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Bend Badlands: A Threatened Desert Treasure

The Bend Badlands, just 15 miles from the growing population of Bend is suffering from abuse. Take a tour with Alice Elshoff of the Oregon Natural Desert Association and local rancer, Ray Clarno as they point out the destruction of petroglyphs, graffiti, the cutting down of ancient junipers and illegal dumping. The area, rich in geologic features is part of a BLM study area, but there is a strong push to get it designated as a wilderness area.

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Oceanic Dead Zone

For almost 6 weeks a huge section of the Oregon coast turned deadly. A catastrophic drop in the oxygen levels of the water resulted in what scientists call a dead zone. Overpopulation caused a massive die off of microscopic algae in this area. Algae corpses sucked up all of the oxygen in the water and kicked off a domino effect. Scientists use modern technology to determine what exactly caused the algae to multiply in the first place.

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Portland Sewers

The sewers of Portland are designed to transfer both household wastewater and rainwater to a treatment system. But when the rainfall is too heavy, the pipes can't handle the flow, and rainwater and untreated sewage are dumped directly into the Willamette River.

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