March: Top 10 Sustainable Life reads

Published 12:00 am Friday, April 4, 2014

1. Passive house geeks and gurus converge in Portland

http://www.pamplinmedia.com/sl/213817-72738-passive-house-geeks-and-gurus-converge-in-portland-

The passive house movement promotes super energy-efficient homes and commercial buildings.

2. DEQ issues $30,400 in penalties for oil discharge

http://www.pamplinmedia.com/sl/212869-71598-deq-issues-30400-in-penalties-for-oil-discharge

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality on Feb. 6 fined a Scappoose business owner and a plumber a total $30,400 for polluting a nearby creek.

3. Zen Buddhists clean up Portland’s mess

http://www.pamplinmedia.com/sl/213574-70623-zen-buddhists-clean-up-portlands-mess

Kakumyo Lowe-Charde is a former arborist who has been a Zen monk for 17 years.

4. The making of a climate change activist

http://www.pamplinmedia.com/sl/213640-70680-the-making-of-a-climate-change-activist

Emcee Cylvia Hayes, first lady of Oregon, tells her own story of transformation into a climate activist.

5. Coal export protest planned this weekend at Pioneer Square

http://www.pamplinmedia.com/sl/213176-71810-coal-export-protest-planned-this-weekend-at-pioneer-square-

The Power Past Coal coalition held a people’s hearing on Coal Export on March 8 in downtown Portland.

6. Klamath tribes and ranchers seek water solutions in new agreement

http://www.pamplinmedia.com/sl/213143-71791-klamath-tribes-and-ranchers-seek-water-solutions-in-new-agreement

An agreement announced in March between ranchers and Native American tribes seeks to resolve contentious water rights issues in the Klamath Basin, a drought-ridden region spanning Southern Oregon and Northern California.

7. Oregon wave energy project dropped

http://www.pamplinmedia.com/sl/212767-71471-oregon-wave-energy-project-dropped

The much-anticipated project would have placed a flotilla of 100 energy-producing buoys, each the size of a school bus, in the waves off the coast of Reedsport.

8. ‘Galapagos of North America’ protected

http://www.pamplinmedia.com/sl/213390-72092-galapagos-of-north-america-protected-

A stretch of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail was transferred into public ownership for permanent protection in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument.

9. Are more tourists here going carless?

http://www.pamplinmedia.com/sl/213955-72836-are-more-tourists-here-going-carless

Portland’s tourism boom isn’t leading to a surge in car rentals here, according to a new analysis by BikePortland.

10. State to expand timber holdings in Gilchrist State Forest

http://www.pamplinmedia.com/sl/213139-71790-state-to-expand-timber-holdings-in-gilchrist-state-forest-

The state of Oregon will add 29,000 acres of land to the Gilchrist State Forest south of Bend, after the Oregon Board of Forestry approved the $10 million purchase on March 5.