Locus Focus

The Cully neighborhood in NE Portland is one of Portland’s most racially

diverse neighborhoods, with many children and families, and it’s a haven

for urban farmers. But it is also home for some of Portland’s most

polluting industries. Recently the Owens-Brockway glass recyc...

This program originally aired on September 20, 2021

Pollution, overconsumption, resource depletion, habitat destruction,

overpopulation have all led to our current climate crisis. And power is at

the core of the problems confronting humanity. How have human beings—one

s...

In the wake of 2020’s wildfires, the Willamette and the Umpqua National

Forests have proposed hundreds of miles of 200 foot-wide linear clearcuts

throughout the forest in the name of “hazard tree removal.” These

projects would damage habitat for listed species, impair water...

Over the summer, the Mt. Hood National Forest Service

proposed cutting trees along over 200 miles of

roads within the 2020 Riverside Fire area. Bark, a community

organization who has trained hundreds of volunteers about the basics of

forest policy and saved tens of thousan...

The Hanford Reservation is one of the most polluted places in the world. For

over 40 years, the United States produced plutonium there for nuclear

weapons, and released hundreds of billions of gallons of liquid chemical and

radioactive waste into the soil and groundwater. N...

When we think of spectacular landscapes we usually envision mountain ranges,

lush rainforests or the Oregon Coast. But few people recognize the ecological

splendor of swamplands – also known as peatlands. While they are just as

globally significant as rain forests for their...

Science has been under attack in a big way for the past few years. But while

most of us are focusing on right wing attacks on mainstream science such as

climate chaos and Covid vaccines, there is a longer history of scientists who

are persecuted for challenging mainstream p...

Northwest Natural Gas and other fracked gas utilities are spending massive

amounts of money on a campaign to promote so-called natural gas as a

sustainable and carbon-free fuel for the future. But a recent report,

“Methane Gas: Health, Safety, and Decarbonization,” tells a ...

Pollution, overconsumption, resource depletion, habitat destruction,

overpopulation have all led to our current climate crisis. And power is at

the core of the problems confronting humanity. How have human beings—one

species among millions—become powerful enough to threaten...

On August 27 the City of Portland put the brakes on Zenith

Energy's oil-by-rail storage and transfer facility in NW Portland

by denying a Land Use Compatibility Statement (LUCS) for the facility.

After relentless pressure from Portland residents, community organizations,

a...