The new report, Moving Cooler: Transportation Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions, written by Cambridge Systematics and sponsored by a variety of organizations, identifies several dozen transportation climate change emission reduction strategies, including improvements to efficient modes (walking, cycling and public transit), pricing reforms and smart growth land use policies.
Energy
Vancouver approves Laneway Housing and "Suites within Suites"
Wed, 07/29/2009 - 09:17
A quick post to note that on Tuesday of last week, Vancouver City Council unanimously approved bylaws to put into place Vancouver's new "suites within suites" housing option, across the City. Also referred to as "lock-off suites", these secondary suites within apartments are meant to represent an opportunity for housing flexibility, with such suites usable as a rental mortgage helper (a “mortgage helper in the sky”, as one article puts it), a separated but related unit for an elderly parent or aging teenager, a unit for a care-giver, or any other relationship an apartment owner might need.
U.S. Behind in Drive for Clean Energy
China, South Korea and Japan are all investing teh equivalent of hundreds of billions of dollars in clean energy technologies, while the U.S. is debating a mere 1.2 billion in the Waxman-Markey bill.
San Francisco Chronicle
Incentives for Energy Efficiency Expanding
The Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Housing Administration are looking to increase energy efficiency incentives for homeowners, including opportunities for larger home loans.
Los Angeles Times
Building Codes: Most Important Aspect of Climate Bill
Architect Edward Mazria looks at the climate bill heading to the Senate for approval and argues that its most important part is the section on building energy codes, which he calls "more powerful than 100 nuclear plants".
Grist
Geoengineering the Problem of Climate Change
This piece from The Atlantic looks at the emerging concept of "geoengineering" -- a set ideas that seek solutions to climate change by manipulating the environment.
The Atlantic
LEED-ND: Yay or Nay?
After five years of preparation and testing, members of the US Green Building Council (USGBC) and the Congress for the New Urbanism will begin balloting in late July on whether to authorize a full-fledged LEED-Neighborhood Development program.
New Urban News
Where City Rankings Fail
Worldchanging's Alex Steffen looks at the recent city rankings compiled by the Natural Resources Defense Council and says the method of measurement doesn't really prove how sustainable a place is -- or how it's improving.
WorldChanging
Vancouver's Olympic Village Going Green, Hopefully
Vancouver is hoping to build the greenest Olympic Village yet as it prepares to host the 2010 Winter games. But there are some challenges facing the ambitious plans.
Grist
GE's Home of the Future
General Electric has released a design for a Home of the Future, which is planned to be almost completely energy-neutral. As GOOD Magazine notes, the house is almost overloaded with gadgets to get you there.
GOOD Magazine
CA's Top Cities for Solar
Environment California has released a study that shows significant growth in the state's solar power construction, and ranks cities by how many solar roofs they have. San Diego is tops.
Environment California
New Eco-Town Plans Meet NIMBY Resistance
The UK government recently announced the sites of four new planned "eco-towns". But local opposition to the projects remains high.
The Christian Science Monitor
Canada Finds Electric Car Infrastructure Already In Place
In the cold climes of Canada, parking lots come equipped with 120-volt outlets to keep engine blocks warm. Planners see these outlets as a stepping stone to a future of electric cars for the country.
The Vancouver Sun
Raising the Green Bar again: from EcoDensity to "Greenest City"?
Tue, 07/14/2009 - 11:25
Over various blog posts through the last few years, I've shared some of the key steps and stages leading to the eventual unanimous Council approval of Vancouver's EcoDensity Initiative. Since then the EcoDensity Charter and new policies have been changing the way we think about density, green building and site design, and our ecological footprint in and outside of city hall. We've also been moving forward on various EcoDensity actions approved in principle by Council back in 2008.
Getting Resilient
A paper published earlier this year by a team of professors argues that cities need to learn to become more resilient as resources become more scarce.
ASLA's The Dirt blog
The Promise of Portugal
The Portuguese Coast is one of the most energetic in the world, and is the first country to have a commercial-scale wave energy device in the water. Now, they're planning a "pilot zone" for expanding the technology.
Renewable Energy World
The Battle Over the Microgrid
The "smart" grid powered by renewable energy sources is likely to be fundamentally different from the current electricity system in more ways than one. Some say it won't be as large-scale as it is now. That's not what utility companies want to hear.
Fast Company
Nuclear Power on the High Seas
A Russian manufacturer has announced plans to build a nuclear energy plant on a floating platform near the Bering Sea.
The New York Times
Fighting Climate Change with Bus Rapid Transit
Bogota, Colombia's bus rapid transit system is seen as a shining example of how buses can make up a good public transportation system in cities. It's also being looked at as a model for fighting climate change.
The New York Times
