In the Media

Wednesday, April 12, 2023 - Personal Care magazine

US startup Upwell Cosmetics has entered into an agreement with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) of Massachusetts and Western Washington University (WWU) to make and market a marine microalgae-derived wax for personal care products.

Wednesday, April 5, 2023 - Maryland Daily Record

“Businesses use bank accounts to hold their money to pay for things just like we do as individuals,” said Zoë Plakias, an agricultural economist and professor at Western Washington University and Ohio State University who has done research on cannabis industry banking. “It turns out that many cannabis businesses have a very hard time just getting a bank account.”

Wednesday, April 5, 2023 - Cascadia Daily News

“Based on previous research, we had predicted early on in the pandemic that Whatcom’s retail sector would take a big hit from the lack of Canadians, which comprise as much as 12% of retail sales tax in some categories,” said Laurie Trautman, Ph.D., director of the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University

“However, what we didn’t predict was how much domestic spending would spike, and this offset much of the lack of Canadian spending,” she said. Exceptions, Trautman said, included clothing and big-box stores. 

Monday, April 3, 2023 - Cascadia Daily News

Bellingham’s own Kathryn Trueblood comes to mind here; your friendly critic picked up her most recent, very admirable story collection, “Take Daily as Needed,” on a recent trip to Ravenna’s Third Place Books in Seattle (your critic was visiting his mother). It is Trueblood’s fourth book, all of which have appeared from small (or very small) presses. This one is out of University of New Mexico Press, small indeed, yet it offers more plausible life, and recognizable human experience, than nearly anything marketed as literature by the big New York publishers these days.

Trueblood, who teaches English at Western Washington University, is especially good at depicting what happens to those who are burdened with sensibility but who struggle to make ends meet. As culture gets meaner, as resources are stripped away from those in need, and as all but the lucky find themselves drifting frighteningly downward, how is anyone supposed to keep their dignity? With grit, humor, honesty and courage, and plenty of sex and swearing. Mothers and sons, and unreliable men, fill these vital stories. Tip your cap her way if you see Trueblood on campus, or off.

Monday, April 3, 2023 - Seattle Times

The Salish Sea is truly a wonder. On a daily basis, we see orcas, salmon, eagles and many other species travel up and down its coasts, taking advantage of the remaining healthy habitats for feeding and refuge. None of them take notice of the international boundary running through the middle of the sea and the different governments managing these waters. Just as these species travel freely across the border, so does the water and any pollutants they may be carrying. 

Wednesday, March 29, 2023 - Bellingham Herald

Western Washington University will host a prestigious annual discussion of antisemitism amid a national spike in hate against Jews and a school year that has seen bigotry against several minority groups on campus. Focus of the event is how the Nazi Party forced schools to teach its racist ideology, a topic that’s increasingly in the headlines as U.S. states such as Florida censor what students can learn about American history.

Monday, March 27, 2023 - Bellingham Herald

It’s not a trick of the light and you are not going crazy, pink snow does exist. In the spring and summer months, snow in Whatcom County’s mountains can turn pink. The color comes from an algae that can be found in alpine regions across the globe, and is more common than people think, said Robin Kodner, associate professor of environmental science at Western Washington University. Pink snow is more than interesting, it can be dangerous for the climate.

“Snow algae are just one of the many threats to snowpack and glacier systems worldwide, including Washington state,” Kodner said. “White snow is very reflective, so it reflects solar radiation, but when you darken the snow’s surface, it absorbs solar radiation and increases the rate of snowmelt.”

Friday, March 24, 2023 - The Northern Light

A research institute at Western Washington University is partnering with two Canadian universities to study several cross-border topics in the Cascadia region, including the impacts of pandemic travel restrictions.

WWU’s Border Policy Research Institute (BPRI) and Simon Fraser University will partner on “Pandemics and Borders,” a two-year project that will look at the impacts of travel restrictions during the pandemic with the goal of preventing future inequities. Researchers will examine travel restrictions, quarantine, testing and vaccine requirements, according to a BPRI news release.

The research will address a critical gap in knowledge on pandemic travel restrictions, according to BPRI. BPRI director Laurie Trautman said it may be the first study to bring together public health and border policy expertise at the U.S./Canada border. 

“It’s an opportunity to hopefully make a strong case that these border restrictions were impactful and were measures that should not be implemented quickly or easily next time,” she said. “We should be cautious and careful on how we restrict cross-border mobility because it impacts people’s lives and livelihoods.” 

Thursday, March 23, 2023 - Cascadia Daily News

For months, Western Washington University Philosophy Professor Dennis Whitcomb worked with co-authors Joshua Habgood-Coote and Lani Wilson to develop their latest article: "Can a good philosophical contribution be made just by asking a question?"

So what followed the title? Nothing ... but a blank empty page. 

The rest of the article lives within the minds of readers as they think and mentally respond to the question presented.

Monday, February 27, 2023 - Boston Globe

“One of the reasons that the Gulf of Maine is warming so rapidly is because of where it sits in the North Atlantic with regards to ocean circulation,” said Nina Whitney, an adjunct scientist at WHOI and research assistant professor at Western Washington University who was the lead author of the 2022 WHOI paper. “Anthropogenic — or man-made — warming is causing ocean circulation to change.”