AlterNet
Kunstler: Rebuild the Passenger Rail System
In his forward to James McCommons' new book, Waiting on a Train: The Embattled Future of Passenger Rail Service, James Howard Kunstler lays out the case for investing in a revival of passenger rail.
AlterNet
Green Apple?
Tara Lohan reviews David Owen's new book, Green Metropolis, which extols the ecological virtues of Manhattan. In her opinion, Owen doesn't ask the right questions and ignores some inconvenient facts.
AlterNet
In Defense of ACORN
The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now has a remarkable record of grassroots anti-poverty and community development campaigns, writes David Morris.
AlterNet
Urban Foragers Find Food in the City
Forage SF promotes the idea of eating uncultivated food found growing naturally, and even sells boxes of "wild food." Reporter Tara Lohan joins a forager, or "freegan", as they collect goodies from the streets.
AlterNet
Lovelock: It's Too Late -- But Some Will Survive
In this review of James Lovelock's new book "The Vanishing Face of Gaia", Alexander Zaitchik explains the author's view that, while nothing can be done to stop climate change, there is reason to believe that some form of civilization will survive.
AlterNet
California Drying Up
Climate models show that California -- the source of one third of America's food supply -- is running out of its reliable water supply.
AlterNet
Natural Gas Extraction a Threat to NYC Water Supply?
A water- and chemical-intensive process to mine natural gas may pose a threat to the watershed supplying drinking water to 14 million people.
AlterNet
Prepare Now for Altered Coastlines
A disturbing new report on sea-level rise projections for California warns that the state must start planning now for the anticipated flooding of its coastline, which could wipe out over $100 billion worth of built infrastructure.
AlterNet
Can Dubai Survive?
Beneath the shiny allure of Dubai lies a litany of human rights and environmental abuses so severe that collapse cannot be far away, writes Johann Hari.
AlterNet
Are We Too "Stupid" to Save Ourselves?
A new British documentary looks back from the year 2055 to show how humanity gradually destroyed the planet.
AlterNet
In Troubled Times, Roommates Becoming the Norm
More urban professionals are finding the only way to make housing affordable is to live with roommates.
AlterNet
Real Estate Bust, Part II
America is not just overspent, it is over-malled, and the next wave of foreclosures will hit retail and other commercial real estate.
AlterNet
Development Threatens Florida's Ecosystems
Environmentalists worry that development pressures -- even for higher-density transit-friendly communities -- are eroding Florida's complex natural environments.
AlterNet
Grow Your Own
In this excerpt from their new book, The Urban Homestead, authors Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen point out all the ways city dwellers can move away from industrial agriculture.
AlterNet
Will America's 'Worst Environmental Disaster' Mark a Move Away from Coal?
The massive flood of coal ash sludge in Tennessee may be the most serious environmental disaster in the nation's history and promises to be a flashpoint for opponents of coal power. [Includes slideshow of spill damage].
AlterNet
What We Really Need to Learn from Las Vegas
Las Vegas has always epitomized American excess. But with its water supply running out and its constant illumination warming the planet, it also represents the extent of our economic and ecological unsustainability.
AlterNet
Getting Off Oil Without the 'C' Word
Amory Lovins, co-founder and chairman of Rocky Mountain Institute, believes that governments and the private sector need to identify and remove barriers to energy efficiency, rather than simply promoting "conservation."
AlterNet
'Right to Rent' as Way out of Foreclosure Crisis
The way out of the foreclosure crisis may not be as difficult or as complex as it has been made out to be, argues Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
AlterNet
President-Elect Obama's Top Eco-Priorities
David Morris of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and Maude Barlow, Chair of the Board of Food and Water Watch lay out key priorities for an Obama Administration in terms of transportation and water policy.
AlterNet
Rays of Hope
Solar energy initiatives are taking off all across the country, despite some reservations over the impacts of large-scale installations.
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