G2. Local Greens

Op-ed by: Anne Hedges and Tamara Kennedy, Seattle Times For decades the Northwest has enjoyed affordable, abundant and clean electricity. We enjoy some of the lowest electric rates in the country because of our hydropower resources and now, with vast wind and solar resources at hand, we can meet future challenges, too. Because of rising …

The post New BPA leader must find balance between modernization, conservation appeared first on Montana Environmental Information Center - MEIC.

Last week, a major trunk line ruptured in Los Angeles, sending thousands of gallons of water rushing down the Sunset Strip and into surrounding neighborhoods. Later that same week, two additional pipe failures caused flooding in Venice. In total, five water main breaks were reported within a single week, raising serious concerns about the city’s aging water infrastructure. 

These incidents are the consequences of relying on outdated infrastructure that is more than a century old. In 2019, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) reported that roughly 29% of the city’s pipes were more than 80 years old, approaching their typical 100-year lifespan.

The latest failures also echo the 2014 rupture of a trunk line on Sunset Boulevard, which released millions of gallons of water onto the UCLA campus, flooding multiple buildings and causing millions of dollars in damage. In the aftermath, the Los Angeles Times found that nearly half of the city’s water pipes had received a condition grade of “C” or lower from officials.

It remains unclear how long repairs to the damaged trunk line in West Hollywood will take. Meanwhile, utility and state leaders continue to prioritize costly projects like the Delta Tunnel rather than addressing California’s urgent need to modernize its aging water infrastructure.

These ruptures are a reminder that California must rethink its approach to water resilience. Southern California should embrace the Water Renaissance Plan by investing in sustainable, local water supplies and practical infrastructure upgrades that strengthen reliability and help prevent future disasters, rather than relying on large-scale water diversion projects.

Read more about last week’s water line breaks:

• More water pipes burst in Venice, Hollywood as Sunset Strip repairs enter Day 4. The Los Angeles Times.
• West Hollywood rupture was L.A.’s worst in years: 17 million gallons spilled, Sunset Boulevard closed for days. The Los Angeles Times.
• ‘Significant progress’ made on ruptured Sunset Strip water main. The Los Angeles Times.
• West Hollywood faces long recovery from massive water main break: ‘It was like whitewater rapids’. The Los Angeles Times.   
• 2 separate water pipe issues flood neighborhoods in Venice, damage underground parking structures. ABC 7 Los Angeles.
• Three ruptured water pipes cause flooding in Venice neighborhoods. CBS Los Angeles.
• Street, homes flooded after water pipe ruptures in Venice. KTLA.
• Two Pipe Failures Flood Venice Days After West Hollywood Water Main Rupture. Westside Current.

Standing in Tofino, looking out at the rainforest-covered mountains, you would never know that up the inlets, trouble is brewing…

Floating open-net pen fish farms dot the inlets. These facilities spread pathogens, parasites and poop, and are pushing wild salmon to the brink of extinction.

The crowded open net pen facilities do nothing to contain tiny viral particles or salmon lice. Most farms are infected with PRV, a deadly virus from the Atlantic ocean. Because fish breath through gills, it is dead-easy for a wild salmon migrating past to become infected. Salmon farms are parasite incubators. The lice pass freely through the nets to infest baby wild salmon, which are too young to have developed protective scales. One louse can be a fatal load…

Then there’s the poop and uneaten pellets. These simply drop out the bottom, smothering any creatures living on the ocean floor. One fish farm emits salmon sewage equivalent to a city of 150,000 people! And there are 20 fish farms in the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Region…

On a good note, removing fish farms from the ocean works. Forty percent of salmon farms in BC waters have been removed since 2020, thanks to First Nations on the east coast of Vancouver Island.

And those Nations are being richly rewarded, with abundant returns of wild salmon. This has been going on since 2022, when the first Pink salmon runs not exposed to fish farms returned to their natal streams. And every cycle, they return in greater abundance!

