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Monday Mailing Quote of the Week: “The real work of planetsaving will be small, humble, and humbling, and (insofar as it involves love) pleasing and rewarding. Its jobs will be too many to count, too many to report, too many to be publicly noticed or rewarded, too small to make anyone rich or famous."

--Wendell Berry Oregon Fast Fact: Oregon has the only double-sided state flag in the US. On one side is the state’s insignia and on the other is a beaver, the state animal.

Year 22 • Issue 01 14 September 2015 1. Drought Stream Study Spreads Across 6 Western States 2. Earthquake and Tsunami Risks Ignored at Proposed LNG Facility on Oregon Coast 3. Surgeon General’s Prescription for Health: Walkable Communities 4. A Mismatch Between Need and Affluence 5. EPA Releases New Self-Assessment Tool for Rural Communities and Small Towns 6. Google Maps Tours Oregon's Threatened Public Lands 7. NGFN Webinar: Leveraging Healthcare Funding to Build Healthier Communities 8. Advancing Economic Success – Community Foundations Building Family, Community and Regional Prosperity – Presentation and Workshop Materials 9. Resources from Natural Hazards Center 10. The Website That Visualizes Human Activity in Cities Across the World 11. Portland Says Bike Share Coming in 2016, Names Bicycle Supplier 1. Drought Stream Study Spreads Across 6 Western States Federal scientists are conducting a low-flow stream study in six western states in an attempt to gain insights that could help resource managers better allocate scarce water supplies during future droughts.

U.S. Geological Survey workers are measuring flows and temperatures through September in nearly 500 streams mostly in upper tributaries in Idaho, California, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

The report could ultimately be used for everything from deciding how much water to release from dams, how many cattle to allow on grazing allotments, how much water will be available for farmers in irrigation districts and decisions about rivers that contain fish protected under the Endangered Species Act. "If water managers can understand which streams are most vulnerable it helps them target efforts for drought relief," said Chris Konrad, a research hydrologist with the federal agency and the study's project chief.

To access the full story, click here.

2. Earthquake and Tsunami Risks Ignored at Proposed LNG Facility on Oregon Coast The most shocking fact about earthquake and tsunami risks on the coast of Oregon is their inevitability. We buy fire insurance—spending good money though our house is unlikely to burn. Meanwhile, the geologic record indicates beyond scientific doubt that a major tremor and Fukushima-style tidal wave is due. And it’s going to be the big one. The really big one— many times greater than the infamous 1906 San Francisco disaster. All credible science indicates that a major event approaching or exceeding

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magnitude 9 at Coos Bay, on the coast of Oregon, has a return cycle of 243 years. The last one was 315 years ago. We’re not just due, we’re overdue.

For a chilling account of our seismic fate, read the article that many Northwesterners are talking about: the July 20 New Yorker, “The Really Big One.” As an Oregonian who lives in the danger zone, I have to say that denial is our most common modus operandi. We hope it won’t happen. But taking a personal risk, with knowledge of the consequences, is one thing and taking a public gamble by forcing the entire community and region to be at risk is quite another.

To access the full story, click here.

3. Surgeon General’s Prescription for Health: Walkable Communities It's not easy to walk in much of North America; most people now live in suburbs that were designed for cars. Now the US Surgeon General, Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, is calling for a change.

“Walking helps people stay both physically and mentally healthy. It brings business districts to life and can help reduce air pollution. However, there are barriers to choosing even this simple form of physical activity. Many of us live in neighborhoods that can present barriers to walking. Important places, such as shops, schools, parks, or senior centers, may not be near enough to reach by walking; there may be no sidewalks; or there may be concerns about safety. Lack of time can be a barrier, as can health problems.”

He is also calling for a redesign of our communities.

“People should be able to walk almost anywhere. Designing communities to encourage pedestrian activity will make it safer and easier for all users, including those with mobility limitations and other disabilities. For example, streets can be designed to include sidewalks and improve traffic safety, and communities can locate residences, schools, worksites, businesses, parks, recreational facilities, and other places that people regularly use within walkable distance of each other.”

To access the full story, click here.

4. A Mismatch Between Need and Affluence In a state with a moderate standard of living, Collin County, Tex., stands out.

The suburban area north of Dallas has a median household income of more than $79,000, 64 percent higher than the state average. In September, Money magazine ranked the county seat, McKinney, the best place to live in America.

But as a racial incident in McKinney that drew national attention revealed, not everyone who lives there enjoys its resources equally. Responding to a disturbance call at a community pool, a white police officer brandished his gun at several African-American teenagers and pinned one girl to the ground.

To access the full story, click here.

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5. EPA Releases New Self-Assessment Tool for Rural Communities and Small Towns The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Sustainable Communities has recently released the Smart Growth Self-Assessment for Rural Communities, a compilation of strategies, organized by 11 common “goal areas,” that towns and small cities can use to evaluate their existing policies to create healthy, environmentally resilient, and economically robust places. This self-assessment helps communities identify gaps in their policies, plans, codes, and zoning regulations by asking a series of “Yes” or “No” questions. This self-assessment tool is broad and interdisciplinary. Each section focuses on a specific set of issues and will likely require input from multiple parts of the local government, as well as from community residents and other stakeholders.

For more information and to download the tool, click here.

6. Google Maps Tours Oregon's Threatened Public Lands Oregon Wild announced the publication of new trail images in Street View in Google Maps, through the Trekker Loan Program. These new panoramic images were collected by staff and volunteers earlier this summer using the Google Trekker equipment. The Trekker, a 45 lb backpack with a camera array that can capture imagery in 360 degrees, functions much like a portable Google Street View car. Google loaned the Trekker to Oregon Wild, who took it into some of the most remote locations in Western Oregon, offering a view of some of the state’s more obscure national public lands.

