Public Transit

4 Fall Adventures around Portland with No Car

Leave the car at home for World Car Free Day—or just because gas is so expensive.

09/20/2023 By Margaret Seiler

Water Watch

Cyanobacteria Spreads across the Willamette River and Sauvie Island as Temperatures Spike

It looks like algae, but it’s not. Swimming is banned for people and pets, according to the Oregon Health Authority, just as Portlanders need to cool off.

08/16/2023 By Katherine Chew Hamilton

Buzz Off

Why Are Mosquitoes Swarming Portland? For Starters, the County Didn’t Spray.

Mosquito populations are up fivefold this summer—and Multnomah County is giving out free mosquito fish to help limit their spread.

06/14/2023 By Katherine Chew Hamilton

Environment

Who Killed Jordan Cove?

How an unlikely band of activists vanquished an energy megaproject in Southern Oregon.

05/31/2023 By Ramona DeNies

Trails

Hike of the Month: Mosier Plateau by Transit

Thanks to the CAT bus, you don’t need a car to get to this wildflower standby in the Columbia River Gorge. Bring a bike along and hit the Mosier Twin Tunnels or a winery while you’re there.

04/27/2023 By Margaret Seiler

Disaster Prep

How to Prepare a Portland Home for Earthquakes and Wildfire Smoke

You’re living in a disaster-prone state. Are you ready for the next one?

04/07/2023 By Isabel Lemus Kristensen Illustrations by SanQian

State Parks

After Marking a Century, What’s Next for Oregon State Parks?

One of the nation’s best state parks systems is busy updating facilities, studying climate change, and becoming a more welcoming environment for all types of visitors.

03/09/2023 By Sam Stites

Under the Sea

Keiko's Legacy, 30 Years after Free Willy

After striking box office gold in the 1993 Oregon-shot film, the iconic orca made a huge splash in the world of marine mammal conservation efforts.

02/21/2023 By Sam Pape

Light a Fire 2022: Caring for the Planet

Friends of the Columbia Gorge Helps Protect a National Treasure

For decades, the group has been a ‘citizen watchdog’ to monitor development on the Oregon and Washington sides of the river.

01/06/2023 By Isabel Lemus Kristensen

Real Estate

Property Watch: A Pioneering, Climate-Friendly Home in Cully

It checks all our eco boxes.

12/12/2022 By Melissa Dalton

Nature

Peak Swift: The Vaux’s Migration Is Cresting Now in Portland

Go see the birds at Chapman Elementary School before they fly south for the winter.

09/16/2022 By Julia Silverman

Environment

Air Quality Across Oregon Is Improving Despite Ongoing Wildfires

And the power's back on, too.

09/12/2022 By Matthew Trueherz

Environment

Rolling Power Outages Are Planned around Portland as East Winds Kick Up

It's an effort to keep downed, live power lines from sparking wildfires.

09/09/2022 By Julia Silverman

Q&A

Stuart Wells Joins Portland Audubon as New Executive Director

One of his goals? To increase community involvement in wildlife conservation and education

07/18/2022 By Michelle Harris

Summer Fun

The Big Float Is Bringing the Party to the Willamette River for One Last Hurrah

Grab your unicorn floatie and a life jacket for the 10th and final installment of the flotilla fundraiser.

07/05/2022 By Michelle Harris

Agribusiness

Down on Dairy? From Almond to Soy to Hazelnut, a Closer Look at the Options for Milk Alternatives

Nut milk won’t save us, either.

06/10/2022 By Michelle Harris

Agribusiness

Big Dairy, Long a Power Player in Oregon, Faces a Climate Change Crossroads

And an upstart new player claims it’s blazing a better path forward: carbon-neutral milk that does a planet good.

06/10/2022 By Ramona DeNies

Biking

Biketown Rides Are Free This Weekend in Honor of Earth Day

Praise Gaia, ride a Nike bike.

04/22/2022 By Conner Reed

For the Birds

Tufted Puffins Are Disappearing from Oregon’s Coast

A conservationist group in Cannon Beach is on a mission to save the iconic seabirds, who make Haystack Rock a summer home.

04/22/2022 By Michelle Harris

Nature

Monarch Conservation Effort Reaches New Heights in Portland

Ida Galash of Portland Monarchs and her cohort of community scientists are breaking ground for two new waystations at Pittock Mansion and Washington Park.

02/17/2022 By Shannon Daehnke