June 13, 2017: Climate Activists in PNW Fight Construction of World's Largest Methanol Refinery

Climate activists have held the line against Shell's Arctic drilling plans, shut down tar sands valves at refineries, and waged wave after wave of actions against new fossil fuel proposals for coal export terminals and oil-by-rail refineries in the Pacific Northwest. Late last year, Portland moved to the forefront of opposition to coal, oil, and gas exports when its city council voted unanimously to prohibit new fossil fuel infrastructure in the city. But opposing a proposal to build the world's largest gas-to-methanol refinery on the banks of the Columbia River in Washington State may be the most challenging fossil fuel fight that activists have waged to date. Martha Baskin has our story.

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May 17, 2017: Springer, an Orca Success Story

The rescue of an orphaned orca was the first time a baby orca had been returned to its family in the wild. Nicknamed Springer, the orca's rescue from Puget Sound to her family off northern Vancouver Island, became an overnight success story. 15 years later it remains a good news story for a whale species that's endangered in the US and threatened in Canada. Martha Baskin has the story.

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May 4, 2017: Bird Sanctuaries: A Native Answer to an Ecosystem Under Threat

As birds face threats to their survival, creating native landscapes gives them a leg up in a sometimes hostile world. Native plants are those that occur naturally in a region in which they evolved. Without them and the insects that co-evolved with them, local birds can't survive. Martha Baskin brings us this ambient rich story featuring junkos, flickers, yellow throated warblers and rufous hummingbirds.

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April 20, 2017: Immigrant Community Designs "Green Walls" to Clean the Air - the Only Walls They Favor

Hear the phrase "green walls" and you might think the southern border wall proposed by the Trump administration is taking on an eco-friendly theme. But the green walls going up in Seattle's South Park are designed to clean the air and reduce air pollution. And many members of the immigrant community are putting them up themselves. Martha Baskin has our story.

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April 10, 2017: Restoration of Estuaries and Nearshore Waters in Crosshairs of Proposed Federal Budget Cuts to the EPA

Deep cuts to the EPA and restoration funding in Trump's proposed federal budget have those tasked with maintaining water quality and protecting endangered species on high alert. Puget Sound waters near Seattle are no exception. Puget Sound is one of 28 estuaries of national significance designated by the National Estuary Program. In this feature we take a boat tour on the city's nearshore waters with the Puget Soundkeeper, a member of the nationwide “waterkeeper alliance”. Martha Baskin has the story.

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March 21, 2017: Wild Salmon Allies: Tribes and Others Resist FDA's Approval of GE Salmon

Wild salmon, an ecological keystone species in the Northwest, have played a central role in tribal life for generations. The quiet approval of genetically engineered salmon by the Food and Drug Administration doesn't sit well with tribes and fishing communities across the nation, who are rallying behind a lawsuit against the FDA which is making its way through the courts. In the Pacific Northwest, Coast Salish tribes and community allies held a wild-salmon cook out to bring attention to the issue, which they say is about food sovereignty and honoring of treaty rights. Martha Baskin has the story.

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March 7, 2017: Mooo! 284 Acres of Prime Organic Farmland Saved From Development

Organic farm and pasture land is as scarce as hens' teeth in some parts of the country. In Washington state it's no different, which is why a recent purchase of 284 acres of prime organic farmland was cause for celebration. Not just by the land trust that bought it and saved it from conversion into 59 estate homes, but by an organic dairy who's now on the high road to expansion. From the foothills of Mt. Rainier in Pierce County, Washington, Martha Baskin brings us the story.

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