Barbara Bernstein

The construction and operation of fossil fuel infrastructure is causing expensive physical and economic damages to land, air, water and frontline communities on an almost daily basis. But if, for example, a major earthquake destroys the tank farms comprising Portland’s Crit... Read more

Boston-based Rye Development wants to build the largest pumped-storage hydroelectric development in the Pacific Northwest and in the process destroy irreplaceable Tribal Cultural and Religious Resources. Pumped storage is touted as the most efficient way to store solar and ... Read more

Transportation is the highest source of greenhouse gas emissions but emissions caused by residential and commercial buildings, including from electricity and natural gas use, are close behind. In 2021, while transportation was responsible for 35% of Oregon's carbon emission... Read more

The oil & gas industry is turning to unproven and unregulated  “gas certifiers” like Project Canary that claim to “measure” emissions and label their methane gas as “responsibly sourced”. The certified gas industry allows companies to charge a premium for their products, an... Read more

Portland prides itself on its green reputation, but it's becoming more and more apparent that we are facing a number of environmental contradictions and challenges that belie this reputation. According to Bob Sallinger, Urban Conservation Director for Willamette Riverkeeper... Read more

  For thousands of years the north reach of the Willamette River, near its confluence with the Columbia, was a braided river of shallow channels and islands rich in biodiversity. That was until European settlers came to the Pacific Northwest and displaced the Indigenous pe... Read more

  This program aired originally on March 13, 2023 Last month marked the 12th anniversary of the 2011 Sendai earthquake and tsunami. The tsunami caused the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. There were meltdowns of three of the Fukushima reactors, discharge of radioact... Read more

Our planet continues to be saturated with toxic byproducts of the fossil fuel industry and corporate agriculture. And now these two industrial sectors are combining forces to appeal to a growing public demand for meaningful climate action. As the movements to decarbonize an... Read more

On February 7, the Eugene City Council voted to phase out fossil fuels like gas in new homes and buildings, the first city in Oregon to take this step that will cut climate pollution, improve air quality, and lower utility bills for households. This vote is a major victory ... Read more

In his 1989 book A Forest Journey, John Perlin shows how an abundance (or scarcity) of wood has greatly shaped the culture, demographics, economy, politics, and technology of societies over the millennia. Until our dependence on fossil fuels, wood was the principal fuel and... Read more