EcoNews Report

The transmission lines running into Humboldt County are fairly small. This has big implications for local efforts to decarbonize our local electricity supply. The lines are too small to supply enough of Humboldt’s current power demands, necessitating the Humboldt Bay Generating Station, run off methane gas (Gang Green refuses to call it “natural gas”). It also limits our ability to fully realize o...

On this week’s EcoNews Report, Warner Chabot of the San Francisco Estuary Institute joins Gang Green to talk about micro-plastic pollution, including that which comes from car tires. A chemical in tires has been found to kill coho salmon. Now the California Department of Toxic Substances Control is considering regulation to address this threat. People can submit written comments on the rulemaking...

Two weeks ago, the federal Surface Transportation Board made some important decisions about the future of trails in our region. Tune in to hear about the latest developments including what’s in store for the Annie and Mary Trail and what comes next in determining the future for the Great Redwood Trail. Will it be a spectacular 300-mile trail connecting communities from San Francisco to Humboldt Ba...

Organic matter — things like banana peels, coffee grounds, and newspaper — clog our waste system and when it reaches a landfill, breaks down into methane, a potent greenhouse gas. That’s why California is requiring more and more diversion of this organic matter from our waste stream.  Two compost nerds — Layla Richardson of Zero Waste Humboldt and Daniel Hosapple of the Blue Lake Rancheria — join...

The McKay Community Forest is one step closer to reality with the release of the draft Forest Stewardship Plan. The McKay Community Forest looks to join its famous neighbor to the north, the Arcata Community Forest, as a local hub for recreation, wildlife, and even timber production—all directed by the Forest Stewardship Plan. Hank Seemann of Humboldt County and Stevie Luther of the Humboldt Trail...

Karelian Bear Dogs were bred to hunt large game, like bears. Now they are being used to save them. Wildlife biologist Jessica Reyes of the Wind River Bear Institute joins Gang Green to talk about how these fearless dogs train bears to avoid humans - and how the dogs train humans to be better for bears. Want more? Check out this YouTube video or the Wind River Bear Institute’s website . Support the...

On Thursday, we celebrated the expiration of PG&E’s 50-year license for the Eel River dams. Next up comes license surrender, decommissioning and ultimately dam removal.  Tune in to hear about what this process might look like and why it is so important to act swiftly to seize the opportunity for recovery of the Eel River’s wild runs of salmon and steelhead. And in other celebratory news: Klama...

Plastic pollution in our oceans is a high-profile problem. Jen Savage, Senior Manager of the Plastic Pollution Initiative of the Surfrider Foundation, joins the show to talk about just how bad the problem has gotten — if the headline didn’t give it away, it’s so bad that a recent study found microplastics in human blood — and what can be done to stop the problem. [Note from Jennifer Savage: Since...

On this week’s EcoNews Report, planning expert Dan Zack joins Gang Green to talk about “urbanism” — a term that might sound scary for rural Humboldt County. But despite its name, principles of urban design can be applied across the whole of the county, from Bridgeville to Eureka. Because at its core, urbanism is just about making planning work for humans. Dan also breaks down “form based codes,” a...

With gas prices spiking and a climate crisis making you feel guilty every time you get into your car, you might be thinking about dragging your bike out of the garage for a ride. But what about the rusty chain, the flat tire and old brakes? And what about your own anxiety: Will I look dumb? Where is it safe to bike? Your friends at Moon Cycles are here to help! Sage and Sprout, the owners of Moon...

Humboldt County is faced with some important and difficult decisions regarding our energy future, and if the TerraGen project taught us anything it’s that the public needs to be involved as energy projects are planned. But civic engagement requires an educated populace, so the Northcoast Environmental Center is working to figure out what folks do and don’t know about renewable energy sources and h...

Ask anyone who has tried to look for rental housing lately and they’ll tell you that housing in Humboldt is expensive. Humboldt, like California generally, suffers from a housing affordability crisis brought on chiefly by failing to build enough housing. Our housing crisis is an environmental issue and local green groups are working to support new infill housing development. On this week’s episode...

