Green Options

Kids enrolled in Wind for Schools shop classes in six Great Plains states (CO, ID, KS, MT, NE, SD) are learning hands-on to assist in assessment, design, and installation of small wind systems at their schools, with the goal of creating a knowledge base for wind energy within rural elementary and secondary schools through Wind Powering America.

The DOE is looking for proposals from wind companies who want to help out in expanding the program to six more states. You have till November 30 to get your bid in. And if you want to teach any aspects of this new shop class in wind, reach out to schools in these states.

The Idaho man who shot and killed a female wolf pup while standing behind his pickup truck on a public road has been officially charged - and faces only nominal punishment.

According to a local report, a man identified as Randy Strickland of Eagle, Idaho, has been officially charged with “taking a game animal illegally and shooting from or across a public highway.”

If Strickland is convicted, he may have to pay a small fine ranging from $200 - $1,000, and perhaps up to just six months in jail.

Aerial sharpshooters with the U.S. Department of Agriculture have killed four wolves in Montana for preying on sheep in the secretive Sheep Experiment Station.

The last four wolves of the Sage Creek Pack were gunned down this week by USDA aerial sharpshooters, after the wolves had been targeted for preying on sheep in the 100,000+ acre USDA Sheep Experiment Station (USSES) west of Yellowstone National Park.

An Idaho man was cited for shooting and killing a female wolf pup while standing behind his pickup truck on a public road.

According to local reports, Idaho Fish and Game wardens have cited a man for shooting a wolf in Idaho’s McCall-Weiser area, which is not an open hunting zone until October 1, 2009. He was also cited for hunting from a public road.

One of only three wolf pairs in Oregon was killed by U.S.D.A. Wildlife Services with approval from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The Center for Biological Diversity announced today that Oregon’s wolf recovery program suffered a serious setback when a pair of wolves residing in the Eagle Cap Wilderness in eastern Oregon were killed over the weekend by wildlife authorities.

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission has decided to allow hunters to kill 220 of the state’s 1,000 wolves.

In the first-ever state regulated hunt of gray wolves in the continental United States, Idaho residents can purchase a hunting tag for $11.75 and out-of-state hunters will pay $186 for the opportunity to kill a wolf.

The hunt is set to begin on September 1, and Montana has planned to begin its wolf hunt in October.

Most of us think that we can do pretty much whatever we want with our property. If we own land, we can build a house, right? Well, that’s what Jack Barron of Bonner County, Idaho thought, too. However, the EPA says otherwise.

If you’re redecorating your child’s room, do you have any eco-friendly furniture in mind?

You’ll definitely have eco-friendly furniture options at eConscious Market, a “For-Benefit” online commerce site.

“We sell the finest ecologically and socially responsible products available and donate a minimum of 10% of every purchase to the exceptional non-profit organizations listed on our website,” says Boulder, Colorado-based eConscious Market.

The Senate passed a bill on Sunday expanding wilderness protection more than any legislation in the past 25 years.

[Creative Commons photo via rjime31]

It’s actually a collection of 160 bills and covers over two million acres in nine states. THe land ranges from the Sierra Nevadas in California to Mount Hood in Oregon and Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. It also includes areas in Virginia, Idaho, Michigan, Arkansas, and Utah.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund has released a new report showing that while animal welfare laws have made great progress in recent years, five states lag far behind.

Westport, Connecticut, recently joined a small but growing number of communities to ban the use of free plastic shopping bags within its borders. The new ordinance, which goes into effect early next year, would impose a $150 fine on any store that offers such bags.

WestportNow.com reports that citizens attending the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) vote on the ban overwhelmingly supported the measure. The RTM eventually voted 26 to 5 (with one abstention) in favor of the ordinance, and also rejected a proposal that would have made the ban effective only through Sept. 19 of next year.