Environment

Week in Review: Amazon, trees, and tacos

Guest host Mike Lewis discusses the week’s news with Publicola’s Erica Barnett, Insider’s Katherine Long, and KUOW’s Mike Davis.

After more than a decade, Seattle passes new rules to protect more city trees

Seattle is known as the Emerald City, but over the past couple decades it’s been losing a lot of what makes it green. The city’s most recent tree canopy assessment, released in 2021, found that Seattle’s tree cover had dropped to 28.1 percent -- short of a goal set nearly 15 years earlier of getting canopy coverage to at least 30 percent. To protect more trees from development, many urban forest advocates have spent years asking for an update to rules for removing and replacing trees in Seattle. On Tuesday, those rules were finally updated.

For Yakama Nation, green energy projects echo colonization

What's cooler than cool? Lake Washington

The heat is hitting early this spring in Seattle and people are flocking outside. These sunny days are a great time to dust off your paddleboard or kayak. But that water is dangerously cold. Derek Van Dyke, an education coordinator with the Washington State Parks Boating Program will fill us in on the fun of being alert on the water.

Seattle weather heats up this week with temps reaching the 80s

This week daytime temperatures are expected to climb into the 80s, maybe even the 90s by next Monday. Meteorologists say the heat could set new records for early May.

Week in Review: Governor Inslee won't seek re-election, pollution, and housing

Bill Radke discusses the week’s news with Insider’s Katherine Long, freelance journalist Joanne Silberner, and KUOW’s Joshua McNichols.

These Seattle 4th graders planted trees to bring green to their barren playground

The Seattle City Council is considering updates to its current tree regulations this month. One goal is to bring more trees to areas that lack them. Mayor Harrell’s proposal includes a “fee-in-lieu” program that would require people to pay into a tree-planting fund when they cut down trees on their property.