In a report released yesterday afternoon from Environment Washington, a statewide, citizen-based environmental advocacy organization, it was announced that industrial facilities dumped more than 193,000 pounds of toxic chemicals into the Yakima, Pend Oreille and Spokane rivers. The report, "Wasting Our Waterways: Industrial Toxic Pollution…
"The worst thing that happened there is they ran out of caviar." - DTE enemy #1 Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe.While we usually enjoy bashing Senator Inhofe and everything that comes out of his mouth, this particular quote comes from a very fascinating report from CBS…
President Obama’s first State Of The Union address was a reminder that he is such a gifted speaker. Thoughtful, deliberate and persuasive, and at times acknowledging the partisan rancor that has distorted issues, he focused primarily on jobs. He defensively said change wasn’t easy. He…
Big news out of the automotive world last week as a sister company to Toyota Motor secured a lithium supply deal in Argentina that could help the world's largest automaker keep its lead in gasoline-electric hybrid cars.Immediately we were prompted to ask, "at what cost?"Any…
The Legislative Session is a crucial time for you to be heard. Yesterday we received an email from Bike To Work Spokane titled “Spokes and Saddles: Spokane Area Bike News” that was so comprehensive in its links, contact information, and updates, we hade to share.…
Sounds like a horrible Nicolas Cage movie doesn't it?But it's in fact the brilliant, funny, and very sad cover story of a recent Rolling Stone issue where they look at the "17 polluters and deniers who are derailing efforts to curb global warming." From Warren…
10:00am UPDATE: Check Becky Kramer's story in The Spokesman-Review HERE. In a move that could shake the outcome of a controversial waste repository, The Center For Health, Environment, and Justice is supporting the Silver Valley Community Resource Center for their work on a cleanup plan.…
If the story of coal in the west was a movie plot, the start of 2010 would definitely be considered the third act - the climax - the moment which marks a change for better or for worse. The Copenhagen climate conference ended 2009 leaving…
We know many of our readers are also involved in many great organizations working on environmental justice, conservation issues, environmental protection, and just generally a heightened awareness about the issues we talk about most on DTE. So we felt it important to bring you some…
Only Stephen Colbert could take mountaintop removal mining and make it funny. “It’s the most efficient way to get to the coal inside,” he proudly shouts. That’s why when I go to the dentist, I have him remove my teeth from the top of my…
Remember this image? Hard to imagine that's what our wonderful city looked like this time last year. But hey, if you're nostalgic for the past, call a friend or relative in the Midwest or the East Coast and talk about wild winter weather. It's been…
It's Sunday morning and you know what that means. Fill up your cup of coffee, gather your thoughts, and do what's right for Spokane. Yep, that's right. It's time for another installment of "Contact Your Representatives." This time the Spokane County Commissioners need to hear…
"Men anpil, chay pa lou" - a Haitian proverb which translates as "Many hands lighten the load." Today's quote has little environmental meaning as our Friday Quotes tend to. Though it has universal meaning that can be applied to an array of situations. And obviously…
Some of you may be saying, "oh great, another list from 2009...". And that's what we thought when it was sent our way too - but there's a lot of interesting information to look at here. Especially given the contentious way the climate change debate…
This is a bit late notice but if you’re in Coeur d’Alene today and you care about regional environmental issues, the Kootenai Environmental Alliance will host Mike Chappell at the Iron Horse Restaurant from noon to 1:15pm. Chappell is the Director of the Environmental Law…
Sometimes we receive an unexpected email from a reader that really inspires us. Colin Heilbut, one of the founders of Charlie’s FreeWheels, a charity in Regent Park, Toronto, teaches at risk youth how to put together a bicycle over the course of a two-month after-school…
It’s not often we get to say this but there’s good news concerning the Blackwell Island controversy: As part of the Marine Yacht Club expansion, which involves dredging the lake bottom, a revised plan will move contaminated sediments from a floodplain where Lake Coeur d’Alene…
*Disclaimer, we apologize for having to link to the video of Jay Leno below. We're with Coco.Rocking on Electric Avenue at the Detroit Auto Show a few weeks back, Spokane's very own Tango electric car - a "chick magnet" according to inventor Rick Woodbury -…
We have a complicated relationship with Stephen Colbert. He is funny. Very funny. His act properly skewers the hysteria and outrage of today’s ratings motivated TV pundits, left (Olbermann, Maher) and right (O’Reilly, Beck). But it’s also a sad state of media affairs when a…
DTE’s commitment to the Spokane River, tinged with hope and frustration over the last two years since we launched, has become total. And this is a can’t miss event for those who share that commitment. On March 22-23, the annual Spokane River conference will be…
Do you check out our "Daily Tips" each day? Did you know you could sign up to receive them as an RSS feed? And for all you bloggers out there, did you know that you could add our daily tip widget to your blog or…
We linked to this video yesterday in our Another Green Monday intro, but because it's so important and also so relevant, we decided it needed to stand alone. Weeks before the 7.0 earthquake devastated Haiti, two New York Times reporters chartered a plane and flew…
There's a lot going on this time of year - we were just talking about how last year it seemed like people really hunkered down in the winter and not much happened. But maybe that's because we were buried. Either way, there's a lot happening…
Like many of you the last week, we've been following and deeply saddened by the devastating news in Haiti. Such a tragic event to a people and a nation seemingly prone to misfortune. But it didn't have to be that bad. Sure, an earthquake of…