On this week’s EcoNews, the gang’s nerdy lawyers — Tom, Matt and Scott — are joined by CalPoly Humboldt’s own professor of environmental law, Jennifer Marlow, to talk about the recent oral argument in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency.  Is the court going to jettison Chevron deference in favor of its newly constructed “major questions doctrine” or will we see a return to Lochner -er...

This week, Gang Green sits down with Caltrans’ Jeff Pimentel to discuss Caltrans’ work to improve Broadway for all road users (and not just motorists). Through fixing sidewalks, adding pedestrian crossings, and other changes to the road, we can influence individuals to make safer decisions.  Caltrans’ work on Broadway is also a reflection of larger cultural changes within the agency. Once almost s...

Gary Hughes of Biofuelwatch joins the show to talk about the creative accounting of “net zero” carbon emissions. Can we “offset” emissions or is this sending us down the wrong path? Gary discusses Biofuelwatch’s new report, Carbon Capture or Captured Futures? , which examines the politics and influence of the fossil fuel industry in shaping California’s climate policy. REQUIRED READING: Carbon Cap...

On this week’s edition of the Econews Report, Friends of the Eel River discuss developments in the thrilling drama of Eel River dam removal. It’s a story of injustice and opportunity— a 100-year-old water diversion that takes from one watershed to give to another, and the chance to correct the harms by returning salmon and steelhead to excellent cold-water habitat locked behind the dams.  Starring...

Congressman Jared Huffman joins Gang Green for a fun conversation about his legislative priorities for 2022, the prospect of the Build Back Better agenda and voting rights legislation currently stalled in the Senate, and his thoughts on California’s legislative redistricting. Support the show

This episode first aired in October 2019. A new study in the journal Science documents the staggering loss of bird populations in North America — a decline of approximately three billion birds in total over the past 50 years. Local ornithologist Ken Burton says that Humboldt County is not immune to this trend. Using available data, Burton has determined that of the most commonly reported species i...

Naturalist and best-selling nature writer Gary Ferguson joins the show to talk about how nature can teach us important lessons to make us better humans. From the interconnectedness of mycorrhizae bounding trees together from how a wolf pack moves through Yellowstone, the natural world is a countless source of wonder and inspiration that can help us overcome our climate blues. For more about Gary’s...

Join Gang Green for a review of the highlights and lowlights of 2021. Friends of the Eel River organized a motley crew of enviros, organized labor, religious leaders and others in a coalition to fight against the threat of a coal export facility and train line . Humboldt Baykeeper continued to keep the community safe by tracking mercury in commonly consumed fish.   EPIC maintained the decade-long...

Urban planning nerds rejoice! Here is an episode for you. Humboldt is seeming a bit more crowded as of late. Whether it is climate refugees burned out of their homes or folks freed to move to the redwoods because of lax telework options, Humboldt’s housing market has been white hot. If people are coming, how do we ensure that we have enough housing for those who are looking to join our community (...

One of the first nuclear power plants in the US was built on a bluff overlooking the Humboldt Bay entrance and the town of King Salmon. Shut down in 1976 and recently decommissioned, the site - located 115 feet away from the bay, on a bluff 44 feet above sea level - continues to serve as storage for 37 tons of spent fuel and other radioactive waste. The underground casks are relatively safe for th...

In this encore episode from 2019, poet Jerry Martien joins the Green Gang in the studio to read poetry inspired by the natural landscapes of Humboldt County. If you have never heard Jerry read his poetry before, you are in for a treat, as Jerry’s sonorous voice and crisp lyrical poetry inspires and soothes the soul. Support the show

Have you ever seen the “Grand Canyon of the Eel River”?  Few have, but that might change soon thanks to a major new conservation deal engineered by the Wildlands Conservancy . The former “Lone Pine Ranch,” owned by San Francisco financial mogul Dean Witter, is now the Eel River Canyon Reserve, one of three reserves managed by the Wildlands Conservancy along the Eel River.  Listen to this week’s sh...

The Redwood Coalition for Climate and Environmental Responsibility — RCCER, pronounced “rocker” — is aiming to give a larger voice to environmental voters by holding elected officials accountable and by providing model legislation that local jurisdictions can adopt. Listen to this week’s episode to learn who is behind this new organization and what they are looking to accomplish. Support the show