Blogs & Ecology

In a historic milestone, after years of negotiations with American Rivers and other parties, PacifiCorp has agreed to remove four dams on the Klamath River in California and Oregon. The deal is par...

A new report released by an environmental organization based in Eugene, Oregon called the Oregon Toxics Alliance reveals that children may unknowingly be exposed to toxics such as pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides. So the question is raised, are YOUR children safe from pesticides at schools?

The second part of our Interview with Ian Yolles, head of marketing head at the newly resuscitated Nau, a green outdoor clothing maker, which just re-opened it website. Yesterday, in the first part, we delved deeper in to the business side of matters at the new Nau. For this half our investigation looks more at the product itself.

Last month we kinda roused on END Footwear for making their stripped down eco-focused trail running footwear, and not telling anyone about it. With the launch of their new website last week they’ve cleared that obstacle on the path.

photo: SolarCity

A few months ago fellow TreeHugger John Laumer wrote about a new option in solar power leasing for hownowners, the SolarCity SolarLease program. After visiting their booth at Solar Power International I can report that more residential customers can now avail themselves of SolarCity’s services.

photo: Ricardo Ferreira

So you think you’re doing everything you can to improve your home’s energy efficiency. And if you haven’t done everything you can do personally, both TreeHugger and Planet Green have plenty of tips on how you can get up to speed on saving energy. But the bigger question is how is your state doing as a whole?

Photo courtesy of WKTV

Oregon Wild Sets the Record Straight on Timber Industry

Image from NOAA

End Outdoor (eco-inspired trail running shoes) went off and became END Footwear. Since our extended interview with Ben Finklea of END or Environmentally Neutral Design, the company has undergone a name change as well as launching an online social networking presence, including Twitter, FaceBook, MySpace and You Tube. But it’s early days, so there is not much to see as yet.

photo: Ricardo Wang

I don’t really have much on this one yet from the technological side so perhaps the save the world part is premature, but William Yuan, a 12-year old boy from Beaverton, Oregon, has developed a new 3D solar cell which if it ever gets commercialized could seriously change the face of solar power. Though he was encouraged in his research from his middle school science teacher, this is no mere school science experiment: the Davidson Institute has awarded Yuan a $25,000 scholarship for his research. This is the best description of his work I could find:
...

Image source: Pie Footwear

Can your footwear be socially conscious and fashionable? Yes, according to Pie Footwear (the shoes are not edible), which just opened their doors in Portland, Oregon. JC and Stacey Matney own the store and began with the idea to have a comfortable shoe store, but realized they wanted their store to match their values and went vegan and sustainable instead.

Image source: author

One man. One veggie-oil powered car. Four months. 20,000 miles. Today Joe Connor, freelance sports-writer, leaves San Diego for his 3rd Annual Green Power Sports Tour, kicking off at a pre-season Raiders game in Bakersfield. Loaded down with a trunk, backseat and shotgun full of reserve veggie-oil, Connnor combines his two loves (sports and traveling), with promoting alternative-fuel vehicles.