Another Green Monday
It’s been a pretty green last few days around Spokane – unfortunately that’s just been the festive spirit of St. Patrick’s Day and the green beer and nothing to do with the coming of Spring or progress in Olympia on environmental bills. Local champion of environmental legislation Sen. Chris Marr (D) is one of many sponsors on a bill that would weaken voter-approved Initiative 937, by allowing some hydroelectric dams as qualifying power sources as part of the clean energy initiative. The bill, which is picking up steam (not wind or solar) in Olympia would likely reduce the pressure to build other renewable energy sources in Washington state.
Spring officially arrives on Friday and brings with it the excitement of awakenings both old and new. Spokane, now would be as good a time as any to follow suit.
Don't Forget - Winona LaDuke will be in Spokane tomorrow and you have TWO chances to see her. LaDuke, a Native American activist, environmentalist, economist, and writer who you might remember as Ralph Nader’s vice presidential nominee in 2004, will speak twice tomorrow - once at 11:30 a.m. at Spokane Falls Community College, and then again at 7:30 at The Magic Lantern. LaDuke is an inspiring figure in the environmental community for her work as the program director of the Honor the Earth Fund where she works to advocate, raise public support, and create funding for frontline native environmental groups on a national level.
Dirty Harry and the Yucca Mountain Repository (that could be the name of a new White Stripes album). While there’s a lot to cheer about the Obama administration’s decision to end funding to nuclear storage assessments at the Yucca Mountain Repository in Nevada, there’s also a lot to question – specifically what it all means for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. So while it sounds great that nuke testing is off the board, Peter Dykstra from the Mother Earth Network writes, “most environmentalists should acknowledge that this has nothing to do with the safety of nukes, or the wisdom of storing radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain for millennia. It’s home state politics.” Read more of this concise look at the Yucca Mountain Repository story and the role of Harry Reid HERE.
Mr. Eichstaedt Goes To Washington. Center For Justice attorney Rick Eichstaedt traveled to D.C. for Clean Water Week, joining advocates from around the country to defend and strengthen the Clean Water Act. He also found the Spokane River has been getting national attention. Eichstaedt wrote: “Surprisingly, the efforts of the Center to address clean up of the Spokane River have not gone unnoticed in D.C. Michael Shapiro, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Water, shared that the work to address phosphorus discharges in the Spokane River is getting the attention of others nationwide and that the work here will set a national precedent. Staff from our Washington congressional delegation committed to tracking and providing support of our Spokane River efforts.” Eichstaedt said the trip was an inspiration---check his take on the State of the Union address---but the whole piece itself captures the energy and optimism of environmentalism today. MORE.
From the S-R. Oddly enough, two noteworthy stories are under the same link. First, the Spokane Transit Authority reports bus ridership continues to increase despite gas prices declining and the economy downturn, the latter which has caused a slump in rides nationally. Keeping in mind February was a shorter month, daily ridership was 41,000 in Spokane, which was higher than in January at 37,700. Second, the Fish Lake Trail project just got a boost from the federal stimulus. “The additional amount awarded to Fish Lake Trail means the city will be able to complete construction of phase two of the trail, a roughly $2 million project that includes paving 4.4 miles of trail, constructing a trail head, installing benches and safety components, and rehabilitating four existing former railroad bridges,” said Staci Lehman of the Spokane Regional Transportation Council. MORE.
