Cascadia today: Closing research stations bad for PNW + WA ponders new housing department & a chemical in car tires kills salmon
Good morning from the Amtrak Cascades train from Bellingham to Olympia! I'm traveling around western Cascadia this week, meeting folks and spreading the word about Cascadia Journal and Cascadia Democratic Action. I love taking the train – it allows me to sit back and work, drink a coffee and enjoy the beautiful scenery the Pacific Northwest offers!
Today, I'm on the CityCast Seattle podcast! I talked with Jane C. Hu and guest Guy Oron about whether Cascadians should participate in the national tax strike to protest Trump's fascism, how massive cuts to the US Forest Service will impact Oregon and Washington and how rights for polyamorous people are increasing in Cascadia. Have a listen!
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Closure of forest service research stations bad for Cascadia
KUOW has more on Trump's destruction of the US Forest Service – in particular, the closure of 50 of its 70 scientific research stations, including those in Portland, Seattle, and Wenatchee. This will be a disaster for Cascadia: those stations do critical research on wildfires and forest health, and with record low snowpack, we'll need more accurate information than ever to deal with wildfires and forests hammered by climate change. One of the experts KUOW spoke to for this piece was Susan Prichard at the University of Washington – who's very knowledgeable about wildfire in our region, and who I talked to several years ago for an article in the Stranger.
WA considers creating a department of housing
Washington State Standard reports that some Washington legislators are pondering the creation of state department of housing. That's a no-brainer, considering that the state needs to build 1.1 million new homes by 2044 and is failing to make progress. Another reform the legislature needs to pass NOW? A change to the state constitution creating a year-round legislative session – as well as paying legislators a living wage. The short sessions make legislation difficult to pass and and low pay motivates mostly small business owners and wealthy people to run for seats in both Oregon and Washington.
OR governor Kotek will veto public meeting bill
Oregon Capital Chronicle reports that Oregon governor Tina Kotek will veto a bill that would have reformed the state's public meetings law – journalist organizations asked for the veto since they believe it would make it more difficult to obtain text and emails of public officials in records requests.
BC researchers find chemical toxic to salmon in car tires
OPB reports on new findings from researchers at the University of British Columbia and other institutions about a chemical found in automobile tires that is extremely toxic to salmon and trout. The chemical, which helps keep tires together longer, is 6PPD and the equivalent of one drop of it in an Olympic swimming pool can kill half the coho salmon in a waterway. Washington department of ecology is working on an action plan, and legislators need to consider banning the chemical as soon as alternatives are found.
Thanks for reading! --Andy
Do you appreciate Cascadia Journal's exclusive reporting on the ways the Pacific Northwest is pushing back against US fascism? If you have the means, please consider a paid subscription of just $5 per month. Each subscription helps me produce original reporting and opinionated notes on Cascadia's fight to build a more resilient and autonomous bioregion. And to those who already subscribe, thank you! --Andrew
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