Climate News Archive

All articles related to climate issues

Sea pickles off the coast of Oregon.
July 21, 2017

Sightings: ‘Sea Pickles’ Wash Ashore in the Pacific Northwest

Pyrosomes off the west coast of America. | Photo from University of Oregon Mysterious translucent creatures are washing ashore along the western shores of North America. Known as “sea pickles” -- the scientific name is pyrosomes -- these creatures are made up of a colony of individual zooids. A zooid is a tiny multicellular organism that makes up part of a...Read more
King Tide swamps downtown Nehalem.\Photo by Gretel Oxwang.
July 21, 2017

Dates Set for This Year’s King Tide Project

King Tide swamps downtown Nehalem.\Photo by Gretel Oxwang. The first round of the 2017-2018 King Tide Project, through which volunteer photographers document the highest tides of the year, takes place November 4-6. The other two high-tide series the project will cover will be December 3-5, and January 2-4, 2018. This will be the eighth year that CoastWatch has...Read more
Yaquina River marshes drowned by a King Tide. Photo by John Bauer.
February 14, 2017

Global Warming Commission Tracks State’s Climate Impacts

Yaquina River marshes drowned by a King Tide. Photo by John Bauer. The Oregon Global Warming Commission is a 25-member advisory group created by the 2007 Legislature. Members were appointed and directed to develop long-term policy recommendations to prepare for, adapt to, and combat global warming. Public comments can be submitted to the commission at...Read more
King Tide fills Yaquina wetlands. Photo by Meg Reed.
January 26, 2017

King Tide Parties Celebrate Project, Look to Future

King Tide fills Yaquina wetlands. Photo by Meg Reed. Each winter’s King Tide Project concludes with a series of wrap-up parties. These celebrate the good work that has been done, but also help to prepare us for the next year’s effort. CoastWatch, along with co-sponsors Surfrider and the Coastal Management Program, invite one and all to join one of these...Read more
King Tide at Toledo boat launch. Photo by Gregory Henton.
November 16, 2016

King Tide Project Surges Again

King Tide at Toledo boat launch. Photo by Gregory Henton. For the seventh year, Oregonians are participating in the King Tide Project, the state’s branch of an international citizen science initiative. The project is sponsored in Oregon each year by CoastWatch, along with the Coastal Management Program of the Department of Land Conservation and Development, and...Read more
Meg Reed presenting her findings as a Coastal Fellow.
October 22, 2016

Meg Reed Takes Over as Coastal Shores Specialist for DLCD

Meg Reed presenting her findings as a Coastal Fellow. The Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) has said a fond good-bye to Laren Woolley, long-time Coastal Shores Specialist, who retired at the end of September. He has been a familiar figure in discussions about coastal hazards, both those immediately threatening, such as earthquakes and...Read more
Nearshore Ocean Strategy addresses undersea habitats. Photo courtesy of ODFW.
September 5, 2016

Revised Oregon Conservation Strategy for Nearshore Ocean Released

Nearshore Ocean Strategy addresses undersea habitats. Photo courtesy of ODFW. Oregon has adopted its new version of the Oregon Conservation Strategy , the first update of the policy framework for managing fish and wildlife resources since 2006. The new document was unveiled at the Sept. 2 meeting of the...Read more
Storm at Netarts Bay entrance. Photo by Allison Asbjornsen.
August 21, 2016

"Citizen's Guide: Adapting to Climate Change on the Oregon Coast" is Available for Download

In 2015 our Climate Program released a new and significantly improved version of our Citizen’s Guide: Adapting to Climate Change on the Oregon Coast . The publication, available for download here , is aimed at helping citizens build their understanding of the many ways in which the Oregon coast is...Read more
House on spit isolated behind riprap. Photo courtesy of DOGAMI.
June 10, 2016

Climate Program Addresses Both Abatement and Adaptation

House on spit isolated behind riprap. Photo courtesy of DOGAMI. Our Climate Program is our means of addressing the dominant challenge of our time in history—the anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change that threatens to transform our planetary habitat and affect everything Oregon Shores works to protect. Climate activism generally falls into two categories:...Read more
Photo of Coos Bay's North Spit -- note North Bend airport runway in the distance, pointed at where the LNG tanks would have been built, by Alex Derr.
March 14, 2016

FERC Denies Permit for Jordan Cove LNG Export Facility at Coos Bay, but Promoters will Keep Trying

north_spit_small_by_alex_derr.jpg In a stunning development, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which very seldom turns down any energy facility permit application, has denied a permit for the Jordan Cove LNG (liquefied natural gas) export terminal at Coos Bay. Oregon Shores has been an active member of the coalition battling the project...Read more