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The Planetizen News Brief - 7/2/09

2 July 2009 - 5:00am
Smart City Radio

The Planetizen News Brief is a weekly rundown of some of the most interesting and important news and issues of the past week.

The Planetizen News Brief airs every week on the nationally-syndicated radio program "Smart City", which is broadcast in cities across the U.S. Learn more about Smart City and listen to archived shows.

Full Transcript

Renewable energy can do no wrong. It’s on the lips of every politician, and on the wish lists of people who a few years back couldn’t even say “photovoltaic”. The benefits of renewable energy sources like wind and solar are undeniable: cities get naturally-created energy and a reduced carbon footprint, and everything is dandy. Well, everything within those cities anyway. Out in rural places, the realities of renewable energy can be harsh and unavoidable. As a recent article from the rural news website the Daily Yonder reports, the transmission lines that would transport the energy from this new smart grid are causing political dust storms in rural areas across America. From Texas to California to New Mexico, rural residents are voicing opposition to projects that they say will devastate their local environments and local property values. It’s estimated that more than 300,000 megawatts of renewable energy projects can’t move forward because of lack of transmission capacity. It seems that turning America into a smart power country is going to require greater cooperation with the rural residents who absorb most of the downsides of renewable power and few of its benefits.

Meanwhile, out in Colorado, two new laws are making it legal for residents to collect and reuse rainwater. A recent article from the New York Times looks at the new laws and why the state had previously prevented people from catching the water. Like some other states in the west, strict water ownership rights prevented collection of rainwater, but droughts and dwindling supplies are beginning to inspire changes. A 2007 study showed that 97% of rainwater falling directly on the ground in one Colorado county was absorbed by plants before it could reach any streams, leading lawmakers to decide that allowing residents to collect some of that water wouldn’t contribute to further shortages.

And finally, London is fuming over a surprise decision by Olympic organizers. Originally, the city’s 2012 Olympic stadium was planned to have 80,000 seats during the games, but then be downsized to a more manageable 25,000 seats after the event. It was part of an effort to make sure the huge stadium would be able to remain relevant and useful after the games. But now, according to an article from the Architects’ Journal, planners want to keep all 80,000 seats. They’re hoping it will help England secure a bid for an upcoming soccer World Cup. Critics say that the change will likely result in greater debt for the country and yet another hulking Olympic stadium going underused.

Stories discussed in this week's Planetizen News Brief

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