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Women talk climate change in Seattle
After the disappointing defeat of the Washington state carbon tax initiative, many people in the region are wondering where we go from here to fight for action on climate change.
An event tomorrow night — Women Talk Climate— takes place at 6 pm, Friday Nov. 16, at The Riveter in Seattle. It should be a great event featuring women scientists, mothers, artists, and activists — all discussing climate action — and specifically, how feminism is central to the fight for climate justice. You’ll find be a screening of documentaries, a raffle, food and drinks, and a photography exhibition. Climate scientist Sarah Myhre, whose essay “Why Women, Why Science, Why Now?” was published at Cascadia Magazine, will be a featured speaker at the event.
Poetry at Cascadia Magazine: We All Want Marshmallows
Vancouver-based poet Adele Barclay’s poem “We All Want Marshmallows,” now online at Cascadia Magazine, features rule breaking, canceled Greyhound bus service in British Columbia, forest fires, and letting go on Galiano Island…
“..we slept on a peninsula
and I whimpered all night
because the voice that whispers
you’re safe needed to let go…
Alongside the poem you’ll find artwork by Sheila Norgate, who lives on Gabriola Island, BC. Read the full poem online here.
Inequality grows in Vancouver
Christopher Cheung, writing for The Tyee, has a fantastic analysis of changes in income, poverty, and racial diversity in Vancouver over the past forty years. The news isn’t good: lower income people are being forced to the margins and upper income earners are overwhelmingly white. In related news the Georgia Straight reports that Vancouver has created a new city department dedicated to renter’s rights.
Burgerville moves closer to unionization
Workers at the beloved Oregon and southwest Washington fast food chain Burgerville are moving closer to creating a union, as workers at another restaurant in the chain have signed a petition asking the company to recognize them. Meanwhile, after world-dominating Amazon announced it was setting up secondary headquarters in New York and Virginia, panic about the retailer leaving Seattle fizzled. Protesters in New York drew attention to the huge tax giveaways the company is receiving. And LitHub has the fascinating story of how an Amazon subsidiary, Victoria-based Abe Books, came under pressure from its thousands of member antiquarian booksellers to make an about-face on canceling contracts with bookshops in South Korean and other countries.
Numbers of murdered & missing Indigenous women under-counted
According to the Seattle Times, a report from the Seattle-based Urban Indian Health Institute found that police statistics on the growing crisis of murdered and missing Indigenous women in North America have been severely under-counted. In other news, a report on the increase in hate crimes in the US found that incidents were growing in Oregon — with over half occurring in Eugene, where white supremacist groups are on the rise.
Bringing back otters to the Oregon coast
After they nearly went extinct, sea otters were successfully reintroduced to the coasts of California, Washington, and British Columbia — but efforts in Oregon all failed. But now, according to a story at KNKX, a group known as the Elakha Alliance is working on a plan for otter recovery — although some crab harvesters are worried hungry otters might successfully compete with them.
An epic film in the Haida language
High Country News has a fascinating report on a new feature film, Sgaawaay K’uuna (Edge of the Knife), an epic story of life and Indigenous culture on Haida Gwaii in the 19th century. The film–the first movie entirely in the Haida language — is an immersive epic without any settler-based explanations. “The film is a window into the inner workings of a Haida community, its members’ ideas of justice, humor, and matters as simple as food and daily entertainment.”
Peak Portland: a new bookstore and bar
Willamette Week reviews Rose City Book Pub, which is perhaps the ultimate Portland cliché: a combination of bookstore and bar. In addition to ordering a local microbrew or buying a copy of Geek Love, you can also listen to live music and author events. In related news, Seattle high school students recently went on a fabulous field trip: to the legendary Elliott Bay Books — and each student was given a $50 gift certificate, provided by anonymous donor. For some of the students, this was their first trip to a bookstore (sigh…).
That’s this evening’s selection of news, arts, and environmental reporting from across the Pacific Northwest. –Andrew Engelson
Photo credits: sea otter by Kaitlin Thoresen, National Park Service (public domain)