Oregon’s only municipal waste incinerator may soon be subject to more study and stricter regulations. The 36-year-old burner, located north of Salem in Brooks, previously operated as a partnership between Marion County and New Jersey-based Covanta Holding Corp. In July 2021, Marion County left the partnership. It now pays CovantaContinue Reading
Your browser does not support the audio element. Everywhere they look, Pacific Northwest scientists find teeny-tiny plastic pollution. Broken down particles are in our water, falling out of the air, in salmon, shellfish and in our own bodies. Scientists, environmental advocates and Democratic lawmakers in Olympia and Salem have seenContinue Reading
Volunteer Deborah Woolley of Seattle collects marine trash in an area designated for the trash pickup in Seattle. (Dan DeLong/InvestigateWest) On an overcast Saturday in Seattle, a group of volunteers combs a small section of the beach at Golden Gardens Park for trash. With 5-gallon buckets in hand, they slowly fanContinue Reading
We sent each of the candidates six questions on where their priorities lie when it comes to environmental issues and climate change. PORTLAND, Ore. — With 10 days before ballots are due, we wanted to check with the candidates vying to be Oregon’s next Governor about where they stand onContinue Reading
Last month, Oregon’s Medford Mail Tribune announced it would no longer print and deliver a physical newspaper, and that it was moving all of its content online. Owner Steven Saslow said, “I made a commitment to the Rogue Valley to keep a printed newspaper as long as we could breakContinue Reading
California’s gas vehicle ban doesn’t go into effect until 2035, but left-leaning states like Oregon and Washington are already jumping to join the movement. Specifically, Oregon said it’ll update its Advanced Clean Cars II law proposal to include a gas-powered vehicle ban in 2035. And Washington said it would adoptContinue Reading
Two dozen environmental, farming and public health groups are asking the state to regulate air pollution from large dairies. In an Aug. 17 petition, they asked the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission to create an air-emissions program to measure and regulate air pollution from farms with 700 or more cows. StartingContinue Reading
Public universities traditionally rely on tuition and state funding for revenue, presenting an intrinsic dilemma: as funding drops, tuition increases to make up for the loss. Southern Oregon University (SOU) is moving to replace tradition with entrepreneurship, opting for a business model that cultivates industry partnerships to expand the school’sContinue Reading
As a child growing up in rural Oregon, Vanessa Grant Coats loved the outdoors. Exploring the wild areas of the state with her family — camping, hiking and fishing — are some of her favorite memories and led to dreams of becoming a marine biologist. But as a Black kidContinue Reading
