Hydrogen-powered airliner makes first flight at Moses Lake, offering preview of possible future

By Tom Banse
The Universal Hydrogen flight test crew posed for pictures after a successful first flight of the company's hydrogen-electric Dash 8 airliner on March 2, 2023
The largest aircraft yet to fly on hydrogen-electric power made a successful first flight in Moses Lake, Washington, on Thursday. The maiden flight of a converted turboprop airliner offered a preview of one possible pathway for how to make your future flights more eco-friendly. Hydrogen fuel is one of several options the aviation industry is testing to reduce its carbon Read More

Electric fire trucks are coming to the Pacific Northwest

By Tom Banse
Portland Fire & Rescue would be the second department nationally to take delivery of an electric fire engine built by Pierce Manufacturing. This is the first one in service with the Madison Fire Department in Wisconsin
You probably no longer bat an eye when an electric car passes by on the road. More novel battery-powered vehicles are soon joining the parade to help operators achieve their sustainability goals. Electric ferries are coming to Puget Sound and hybrid electric airplanes are being tested in Washington. Now, several Pacific Northwest fire departments have ordered their first Read More

Captains of big ships eased up on the throttle during trial slowdown to help endangered orcas

By Tom Banse
Many captains of large commercial vessels agreed to slow down in a stretch of northern Puget Sound shipping lanes where endangered orcas are frequently seen in the fall.
The majority of captains of big commercial ships entering and leaving Puget Sound are cooperating with a request to slow down temporarily to reduce underwater noise impacts to the Pacific Northwest's critically endangered killer whales. The duration of the experimental slowdown – modeled on a similar project in British Columbia – will be extended into the new year, Read More

Reducing collisions between ships and whales? There’s apps for that, but they need work

By Tom Banse
A way to prevent large ships from striking and killing whales is to transmit alerts to the officers at the helm when whales are nearby.
Fortunately, it doesn't happen very often in the Pacific Northwest that ships collide with whales. But when it does, it's upsetting, tragic and the whale probably dies. Three separate teams have developed smartphone-based systems that can alert commercial mariners to watch out, slow down or change course when whales have been sighted nearby. A recent ride-along on a big Read More

Explosive Demolition Of Boardman Coal Plant Underscores End Of Coal-Fired Electric Generation In Oregon

By Tom Banse
The towering smokestack at Portland General Electric’s shuttered coal-fired power plant near Boardman has fallen, heralding the end of the era of coal-fired power generation in Oregon, Sept. 15, 2022.
A demolition contractor on Thursday imploded the towering smokestack and 19-story boiler building at Portland General Electric’s shuttered coal-fired power plant near Boardman, bringing a symbolic close to the era of coal-fired power generation in Oregon. Imported electricity generated from coal still flows through transmission wires across the Pacific Northwest, but that Read More

Coastal Washington Tribe Creates Higher Ground By Building Tsunami Tower, First Of Its Type Here

By Tom Banse
The first free-standing tsunami refuge in North America is now open in Tokeland in Pacific County, Washington.
There is a new option to escape a tsunami if you’re on the southwest coast of Washington when the Big One strikes. The Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe on Friday dedicated a 50-foot tall evacuation tower in Tokeland, Washington. Tribal leaders and the Federal Emergency Management Agency said the new tsunami refuge platform should be an example and inspiration for other Read More

World Track Championships Wrap Up With More Golds For USA, Praise For Host City Eugene

By Tom Banse
Oregon native Ryan Crouser won the gold medal in shot put at the 2022 World Track and Field Championships in Eugene.
The first World Outdoor Track and Field Championships held on American soil sprinted to a joyful conclusion Sunday night in Eugene with back-to-back U.S. victories in the 4x400 relays. The full stadium was also treated to a new world record in the women’s 100-meter hurdles by Nigeria's Tobi Asuman and a new world record in men's pole vault by Sweden's Mondo Duplantis. The Read More

Age Is Just A Number For Some Elite Marathoners At World Track & Field Championships In Eugene

By Tom Banse
Portland marathoner Galen Rupp in this file photo runs his way to a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. He's hoping for similar success in Eugene this year.
An elite field featuring most of the world's best marathoners has arrived in Oregon for this year’s World Track and Field Championships. Competitors from 34 countries will race through the streets of Eugene and neighboring Springfield this coming Sunday morning for the men and Monday for the women. Some of the marathoners are trying to outrun both their rivals and Father Read More

By Air And By Bike, Civilian Pilots And Cyclists Rehearse Delivering Aid After ‘The Big One’

By Tom Banse
Private pilots and cyclists will separately take to the air and the streets this month to practice delivering relief supplies after a catastrophic earthquake.
A huge dress rehearsal for regional earthquake disaster relief was supposed to happen next week until the ongoing pandemic forced its cancellation. The scrubbed Cascadia Rising exercise would have involved more than 22,000 participants – chiefly U.S. soldiers, sailors and airmen as well as state, local and tribal emergency planners. Some smaller drills are going ahead this Read More
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