Developer Initiative launched in Washington- November 30, 2005 Land speculators and property rights extremists launched their effort to bring a Developer Initiative to Washington this month. Also known as a takings initiative, the proposal requires that local governments pay property owners if land protections affect their property values, or waive the protections. Inspired by the passage of Measure 37 in Oregon, development interests are seeking to cut giant loopholes in the Growth Management Act. The effort is spearheaded by the State Farm Bureau an...http://www.esw.org/news/archives/001320.php To free urban forests from invaders, some weigh ban on noxious plants- November 30, 2005 English ivy and other invasive plants are strangling Seattle&8217;s forests, spurring a multimillion-dollar plan to restore the woods. It is also suddenly putting homeowners and garden stores here under scrutiny. Experts, environmentalists and even some public officials are raising questions: Where&8217;s all this stuff coming from Should it be outlawed Evidence of the weedy invaders is easy to find across the city, especially at this time of year. Maples on Queen Anne&8217;s western slope have.http://www.esw.org/news/archives/001319.php Seattle pumps up biodiesel sales- November 28, 2005 City&8217;s refiners work to corner &8216;green&8217; fuel market The Pacific Northwest loves being green. Recycling got an early start here. Seattle-based coffee giant Starbucks has scrambled to provide bird-friendly shade-grown coffee. State forestlands were the first in the West to earn &8220;green certification&8221; for environmentally sound management. Now, with gasoline prices to wallet-busting ranges and petroleum tainted in many minds by violence in the Mideast, demand for biodiesel is.http://www.esw.org/news/archives/001317.php "Greener" heat sources cost money, save energy- November 28, 2005 Seven years ago, Jeremy Smithson decided it would be neat to heat and light his home with solar power. Then he did the math. His 1908 Craftsman on the western slope of Phinney Ridge would need a roof four times bigger just to hold enough solar panels to meet his energy needs. Now Smithson has a house so tightly insulated &8220;that a BTU can&8217;t wiggle out of it.&8221; Efficient fluorescent bulbs poke out of the light sockets. Solar panels and tubes line his home&8217;s south-facing roof and.http://www.esw.org/news/archives/001316.php New facility aimed at ending fish farm woes- November 28, 2005 A former salmon farmer will unveil today his model for a new form of fish farm he hopes would end many of the major controversies surrounding the industry in this province. Richard Buchanan of AgriMarine Industries, who participated in a B.C. government-funded study of alternative fish farming methods in 2000, has worked with marine structural engineers and scientists on a new form of farm that could solve troubling controversies about escapes, pollution and disease. Environmental groups have...http://www.esw.org/news/archives/001315.php State considers tighter oil-spill regulations- November 23, 2005 Better oversight of load transfers sought In the wake of oil spills that fouled Puget Sound and shook public confidence in Washington&8217;s spill-prevention efforts, state officials took steps Monday to beef up regulations governing ships loading or unloading oil. Floating oil-containment curtains designed to corral spilled oil would be required in many circumstances. Currently the devices, known as &8220;boom,&8221; do not have to be set up ahead of an oil transfer. The draft rules proposed...http://www.esw.org/news/archives/001314.php An Offering of Thanks- November 22, 2005 A special Thanksgiving message from Eleanor Huffines, Regional Director of The Wilderness Society, Anchorage, Alaska Every offering of thanks is a statement of hope. I am full of both in this Thanksgiving season. I&8217;ve been in Washington for most of the last month while the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge faced its direst threat yet. With hundreds of other Arctic activists, I celebrated on November 9 when a committee of the House of Representatives was forced to remove Arctic drilling...http://www.esw.org/news/archives/001313.php Executive Director's weblog - "Quite a Week"- November 21, 2005 People for Puget Sound Executive Director Kathy Fletcher recently started her own weblog to share her thoughts about conservation and the health of Puget Sound Quite a Week This past week the Southern Resident community of orca whales was officially added to the Endangered Species list. My first reaction was jubilationwe have been seeking this listing for a long time. My second reaction was to realize that actually, there is nothing to celebrate when a species reaches the brink of extinction....http://www.esw.org/news/archives/001312.php Certified for saving salmon- November 18, 2005 New certification gives farmers another way to attract environmentally conscious customers For La Conner farmer Dave Hedlin, saving the struggling salmon in local waterways is a complicated, three-pronged formula &8212; scientific research, a change in farming methods and cooperation among a variety of government, farming and community organizations. But the best of his own contributions may be far more simplistic overall. The tall, quiet, third-generation farmer hiked up the embankment of a...http://www.esw.org/news/archives/001311.php Stories of a Wildlife Rescue - "Follow the Leader"- November 16, 2005 By Naturalist Kevin Mack from Earth Share organization PAWS Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, published in the November 16, 2005 edition of Wild Again On October 18th, five large wooden boxes stood side-by-side in a field. The only sounds that could be heard came from a cacophony of gulls and crows arguing over the rights to spawned-out salmon carcasses on the banks of the Green River nearby. The occupant of one of the wooden boxes was restless, and the box rocked noticeably as the animal shifted.http://www.esw.org/news/archives/001309.php |