EcoNews Report

Environmentalists have a reputation for being a bit too doom-and-gloom. But what gives us hope? Jen Kalt of Humboldt Waterkeeper, Alicia Hamann of Friends of the Eel River, Colin Fiske of the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities, and Tom Wheeler of the Environmental Protection Information Center join the show to discuss the things that give them hope. 

Need a dose of hope?

Public Transit Wins Big in Local Elections

California’s Pace of Emissions Cuts Is Accelerating, Report Finds

Eel River Fish Counts

Digawututklh Returned

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What’s the difference between a strike-slip fault and a subduction zone? Can a local 7.0-magnitude earthquake? And what on earth was going on with all that weird footage of Humboldt Bay last week, in the wake of the quake?

Jay Patton, of Cal Poly Humboldt’s geology department, is here to talk us through it all. Check out his blog here.

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The industrial legacy of the 20th Century left many contaminated sites around Humboldt Bay. Our second special episode on communities at risk from sea level rise features local residents talking about several of the most vulnerable sites, including Tuluwat Island, Butcher Slough in Arcata, and the nuclear waste storage site above King Salmon. Many thanks to Hilanea Wilkinson, Adam Canter, Jerry Rohde, Nate Faith, and to Jessie Eden, who produced this episode with funding provided by the California Coastal Commission Whale Tail Grant Program.   

For more info:

• The 44 Feet Project
•  Cal Poly Humboldt Sea Level Rise Institute
• Humboldt Bay Shoreline, North Eureka to South Arcata: A History of Cultural Influences - Jerry Rohde
• Humboldt Bay King Tide Photo Project - Humboldt Waterkeeper

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The Redwood Coast Energy Authority is working to encourage new local generation of renewable energy through their redesigned "Feed-In Tariff" program, which provides about-market pricing and a streamlined contracting process to encourage the development of local renewable energy projects. This means projects like the new solar farm near Hydesville, a project brought forward by renewable energy developer EDP Renewables.

Jocelyn Gwynn of Redwood Coast Energy Authority and Kendra Kallevig of EDP Renewables join the show to discuss the Feed-In Tariff program and how we can help foster the development of local renewable energy projects.

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Join us for episode #1 of our special series on communities at risk from sea level rise featuring local residents who share their thoughts on the challenges and potential solutions facing our region. 

Many thanks to Marnie Atkins, Jerry Rohde, Nate Faith, Troy Nicolini, Adam Canter, and to Jessie Eden, who produced this episode with funding provided by the California Coastal Commission Whale Tail Grant Program.  

For more info: 

• Cal Poly Humboldt Sea Level Rise Institute
• Communities at Risk: King Salmon, Fields Landing, Fairhaven and Finntown - Aldaron Laird
• Humboldt Bay Shoreline, North Eureka to South Arcata: A History of Cultural Influences - Jerry Rohde
• Humboldt Bay King Tide Photo Project - Humboldt Waterkeeper

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Elections have consequences. What does four more years of Trump mean for our environment? (Hint: It's baaaaaaaaaad.) But local elections were a lot better. 

In Eureka: Measure F failed spectacularly, firmly clarifying that Eureka voters want more housing and approve of the city's parking lots-to-apartments plan. The rejection of Measure F also hints that while money matters in politics, it only can get you so far. City Councilmembers Scott Bauer and Kati Moulton were re-elected too, which the EcoNews sees as an endorsement of the direction of the city and a rejection of the Take Back Eureka crowd (again).

In Arcata: Incumbents Stacy Atkins-Salazar, Sarah Schaefer and Alex Stillman appear to have won. (Political newcomer Genevieve Serna may still be within striking distance of Stillman.) What unites these candidates? All four of the top vote getters are firmly pro-housing and were supportive of the Gateway Area Plan. Two of the candidates most critical of Arcata's housing ambitions failed to eclipse 8% of the vote. The EcoNews sees this as an endorsement of the pro-housing direction of the current council. 

Zooming out to the state: Voters appear to have approved Proposition 4, the California climate bond, which will invest $10 billion into fighting the climate crisis. This money may be particularly important given likely disinvestment in climate action from a unified Republican Congress and White House. 

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Should we turn California trees into wood pellets to be burned in foreign power plants? That's the proposal being brought forward by Golden State Natural Resources (GSNR), a nonprofit organization formed by Rural County Representatives of California and Golden State Finance Authority. GSNR has just released their draft environmental impact report for the project, which proposed two wood pellet factories (one in Lassen County and another in Tuolumne) that will draw biomass from roughly a 100 mile radius around the plant. Those factories will turn woody biomass into pellets, which will be shipped by rail to Stockton where the pellets will be loaded onto ocean-going ships to be delivered, likely to foreign power plants where they will be burned for energy. 

What's Humboldt's connection? Humboldt County's own Supervisor Rex Bohn sits on the Board of Directors for GSNR and biomass from Humboldt may end up be turned into wood pellets.

This proposal has drawn concern from environmental groups worried about the greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, and impacts to forest health from the project. Nick Joslin of the Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecology Center and Rita Vaughn Frost of the Natural Resources Defense Council join the show to discuss their concerns with the project.

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People often say that Humboldt County is a climate refuge. But what does that mean? And after Hurricanes Helene and Milton slammed the Southeast—including communities like Asheville, North Carolina, which was also described as a climate refuge—what is still safe in the age of climate-driven megastorms?

Luckily, we have Michael Furniss, local climate nerd, and Troy Nicolini, Meteorologist-In-Charge at US National Weather Service, Eureka, on the show to discuss what is known about how climate change may affect Humboldt County. The good news: We are fortunate to have a very stable climate, even in the face of climate change, and that's not likely to change much. The Pacific is likely to continue to act as our natural air conditioning. The bad news: Warmer temperatures elsewhere are going to increase moisture in the air and energy in storm events, bringing larger and more unpredictable weather. (But nothing like Hurricanes Helene or Milton.)

If we are likely to have desirable weather into the future, what does that mean for future development plans? We will save that for a future episode.

Want to learn more? Check these out!

• Troy Nicolini delivers the Humboldt Bay Symposium Keynote Address: Winds of Change, 2024.
• Is the North Coast a Climate Refuge? Michael Furniss at the Eureka Zoo lecture series, 2019.
• Understanding the 1964 Flood with Michael Furniss. 

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Congressman Huffman is back on the show. With a major election in just a few days, what is the Congressman up to? When he isn't calling voters in swing states—has anyone in Nevada received a call from a "Jared from California"?—he is sponsoring new legislation to protect birds and whales. The Congressman also has new bipartisan fire resiliency legislation that seeks to make our state safer without sacrificing environmental protections along the way. 

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The second national Week Without Driving just wrapped up, which means that many elected officials, planners, engineers, and community members did their best to not get behind the wheel of a car for seven days. This event highlights the fact that there are many non-drivers in our communities - at least 36,000 people in Humboldt County don't have a driver's license - and raises awareness among decision-makers about the need for safe, convenient and dignified mobility options. 

Arcata City Councilmember Sarah Schaefer, Humboldt County Association of Governments Executive Director Beth Burks, and Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities Executive Director Colin Fiske join the EcoNews Report this week to discuss the needs of non-drivers in Humboldt, and to reflect on experiences participating in the Week Without Driving.

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