News From the Center
Climate
Climate scientists have now set 2030 as the point of no return when it comes to the effects of climate change. Even if we could drastically reduce carbon emissions right now—today—it is unknown if...
Volunteer Spotlight: Sue Leskiw
How long have you been volunteering with NEC?
I’d describe my volunteering as lengthy but sporadic. I became a founding member of the Friends of Clam Beach ad hoc committee back around 2004. I worked...
EPIC Victory for Richardson Grove
Judge rules against highway widening project in state park. Old growth redwoods safe from bulldozers again... for now.
On Friday, May 3, Judge William Alsup of the Northern District Court of California ruled in favor...
Huffman Reintroduces Wilderness, Public Lands Bill
The Northcoast Environmental Center (NEC) has been conducting member surveys for much of its existence and wilderness creation and protection has always been the top priority for our members. During the last six years,...
‘Ominous’ UN Report Warns Human Activity Has Pushed One Million Species to Brink of...
"Nature is collapsing around us and it's a real wake-up call to humanity."
A United Nations report described as the most authoritative and comprehensive assessment of global biodiversity ever published found that human exploitation of...
Oregon Agency Says NO to Jordan Cove LNG Project
On May 6, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) delivered a potentially fatal blow to the Jordan Cove LNG project and the Pacific Connector fracked gas pipeline which has faced fierce opposition for...
Global Student Strike for Climate Action
“We, children and students, don’t feel like we have a choice: it’s been years of talking, countless negotiations, empty deals on climate change, fossil fuel companies being given free rides to drill beneath our...
Why Plastic Free July?
Plastic Free July was initiated by the Plastic Free Foundation in 2011 to "build a global movement that dramatically reduces plastic use and improves recycling” and “raise awareness of our growing plastic waste problem...
Eye on Washington: Summertime, Expectations are Low
Members of Congress will be out of D.C. and back in their home districts for the week of July 4 and again from August 5 – September 6. There will be plenty of time...
North Coast Rail Legal Settlement to Protect Health of Eel and Russian River Watersheds,...
The North Coast Rail Authority (NCRA) agreed in late April to a legal settlement with non-profit organizations Friends of the Eel River and Californians for Alternatives to Toxics that ended an eight-year legal battle...
Organized Labor & Environmentalists Need Each Other
Separately, we lose. United, we are unstoppable.
Climate protection is the nexus that can bind the current prevailing social justice movements together. Corporate America is an invasive injury to our ecological/environmental balance and to the...
Navy Testing: Comment in Support of Tribal Issues
Since 2005, Tribes in Mendocino & Lake Counties have opposed Navy training and testing in the Northwest Training and Testing (NWTT) range. For countless generations, the Tribes have maintained deeply significant cultural and spiritual...
Planning Needed Now to Prevent Future Infrastructure Damage Around Bay
Is Humboldt Bay vulnerable to sea level rise from climate change? Yes, absolutely. Within several decades, it is likely that impacts from sea level rise to diked former tidelands, such as flooding from emerging...
Locals Weigh in on Offshore Wind
An informative hearing was held May 3 in Eureka on the proposed offshore wind energy leases that are being considered by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). Although BOEM has held many...
Tribe Establishes Rights of the Klamath, Dam Removal Closer
Dam removal on the Klamath River is one step closer to reality. The Klamath River Renewal Corporation (KRRC), which is the entity charged with removing the lower four dams on the Klamath River, announced...
Kin to the Earth: Goldman Prize Winners
Goldman Environmental Prize recipients focus on protecting endangered ecosystems and species, combating destructive development projects, promoting sustainability, influencing environmental policies, and striving for environmental justice. Prize recipients are ordinary citizens who choose to take...
Saturday, September 21 – the NEC Celebrates 40 Years of Coastal Cleanups by Going...
This year the NEC is celebrating its 40th anniversary of organizing coastal cleanups! From its humble beginnings here on the North Coast, Coastal Cleanup Day has changed a lot to become the international event...
Where are they Now? Rebekah Staub
I joined the Northcoast Environmental Center when I was nearing the end of my studies at Humboldt State University. As a journalism major focusing on environmental communication, my experience at NEC not only provided...
Tree Plantations Store Less Carbon
There’s little doubt that California’s forests are under siege; the problem is, we are told that California’s forests are under siege from things like wildfire, “pests,” pathogens and mortality. However, the reality is that...
Coastal Commission Calls for Local Hearing on 101 Interchange at Indianola Cutoff
The “Eureka-Arcata Route 101 Corridor Improvement Project” is on track for a local hearing in August, despite CalTrans’ insistence that it must be held in June in San Diego. At its May hearing in...
Proposed Wind Project Presents Alarming Impacts
EPIC urges greater efforts to minimize impacts to the environment
There is a proposed wind energy project for the hills just southwest of Scotia, California. This project has given me untold heartburn as I try...
Science Projects Receive Awards; Spring Chinook Endangered
For the 13th year, North Group sponsored an award for the best project relating to environmental issues at the annual Humboldt County Science Fair in mid-March. (The projects were so competitive in 2019 that...
CNPS Events & Happenings
Plant Sale
Shoppers with their lists made use of informative signs and enjoyed the huge array of native plants during the Native Plant Sale at the chapter’s nursery at Freshwater Farms Reserve of the Northcoast...
Mixed-Use Zoning: What Is It and Why Does It Matter?
The modern concept and practice of “zoning” dates back about a century. For almost all of that time, the dominant form practiced by United States cities has been single-use or “Euclidean” zoning (named after...
Progress Toward Manufacturer Responsibility for Waste
Following the implementation of China’s stricter regulations regarding the types of recycling it would accept from other countries for processing, most recycling is currently ending up in landfills for lack of an alternate domestic...