Tagged: Environment

The high price of gasoline is leading Northwesterners to drive less and use more fuel-efficient cars, according to the Sightline Institute, a Seattle-based environment and policy research nonprofit.

According to the study:

“Washington and Oregon are on track to burn less gasoline in their cars and trucks this year than at any time since 1996 – less even than in 2008, when gas prices spiked and the economy cratered. … At least for the 
moment, the plateau in gas consumption that began in the
late 1990s has turned into a gentle downward slide.”

A new two-story home is under construction near the Space Needle at the Seattle Center.

Called the "House of the Immediate Future," it's part of the "Next 50" anniversary celebration of the 1962 Seattle World's Fair.

I've written before in this space about how an animal obituary may help mark a life of significance. Here is my obituary for Ivan the gorilla.

BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Minor oil spills at Bellingham have plagued construction of an oil spill containment barge needed for Shell Oil to drill exploratory wells in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska.

The Washington Ecology Department says hydraulic systems leaked on July 24, Aug. 4 and Aug. 6, each releasing about a quart of oil into Whatcom Waterway. The department sent a notice of violation to Superior Energy Services, which is building the Arctic Challenger.

This summer's drought continues to wilt and bake crops from Ohio to the Great Plains and beyond. Under a baking, late-afternoon sun just outside of the tiny east-central Illinois town of Thawville, John Hildenbrand walks down his dusty, gravel driveway toward one of his corn fields.

"You can see on the outer edge, these are a lot better-looking ears on the outside rows. Of course, it's not near as hot as it is inside the field," he says.

A toxic spill from a tanker truck closed the northbound lanes of Interstate 5 through Seattle for more than an hour Wednesday afternoon, backing up traffic.

The Seattle Fire Department says the spill, originally estimated at 50 gallons, is about two gallons of a sodium borohydride and sodium hydroxide solution. The chemicals are used for bleaching pulp and wood products.

More voices are chiming in on the debate over proposed coal terminals in the Northwest. A new report adds sports fishermen and tribes to the opposition. It comes less than a week after proponents launched a campaign touting the benefits coal exports could bring.