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Get Outside! Artist Point
Now that winter is here and snow falling in the Cascades, it’s time for snowshoeing. It’s a great way to get out in the nature, turn your heart rate up a notch, and it’s not a difficult skill to master. One of the best routes you’ll find in Cascadia is Artist Point in Washington’s North Cascades.
In the latest Get Outside! column at Cascadia Magazine, Craig Romano profiles a snowshoe route that takes you to panoramic views of Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan–two of the region’s most magnificent glaciated peaks.
If you’re making weekend plans, read Craig’s detailed writeup, complete with route description and driving directions. And be sure to check weather reports and avalanche conditions before you head out at the Northwest Avalanche Center at this link. Read the full article on Artist Point here.
Is Washington governor Jay Inslee going to run for US president?
Washington governor Jay Inslee is mulling a run for US president, and will reportedly run as a candidate focused on climate change. In a detailed analysis at The Tyee, Mychaylo Prystupa looks at Inslee’s tenure as governor, his chances at winning, and his influence on environmental issues across the Cascadia bioregion.
UN demands halt to Site C dam project, citing Indigenous rights
The Narwhal reports that the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has called for British Columbia to halt construction of the controversial Site C dam project, saying the Canadian government failed to obtain “free, prior and informed consent” of First Nations whose land is involved.
Seattle prepares for “carpocalypse’ and other transportation news
Residents of Seattle are bracing for a “carpocalypse” of traffic woes between the time a highway viaduct closes and a replacement tunnel opens. The Seattle Times has a guide to surviving the commute. Crosscut looks at how the 911 emergency system plans to adapt during the closure, and Curbed has reminds us why the viaduct is being torn down with a terrifying simulation video of the highway after a major earthquake. Meanwhile OPB talks with the new leader of Portland’s regional government about traffic and housing. Vancouver is decorating 50 buses with art by regional artists, and over at Grist, learn from Seattle’s Eve Andrews about how you can save money and help the planet by ditching your car.
The toxic past & present in the Spokane River
Over at High Country News, read Carl Segerstrom’s great feature on the toxic legacy of PCBs and other chemicals still found in the Spokane River. Decades after aluminum plants stopped dumping toxic wastes into the river, the problem of clean-up remains complicated, expensive, and unfinished.
Mysterious radio bursts discovered by BC telescope
Repeating fast radio bursts (FRBs) are a rare astronomical phenomenon that remains unexplained, and a radio telescope near Penticton, British Columbia picked up some of the deep space signals, according to Vancouver is Awesome. “Until now, there was only one known repeating FRB. Knowing that there is another suggests that there could be more out there,” said an astrophysicist with the Univeristy of British Columbia on the team that discovered them. Scientists don’t know if FRBs originate from neutron stars, black holes, or are evidence of signals sent by extraterrestrials. If you want all the scientific details, check out the peer-reviewed article in Nature.
“Little Red,” poetry by Karen Finneyfrock
At the Seattle Review of Books you can read “Little Red,” by the Review’s poet-in-residence this month, Seattle’s Karen Finneyfrock. It’s decidedly un-traditional take on the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale: “Grandmothers are deadly, not delicious.” Read the full poem here. That’s today’s mixtape of poetry, science, environmental reporting, and politics from across the Great Northwest. Have a great evening and see you tomorrow. Oh, and I’ll try to get the year right in forthcoming emails, seems we sent more than a couple of them in January still labeled as 2018! ? –Andrew Engelson
Photo credit: video screenshot of simulation of earthquake affecting Seattle’s Alaskan Way viaduct courtesy WSDOT (public domain)