Posted on December 3, 2008 by brandibratrude
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Sightline Daily | Northwest News That Matters
Top Picks of the Day
1. Puget Sound Health a Priority Despite Recession
Despite an ever-tightening state budget, Gov. Chris Gregoire Monday renewed her commitment to restoring Puget Sound to health by 2020. “Business as usual is not going to save the sound,” Gregoire said in a video presentation at the Seattle Aquarium. Kitsap Sun 12/01/2008
2. Rulings Leave Oregon Landowners Caught and Confused
A percolating batch of legal rulings have thoroughly dissolved any agreement Oregonians thought they had achieved on property rights. Land-use lawyers disagree on the sweep of the rulings, which have left one county caught between the opposing dictates of a federal judge and a state agency. Oregonian 12/02/2008
3. “Conscience” Rule to Affect Health Care
The outgoing Bush administration is planning to announce a broad new “right of conscience” rule permitting medical facilities, doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health-care workers to refuse to participate in any procedure they find morally objectionable, including abortion and possibly even artificial insemination and birth control. Seattle Times 12/02/2008
4. Conservation Groups to Sue Over Roosevelt Water Plan
Two environmental groups say they’ll sue to stop a plan to use more Lake Roosevelt water for fish, new water rights and replenishing underground water in Grant County. The Center for Environmental Law & Policy and the Columbia Riverkeeper will challenge the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s decision to allow Washington state to draw down Lake Roosevelt by one foot. Wenatchee World 12/01/2008
5. Energy Alternatives Vying for Alaska State Money
The state of Alaska has $450 million worth of requests to fund various alternative energy projects, but it only has $100 million for these efforts. Now, with oil prices plummeting $100 a barrel since summer, some lawmakers and community leaders are hoping interest in alternative projects doesn’t fade as well. Anchorage Daily News 12/02/2008
6. Vancouver’s Mayor-Elect, Minister Target Homelessness
Housing Minister Rich Coleman and Vancouver’s new mayor-elect had a two-hour meeting this weekend in which they agreed they are willing to make extraordinary efforts to reduce homelessness significantly this year. Gregor Robertson, who will take office next Monday, and Mr. Coleman said the meeting was productive and a sign that their two levels of government are on the same page. Toronto Globe and Mail 12/02/2008
7. Governors Set To Meet With Obama
The Governors of Washington and Oregon will meet with President-elect Barack Obama Tuesday in Philadelphia. Most of the nation’s governors are expected to attend the meeting to discuss the impact of the national recession on the states. Oregon Public Broadcasting 12/01/2008
8. Views: Western Governors ask Obama for Green Energy
Western governors are urging President-elect Barack Obama to move quickly and boldly on a federally funded energy initiative. They’ve sent a letter to Obama that is long on recommendations – a list of 16, in fact – and is a bit of a mixed bag. Boise Idaho Statesman 12/01/2008
9. What Does Obama’s National Security Pick Mean for Climate Change?
When President-elect Barack Obama introduced James L. Jones Jr. as his national security advisor Monday, he emphasized the retired Marine general’s understanding of “the connection between energy and national security.” Obama sees that as a plus, but some environmental groups and global warming activists view Jones’ environmental record with suspicion. Los Angeles Times 12/02/2008
10. War on Carbon Heats Up Globally, Real Strategies Remain Local
“Think globally, act locally,” urged an environmental mantra popular in the 1970s. That strategy made sense when communities faced visible problems such as polluted streams and smoggy air. It is less effective today, as the world tries to tackle a threat as broad and shapeless as climate change. For all the talk about a unified response to global warming, what is emerging is a crazy quilt of often-competing local strategies. Wall Street Journal 12/02/2008
Filed under: Community News, National and World News | Tagged: alternative energy, Center for Environmental Law & Policy, climate change, Columbia Riverkeeper, environment, green, green energy, health care, homelessness, land use, National Security and Climate Change, Puget Sound, Puget Sound health, right of conscience rule, Roosevelt Water Plan, Seattle, seattleDIRT, Sightline Daily, Sightline Institute, sustainability, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
