Radiation from Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor has been found on the shores of Vancouver Island, The Associated Press reports.

This is the first time radiation from the disaster has been detected on North American land. The reactor began leaking radiation after a massive earthquake and tsunami hit Japan in 2011, killing 16,000 people. Levels are too low to present a safety concern, scientists said.

Arguments were heard Tuesday in the case of two Oregon teens who sued the state over climate change. Kelsey Juliana and Olivia Chernaik argue the state is violating the public trust doctrine by failing to meet its own greenhouse gas reduction goals. The pair argue the state must rein in carbon emissions to protect future generations from the catastrophic impacts of climate change. On Tuesday, Lane County Judge Karsten Rasmussen appeared to lean toward siding with the state, which argues it has no responsibility to keep the air clean. Rasmussen said he would issue a formally respond to Tuesday's arguments in one to two months.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has agreed to consider upgrading Endangered Species Act protections for the northern spotted owl from threatened to endangered. The owl, classified as a threatened species in 1990, has continued to decline since then. The bird became a locus of controversy after the listing, after logging in Oregon federal forests ground to a near-halt to protect the bird. Eventually, tensions over the matter were settled with the Northwest Forest Plan that's now up for a 20-year renewal. Now, logging of old growth forests isn't the owl's only threat. Another species, the barred owl, is competing with Oregon's native spotted owl for habitat -- and winning.

The Portland Planning and Sustainability Commission on Tuesday approved a zoning change that would allow plans for a propane export terminal at the Port of Portland to move forward. The Oregonian's Ted Sickinger reports the commission met for six hours before narrowly approving the zoning change, which deals with small but critical part of the project. The Portland City Council will have final say on the matter, and opponents who say Portland shouldn't be in the fossil fuel export business plan to continue fighting to quash the proposed $500 million facility.

-- Kelly House

khouse@oregonian.com

503-221-8178

@Kelly_M_House