Locus Focus

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Every Monday from 10:00am to 11:00am.


 

A weekly conversation about our place on the planet. Locus Focus host Barbara Bernstein talks with local, regional and national experts, activists and policy makers about climate change, food policy, land use, salmon restoration, forest management and all the other things that matter in our environment.

Streams: 
KBOO Stream 1
Program status: 
Current

Black Carbon

Airs at: Mon, 05/11/2026 at 10:00am - 11:00am
Produced for Locus Focus
Portland has some of the worse air quality in the country and it’s mainly due to the exhaust from diesel trucks. In Washington State and California diesel trucks are required to have filtered engines which remove 90% of the micro particles that are emitted from burning d... Read more

Healing a Wounded River

Airs at: Mon, 05/04/2026 at 10:00am - 11:00am
Produced for Locus Focus
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The Willamette River begins its course as two forks merge south of Eugene, to form the major river in NW Oregon. From its pristine origins the Willamette flows as a recognizable river through small cities, forests and farmland, until it reaches Portland. There it becomes... Read more

Reviving the Willamette

Airs at: Mon, 05/04/2026 at 10:00am - 11:00am
Produced for Locus Focus
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Portland is gifted to have a mighty river flowing through the heart of the city. Unfortunately for more than a century this priceless resource has been abused, degraded and polluted, and for many decades Portlanders turned their backs on the Willamette River. But things ... Read more

Data Centers and Ground Water Pollution in the Lower Umatilla Basin

Airs at: Mon, 04/27/2026 at 10:00am - 11:00am
Produced for Locus Focus
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Pollution from industrialized agriculture, confined animal feeding operations, and processed food factories, has caused a decades-long public health crisis in the Lower Umatilla Basin. More recently the rampant ground water pollution in the region has been exasperated by... Read more

The Endless Zenith Saga Continues

Airs at: Mon, 04/20/2026 at 10:00am - 11:00am
Produced for Locus Focus
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Soon after the new Portland City Council took office in 2025, they passed a resolution concerning Zenith Energy, the controversial Houston-based fossil fuel company that rode into Portland in 2017. The resolution directed Mayor Keith Wilson to investigate whether Zenith ... Read more

Data Centers - Scourge and Organizing Opportunity

Airs at: Mon, 04/13/2026 at 10:00am - 11:00am
Produced for Locus Focus
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  This program aired originally on February 23, 2026   As data centers continue to pop up like noxious weeds, a growing movement is coming together to stop their spread. Like oil and gas pipelines before them, data centers are uniting people of diverse backgrounds and p... Read more

The Glories of Willamette Falls

Airs at: Mon, 04/06/2026 at 10:00am - 11:00am
Produced for Locus Focus
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  This show aired originally on February 16, 2026   The largest waterfall in North America is Niagara Falls, a world renowned tourist attraction with spectacular views from many angles. The second largest falls is Willamette Falls, 16 miles south of Portland, Oregon, wh... Read more

Saving Ross Island

Airs at: Mon, 03/30/2026 at 10:00am - 11:00am
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Ross Island, extending south in the Willamette River from the Ross Island Bridge to Sellwood, could be the jewel of Portland’s park system. Instead it has been abused and now abandoned by Ross Island Sand and Gravel, which mined gravel on the island for 90 years. As a re... Read more

Risk Bond Bill Passes Oregon Legislature

Airs at: Mon, 03/23/2026 at 10:00am - 11:00am
Produced for Locus Focus
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For over a century a massive array of tanks filled with noxious, explosive liquid fuels and chemicals has been an existential threat to the Pacific Northwest. It still is, but as a result of the passage of the Risk Bond Bill at the end of this past legislative session, w... Read more

The Death and Life of Kulla Kulla Creek

Airs at: Mon, 03/16/2026 at 10:00am - 11:00am
Produced for Locus Focus
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  This program originally aired on 01/26/2026 From the crest of the Tualatin Mountains, Balch Creek flows down a canyon through Forest Park. The stream runs wild and free until a mile from its confluence with the Willamette River, where it is imprisoned in a sewer pipe.... Read more