Green Options » Idaho

Shop Class for Future Wind Engineers in Plains States

Susan Kraemer — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:04:49 +0000

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.

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Idaho Man Who Killed Wolf Pup Faces Teeny Fine, Tiny Amount of Jail Time

Rhishja Larson — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:43:04 +0000

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.

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4 Wolves Gunned Down By Feds Near USDA Sheep Experiment Station

Rhishja Larson — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:01:39 +0000

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.

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Wolf Pup Shot and Killed — Idaho Man Cited

Rhishja Larson — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 21:45:43 +0000

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.

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Wildlife Authorities Kill Pair of Wolves in Oregon

Rhishja Larson — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 20:50:59 +0000

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.

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Idaho Hunters Will Be Allowed to Kill Wolves - for $11.75 Each

Rhishja Larson — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:42:20 +0000

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.

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Idaho Landowner Ordered to Restore Wetlands and Streams on Lamb Creek

Ruedigar Matthes — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 23:56:51 +0000

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.

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Eco-friendly Furniture Your Child Will Love

Sonya — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 19:26:14 +0000

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.

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Historic Senate Vote Protects U.S. Wilderness

Becky Striepe — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:17:21 +0000

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.

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Top 5 States With the Worst Animal Protection Laws

Melissa Elliott — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 20:27:09 +0000

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.

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Connecticut Town Bans Plastic Shopping Bags

Shirley Siluk Gregory — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:10:16 +0000

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.

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Idaho Gladly Accepts New Uranium Enrichment Plant

Max Lindberg — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 06:03:02 +0000

The folks in Idaho, according to a release by the Environment News Service, are apparently tickled pink that the French Company, AREVA, is planning construction of a $2 billion uranium enrichment plant near Idaho Falls, Idaho. It’s AREVA’s first such facility in the U.S. and it plans to serve the nuclear power industry.

There are no nuclear power stations in Idaho, but it does host the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls. According to its website, the INL is an applied engineering national laboratory, “dedicated to supporting the U.S. Department of Energy’s missions in nuclear and energy research, science, and national defense.”

Idaho’s Governor, C.L. “Butch” Otter, is quoted as saying, “It’s a great match that will result in secure jobs and a stronger economy.” The state actively courted AREVA with tax incentives, and was picked over three other possible locations.

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Small Homes Banned

Philip Proefrock — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 22:53:46 +0000

Smaller homes are more energy efficient generally, and consume fewer resources for their construction. In the United States, the average house size has been skyrocketing in the past few decades from 983 square feet in 1950 to almost 2,350 square feet in 2004.

Smaller buildings are potentially more affordable, are better suited to livable neighborhoods, and serve the needs of smaller families (while our houses have more than doubled in size since 1950, the size of the average family has actually decreased in that same period). There are already developers who understand this, but sometimes, the municipalities make it impossible to build smaller homes.

Marty Pieroni, a developer in Kuna, Idaho was turned down on his request to build some houses smaller than the 1,400 square foot minimum set by the city. With rising energy costs and the current housing credit crunch, there is an increasing demand for smaller, more efficient houses. But the city government (whose tax base is determined by the value of the developed property within its bounds) does not want to allow smaller properties and has turned down the request.

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New Materials, Timeless Look

Kristin Dispenza — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 14:27:30 +0000

Banner Bank has been one of the leading institutions in Idaho to pursue LEED certification for its facilities. The Banner Bank Building itself, an 11-story art-deco structure in downtown Boise, received an LEED Platinum rating in 2006 and also won a 2007 Excellence in Design award from Environmental Design and Construction magazine. It gained national attention for implementing an unusual water reclamation system; instead of being restricted to re-using wastewater captured on its own site, the Banner Bank Building captures stormwater from seven acres of downtown roofs, streets, and parking lots.

Last month, the bank’s downtown Boise branch (which is located inside of the Banner Bank Building) was awarded LEED Gold certification. Cornerstone Design provided interior design services for the project. According to Cornerstone’s website, the goal of the client was to produce a traditional bank which maintained their existing brand image, while also adhering to LEED for Commercial Interiors standards.

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Gray Wolf Returns to Historic Oregon Habitat

Sarah Lozanova — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 19:21:04 +0000

A radio-collared wolf from Idaho has made her home in Northeastern Oregon rekindling hope for a future wolf population in the state. The area was once home to a thriving population of wolves that was eradicated in the 1930s.