School leaders received numerous reports that former high school English teacher Curtis Johnston was “dating” a student but failed to intervene, complaint says
The proposal would expand the definition of illegal sexual contact between prison staff and an inmate to include kissing, groping
Washington is one of 12 states without enforceable state standards or oversight — that won’t change in 2026
For a place with so much nature and such a green ethic, British Columbia has struggled to identify with any of the big next-generation sources of renewable energy.
Most of the province’s electricity comes from large hydro dams. That power is renewable. But efforts to expand production are fiercely contested. What about solar? Why not wind power?
Long summer days are offset by short and cloudy winter ones. So solar energy is an affair of the heart more than the pocketbook: one installation on a North Vancouver home will take an estimated two-and-a-half centuries to pay for itself.
Some of the world’s strongest winds are clocked off the northern tip of Vancouver Island. But getting power from Hecate Strait to southern markets is an overwhelming engineering challenge.
Then there’s biomass: plants that can be burned and replaced with new ones that suck back up the carbon that was released in the flames. British Columbia’s unofficial provincial motto could be “Trees’R’ Us.” Might the province’s forests turn it into a veritable Saudi Arabia of renewable biofuel? That day may be coming: shipments of B.C. fuelwood pellets are worth nearly $200 million a year to the provincial economy.
But with fire comes smoke — and inevitably, greenhouse gases. A growing chorus of biomass skeptics questions how green and climate-friendly wood fuel truly is.
InvestigateWest’s partner on “Smoke and Numbers” is The Tyee, a Vancouver, B.C., news site that provided support for the series. Additional support was provided by the Fund for Investigative Journalism.
Part One: Are Climate Claims for Burning Renewable Trees a Smokescreen?
Part Two: Biomass Fuel: Worse for Climate than Coal?
Part Three: Sketchy Claims Inflate B.C.'s Wood Energy Exports
Timeline: 15 Key Dates in the History of Biomass Energy
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Stella-Jones, a wood treater fined $1 million by state regulators, is appealing the penalty
Mayor Harrell promised law would get Seattle “back on track,” but new street-tree planting data raises doubts
The penalty comes days after InvestigateWest found regulators investigating the pollution didn’t take steps to immediately stop it
School leaders received numerous reports that former high school English teacher Curtis Johnston was “dating” a student but failed to intervene, complaint says
The proposal would expand the definition of illegal sexual contact between prison staff and an inmate to include kissing, groping
Washington is one of 12 states without enforceable state standards or oversight — that won’t change in 2026
If you cover criminal justice in the Pacific Northwest — or want to — we’re hosting a free virtual training that may be useful to you and your newsroom
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