EcoNews Report

This week, Gang Green sits down with Caltrans’ Jeff Pimentel to discuss Caltrans’ work to improve Broadway for all road users (and not just motorists). Through fixing sidewalks, adding pedestrian crossings, and other changes to the road, we can influence individuals to make safer decisions. 

Caltrans’ work on Broadway is also a reflection of larger cultural changes within the agency. Once almost solely focused on traffic speed, the agency has made great progress towards broadening its horizons to prioritize traffic safety and incorporate the interests of non-car road users. Progress!

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Gary Hughes of Biofuelwatch joins the show to talk about the creative accounting of “net zero” carbon emissions. Can we “offset” emissions or is this sending us down the wrong path? Gary discusses Biofuelwatch’s new report, Carbon Capture or Captured Futures?, which examines the politics and influence of the fossil fuel industry in shaping California’s climate policy.

REQUIRED READING:

Carbon Capture or Captured Futures

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On this week’s edition of the Econews Report, Friends of the Eel River discuss developments in the thrilling drama of Eel River dam removal. It’s a story of injustice and opportunity— a 100-year-old water diversion that takes from one watershed to give to another, and the chance to correct the harms by returning salmon and steelhead to excellent cold-water habitat locked behind the dams. 

Starring characters like the charismatic Northern California summer steelhead, the most athletic and endangered fish in the watershed; Congressman Huffman, who is working diligently to arrive at a win-win solution; and countless stakeholders all taking part in a process which will see the Eel River become the longest free-flowing river in the state.

Be a part of the story at eelriver.org. Take action here: https://bit.ly/FERC-action

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Congressman Jared Huffman joins Gang Green for a fun conversation about his legislative priorities for 2022, the prospect of the Build Back Better agenda and voting rights legislation currently stalled in the Senate, and his thoughts on California’s legislative redistricting.

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This episode first aired in October 2019.

A new study in the journal Science documents the staggering loss of bird populations in North America — a decline of approximately three billion birds in total over the past 50 years. Local ornithologist Ken Burton says that Humboldt County is not immune to this trend. Using available data, Burton has determined that of the most commonly reported species in Northwest California, 69 percent of birds were reported less frequently. On the show, Burton digs into the data with the Green Gang to figure out the causes. 

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Naturalist and best-selling nature writer Gary Ferguson joins the show to talk about how nature can teach us important lessons to make us better humans. From the interconnectedness of mycorrhizae bounding trees together from how a wolf pack moves through Yellowstone, the natural world is a countless source of wonder and inspiration that can help us overcome our climate blues.

For more about Gary’s work and philosophy, check out his new project, Full Ecology. 

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Join Gang Green for a review of the highlights and lowlights of 2021.

Friends of the Eel River organized a motley crew of enviros, organized labor, religious leaders and others in a coalition to fight against the threat of a coal export facility and train line.

Humboldt Baykeeper continued to keep the community safe by tracking mercury in commonly consumed fish. 

EPIC maintained the decade-long fight over the Richardson Grove Project, an attempt by Caltrans to realign portions of Highway 101 through Richardson Grove State Park, which would require cutting into the root system of nearby ancient redwoods trees.

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Urban planning nerds rejoice! Here is an episode for you.

Humboldt is seeming a bit more crowded as of late. Whether it is climate refugees burned out of their homes or folks freed to move to the redwoods because of lax telework options, Humboldt’s housing market has been white hot. If people are coming, how do we ensure that we have enough housing for those who are looking to join our community (and how we do have enough having for those of us who want to stick around)?

As part of Arcata’s strategic infill development planning, the city is giving a hard look at the future of the “Gateway Area” — that area of already-developed land west of K Street. City planner Delores Freitas joins Gang Green to talk about the city’s planning process and how citizens can participate in long-term planning.

Want to let the city hear your thoughts? Take the community vision survey here.

Keen to learn more about long-range planning for the Gateway Area? Clear here.

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One of the first nuclear power plants in the US was built on a bluff overlooking the Humboldt Bay entrance and the town of King Salmon. Shut down in 1976 and recently decommissioned, the site - located 115 feet away from the bay, on a bluff 44 feet above sea level - continues to serve as storage for 37 tons of spent fuel and other radioactive waste. The underground casks are relatively safe for the next 50 years, but rising sea level and ongoing bluff erosion raise questions about long-term safety in the absence of a federal repository. 

Our guests this week are Michael Welch, an activist who has watchdogged the nuclear plant since it was still operating, and Professor Jennifer Marlow of Humboldt State University, who is working to facilitate inclusive community conversations about the future of the nuclear waste site. 

Required Reading:

• 44 Feet: Sea-Level Rise Risk to a Spent Nuclear Fuel Site on Humboldt Bay
• PG&E completes decommissioning process, ends nuclear facility license - Isabella Vanderheiden, Eureka Times-Standard, Oct. 30, 2021
• Dancing on the Hum Nuke's Grave is Strictly Prohibited - J.A. Savage, North Coast Journal, Nov. 4, 2021
• The Atomic Priesthood, Giant Rutabagas and What's Next for Humboldt's Decommissioned Nuke Plant - J.A. Savage, North Coast Journal, Dec. 16, 2021
• Crucial Antarctic Glacier Likely to Collapse Much Earlier than Expected - Lily Roberts, Columbia Climate School, Dec. 17, 2021

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In this encore episode from 2019, poet Jerry Martien joins the Green Gang in the studio to read poetry inspired by the natural landscapes of Humboldt County. If you have never heard Jerry read his poetry before, you are in for a treat, as Jerry’s sonorous voice and crisp lyrical poetry inspires and soothes the soul.

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