In light of Thursday's "Coal Hard Truth" forum, I'm going to be posting about coal a lot, so get ready. First, check Sightline's excellent coal export FAQ. As North America’s appetite for coal wanes, coal companies are looking to China and other Asian markets to…
This Thursday evening, you are invited to learn about the impacts of coal exports trains on our community. The Power Past Coal Coalition, a coalition of more than 50 organizations, including the Sierra Club, Climate Solutions, Spokane Riverkeeper and The Lands Council, is sponsoring the…
"Bicycle transportation is good for a lot of things—it’s healthy, it’s green, it’s quiet, it’s fun, it builds community. It also makes financial sense, and the magnitude of bicycling’s economic impact gets far less attention than it deserves. In the Bikenomics series, Elly Blue explores…
Spokane County and its cities and towns are collaborating on a regional review of the Urban Growth Area. The Urban Growth Area is the area designated to accommodate projected urban growth and development for twenty years and was first established in 2001. The regional review…
Sun People Dry Goods Co. is proud to announce the 1st Annual Sustainable Energy Fair on Saturday, October 22, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the shared entryway to Sun People Dry Goods Co. and the Spokane Public Market. “We are excited to bring…
Check out this awesome video that would make young Benjamin proud. Bag It Intro from Suzan Beraza on Vimeo. This is the first three minutes of documentary film BAG IT. This film examines the impact of plastics on the environment, marine animals and…
Here's an event I hope you can walk to tonight: Futurewise presents the Pedestrian Zine, the second in a series of Complete Streets zines. They are celebrating with a launch party tonight at Pacific Pizza in Browne's Addition. Doors open at 5pm. They have lots…
After the big push to restructure water rates the Spokane City Council will go back to the drawing board because of complaints like large anonymous billboards that showed up just before the general election and "non-partisan think tanks" like the Washington Policy Center claiming the…
Wandering around on Wall Street and other protest sites these past few days, you have a sense that we live in a country filled with people in search of a movement. Organic, powerful, urgent, spontaneous, cathartic, honest and fun are words protesters use to describe…
Here's a question for readers:How much fish do you eat out of state waters? The answer is very important and your response to the Department Of Ecology's survey will go a great deal in strengthening water quality standards in our state and for our Spokane…
This film was the 2011 Winner of "Youtube's best nonprofit video award." Deservedly so. Here's the description: Fossil fuels have powered human growth and ingenuity for centuries. Now that we're reaching the end of cheap and abundant oil and coal supplies, we're in for an…
On Wednesday October 12th at the Spokane Regional Health District check out the "Designing Healthy Communities: Uniting the Missions and Perspectives of Public Health and Urban Planning A Conversation" with Richard Jackson, MD, MPH. The forum runs from 11am to 12:30pm at the SRHD, 1101…
The Fifth Annual Dirty Martinis for Clean Water Fundraising Event is on for October 21st. I think I'm safe in assuming you like your martinis dirty and your water clean so, yes, this event is for you. Similar to last year, the party will be…
This the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It has often been referred to as the largest landfill in the world, a floating island, and a trash vortex. The Algalita Marine Research Foundation says the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is most accurately represented as a “plastic soup”…
Mayor Mary Verner and Dana Harbaugh, Design Review Board Chair, announced the 2011 winners of the Mayor’s Urban Design Awards. The program is intended to recognize and thank people who contribute to Spokane’s quality of life and help implement the City’s Comprehensive Plan through good…
There are many reasons to dislike Rahm Emmanuel but as Mayor of Chicago he has been incredible on sustainable food policy, particularly in schools. Erika Allen, head of the Chicago branch of the urban agriculture organization Growing Power, explained the importance of a new urban…
It’s hard to believe, but Bart Mihailovich and I have been doing our weekly KYRS radio show for almost two years. It’s been a wonderful experience, and we look forward to many more years to come! As I’m sure you’ve heard, our Fall On-Air Fund…
Want to help make it easier to go from here to there on foot? The City of Spokane Planning Services Department is working on an update to the City’s Pedestrian Plan and is offering a key opportunity to get involved. Due to a compatibility issue,…
"The Chief Raoni cries when he learns that brazilian president Dilma released the beginning of construction of the hydroelectric plant of Belo Monte, even after tens of thousands of letters and emails addressed to her and which were ignored as the more than 600 000…
Exciting news: Sun People Dry Goods Company, your very own locally-owned retail store specializing in sustainable products for the home and garden, now provides service for proper disposal of hazardous household materials, including compact fluorescent light bulbs, batteries, inkjet cartridges and cell phones. These products…
You can read their policy note HERE. While I don't support Proposition 1, I don't agree with the Washington Policy Center's stance and rhetoric either. In their policy note, on the health care statute in the proposition, their anti-labor stance takes some cheap shots as…
One of the most beloved community events, the 9th Annual Spokane Spokane River Clean-Up is this Saturday, October 1st. We need team leaders and registrants. Last year over 800 people volunteered and the final count was nearly 6 tons of trash collected (11,982 pounds) of…
This article hits home for me. A few months ago, Robert McClure, the environmental correspondent for InvestigativeWest, wrote an excellent two-part series about counties where developers have been able to build many houses outside urban growth areas. One of the worst offenders is Kitsap County,…
The City of Spokane will host an open house on Wednesday, Sept. 28, to gather input from citizens on Phase I of its Pedestrian Plan Update. The open house will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. at the NEWESD 101, 4202 S. Regal St.,…
We had some technicial issues at DTE headquarters overnight but we're back in business today. Check out this beautiful short film, called "Blind," which imagines what would happen if the gas masks that many Japanese bought after Fukushima had ended up being necessary in Tokyo.…
The DTE blog is committed to reporting and sharing environmental news and sustainability information from across the Inland Northwest.
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