March 19, 2002

Environmental Watch: Report: Seattle is NW sprawl champ

SEATTLE -- A new study says that of the three major Northwest cities, the Seattle region performed the worst in handling growth.

Prepared by non-profit group Northwest Environment Watch, "This Place on Earth 2002" uses census data and satellite imagery to measure a decade's worth of change in the Northwest. They conclude that 60 percent of Seattle's growth took the form of car-dependant, low-density sprawl, compared to 50 percent in the Portland region and 20 percent in Vancouver, B.C. The report says the Seattle area lost about 10 acres a day to development, versus eight per day in Portland and four per day in Vancouver.

The report also looks at environmental and social factors and their trends over the past decade. For more information go to northwestwatch.org.

Recycled roads workshop

SEATTLE -- King County is sponsoring a workshop on how to incorporate recycled materials into road-building projects this week.

The workshop, "Building Roads with Recycled Materials," will feature a number of national experts on recycled materials and their road-building applications. Also a tour of Renton Concrete Recyclers will be offered.

The half-day program is set for Thursday, March 21, beginning at 9 a.m. at the King Street Center, 201 S. Jackson St., in Seattle. The tour is scheduled for 2 p.m.

To register call (206) 281-9021. The program is sponsored by the county's Environmental Purchasing Program and LinkUp, a marketing effort for manufacturers of products from recycled sources.

Calif. MTBE ban pushed back

REDONDO BEACH, Calif. (AP) -- California has pushed back a deadline to phase out a fuel additive that pollutes groundwater, saying the state risked gas shortages and prices hikes if the deadline wasn't extended.

The ban on MTBE was set to go into effect on Dec. 31, 2002; Gov. Gray Davis extended it to Jan. 1, 2004. The governor said the strain of shifting to other clean-fuel additives, like ethanol, would have resulted in supply problems.

MTBE, or methyl tertiary butyl ether, is added to gasoline as an oxygenate to make it burn cleaner. Its use has allowed states to meet a federal requirement that gasoline contain a 2 percent oxygen additive to cut down on air pollution, but MTBE also been found to pollute groundwater.

Davis said that under the Clean Air Act, California would require 900 million gallons of ethanol per year to make the transition away from MTBE. But, he said, only about seven companies nationwide produce ethanol, raising fears California refineries and consumers could be gouged by a relatively small supply of the sugar cane- or corn-derived additive.

At least 13 states, including California, have either already banned or plan to ban the additive, but those efforts have been hindered because of a federal requirement that gasoline contain an oxygenate like MTBE.

Oregon Capitol going solar

SALEM (AP) -- Despite its reputation for rain and clouds, Oregon goes solar next month with three rows of solar panels on the roof of the Capitol's west wing.

The panels will generate an average of 7.8 kilowatts, enough electricity to power four floodlights on the 23-foot-tall Golden Pioneer statue atop the building. Energy generated in excess of what's needed to illuminate the statue will be sent to the power grid.

A photovoltaic system in Salem can generate about 61 percent as much energy as a similar system in Phoenix, according to the University of Oregon Solar Radiation Monitoring Laboratory. Proponents say that's enough to make solar a viable energy source for all of Oregon.

Oregon was one of the first states to offer tax credits for businesses and homeowners who invest in photovoltaic systems. Since 1978, more than 200 households and businesses have taken advantage of the credits.

Officials at the Oregon Office of Energy estimate the real number of systems in place is closer to 500 because not everyone applies for a credit. A database started 10 years ago by the Ashland-based "Home Power" magazine indicates 373 Oregon homes have photovoltaic installations.

The idea to have a partially solar Capitol didn't occur to Oregon officials until last summer, when the four 250-watt lights illuminating the Golden Pioneer were shut off to conserve energy. That's when a worker inside the Office of Energy asked why solar panels couldn't keep the Pioneer shining.

Hatcheries may feel budget ax

SALEM (AP) -- Five Oregon hatcheries that supply salmon and steelhead for anglers on 10 coastal rivers could be closed as a result of $81 million in budget cuts issued by Gov. John Kitzhaber.

Three coastal hatcheries -- Salmon River near Otis, Cedar Creek near Hebo and Trask River east of Tillamook -- will be eliminated to reduce spending by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife by $2.1 million.

Two volunteer-operated hatcheries, Whiskey Creek on Netarts Bay and Rhoades Pond east of Hebo, would also be closed under the unilateral cuts.

The agency also plans to shave $112,000 from a program that installs and cleans fish screens that keep juvenile salmon and steelhead from entering irrigation canals in Jackson and Josephine counties.

As a result, fewer screens will be installed and landowners will be asked to maintain existing screens themselves, said John Thieves, an ODFW biologist.

The hatcheries are scheduled to close July 1.

The cuts would essentially eliminate the only source of salmon and steelhead that Oregon anglers are permitted to keep. By law, wild salmon and steelhead must be released unharmed if caught.

The hatcheries are scheduled to close July 1.

The cuts would essentially eliminate the only source of salmon and steelhead that Oregon anglers are permitted to keep. By law, wild salmon and steelhead must be released unharmed if caught.

Study: Greenhouse gases damage B.C. forests

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- British Columbia's climate has already been altered by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions in ways that affect forests and fisheries, says a provincial government report that outlines evidence of the changes.

A massive infestation of mountain pine beetles in northern British Columbia -- a problem scientists blame on unusually warm winters, is one indicator of the changing climate, the report said.

Others include the warming of the Fraser River, which threatens temperature-sensitive fish such as sockeye salmon, and average sea levels that are a fraction of an inch higher along most of the coast than they were in 1909.

In the past 100 years, average temperatures have climbed 0.6 degrees on the coast and 1.7 degrees in northern British Columbia, says the report released Thursday by the provincial Water, Land and Air Protection Ministry.

The report, Indicators of Climate Change, is based on an analysis of historical temperature and precipitation data done by the Canadian Institute for Climate Studies and other university and government researchers.

The provincial report said climate changes are important because they "can affect other physical processes, including the duration of ice on rivers and lakes, the proportion of snow to total precipitation and temperature in fresh water ecosystems.