News

Washington joins two other states in requiring assessment of climate risk

This move will allow regulators to better understand the ways climate change and extreme weather events are impacting insurers and make certain that best practices for dealing with climate change are being shared amongst insurance companies.

Mining Montana coal comes with a high cost

Mining, transporting and burning 1.2 billion tons of Otter Creek coal would increase annual CO2 emissions by about 250 percent every year for 30 years, an increase of around 186 million tons per year.

2012 - Which way will we go?

We view 2012 as fundamentally about drawing the line in the sand about fossil fuels through some very high profile issues: the Keystone XL Pipeline, fossil fuel subsidies, coal exports off the West Coast and hydraulic fracking.

How Bainbridge Island cut peak power consumption 10 MW

The 23,000 citizens of Bainbridge Island in Washington State are showing how a combination of transparent price signals, online social networking and old fashioned community organizing can make a big difference in reducing energy consumption.

Why mileage-based insurance should be a Federal mandate

Mileage-based insurance or Pay-As-You Drive was first explored in 1925. Since then, the issue has been studied and analyzed and reformulated dozens of times. With the advent of technology that would allow real-time mileage monitoring, the issue gained steam among environmentalists, social justice advocates and safety proponents, all of whom found remarkable benefits from PAYD.

Why did the elephant wear a green felt hat?

It’s hardly surprising that the coal industry would want to conceal the nature and immensity of its export schemes. Once folks know what they’re really up to, they’ll have the thankless task of convincing us that we’ll be better off letting our communities become conveyor belts and launching platforms for an epic expansion of global fossil fuel trafficking.

Less coal in our stockings?

The U.S. EPA’s announcement of new standards for mercury is a "really big deal." In the Northwest, coal emissions from China are already the single biggest source of mercury pollution. With increased coal-burning in Asia, that would be a lot more mercury and carbon pollution in our air.　

Top Northwest companies lead in taking climate friendly actions

Northwest leaders Nike, Starbucks and Microsoft were recognized last week as the companies in their sectors that were doing the most to increase sustainability and address climate change.

Energy Efficiency: A core climate solution

Increasing the efficiency of the nation’s buildings is a core climate solution. That’s why we were thrilled this morning to read about the announcement by Presidents Obama and Clinton of a new $4 billion program targeted at energy efficiency upgrades in public and private sector buildings over the next two years.

Reflection and thanks giving

My six-month anniversary at Climate Solutions and as member of the Business Partnership team coincides with Thanksgiving this year. What a great opportunity to stop and look back on all that we have accomplished in our work to build a clean economy future and to give thanks to some of those who have helped us in so many ways .

A local fight against global coal

Coal is a dirty business — the mining, the handling and ultimately the burning. And that is all very much on the minds of people in Bellingham, Wash.

Seattle Mariners swing for the fences on sustainability

Although the Seattle Mariners may be looking to next year on the field, they are leading the league in environmental efforts that reduce waste and pollution and help save real dollars. That makes them a winner in the Climate Solutions playbook.

Northwest pushes to front in sustainable aviation fuels development

The US Department of Agriculture Secretary visited Seattle last week to announce that teams led by Washington State University and the University of Washington had won grants totaling $80 million to develop technologies and feedstocks for advanced biofuels for the transportation sector.

The home run we need: Biocarbon

A clean energy technology revolution is necessary – but it’s not sufficient – to solve the global climate crisis we face. We also need Biocarbon, “the Second Solution”, to scale up the capacity of Earth’s living systems to soak up carbon and successfully reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) in our planet’s atmosphere

Biocarbon solutions: Green Infrastructure

Kick-start the economy, create jobs, use less energy, beautify our cities and pull carbon pollution in the atmosphere back to earth – the best solutions make sense from multiple angles.

Coal export: Pleas of impotence won’t wash

It is easy, tempting, perfectly understandable to believe that anything we can do is just way too small to matter on the scale of global climate change. Easy. Tempting. Understandable. But wrong.

Diversity forum a huge success

Growing Multicultural Business in the Clean Economy - A+ event! Special appearances by Ron Sims and Mayor McGinn highlight a special evening.

Moving Planet: A day to move beyond fossil fuels

September 24. All over the world, all over the Northwest. Moving Planet is a worldwide rally to demand solutions to the climate crisis. Come on bike, on skates, on a board, or just on foot. Find an event in your community.

Shellfish farmers confront silent watershed crises

Ask a shellfish farmer about his plans and he would first consult his tide calendar. Between now and the equinox, Gary Webb of Eagle Rock Shellfish Company, must use any remaining daylight low tide hours to finish up maintenance and work on his nets. As of the first week of October, he will no longer be able to see his tideflats without a head lamp. This he knows for a fact.

Seattle among first to try capturing sewer pipe heat for buildings

Could Seattle’s sewer pipes provide energy for nearby buildings? King County government hopes to find out.