the resurgence of the Elwha River ecosystem, which is benefiting hugely from the largest dam removal project in human history, completed two years ago.
LaunchFederal Way votes to oppose Chinese-backed methanol plant in Tacoma
“Opposition against a proposed natural gas-to-methanol plant in Tacoma grew Thursday night with a unanimous vote against the project by the Federal Way City Council.” KING5 reports.
LaunchNevada rancher Cliven Bundy arrested by FBI in Portland; last four militant holdouts at Malheur to surrender tomorrow
The idiotic, dangerous right wing insurrection against the people and government of the United States in rural Oregon appears to be almost over. The Oregonian
LaunchFBI joins Flint drinking water investigation
The Detroit Free Press reports: “The FBI is now investigating the contamination of Flint’s drinking water, a man-made public health catastrophe, which has left an unknown number of Flint children and other residents poisoned by lead and resulted in state and federal emergency declarations.”
LaunchSeattle seeks millions from Monsanto to clean up PCBs from Duwamish
The City of Seattle is suing megacorporation Monsanto for damages over the contamination of the Duwamish River, which became polluted with toxic chemicals due to the company’s manufacture of PCBs. Monsanto’s predictable response to the lawsuit has been to deny that it is responsible. In Monstanto’s world, accountability simply doesn’t exist.
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