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Ashley Ahearn

Scientists with the US Geological Survey gather samples near coal train tracks in the Columbia Gorge near Washougal, Washington. Little research has been done on how coal interacts with the environment.

Scientists dig into booming coal exports and their effects on wetlands

Environment

While the US is using less coal than we have in the past, we plan to export more coal to Asia. That means transporting it by trains, as we’ve done for decades. But there’s very little research on the effects coal has on the environment when it escapes from coal hoppers bumping along the rails.

Pete Knutson and his son Dylan sell local Pacific salmon at outdoor markets around the Seattle area. The sign on their stall at a recent market in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood reads, “In response to multiple customer inquiries regarding the Fukushima i

Worried about radioactive ‘Fukushima’ fish in the US? Don’t be, scientists say

Environment
terminal

Environmentalists and coal interests fight it out in a small Washington State election

Environment

Berlin Wall squatters

Combating climate change by storing CO2 underground

Business, Economics and Jobs
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Oil Train Concerns in the Pacific Northwest

Plans are underway to build several port terminals in the Pacific Northwest that would transfer North Dakota oil from trains onto ships bound for West Coast refineries, but the recent oil train disaster in Quebec may put the brakes on the proposed projects.

Another Coal Port Bites The Dust

Developers are trying to build port facilities in the Pacific Northwest to ship Powder Ridge Basin coal to Asia, but half of the proposed projects have been canceled. Most recently, Kinder Morgan dumped its plans to build a facility at the Port of St. Helen’s on the Columbia River in Oregon.

The World

Voices of Coal

In order to market coal to Asia, the western US coal industry wants to build export facilities in Oregon and Washington. The planned ports have divided local communities. EarthFix, a public radio collaborative based out of Washington State, has been following the debate with their project, Voices of Coal.

Road Salt Report

Every year the nation uses more than 20 million tons of salt to clear snow and ice from winter roads. While it may make the roads safer, scientists say salt may have the opposite effect on drinking water and wildlife. Living on Earth’s Ashley Ahearn reports.

A Look Back at the Birth of the Clean Water Act

When rivers were on fire and fish were washing up dead by the thousands Americans came together to demand “swimmable” “fishable” waterways for all. 1972 marks the creation of the Act that changed the way water pollution is managed in America.

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