NPI's Cascadia Advocate

Offering commentary and analysis from Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, The Cascadia Advocate is the Northwest Progressive Institute's uplifting perspective on world, national, and local politics.

Category Archives: Our Environment

Scrapping the Alaska king salmon troll season will hurt fishing communities without helping our endangered southern resident orcas

Excerpt: A lawsuit that seeks to halt the southeast Alas­ka com­mer­cial salmon troll fish­ery has become a big topic of discussion in the Last Frontier and in the PNW's fishing communities after a federal court judge recently ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, putting the upcoming fishing season in jeopardy.
Written by:Diane Jones
Other Categories:Policy Topics
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The oil sands province of Alberta: Where extreme weather meets extreme politics

Excerpt: The political climate of Canada’s oil producing province is being upstaged by Mother Nature. Prolonged heat and lightning have produced a natural climate emergency with fires blackening the skies and consuming more than 2.3 million acres in a not-so-merry month of May.
Written by:Joel Connelly
Other Categories:Elections, Party Politics, Policy Topics
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Amazon has a big opportunity to be a leader in plastic packaging reduction

Excerpt: In 2022, Amazon stopped packing products in single-use plastic delivery bags shipped from their European fulfillment centers, and stopped using plastic air pillows in Europe and Australia. Yet, Amazon has not made similar commitments in the United States, its largest market.
Written by:Pam Clough
Other Categories:Policy Topics
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Washington is making important, long overdue investments in environmental equity

Excerpt: In this guest post for NPI, Senators Joe Nguyễn and Rebecca Saldaña explain how the Evergreen State is prioritizing equity in our response to the climate crisis.
Written by:Joe Nguyen and Rebecca Saldana
Other Categories:Guest Posts, Legislative Advocacy, Policy Topics
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Washington’s DNR teams up with American Forests, City of Seattle to advance tree equity

Excerpt: The partnership, which will be known as the Washington Tree Equity Collaborative, "will engage cities, community organizations and stakeholders during the next three years to build rigorous and inclusive urban forestry programs," the Department says. It will make use of American Forests' Tree Equity Score, a tool freely available to the public that measures tree canopy cover in an increasing number of cities and towns along socioeconomic lines.
Written by:Andrew Villeneuve
Other Categories:Policy Topics
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Two-thirds of Seattle voters concerned about tree loss with housing density increasing

Excerpt: 68% of 651 likely February 2023 special election voters interviewed from January 26th-30th for NPI by Change Research said they were concerned about tree and canopy loss, while 30% said they were not. Only 1% were not sure.
Written by:Andrew Villeneuve
Other Categories:Policy Topics, Public Planning
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Biden-Harris administration reportedly plans to approve Willow oil drilling project in Alaska

Excerpt: Environmental groups have campaigned against what the Sierra Club has described as “a climate disaster waiting to happen.” A change.org petition opposing Willow had drawn 3.1 million signatures and an estimated 1.1 million unique letters have descended on the White House.
Written by:Joel Connelly
Other Categories:Policy Topics
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Senator Maria Cantwell weighs in against ConocoPhillips’ Willow Arctic drilling project

Excerpt: The potential devastation to Arctic ecosystems, from climate damage, “is irreversible and irresponsible to future generations,” said Cantwell. “Oil companies already have record profits and access to drilling rights on millions of acres of public lands which they should be using to meet our current fossil fuel needs.”
Written by:Joel Connelly
Other Categories:Policy Topics
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Senator Maria Cantwell: A workhorse for the people and the Pacific Northwest in Congress

Excerpt: Cantwell, sixty-four, is not one of the usual suspects seen on networks’ Sunday morning talk shows or shouting over talk radio. She gets stuff done by mastering details, quiet work with colleagues and by serving on a trio of A-list Senate committees where legislation is put together.
Written by:Joel Connelly
Other Categories:Economic Security, Policy Topics, Public Service
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U.S., Canadian officials act to rescue rainforests in Alaska and British Columbia

Excerpt: The U.S. Department of Agriculture officially reinstated the Clinton-era National Roadless Rule in Southeast Alaska’s vast seventeen million-acre Tongass National Forest. On the other side of the border, British Columbia’s Premier David Eby announced protection of 75,000 hectares of the Incomappleux Valley.
Written by:Joel Connelly
Other Categories:Policy Topics
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House Republicans vow to “unleash American energy” as big oil pipeline spill hits Kansas

Excerpt: The pipeline, owned by TC Energy, carries up to 600,000 barrels a day of heavy oil from the tar stands of northern Alberta to Cumberland, Oklahoma. This isn't the first time it has ruptured.
Written by:Joel Connelly
Other Categories:Policy Topics
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Net pen aquaculture in Washington’s waters must end, Commissioner Hilary Franz orders

Excerpt: "We, as a state, are going to do better by our salmon, by our fishermen, and by our tribes," said Washington's Commissioner of Public Lands. "Commercial finfish farming is detrimental to salmon, orcas and marine habitat."
Written by:Diane Jones
Other Categories:Policy Topics
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Logging of British Columbia’s old growth forests has declined, but critics say provincial government is still allowing harmful clearcuts

Excerpt: British Columbia’s government proudly announced this week that logging of old-growth forests in the province, once nicknamed “Brazil of the north” for its vast clearcuts, has declined to a record low in the past six years. Not low enough, critics responded.
Written by:Joel Connelly
Other Categories:Policy Topics
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King County conservation futures levy is receiving solid support, NPI poll finds

Excerpt: In the aggregate, 57% of voters surveyed this week for NPI by Change Research said they had voted for King County Proposition 1 or would be doing so, while 27% said they had voted no or would be doing so. The levy appears headed for passage.
Written by:Andrew Villeneuve
Other Categories:Elections, Policy Topics
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