Barbara Bernstein

This November Portland voters will have an opportunity to vote on a complex measure that would amend the city charter in some drastic ways. The changes include rank choice voting, expanding the city council to 12 members who would each represent one of four districts, and s... Read more

This summer the U.S. Supreme court decided a trifecta of scary rulings on abortion, gun rights and environmental protection. So far, the repeal of Roe v. Wade has drawn the most attention but the other two rulings are equally concerning. On this episode of Locus Focus we t... Read more

  This program originally aired on March 14, 2022 The Pacific Northwest has fought off two methanol refineries in Washington and an LNG Export terminal and pipeline in Coos Bay, but the fracked gas industry still has this region in its crosshairs. TC Energy is full steam ... Read more

This November Portland voters will have an opportunity to vote on a complex measure that would amend the city charter in some drastic ways. The changes include rank voting, expanding the city council to 12 members who would each represent one of four districts, and shifting... Read more

As the climate warms and the need to reduce carbon emissions reaches a crisis level, two issues converge: how do we keep ourselves safely cool during extreme heat waves while also reducing our carbon emissions? On this episode of Locus Focus we talk with Greer Ryan, Oregon ... Read more

The Willamette River is the most industrialized and polluted river in Oregon. Weaving through the state's largest city, it has been reshaped and abused for 150 years. In 2000 the last 10 miles of the Willamette, home to the Portland Harbor and Critical Energy Infrastructure... Read more

Portland and other Oregon municipalities are required to inventory their employment land periodically as part of the comprehensive planning process.  For decades the city has decided during each inventory process that it needs more industrial land. In the past, Portland ann... Read more

  This program aired originally on May 23, 2022 As pressure increases for us to drastically reduce carbon emissions, one attention-grabbing option being promoted is renewable hydrogen. But is hydrogen really the answer to our energy needs or is its promotion largely based... Read more

Sixty-six million years ago an asteroid some seven miles across slammed into the Earth, leaving a geologic wound over 50 miles in diameter. More than half of known species, including the dinosaurs, vanished seemingly overnight. In The Last Days of the Dinosaurs, science wri... Read more

For decades tribal nations and salmon advocates have been working every avenue to take down the four dams on the Lower Snake River. These dams provide a modicum of electricity, negligible passage for shipping and some irrigation water for farmers. But mostly they kill salmo... Read more