Editor's Take: November 09, 2009
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LEED for Weeds
A new coalition has introduced a ranking system for "green" landscapes that sequester carbon or clean water, much like LEED does for buildings or Energy Star does for appliances. In other news, health care reform is moving forward (minus reproductive protections) but the path to a new energy plan and climate policy is less clear.
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LEED for weeds
New West
11/08/2009
A coalition of landscape architects and botanists has created the nation's first rating system for green landscapes. As LEED has done for buildings, the Sustainable Sites Initiative will do for outside spaces that sequester carbon, clean the air and water, increase energy efficiency and restore habitat.
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Health reform, but without reproductive rights
The Nation
11/08/2009
The US House of Representatives voted 220-215 in favor of the most sweeping expansion of health-care coverage since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid Act of 1965. It dramatically expands options for Americans who are not currently covered by private insurers but required a bitter compromise on the issue of abortion in order to secure the votes.
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A little lead in your lettuce
Los Angeles Times
11/08/2009
Tests of six popular brands of bagged soil for growing fruits and vegetables turned up this good news: None of the soils contained toxic levels of lead, zinc or arsenic. The bad news: All contained at least some contaminants, an outcome that, depending on whom you talk to, is not at all problematic or moderately troubling.
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Can Montana's local food system be saved?
Billings Gazette
11/08/2009
There was a time when 70 percent of what Montanans ate was produced in state. They grew watermelons in Whitehall, green peas in Bozeman, beans in Glendive. Now there's a push to return to those days, but it's been so long since Montana fed itself, the burning question is whether it still can.
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How an underdog took Seattle City Hall
Seattle Times
11/08/2009
How did Mike McGinn apparently take Seattle City Hall? The mayoral candidate had a fleet of volunteers so devoted they deferred graduate school, borrowed money from their parents and spent hours contacting voters, and a grass-roots campaign that seemed to tap into Seattle's idealism.
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Oceans give warning signs
Tacoma News Tribune
11/08/2009
Off the coast of Washington state, mysterious algae mixed with sea foam have killed more than 8,000 seabirds. Garbage swirls in ocean vortexes, coastal dead zones appear and every eight months enough oil to fill the Exxon Valdez runs off the nation's streets into the sea. As the grim news mounts, a storm is brewing in Washington, D.C., over who should oversee ocean policies.
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Wetlands could be high & dry without dam
Medford Mail-Tribune
11/08/2009
What happens to marshy properties and miles of adjoining wetlands should Gold Ray Dam disappear is at the crux of a $5.5 million question over whether the Southern Oregon dam will be removed next year, creating 157 miles of free-flowing Rogue River to the sea.
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Will Triangle become West Seattle gateway?
Seattle Times
11/09/2009
The Triangle is the first neighborhood you come to in West Seattle, but it's more workshop than entry hall, with auto-repair shops, lumber warehouses and a gritty feel. But residents and businesses have developed a vision of a leafy, walkable, transit-oriented, mostly residential neighborhood that stands out as a real gateway.
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No clear map to new energy plan
New York Times
11/08/2009
Congress is unlikely, this year or next, to establish the "cap and trade" system for curbing carbon emissions that President Obama and Democratic party leaders seek. Nor are world leaders next month likely to strike a concrete deal to limit emissions. The Democrats' challenge is to make enough progress to avoid defeat in the near term and achieve their priorities in the long run.
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Views: A 100-mile dieter dishes
Portland Oregonian
11/09/2009
Asked to accept a two-week challenge to eat only foods grown within 100 miles of my house, I thought "How hard could that be?" Never have I eaten more healthfully. Never have I craved white flour and sugar more. Never have I spent so much on groceries. Never will I do it again.
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