More good news: the Canadian government has banned open-net pen salmon farms from BC waters as of July 1st, 2029. This winter, the Federal Court of Appeal upheld the Minister’s right to use the precautionary principle when making decisions, noting the dire consequences that declining wild salmon stocks could have for First Nations rights, the economy, and the social fabric of British Columbia.

Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations stopped the loggers on Meares Island in 1985. During Clayoquot Summer 1993, nearly a thousand people chose to commit civil disobedience to protect ancestral forests. It paid off—30 years later, local First Nations were able to announce with the BC government that 62% of their territories is protected from industrial logging. Now it’s time to ensure wild salmon will continue to feed these rainforests for years to come!

130 First Nations want salmon farms removed from the ocean—along with 75% of British Columbians. Washington State has banned fish farms. BC is now the only jurisdiction on the west coast of North America allowing fish farms in the ocean.

As someone who loves, visits, or lives on the west coast, you have an opportunity to take a stand for wild salmon. Take action, no matter how small. Refuse to purchase farmed salmon—always ask your server ‘is your salmon wild or farmed?’. Please take a moment to sign our petition, reminding government officials that people like you care about protecting Nature.

Dan Lewis is Executive Director of Clayoquot Action.

The post Backbone of the coast appeared first on Clayoquot Action.

Yesterday, 7/16/26, roughly 100 bike riders gathered for 350PDX’s 5th annual Action Night & Pedalpalooza bike ride!

At Lents Park, folks gathered in community, visited tables of various organizations (Portland Fruit Tree Project, Portland Parks and Rec, CAPA Strategies, Friends of Trees, Thrive East PDX ), and listened to speakers share about Portland’s tree canopy and the various ways Portlanders are working to make it a shady and equitable one.

We then took off on our bikes. Some folks affixed Capa Strategies’ heat watch sensors to their bikes to detect differences in temperature as we rode through neighborhoods with little tree cover and neighborhoods with plenty of shade — inequities that can be traced back to historical redlining and the annexation of Portland neighborhoods during the 1980s.

To learn more and find ways to join us, check out 350PDX’s Shade Equity page which features our new video “What is Shade Equity?”.

The post 2026 Shade Equity Pedalpalooza Ride! appeared first on 350PDX: Climate Justice.

July 17, 2026 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org

What: A Monumental Day of Action by Utahns opposing the illegal reductions on Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments on Monday, July 20. 

When & Where: Five locations throughout Utah:

• Ogden, 5:00-6:00 pm, near Rep. Blake Moore’s office at the SW corner of 25th St and Washington Blvd.
• Salt Lake City, 6:00-7:00 pm at the Governor’s Mansion, 603 E. South Temple St.
• St. George, 6:00-7:00 pm at the offices of Sen. Lee and Rep. Maloy, 111 E. Tabernacle St, Suite 324
• Moab, 6:00-7:00 pm. Meet at the Moab Information Center, 25 E. Center Street
• Provo, 5:00-6:00 pm at the offices of Sen. Curtis and Rep. Kennedy, 3601 N. University Ave, Suite 250

Why: On Monday, July 13, President Trump—flanked by Utah Governor Spencer Cox and the entire federal delegation (Senators Lee and Curtis, Representatives Maloy, Kennedy, Moore, and Owens)—decimated Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears national monuments, cutting them by a combined 3 million acres, or over 90%. Protest attendees are encouraged to bring a sign (some will be provided) and be ready to raise their voices against the Utah politicians who supported Monday’s actions.

We encourage the media to attend and speak with protesters. Have questions about the day of action? Please reach out to Grant Stevens, SUWA Communications Director, grant@suwa.org, 319-427-0260.  Professional photography will be available following the events.

*SUWA advocates strongly for protecting Utah’s wild lands with strategies that meaningfully engage all cultures and abilities. We do so respectfully and firmly. We act within the law. We do not condone violence or destruction of property.

