By Courtney Sherwood, The Columbian, Vancouver, Wash. Apr. 4--Natural gas and electricity rates will start to climb in 2009 in Clark County and could go up significantly in the years ahead, unless global trends make a surprise reversal.

By ERIK ROBINSON Paige and Ryan Hads installed a 2.85-kilowatt solar system in the backyard of their house in west Vancouver's Lincoln neighborhood, aided by a low-interest loan from Clark Public Utilities.

By COURTNEY SHERWOOD Columbian staff writer It's a tough time to be a voter-owned power and water company. Electric power costs are up. Water rights are increasingly contested.

By JUSTIN CARINCI Columbian staff writer With a Pacific Northwest winter around the corner, some people are reaching for a sweater or cranking up the furnace another notch. Walt Royle of Vancouver is warming up with two wall heaters -- powered by solar electricity.

By HOWARD BUCK Columbian staff writer The same pollutants that blot out views of Mount St. Helens and the Columbia River Gorge spew from every school bus in Clark County. It's not quite the warm, cuddly image normally attached to the big, yellow buses.