The Deepwater Horizon explosion killed 11 eleven workers. And when you cause people to die, you get charged with manslaughter. Right? Not so much with corporations. Here we go again: Yes, they're legally considered people with all of the benefits and none of the problems…
Linda Woordrow, author of the Permaculture Home Garden, said permaculture “is about saving the planet and living to be a hundred, while throwing very impressive dinner parties and organizing other creatures to do most of the work.” Perhaps a new concept to many folks in…
On April 19th at 7:00pm, the Inland Northwest Land Trust will present "The Vanishing Of The Bees" at the Magic Lantern. Prepare to get stung by the truth of this fascinating film when you find out why bees are disappearing all over the planet. Vanishing…
Remember: Essays for Earth Day Spokane and Down To Earth are due Wednesday at 5pm. To help commemorate Earth Day 2011, DowntoEarthNW.com is inviting writers and thinkers to put pencils to paper and share what Earth Day means to them in today’s world. This will…
It's time to party: HB1489 Green Lawns, Clean Water, the phosphorous fertilizer bill passed the Senate today, 32-16. Having passed the House last month it will now be forwarded onto the Governor for signature. First, from 3rd District Rep. Andy Billig, who sponsored the bill:…
The sun is shining and it's time to get that bike out. But are you afraid to begin bike commuting in the City Of Spokane? Are you intrigued by the idea of riding your bike to work to run local errands? Not sure what to…
This is the amazing story of Natalia Manzurova. She was a 35-year-old engineer at a nuclear plant in Ozersk, Russia, in April 1986 when she and 13 other scientists were told to report to Chernobyl only four days after a reactor caught fire. Manzurova and…
Did you know World Water Day is today? Annually held on March 22nd, the theme this year is water and urbanization, so in obersvance The Waterkeeper Alliance has set up a Fickr photo sharing group that focuses exclusively on the subject of water and cities.…
Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million individuals and more than 2,000 businesses turned their lights off for one hour to take a stand against climate change. Only a year later and Earth Hour had become a global sustainability movement with…
Exciting news from Kirsten Mabry at Full Circle, a fast-growing Pacific Northwest company and national leader of the good food movement: They are in Spokane! Exciting news indeed. They provide healthy and organically grown food -- including growing more than 200 varieties of certified organic,…
It’s hard to believe that Bart Mihailovich and I have been doing our weekly environmental news and perspectives show on KYRS – Thin Air Community Radio for over a year now. It’s been a wonderful experience and we look forward to continuing our commitment to…
It's a sad state of affairs when members on both sides of the aisle in Congress seem to think it is a good idea to attack the Clean Air Act -- the landmark law that Richard Nixon signed and George H. W. Bush strengthened. Yet…
Spring is on its way, right? You know what that means? Time to hit up your farmers market and enjoy art walks! As you know, the South Perry Farmer’s Market has been going strong through the winter at the gym next to the Spokane Buddhist…
Yesterday's Tuesday Video looked back at Chernobyl with a rare glimpse into the dangers of radiation- but now we're finding more factors which will fortunately prevent Fukushima from reaching those levels. According to the Guardian: A concern for the people not just of Japan but…
Thanks to the forces that be for protecting us from this information. A document obtained via a U.S. embassy cable by Wikileaks quoted an unnamed expert who expressed concern that guidance on how to protect nuclear power stations from earthquakes had only been updated three…
The explosion at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was elevated to a "serious accident" on a level just below Chernobyl. The International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale -- or INES -- goes from Level 1, which indicates very little danger to the general population. "It's…
Exciting news from the Spokane Riverkeeper: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., an international leader in the cause for clean and healthy waterways, will be in Sandpoint and Spokane on May 18th & 19th, respectively, to help champion the cause of cleaning up and protecting two of…
How did a season go by without news of Mt. Spokane? Sheesh. First, a disclaimer: I love Mt. Spokane and it was one of our featured "Seven Wonders." But a while back, it received the fifth worst environmental scorecard rating for a ski resort in…
New message from our esteemed Riverkeeper, Bart Mihailovich, on the action in Olympia: Yes, it really is this simple. Great news! Last week the Washington State House of Representatives passed the Clean Fertilizers, Healthier Lakes and Rivers bill, HB 1489, by a vote of 58-39.…
If we let it. Elly Blue has a series on Grist about bikes and the economy. (If this infographic isn't coming in clear, check it out here. In her latest column, she writes, "the bicycle economy, unlike its fancier cousin transit-oriented development, is not about…
The oil keeps rolling in with the tide and the aftermath of BP's spill continues while lawmakers ignore the scarred Gulf. Rosina Phillipe of the Atakapa tribe said, "There are tremendous amounts of fish kills in some places, there are porpoises still dying being washed…
Chrys Ostrander, the manager at p.e.a.c.h. Community Farm at Pine Meadow, sent an update on an exciting new food ordinance in Sedgwick, Maine. They have become the first town in the nation, to exempt direct farm sales of food, fresh and processed, and foods made…
Protecting Washington’s natural resources now and into the future is the aim behind a trio of bills that cleared the House this week. These bills help reduce pollution in our waterways and place our state ahead of the curve in oil spill response planning. -HB…
This just in from Kristina Dumas at Environment Washington, regarding the attacks on Clean Air Act updates that would allow unlimited carbon dioxide pollution, increase health risks - Including asthma - for thousands of Washington children and adults: More 66,850 Washington residents in and around…
Good news out of Olympia: The two Complete Streets bills are moving along nicely. State Rep. Jim Moeller’s (D-49, Vancouver) “complete streets” bill, which gives cities incentives to pass ordinances that make city planners consider the needs of pedestrians and bikers when building new streets,…