Background information about the illegal reductions:

• Statements from Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante Inter-Tribal coalitions
• SUWA Statement on Trump’s Illegal Reductions of Grand Staircase-Escalante & Bears Ears National Monuments
• Maps of the reductions
• Reporter Background Memo on National Monuments
• Royalty-free assets for media use, please credit creators 
  • Photos of places cut from Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument available here (google album) and here (google drive).
  • Photos of places cut from Bears Ears National Monument available here (google album) and here (google drive).
  • Video b-roll of Bears Ears for media use is available here

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The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is a nonprofit organization with members and supporters from around the country dedicated to protecting America’s redrock wilderness. From offices in Moab, Salt Lake City, and Washington, DC, our team of professionals defends the redrock, organizes support for America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, and stewards a world-renowned landscape. Learn more at www.suwa.org. 

The post Media Advisory: Protests against National Monument reductions to occur across Utah on Monday, July 20  appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

More than 100 Hunter community members rallied as the Independent Planning Commission (IPC) NSW kicked off public hearings on the Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) Continuation Project, the largest coal project ever proposed in New South Wales.

The NSW government has approved its 11th coal project since the 2023 election, ignoring warnings from its independent advisory body that further coal projects are incompatible with a safe climate. 

Residents from the flood-impacted Northern Brisbane suburbs delivered a giant climate damage bill to BHP today, after a community survey showed overwhelming support for major polluters to help pay the costs of climate-fuelled disasters. 

A Hunter Valley community group is calling on the NSW Government to expedite its own draft legislation to impose workforce support obligations on the owners of closing coal mines, as 300 workers at the Ashton mine this week learned they will lose their jobs in the next 18 months.

Queenslanders could be left to pay for mine clean-ups if the Queensland government uses its review of the Financial Provisioning Scheme to weaken safeguards that ensure mines pay for rehabilitation. 

In January Congress passed a “minibus” bill that raided $500 million in previously appropriated coal mine cleanup funds to pay for other federal programs. We’re now seeing the first results of that bill: $45.5 million less in mine cleanup funding every year for the next 11 years. Combined with growing inflation, this means fewer jobs will be supported cleaning up mines and more hazardous coal mining damage won’t be reclaimed in Appalachia and across the country.

When it passed in 2021, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provided about $10.9 billion for the reclamation of Abandoned Mine Land (AML) sites across the country in fifteen annual grants to states and tribes. The first four years’ worth of grants were awarded between 2022-2025. The minibus bill cuts $500 million from the total AML funding provided under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – but it was unclear at the time of passage if the $500 million would be cut entirely from the last (fifteenth) year of AML grants or equally across the remaining 11 years worth of annual funding. Now we have our answer.

The 2026 AML grants for states and tribes were announced in May and the cuts are here. According to the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, the $500 million cut “will be applied equally to the remaining 11 grant distribution years, approximately $45.45 million per year.” The figure below shows the annual reduction in funds for each state and tribe, as well as the total cuts that will play out over the next 11 years. Pennsylvania and West Virginia have the largest cuts (by absolute value), at about $15 million and $9 million per year, respectively.

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The cuts are reducing the amount of damage states and tribes can reclaim. Inflation – especially recent rises in fuel costs that can drive up the cost of operating construction equipment – is also lowering the spending power of reclamation dollars even from last year, further reducing the amount of reclamation states and tribes can accomplish in 2026.

States and tribes have a five-year window to spend their FY2026 AML grant, and those agencies will now begin planning for fewer dollars by taking steps like selecting fewer reclamation projects or reducing the scope of projects. In Pennsylvania, for example, the cuts are equivalent to the cost of two large abandoned mine drainage treatment systems.

As we explained in a previous post, the extent of AML damage that needs to be cleaned up is likely twice as large as the existing $10.9 billion in funding– even before $500 million was cut.

