News & Commentary

Canada’s Climate Plan Has a Logging Industry-Sized Hole

March 29, 2022 Expert BlogCanadaJennifer Skene

Canada’s approach to industrial logging has been one of obfuscation and denial, pushing these emissions off the books.

Scientists Urge Canada to End Primary Forest Logging

March 23, 2022 Expert BlogCanadaJennifer Skene

As Canada prepares to release its plan for achieving its climate targets, scientists from around the world have warned that Canada’s logging practices are incompatible with climate leadership and global climate goals.

Canada Should Mark Forests Day by Rejecting Logging Giveaway

March 21, 2022 Expert BlogCanada, OntarioCourtenay Lewis

Canada has near-finalized an ill-named “Conservation Agreement” with the province of Ontario, whose current government has attracted international attention for slashing environmental protections while promising to ramp up widespread industrial logging.

The True Cost of Undervaluing Our Forests

March 21, 2022 Expert BlogInternational, United States, CanadaJennifer Skene

As countries begin implementing the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use, success will depend on embracing a truly global framework that looks beyond forests’ utility.

New Report Recognizes Some Risks of Bioenergy, Misses Others

March 8, 2022 Expert BlogInternational, United States, CanadaElly Pepper

The true test of the IPCC’s thoughts on bioenergy will be its report – expected to be released in April – on how the world should cut emissions.

No Need to be Freightened of Electric Trucks

March 4, 2022 Expert BlogUnited States, California, Oregon, Massachusetts, Washington, New JerseyJordan Brinn, Patricio Portillo

We clarify the questions about electric truck availability, cost, and charging infrastructure, as well as concerns such as current supply chain issues.

EPA: It’s Time to Act. We need Clean Trucks Now

March 3, 2022 Expert BlogUnited States, California, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, WashingtonPatricio Portillo, Heather Kryczka

Cutting tailpipe emissions and moving to zero emission vehicles can eliminate the diesel fumes causing childhood asthma, emergency room visits, and loss of life.

Saving Salmon—from One Generation of Fisherwomen to the Next

March 1, 2022 DispatchOregon, Washington, WestNicole Greenfield

Keyen Singer, a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, carries on a maternal legacy of conserving salmon and preserving culture. Their efforts could soon pay off.

Portland Acts on Climate, Equity with Parking Fee

February 23, 2022 Expert BlogPortland (Oregon), OregonElizabeth Stampe, Sarah Elkotbeid

The city has passed a resolution to generate revenue by increasing parking rates to better capture the true cost of driving—to climate and communities—and use the revenue to bring greater equity to the transportation system.

Stopping Pebble Mine: A Test of Our Democracy

February 2, 2022 Expert BlogAlaska, United States, CanadaJoel Reynolds

Isolation grows for Canadian owner of widely condemned Bristol Bay mine, faced with broad-based opposition at all levels and intensifying calls for permanent protection of the region.

Oregon Looks to “Reach” Code for Energy, Carbon Savings

February 1, 2022 Expert BlogOregonRalph Cavanagh

Senate Bill 1518, to be considered during Oregon’s “short” February 2022 legislative session, is a critical pushback against the embedded lowest common denominator aspect of building codes when it comes to energy and climate.

SFI Offers Greenwashing of Unsustainable Logging

January 20, 2022 Expert BlogUnited States, CanadaCourtenay Lewis

As the climate crisis intensifies, scientists stress that conserving never-logged primary forests must be a global priority for protecting carbon stores.

Western Climate Initiative: OR & WA Add Caps to CA's AB32

January 4, 2022 Expert BlogCalifornia, Oregon, Washington, WestRalph Cavanagh

In 2021, fifteen years after California made climate history by becoming the first US state to adopt an economy-wide carbon emissions cap, Oregon and Washington completed a West Coast hat trick by becoming the second and third. Well, almost.

For Thousands of Years, Indigenous Tribes Have Been Planting for the Future

November 30, 2021 DispatchIowa, Canada, Pennsylvania, OklahomaSusan Cosier

With yields of biodiversity and a more climate-resilient food supply, a movement is sprouting in BIPOC communities across North America to save heirloom seeds and preserve culture.

WA & OR Solidify West Coast Vehicle Electrification

November 30, 2021 Expert BlogWashington, OregonPatricio Portillo, Dr. Simon Mui

Adopting the Clean Trucks Program in Oregon and the Advanced Clean Trucks and Zero Emission Vehicle Programs in Washington solidifies the West Coast as one of the world’s biggest markets for electric vehicles.

Glasgow Declaration Requires a Reckoning in Northern Forests

November 3, 2021 Expert BlogInternational, CanadaJennifer Skene

This Declaration rests on top of a broken international policy foundation that continues to paper over the destruction of climate-critical forests in the Global North.

Portland POEM Project Models Equitable Transportation Plans

November 1, 2021 Expert BlogPortland (Oregon), OregonElizabeth Stampe

As Americans readjust to life as our communities reopen, we’re unfortunately also seeing more traffic and tailpipe pollution. But Portland, Oregon, is looking to chart a different path forward.

Canada’s Accounting Artifice Masks Logging’s Climate Toll

October 28, 2021 Expert BlogCanadaJennifer Skene

A new report from NRDC, Nature Canada, Environmental Defence Canada, and Nature Québec illustrates that, through a series of accounting and regulatory loopholes, the Government of Canada has drawn a curtain over the logging industry’s carbon emissions, allowing the sector…

Orcas Lose a Grandmother, Matriarch L47

October 15, 2021 Expert BlogWashington, OregonGiulia C.S. Good Stefani

This Saturday is Orca Recovery Day and people are coming together for some healing—and to demand action.

Pulp Fiction: New Report Shows P&G Is Spinning Tales

October 7, 2021 Expert BlogUnited States, CanadaCourtenay Lewis

In recent years, P&G has faced mounting criticism over the fact that many of its tissue products are made from virgin forests, which is contributing to the clearcutting of some of the world’s last primary forests, including in the climate-critical…