Articles written by Don C. Brunell
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 164
Why no Easter lily tours?
Easter is when potted Easter Lily plants start showing up in nurseries and supermarkets like poinsettias during the Christmas season. They adorn the altars and pulpits of most... — Updated 3/28/2024
Tree farms reduce greenhouse gases
As climate change concerns grow, researchers are turning to family tree farmers for assistance. They have been helping for a century, but their efforts go unrecognized. The... — Updated 3/8/2024
Recycling EV batteries a Herculean effort
Each year Americans throw away more than three billion batteries constituting 180,000 tons of hazardous material. The situation is likely to get worse as the world shifts to lithium... — Updated 2/1/2024
Military money is a Golden Egg
Aesop’s fable warns against killing the goose laying golden eggs. The tale’s origins date to 600 B.C. and tells of the greedy farmer who foolishly killed the prized goose to get... — Updated 1/11/2024
Dairy farmers push green cow power
In the 1990s, “things go better with Coca Cola” was the catchy slogan dairy farmers dreaded. At the time, milk producers were in a head-to-head battle with soft drink giants and... — Updated 12/28/2023
Never Forget Our Vets
While the last veterans who survived the “surprise” Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor are dwindling rapidly, we cannot let their sacrifices and the memories of that horrific day whi... — Updated 11/9/2023
Hydrogen Hubs Could Hasten Switch from Diesel in Big Rigs
President Biden’s $65 billion infrastructure bill contains $8 billion for regional hubs to develop ways to produce and distribute hydrogen fuel. One is planned for the Pacific N... — Updated 10/19/2023
Blame the beetles for forest health
Growing up in the 60s, our parents blamed everything on “The Beatles.” According to them, they were “the punks” from Liverpool who caused all the teenagers to go crazy. Lately,... — Updated 8/17/2023
Kudos for Holden Mine site cleanup
Today, good works are often brushed aside or ignored – especially, if done by one of the world’s largest mining companies. However, Rio Tinto deserves kudos for its hal... — Updated 8/10/2023
Red Tape Shackling America's Manufacturers
Until President Biden signed the Chips and Science Act (CSA) last year, companies, such as Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), looked elsewhere to build... — Updated 7/6/2023
Snake River Whac-A-Mole needs to stop
To supporters of the four Lower Snake River Dams, the latest news that President Biden continues to pursue dam breaching is not shocking, but surprising, considering the growing... — Updated 6/22/2023
School Safety Needs Wider Attention
My Mom would be horrified by the rash of violence in our schools today. The most recent tragedy at Covenant School in Nashville where three students and three adults were shot to... — Updated 4/6/2023
Skilled Worker Shortage Could Derail "Electrify Everything"
In the race to “Electrify Everything” there are glitches which may derail the plan over the next 20 years. One is a shortage of skilled electrical workers needed to rewire hom... — Updated 3/23/2023
Sacrifices of Medal of Honor Recipients Should Refocus America
Earlier this month when President Biden fastened the Congressional Medal of Honor (Medal) around retired U.S. Army Col. Paris Davis’ neck, it was a welcome pause to the endless veno... — Updated 3/9/2023
Busting the Maze of Phone Prompts is Good Customer Service
There is no substitute for person-to-person connections—people talking with, listening to, and understanding one another. It is called “customer service” and it is the best way t... — Updated 3/2/2023
People Depend More on Local Pharmacies for Medical Information
While the coronavirus clobbered many businesses, pharmacies were not among them. In fact, since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19, a pandemic, local pharmacists... — Updated 2/23/2023
Colville Healthy Forests Project Is Model for Federal Legislation
Who says Congress is so gridlocked that nothing is accomplished? Consider what happened last December when the U.S. Senate unanimously passed legislation streamlining regulations... — Updated 2/16/2023
Time to halt benefits scam
Three years after crooks stole billions in unemployment insurance funds, federal and state officials are scrambling to retrieve the money which was directed to the jobless and plug... — Updated 2/9/2023
European Data Centers Looking to Capture Heat
Coupled with the rapid growth of data centers we rely upon for internet service and information storage is an increased demand for electricity to power millions of computers and coo... — Updated 1/12/2023
Energy: All-of-the-above needed
Looking ahead to 2023 one of the most significant shifts America needs is to return to an “All of the Above” strategy which expands our energy options rather than further res... — Updated 12/29/2022
People Returning to Stores
The good news is, despite higher prices, inflation and safety concerns, more Christmas shoppers are browsing on-line but making in-store purchases. The National Retail Federation... — Updated 12/1/2022
Recovery hinges on return to work
To “Build Back America” key workers must return to jobsites. It is not good enough for President Biden to lean back on low unemployment numbers claiming success when employers canno... — Updated 10/27/2022
Firewood is new European gold
With Russian President Vladimur Putin cutting off natural gas supplies, Northern Europeans are scrambling and reverting to firewood to heat their homes, boil water and cook. It is... — Updated 10/6/2022
Herculean Effort Needed to Free Seattle of Drugs and Crime
Over the years, Seattle leaders faced “Herculean” challenges yet found the will, resources, and determination to come together and tackle them. Today’s conundrum is to overc... — Updated 9/15/2022
Private Sector Innovators Can Increase Fresh Water Supplies
In Washington, this year we’re fortunate to have escaped the historic droughts plaguing other parts of the world. The Columbia River basin water system has been at normal levels whi... — Updated 9/2/2022