This is damage to land and water that has lingered since at least the 1970s, and now residents will have to wait even longer for cleanup. If this cut hadn’t occurred, $45 million per year in more mine cleanup would be put to use across the country in the next few years, removing hazards to the local population and supporting more jobs, such as in construction, doing reclamation work primarily in rural areas. Congress should reverse the $500 million reduction, and should protect the program from similar cuts in the future.

The post Breaking down how much Congress cut AML funds by state appeared first on Ohio River Valley Institute.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 4, 2026

Statement on ACT NOW Clean Tech Initiative

ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — On June 4, Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato signed the Advancing Clean Technology for Neighborhood and Next-Generation Opportunity and Workforce (ACT NOW) Executive Order. In response, Ohio River Valley Institute Industrial Decarbonization Program Manager Justine Hackimer issued the following statement:

Clean technology and advanced manufacturing present a generational opportunity to strengthen Allegheny County’s economy, create high-quality jobs, and build on our region’s long history of industrial innovation. 

For generations, southwestern Pennsylvania’s workers, manufacturers, and research institutions helped power economic growth across the country. As global markets increasingly demand cleaner technologies, our region is well-positioned to compete for the industries that will shape the next generation of manufacturing. 

But realizing that opportunity requires more than individual projects. It takes coordination and smart policy like ACT NOW to ensure workers and local communities directly benefit from investments. We applaud County Executive Sara Innamorato’s leadership in shaping a clean tech future that works for all Pennsylvanians.

By investing in the industries of tomorrow while strengthening the systems that support workers and communities, the region can build a more diverse, resilient economy that creates opportunities for generations to come.

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The post Statement on ACT NOW Clean Tech Initiative appeared first on Ohio River Valley Institute.

This factsheet shows that Ontario can easily accommodate enough solar and wind installations to meet the projected provincial demand for electricity in 2050.  These options will be lower cost and faster to deploy than new nuclear. Read the factsheet

The post Does Ontario Need New Nuclear to Keep its Lights on in 2050? appeared first on Ontario Clean Air Alliance.

Backbone Intern Giacomo Moody's Story Map for We the People is now LIVE!.

The Story Map traces the journey of this Iconic image, from its 2007 debut at Seattle Center to its current deployments in pro-democracy protests around the country. Check out Giacomo's great work and the amazing fruits of our collective labors.

Learn more about joining us in DC or pitching in to support our team going to Washington, DC to mark the 250th Birthday of this country. We'll once again take the streets in a defiant and beautiful expression of common cause and our shared commitment to fulfilling mission of creating a more just, sustainable, and democratic nation, and a future we can be proud to hand our children.

Check out the We the People Story Map at BackboneCampaign.org/WeThePeople.

We the People featured at NW Folklife Festival this weekend!

Two copies will be at Seattle Center this weekend at the NW Folklife Festival, one at the Mural Amphitheater Stage, near the Space Needle and another in the International Fountain Pavilion, with pens for signing. Use this chance to add your signature in time for it to be taken to DC this July 4th!

Over the last 19 years, Backbone's giant We the People banner has served as an icon of people power and our aspirations to fulfill the shared mission of creating a more perfect union. Adding two more Preamble sections has allowed it to appear in even more cities in the past year, collecting signatures and grabbing the attention of the press and public as a symbol of resistance and resilience.

RFK JR Lies Us Americans Die.

This factsheet looks at how much land would be required for solar systems that could meet all of Ontario's electricity needs.  It finds that 4/10ths of one percent of Ontario's landbase would be enough area to meet all of Ontario's current electricity demand.  Ontario covers a massive land area bigger than many countries.  It has

The post Ontario solar generation land requirements appeared first on Ontario Clean Air Alliance.

Boycott The Bezos Met Gala at the crown of the Chrysler Building, Boycott The Bezos Met Gala with Laughing Bezos Image.

Who Murdered Renee & Alex, Trump Did That!, & Impeach Convict Remove,Trump'sCorruptionBetraysUsAll,& More Science Less Fiction.