On a previous edition of the Sagebrush Variety Show we featured an interview with Alan Durning, President of Northwest Environment Watch on sustainability issues and trends in the Northwestern region known as Cascadia. Podcast Sagebrush Variety Show #30 to hear it.
Just a few weeks later the Sagebrush players received an an email from Alan Durning explaining that after 14 years as Cascadia's sustainability think tank, Northwest Environment Watch has changed its name to Sightline Insitute. (they say the name Sightline better reflects what they do in helping us see a clear way to a better future for us all).
The name change is just an opener to the big news that they’ve revamped their website Sightline.org to make the most of the institutes comprehensive research, statistics, news and dialogue.
There are some excellent new features.
Like the Maps and Graphics Center with close to 100 maps, charts, and animations illustrating trends such as gasoline consumption, changes in human health, and pollution in northwesterners. All available for downloading and printing or computer vieiwng. The graphic maop of clearcutting in the Central Cascade forest is a real eye-opener ad is the chart showing the increased levels of PBDE levels in blood and tissue samples of north american humans since the 1980’s. PBDE is a flame retardent chemical used in many priducts that can cause neurological and reproductive damage.
The publications section features Sightline books and reports available in full text pdf, on each of the issues that they track--such assprawl and transportation, energy, health, and economy.
An active blog—called the Daily Score—with running commentary on the latest news. Some of the latest entries include Alan’s frankly funny yet inspiring diary of his families attempts to live a year in Seattle without owning a car, a report on the latest scientific findings regarding bird intelligence (Sagebrush’s own Bucky Buckaw already knows birds are at least as smart as humans but it’s nice to see the scientific com muntiy catching up), and a really great explanation of how “booming conomy” can mean different things depending on who’s talking and that GDP doesn’t necesarilly mean good for working schmoes.
The name Cascadia refers to an ecological, economic and cultural region including British Columbia, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon which is most instructive to look at as a whole. However, the new website function that allows viewers to browse or search for Idaho-related information only, for example, is a useful way to manage the wealth oif information Sightline offers.
Sagebrush Variety show highly reccomends our viewers make use of the website. There’s an incentive to join as an emailsubscribers in that subscribers get special features-such as complete access to Sightline’s work, including free pdfs of books and reports; and downloads of high-quality maps, charts, and graphics, their email newsletters, and the abilty to add your own comments to their blog.
