Articles written by Don Brunell
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Milling thinned trees can foot bill to reduce wildfire risks
Thinning public woodlands to remove millions of dead trees is a way to generate much needed cash to reduce wildfire risks, improve forest health, and protect rural homeowners and... — Updated 5/11/2022
Laminated wood products can reduce wildfire risks
Wood buildings are making a comeback in the Pacific Northwest thanks to new laminated timber products. Even very large buildings are now constructed with laminated beams and are... — Updated 5/4/2022
Seattle World's Fair highlighted electric transportation network
Seattle’s 1962 World’s Fair was awe-inspiring. It previewed developments that would improve our daily lives in the next millennium. While “Century 21” memories have faded, t... — Updated 4/27/2022
Look north to increase gas supplies
The news that President Biden plans to resume leasing of federal land for oil exploration maybe good five years from now, but that action alone won’t bring down record gas prices... — Updated 4/20/2022
Price of gas fuels work from safety of home
With COVID-19 vaccines widely dispensed and masking requirements mostly lifted, will “work from home” end? Will workers return to downtown offices at pre-pandemic levels? Probab... — Updated 4/6/2022
By George, McGovern was right
Sen. George McGovern of South Dakota was never a darling of conservatives; however, in his later years he shocked fellow Democrats by his outspoken backing for streamlining governme... — Updated 10/20/2021
Taiwan: Why the fuss?
Unfortunately, what happens in Taiwan doesn’t just stay in Taiwan, it impacts us. So, when President Xi Jinping announced China’s plan to step up “unification” efforts, it g... — Updated 10/13/2021
Polluted water has greenhouse gas problems
In our zest to quickly switch from gas-powered to battery-operated vehicles and to convert our power grid to wind- and solar-generated electricity, the impacts of CO2 released from... — Updated 6/16/2021
Coronavirus compounds
What happens in China doesn’t always stay in China. We learned that a couple of years ago when the Chinese stopped buying massive volumes of the world’s used paper, plastics and... — Updated 9/23/2020
Business, drones helping to restore scorched forestlands
Replanting the millions of acres scorched by wildfires in our western woodlands will be herculean task priced in the hundreds of billions. Thankfully, many businesses, such as Bank... — Updated 9/16/2020
Time to revisit managing our forests
Not only is the world in the grasp of the COVID-19 pandemic, but America’s western wildlands are burning up as well. Gov. Gavin Newsom told reporters California has a dual... — Updated 9/9/2020
Colder weather could further chill restaurant recovery
Sunny summer weather helped restaurant owners and workers recover after they were broadsided by the coronavirus pandemic last March. However, as fall morphs into winter and diners a... — Updated 8/26/2020
New nuclear needs solution inclusion
If Americans are to receive all of their electricity without coal and natural gas by 2035, they will need nuclear power. Even if Washingtonians, who already procure over 70 percent... — Updated 8/19/2020
Good news that undoubtedly would please Scoop Jackson
America desperately needed some positive news and a reprieve from the coronavirus pandemic and rioting which is ripping apart our country---most notably in Seattle, Olympia and... — Updated 7/30/2020
Like Poland, America needs change
On July 4, 1975, America proudly celebrated its Bicentennial as the world’s greatest nation while Poland was a suppressed Soviet satellite state. Poles had no right to free... — Updated 7/1/2020
Washington needs to change to stay on top
In early June, the financial website WalletHub released its rankings of “Best and Worse State Economies” and Washington led the field of 51 as best by a healthy margin.... — Updated 6/24/2020
China's push for high-tech dominance
While the coronavirus pandemic and civil unrest are front page news, China’s unrelenting push to leap over our country in critical technology and hoarding of strategic metals... — Updated 6/17/2020
Brighter future for papermakers
In recent years, papermakers in the Pacific Northwest have been losing ground. However, today there is a ray of hope. Surprisingly, that optimism results from the COVID-19 pandemic.... — Updated 5/20/2020
Coronavirus, work must coexist
By now it is apparent that, barring a miracle, a cure for COVID-19 will not happen soon; however, to make it a condition of removing the economic lockdown would be a catastrophic... — Updated 5/13/2020
Thank the truckers
As we get deeper into the COVID-19 pandemic, we are finding more Americans to thank. Until recently, truckers have been behind the scenes just doing their jobs, but as shoppers... — Updated 4/22/2020 Full story
TP shortage is tip of iceberg
If you think the run on toilet paper is just an American thing, think again. On March 10, Business Insider (BI) reported: “The spread of the coronavirus has brought with it... — Updated 3/18/2020
Coronavirus testing telecommuting effectiveness
Nobody knows how deep the impact of the coronavirus will be, but one thing that it is destined to test is how effectively people will work from home. Washington is at the point of... — Updated 3/11/2020
Legislators must find better ways to reduce CO2
Washington and Oregon lawmakers want to end their legislative sessions; however, accounting for the costs of carbon emissions is a major roadblock. In Salem, rural Republican senato... — Updated 3/4/2020
Colorado River water problems worsening
Last week, we visited the Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona. It is part of our National Parks “bucket list.” The trip was a real eye-opener. The Canyon is... — Updated 2/26/2020
Cheers for American Legion
The 2020 race for the White House is heating. It’s shaping up to be a referendum on America’s market-based economic system. The central question: is government or the private... — Updated 2/19/2020