“We wanted to highlight lesser known places in Oregon that are just as spectacular – if not more so – than popular trails, and that are under pressure from logging, or other development, ” said Sean Stevens, Executive Director for Oregon Wild. “These are some of the wildest places we have left in Oregon. The more people are exposed to them, the more likely they are to step up and support protecting them for future generations.”

“Oregon is famous for its gorgeous views and landscapes,” said Deanna Yick, Google Maps Street View Program Manager. “Now, these places are available for everyone around the world to see right in Google Maps, and be inspired to visit in person. Loaning our Trekker equipment to Oregon Wild was the best way to create a virtual experience of these remarkable places."

To access the full story, click here.

7. NGFN Webinar: Leveraging Healthcare Funding to Build Healthier Communities Thursday, 9/24 at 12:30pm PST The Affordable Care Act updated legal requirements for nonprofit hospitals, mandating them to invest significantly more money in communities to address health disparities, promote population health, and emphasize preventive care services.

Healthy, fair, green and affordable local food certainly fits the bill!

This webinar will teach you about the legal provisions requiring nonprofit hospitals to invest in their communities. With that as a starting point, you will learn how your Good Food business or Good Food support organization might tap into this large stream of funding. The panelists will explain the specific steps in the process where food organizations can interact with the nonprofit hospitals to work together to improve food systems, address food insecurity and promote “food for health.”

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Several examples of communities who have worked in partnership with their local hospitals will illustrate how this partnership works in practice.

Panelists: Marydale DeBor, Fresh Advantage (freshadvantage.com) Martha Page, Hartford Food System (hartfordfood.org) To register for this webinar, click here.

8. Advancing Economic Success – Community Foundations Building Family, Community and Regional Prosperity – Presentation and Workshop Materials Advancing Economic Success was a two-day workshop featuring stories from around the country of community foundations that are practicing Community Development Philanthropy in order to build prosperity for families, communities and regions. At the event, participants learned about the organizing framework of Community Development Philanthropy and heard stories from community foundations that are helping families get ahead and those that are helping local and regional economies get ahead.

To access all of the presentation and workshop materials from this workshop, click here.

9. Resources from Natural Hazards Center Helping Victims of Mass Violence and Terrorism Toolkit While you'll find all the resources you need to compassionately incorporate victim care into your mass shooting or terrorism plans, this toolkit will apply to any emergency. The kit, created by the U.S. Justice Department Office for Victims of Crime, is ready to go for emergency managers, law enforcement, and other responders who want to build partnerships, establish victim assistance protocols, and help their communities as they recover from tragic events.

Field Guide Set for Engaging Faith Communities in Disasters Faith communities can be a tremendous resource in times of disaster—if you know how to approach them. The National Disaster Interfaith Network has created two documents that will help. The Field Guide offers guidance on how government and nonprofit groups can build lasting emergency and preparedness relationships with the faith communities in their cities. The Religious Literacy Primer offers basic literacy in more than 20 religious faiths and gives practitioners a better understanding of how the faith community fits into emergency planning.

Performance of Natural Infrastructure and Nature-Based Measures as Coastal Risk Reduction Features

Why build a levee when wetlands will help protect your coastal town from storms? That's an important question to ask and this report will help you find the answer. The study looks at a variety if natural flood protection measures and lists the strengths and weaknesses of each, how they reduce risks, types of communities where they're best suited, and performance standards.

Case Studies in Building Community Resilience While China is very far from the United States on the map, it isn't always the case when it comes to responding to the impacts of climate change. These case studies, produced by the Georgetown Climate Research Center, are an interesting look at how areas of the United States and China are responding to similar threats—coastal vulnerability, water scarcity, and urban heat waves.

Model EMS Clinical Guidelines The National Association of State EMS Officials has compiled this collection of evidenced-based and consensus-based practices to assist EMS organizations in delivering enhanced patient care, Page 4 of 5

increasing safety, and promoting positive outcomes. While adoption of the guidelines is optional, it was created with the intent of standardizing EMS care at the state level.

10. The Website That Visualizes Human Activity in Cities Across the World The data from mobile phones is revolutionizing our understanding of human activity. In recent years, it has revealed commuting patterns in major cities, wealth distribution in African countries, and even reproductive strategies in western societies. That has provided unprecedented insight for economists, sociologists, and city planners among others.

But this kind of advanced research is just a first step in a much broader trend. Phone data is set to become a standard resource that almost anyone can use to study and watch humanity continuously, much as they can now watch the weather unfold anywhere on the planet almost in real time.

But one thing is holding them back—the lack of powerful computational tools that can gather, crunch, and present the data in meaningful ways.

Today, that looks set to change to the work of DĂĄniel Kondor and a few pals at the SENSEable City Laboratory, part of MIT, and at Ericsson, a company that produces network infrastructure technologies. These guys have unveiled a powerful online tool that uses mobile phone data to visualize human activity in cities all over the world.

To access the full story, click here.

11. Portland Says Bike Share Coming in 2016, Names Bicycle Supplier Portland plans to roll out a long-delayed bike rental program, perhaps as soon as next summer.

Portlanders have heard that before. But with a corporate sponsor still proving elusive, the city has decided to forge ahead with a scaled back version of the system described in 2012.

City transportation officials will announce the program Wednesday, and the Portland City Council will review the plans next week.

The reworked proposal calls for a 600-bike fleet supplied by Social Bicycles, Inc., or SoBi, of New York. That's 150 fewer bikes than proposed in 2012, when the city signed a contract with Alta Bicycle Share, now under new ownership and rebranded as Motivate Co. To access the full story, click here.

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