Environment, News

Tons of Japan’s Tsunami Debris Due on West Coast

The best analogy for the impacts of tsunami debris, explains Ebbesmeyer, is the 150-ton concrete-and-metal dock that washed up on the Oregon coast. More than 50 feet in length and about ten feet “tall,” less than a foot of it was visible in the water. Like the debris field, it was almost impossible to spot in open water, a hazard to marine navigation, and a Trojan horse of sorts: the dock was carrying more than 90 different, potentially invasive, species that were destroyed. Continue reading Tons of Japan’s Tsunami Debris Due on West Coast

Education, News, Politics

Will Control of Tuition Save Washington’s Public Universities?

House Bill 1795 passed by wide margins in the House and Senate, and Governor Gregoire has said she’ll sign it. For the next four years, from 2011-12 to 2015-16, the schools will be able to set tuition as they see fit. The bill does require the schools to provide financial aid to lower-income students, paid for out of the tuition increases, and sets a minimum of 4,000 students for the University of Washington’s in-state freshman enrollment, beginning 2012-13. It also allows the schools to price degrees differently, to account for the disparity between the cost of a liberal arts major and any field that will allow you pay back student loans. Continue reading Will Control of Tuition Save Washington’s Public Universities?