Environment
Environment
![File photo. A sign at the property of Eric and Mari Perez in Qunicy, Washington, where houses are surrounded by apple orchards. Some people don't want the pesticide chlorpyrifos drifting from orchards to their property. CREDIT: Megan Farmer/KUOW](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Please-do-not-spray-pesticide-Quincy-CREDIT-Megan-Farmer-KUOW-500x500.jpg)
Washington Lawmakers Stop Short Of Banning Pesticide Linked To Neurological Problems
Washington regulators must soon consider rules to limit the use of a controversial pesticide that can cause neurological and health problems, especially in young children. A bill passed by state lawmakers this session didn’t outright ban the pesticide, as health and farmworker activists had proposed.
![A subalpine meadow on Mount Rainier in the summer. CREDIT: Elli Theobald/courtesy of the research team](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/MtRainier_summer_Theobald_web-500x500.jpg)
The Mountain Wildflowers Are Out (Earlier): How Climate Change May Affect Tourist Season At Rainier
The wildflower season at Mount Rainier National Park was short in 2015. Some of the lupines stopped flowering and didn’t make seeds like they normally do. The shorter season also meant fewer people saw peak blooms. A new study looks at how winter changes may affect tourist season at Washington’s iconic park.
![People gather on the steps of the Oregon Capitol in Salem for a rally for climate action on Feb. 11, 2020. CREDIT: Kaylee Domzalski/OPB](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Oregon-Capitol-climate-action-rally-Feb-11-2020-CREDIT-Kaylee-domzalski-OPB-500x500.jpg)
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown Promises Executive Action On Climate After GOP Legislative Walkout
For the second year in a row, Democrats’ signature bill for instituting a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions was stymied by a Republican walkout. Now, the focus falls on Gov. Kate Brown.
![Church members at Richland’s Shalom United Church of Christ sing environmental hymns during a service on Feb. 9, 2020, that addressed environmental issues, such as climate change. CREDIT: Courtney Flatt/NWPB](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Religious-Environmental-Bill_Shalom1_030520_CREDIT-CourtneyFlatt-NWPB-1-500x500.jpg)
Climate Stewardship Connects Eastern Washington Faith And Farming To Legislative Action In Olympia
Climate change isn’t a new topic for progressive churches like Shalom United Church of Christ in Richland. But it is perhaps tinged with new urgency. Survey results from the Pew Research Center show that congregations are delving into environmental awareness recently. And so are farmers.
![Pam Frank, CEO of ChargEVC, drives a bright Orange Chevrolet Bolt because she wants others to notice its an electric car. Jeff Brady/NPR](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/photo-feb-14-1-43-37-pm-2a99d1871dea7c3ebd0740e775f1099715e43cc8-500x500.jpg)
States Take The Wheel Promoting Electric Cars. Not Everyone (Especially Oil Companies) Is On Board
There are nearly 1.5 million electric vehicles in the U.S. today. E.V. boosters want more government incentives to increase that. With little federal movement states like New Jersey are taking action.
![File photo. An area burned in the Carlton Complex fire, as seen in 2019, along Highway 20 near Loup Loup Ski Bowl, east of Twisp, Washington. CREDIT: Megan Farmer/KUOW](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/8311e5208930a96db65bf06852f56ef6-500x500.jpg)
Do Thinning And Prescribed Burns Help? New Study Following 2014 Carlton Complex Fire Says Yes
Researchers began their detective work, trying to figure out what happened to these treated areas during the first few extreme days of the Carlton Complex fire. They gathered geospatial maps and satellite images.
![Alaska](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/ap_612199840184_wide-3962d5f590988bc915fd48a0d244266f239925de-500x500.jpg)
Alaska Feels The Brunt As Investors Promise Retreat On Fossil Fuels
JPMorgan Chase is the latest investor to say it won’t finance drilling in Alaska’s Arctic. Some welcome the move, but there’s also concern in a state that depends heavily on oil revenue.
![The Ice Harbor Dam on the Snake River. CREDIT: BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/image-dam-1-500x500.jpg)
Draft Federal Plan Recommends Keeping Lower Snake River Dams In Place
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation and Bonneville Power Administration laid out a range of six alternatives in a draft environmental impact statement. The most controversial measure would have been to remove or alter the four Lower Snake River dams.
![Craig Jasmer co-founded the Lewis County Water Alliance to fight a proposed water bottling plant near Randle, Washington. CREDIT: Tom Banse/N3](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Craig-Jasmer-Lewis-County-Water-Alliance-CREDIT-Tom-Banse-N3-500x500.jpg)
Lewis County Pushback Leads Washington Lawmakers To Consider Bottling Plant Restrictions
Uproar in Lewis County has pushed the Washington Legislature to the verge of closing the tap for water permits for new water bottling plants statewide. Business groups are mounting an 11th-hour push to stop what they consider to be an overreaction in Olympia that they say could cost jobs and unfairly tarnishes a healthy product.
From Allergies To Declining Business, Warming Winters Affect Everyday Life
For many parts of the United States this winter has been one of the warmest on record. People around the country are feeling the effects of it.
![Google Maps - Oregon Tugboat diesel spill in Columbia River - Twitter image](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Tugboat-Diesel-Spill-Columbia-River-CREDIT-ORegon-DEQ-Google-Maps-500x480.png)
Tugboat Carrying Diesel Fuel Sinks In Columbia River Near Umatilla Above McNary Dam
Crews from multiple state agencies responded Monday to reports of a 38-foot tugboat that has sunken in the Columbia River. According to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the tugboat reportedly has 750 gallons of diesel on board.
![Microplastic fibers, like this one from an Oregon river, are less than 5mm and often show up in vivid color under the microscope. CREDIT: TODD SONFLIETH / OPB](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/microplastic-under-microscope-CREDIT-Todd-Sonflieth-OPB-500x500.jpg)
Scientists Gather To Study Risks Of Microplastic Pollution In Northwest Waters
This week, a group of five-dozen microplastics researchers from major universities, government agencies, tribes, aquariums, environmental groups and even water sanitation districts across the U.S. West is gathering in Bremerton, Washington, to tackle the issue.