Here’s a thought…
“The competition between Nature and the economy is deep and broad.
In the short term, the economy usually wins. In the long term …?”
BILL APPEL
Annual OPALCO member festival a huge success
Madsen, Silverstein, Whitfield Win Seats in OPALCO 2025 Board Election ||| FROM JOHANNA LANGE for ORCAS POWER & LIGHT COOPERATIVE ||| On Thursday April 24, at the OPALCO Business Annual Meeting, Rick Fant of the
Loyalty to the Earth | Bound
When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe. — John Muir ||| LOYALTY TO THE EARTH by ELISABETH ROBSON ||| A forest is not
Coming Soon | Master Gardeners spring plant sales on San Juan, Orcas
||| FROM CAITIE BLETHEN for SJC MASTER GARDENER PROGRAM ||| Healthy herbs, tomato and pepper starts, and locally grown perennial landscaping plants need new homes! One of the most anticipated signs of spring, the San
Experiments to dim the Sun will be approved within weeks
||| FROM THE TELEGRAPH ||| Experiments to dim sunlight to fight global warming will be given the green light by the Government within weeks. Outdoor field trials which could include injecting aerosols into the atmosphere,
The greening of transportation on Orcas Island
||| FROM BRUCE BENTON ||| When my wife, Patricia, and I moved from Maryland to Orcas in 2020, I was struck by the extent to which vehicle emissions were the major source of pollution on
Wildfire smoke continues to impact local air quality
Skagit, Whatcom counties, Bellingham among cleanest areas for ozone ||| FROM NORTHWEST CLEAN AIR AGENCY ||| Wildfire smoke that smothered Washington communities at times with harmful fine particles in recent summers also impacted local air
Let’s honor and celebrate our home planet
Special Upcoming Events are Friday the 25th and Saturday the 26th ||| FROM SAN JUAN MAKERS GUILD ||| Voice of the Earth, Fri. 25th Native flute and folk music, Poetry, and Coast Salish Storytelling at
Free Wildfire Readiness event – May 10 – 1-3pm
May is National Wildfire Preparedness Month ||| FROM BEN LUNA for ORCAS ISLAND FIRE & RESCUE ||| Please join Orcas Island Fire and Rescue (OIFR), the Washington State Department of Natural Resources and San Juan
Loyalty to the Earth | There is no room for more
If there is a lot, we take a lot; if there is a little, we take it all. — Lyle Lewis, Racing to Extinction ||| LOYALTY TO THE EARTH by ELISABETH ROBSON ||| We are captives
Conservation Land Bank opens Watmough Head trail on Lopez Island
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| Saturday, May 3, join commissioners and staff from the Land Bank and Bureau of Land Management as we celebrate opening the new trail from Watmough Bay to Watmough
Orcas Island Garden Club awards grants to two local non-profit groups
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND GARDEN CLUB ||| The Orcas Island Garden Club awards grants to anyone with projects which support the mission of our club: to stimulate knowledge and love of gardening, cooperate in the
Counting clams kicks off this year’s Indian Island program
||| FROM RUSSEL BARSH for KWAIHT ||| This year’s clam survey by Kwiaht scientists and local volunteers will take place between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm on Tuesday April 29, and noon and 2:00 pm
How the Trump administration’s interpretation of one word—‘Harm’—could gut habitat protections for Endangered Species
“This administration’s greed and contempt for imperiled wildlife know no bounds.” — Noah Greenwald, Center for Biological Diversity ||| FROM INSIDE CLIMATE NEWS ||| The Trump administration proposed a new rule Wednesday that would rescind
Dive into education and plastic pollution at this year’s Great Islands Clean Up
Participate in the Great Nurdle Hunt ||| FROM JESS NEWLEY for GREAT ISLANDS CLEAN UP ||| The Great Islands Clean Up is just around the corner! On Saturday, April 26, communities across San Juan County
The Exchange Update | April 2025
||| FROM ORCAS RECYCLING/THE EXCHANGE ||| Spring Legislative Update The Recycle Reform Act, SB5284, has passed in both the House and Senate. Learn more about this - and other zero waste-related bills that are moving
