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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Down To Earth archive for Dec. 2008

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 31, 2008

Take a break from shoveling and enjoy

2009 really couldn't come soon enough. If 2008 wasn't an already challenging year, the end (at least here in the Inland Northwest) is making us all look back to fonder times of campaign fighting, financial woes, and political scandals. So while you've been digging yourself…

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TUESDAY, DEC. 30, 2008

Skirting high costs for green homes

There’s an interesting article in the Columbian about what builders are doing to make green homes affordable. “We’re not just throwing economics out of the equation and going full-tilt green,” said Vancouver City Council member and civil engineer Tim Leavitt. On his own home construction,…

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Tuesday Video - the great debate

Of all the Daily Tips we’ve ever done for Down To Earth, one of the ones that gets brought up most is whether or not it is ok to leave a lime wedge in your beer bottle for recycling. We’ve written about it (the answer…

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THURSDAY, DEC. 25, 2008

Best of 2008: What's Next

While we’ve never been ones to play the entitlement card, 2008 had a certain sense of settlement in the air - after all we’ve gone through, the light at the end of the tunnel started to show. And then in November, the American people demonstrated…

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WEDNESDAY, DEC. 24, 2008

Best of 2008: Features

Thank you for joining us in 2008 - it's been a wild ride. No year in retrospect is complete without acknowledging the phenomenal victory of Barack Obama as 44th President of the United States America – for with that victory it sure seems that anything…

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TUESDAY, DEC. 23, 2008

Best of 2008: Videos

Wake Up, Freak Out – then Get a GripImagine the worst case scenario of climate change – this 11-plus minute video from Plane Stupid activist Leo Murray titled, “Wake Up, Freak Out – then Get a Grip will lay it out for you. Packed with…

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MONDAY, DEC. 22, 2008

In late January, Spokane got blasted with a snow storm that reminded everybody how fierce old man winter could be.  Around 17 inches fell in short time and us humans weren't the only ones thrown off our routines.  Local geese, oridarily comfortable resting on the steps by the Opera House or the riverbank by the wagon, sought out alternative snow free spots.  Like here, on the seasonably low edge of the Upper Falls Powerhouse dam on the western edge of Riverfront Park.

Best of 2008: Photos

This is the first entry in DTE's year end roundup. We've decided to change things up a bit from our original plan. On Friday and Saturday we will run our best stories list and what's coming up in 2009, respectively. We started the year with…

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Another Green Monday

Here a few stories to fill the time slot you previously had occupied with watching the bald eagles at Lake Coeur d' Alene, now that they are gone for the season. Take a break from your snow shoveling and enjoy Another Green Monday. A big…

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SUNDAY, DEC. 21, 2008

The Lands Council: "What an amazing year!"

Spokane non-profit the Lands Council, has named their accomplishments for 2008. It’s quite an impressive list. After reading, we realized how important the Land Council is to improving our quality of life in the region, and they especially deserve a big ups for the lead…

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SATURDAY, DEC. 20, 2008

Best of 2008

It’s that time of the year again. The time to look back. Beginning Monday, in addition to daily news, we will highlight another annual list of our collected works throughout the week. From a bizarre food competition to a chat with the Mayor, it’s been…

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FRIDAY, DEC. 19, 2008

Friday Quote

You can't put a price on silence or solitude. You can't quantify the beauty of wilderness. And yet that's not going to stop the Bush administration from trying to sell off what should be the birthright of future generations. - Robert Redford, in an article…

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Excellent Hanford editorial

In “Our View: Time to settle Hanford case, avoid costly trials,” the Spokesman-Review editorial board hits all the right notes, concluding “the legal maneuvering to avoid responsibility has gone on long enough,” in the case of the potential 2, 000 downwinders exposed to radiation from…

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THURSDAY, DEC. 18, 2008


WEDNESDAY, DEC. 17, 2008

"Thanks Eddie"

A wise man once uttered the phrase, “Clark, that’s the gift that keeps on giving the whole year,” and though he was talking about a one-year membership in the jelly of the month club and we’re not Clark – the saying is timeless as is…

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TUESDAY, DEC. 16, 2008

Green Economy Part 1

Welcome to a DTE mini-series on the economy. This isn’t going to be too high-concept, since we’re armchair economists at best, but we firmly believe that a way out of this downturn is in the possibility of clean-energy and green-collar jobs. The following posts will…

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Clean coal - another holiday myth

Ah bah humbug to this "Christmas" carol. Before you write us off as a bunch of scrooges, here us out. We love parodies (if you don't believe check out our impressive Weird Al playlist on the iPod) but something about this really got us annoyed…

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Spokesman-Review story roundup

1954 Hanford photo by Nat Farbman from LIFE/Google archive. Good news for Hanford downwinders’ lawsuit. Be sure to check out Karen Dorne Steele’s feature on the U.S. supreme court rejecting an appeal by Hanford contractors. This recent action raises the hopes of a settlement for…

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MONDAY, DEC. 15, 2008

Another Green Monday 

In vino veritas. “In wine is truth.” Our Latin pretty much stops cold there. But one familiar story that always catches our attention and turns us sideways: The relationship between climate change and wine growth in Washington. Our state is second to California in premium-wine…

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SATURDAY, DEC. 13, 2008

Holiday Green Tip

There is a big part of us that wants to say you should forgo the urge to update your friends and family each holiday season with Christmas (or Festivus) cards and letters because of the unnecessary paper waste that will inevitably end up in landfills…

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FRIDAY, DEC. 12, 2008

Playing With House Money

*Photo credit - rejuvesite on Flickr Is it too much to ask for the county to go above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to researching, educating and selecting what is believed to be the largest public works contract ever signed? We…

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The DTE blog is committed to reporting and sharing environmental news and sustainability information from across the Inland Northwest.



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