(KPTV) – The Beaver State, despite being known for having residents who are passionate about climate change and the environment, has been found to contain some of the most polluted air in the entire country.

A new report shows that two out of the top 10 locations with the worst air quality are in Oregon.

Eugene was found to be in fourth place and the Grants Pass-Medford area came in at eighth place.

Bakersfield, California took the top spot as the US city with the most air pollution.

Just last month, Oregon environmental regulators discussed a push to drastically reduce greenhouse gasses from fossil fuel companies.

The state also adopted a statewide Climate Protection Plan in 2021, which was promised to be one of the strongest climate action plans in the country.

This new study, assembled by the American Lung Association, showed that there are 4,589 pediatric and 36,325 adult asthma cases in Eugene-Springfield which is home to 382,353 people.

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Eugene-Springfield was noted for having particularly high levels of pollution coming from car emissions, wood-burning stoves and diesel engines.

The San Francisco Bay Area ranked just under Eugene-Springfield in fifth place due to transportation emissions, wildfires, and industrial storm water runoff.

Los Angeles was listed next in sixth place due to burning of fossil fuels, especially by cars, ships, planes, manufacturing, and wildfires.

Medford earned the eighth spot, followed by Phoenix and Fairbanks, Alaska.

The study showed 4,277 pediatric and 28,473 adult asthma cases in the Medford-Grants Pass area out of a population of 309,374.

Data showed the US is responsible for 17 percent of total global greenhouse emissions.

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10 Barrel Brewing Portland

1411 NW Flanders St, Portland, OR 97209

Shortly after expanding to Portland, the Bend, OR based 10 Barrel Brewing added a rooftop bar to the NW PDX Pearl District brewpub. This location was already special to the 10 Barrel Brewing brand, as it market their first foray outside of their hometown and the addition of a new brewery and chance to bring in more top brewing talent. It got off to an excellent start with the hire of head brewer Whitney Burnside, at the time an alumni of Pelican Brewing, Elysian Brewing, and Upright Brewing. After years of making excellent award-winning beers under 10 Barrel’s parent company Anheuser-Busch, Burnside left to open Grand Fir Brewing and 10 Barrel was sold to Tilray Beverages.

Now under the Tilray Brands banner, 10 Barrel Brewing is once again considered “craft beer” again by the independent industry trade organization the Brewers Association. They also named new 10 Barrel Portland head brewer Brandon Whalen to lead the team, and Whalen comes with brewing chops from his time at Breakside Brewery where he helped craft beers from the most award-winning brewery in Oregon.

The 10 Barrel Brewing Portland location has an 1,800 sf rooftop addition with a full-sized bar serving cocktails and 20 beers on tap, with a full food menu of staples like pizza, burgers, and those over-the-top BBQ chips gorgonzola steak nachos. Construction of the new outdoor space occurred above their operating restaurant and included the addition of two staircases for roof access. The deck now provides seating for an additional 85 people and is open year-round. Originally a seasonal only feature, the rooftop is now partially enclosed and covered for bad weather and opens up to partial views of the skyline, West hills, and Pearl District neighborhood shops and people watching.

Oregon has lots of jobs. In some ways, too many.

Jobs are especially abundant in Oregon’s healthcare, manufacturing and childcare industries. But the workforce to fill these jobs is lagging and employers — businesses, community organizations, higher education institutions and state agencies — will have to work together to shore up the state’s worker shortage.

Those are some of the key findings from the Oregon Talent Assessment, a biannual report released this week by the state’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission and the Workforce and Talent Development Board.

The report looked at four key industries that have the potential to lift the economic status of Oregonians: healthcare, information technology, construction and wood products manufacturing. It also singled out two jobs that are crucial to a well-oiled economy in Oregon: childcare workers and truck drivers.

Post-pandemic, Oregon’s economy is faring well, according to figures cited in the assessment. The state’s gross domestic product has increased by more than 30% over the last five years and employment grew by 7% from 2020 to 2023. That job growth is expected to increase by 10% over the next ten years.

“Oregon is well positioned when it comes to the labor market,” said Christiana McFarland with the nonprofit research firm SRI, which conducted the assessment. “Most people who want a job, have a job here in the State of Oregon.”

But this good news is tempered with the fact that the state’s current workforce is expected to shrink in coming years. One in four workers are set to retire over the next decade and a 30-year trend in population growth for Oregon ended in 2022.

The continued growth of the state’s economy is dependent on finding, training and retaining skilled workers. Providing periodic training opportunities for workers in information technology and semiconductor spaces is crucial, where technological advancements often outpace STEM programs and certifications. Retraining was also an identified need for Oregon’s trucking industry. Employers surveyed in this industry said balancing time away from a worker’s regular duties with training on new technologies, like lane assist or other semi-automatic safety features, was a challenge.

The assessment reported that Oregon’s workforce shortage is severe, with about 66 people available to work for every 100 jobs posted in the state. Labor shortages in certain industries and jobs are more significant than others. The state needs nearly 27,000 more healthcare workers to meet demand. Registered nurse was the most common position found on Oregon job boards. The report also found that part of the problem is a slow pipeline for healthcare workers due to Oregon’s own regulatory system, with a licensure process that is unusually burdensome for people seeking credentials.

Oregon needs nearly 3,000 more people to fill the demand for childcare workers, a job that is often underpaid. Workers in this job overwhelmingly identify as female and earn just over half of the average salary, $65,000, in Oregon. The lack of available childcare slots has a downstream effect on potential workers, by preventing parents of young children from entering the workforce.

The report offered several recommendations to ensure long-term success for Oregon’s economy and workforce including closer alignment between two big realms: the state’s workforce system, which includes private business leaders, state agencies and community organizations, and the state’s education system, meaning both K-12 and higher education.

The report also called for increased access to workforce opportunities for all Oregonians, something the state has already started doing through Future Ready Oregon, a $200 million investment from the state legislature in 2022. Creating an equitable workforce is the main goal behind the program, which seeks to increase living-wage job opportunities for women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and youth among other marginalized groups in the state.

“There are a number of programs and investments that the state is making to really drive workforce development, talent development into the future,” said McFarland. “The key to success for those programs is going to be the ability to adapt to the changing economy.”