Energy

Unsurprisingly, most of the projects compiled by the company KPMG called "Infrastructure 100: World Cities Edition" are in expanding countries like China and Saudi Arabia. Tyler Falk pulls out some favorites.

July 7, 2012 - SmartPlanet

An environmental economist and a law professor pronounces the increased carbon tax in British Columbia "the smartest tax in the world" and advise the U.S. to get onboard.

July 6, 2012 - The New York Times - Opinion

James Howard Kunstler has a new book, which goes deeper into an idea he's often explored: that the U.S. has a misguided sense that new technologies will save the American lifestyle.

July 5, 2012 - Urban Times

Energy shortages in coal, natural gas, and diesel fuel are constraining India's growth. At the heart of the shortages are government subsidies that keep prices low, state-run monopolies that are unable to increase production, and costly imports.

July 3, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal

A device invented to cool factories changed where and how our cities formed.

July 2, 2012 - The Atlantic

A unanimous decision by a 3-judge panel affirmed a central 2009 finding of the EPA that greenhouses gases pose a threat to public health, clearing the way for applying regulations controlling their emissions to stationary sources and vehicles.

June 28, 2012 - Reuters

Expo 2012 is happening now in Korea, and features a panorama of a futuristic underwater city as part of a focus on future sustainability.

June 26, 2012 - The Vancouver Sun

Douglas Coupland, most famous for authoring the book Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, is pitching a combined street lamp / wifi / cell phone tower to bring connectivity to Vancouver's streets.

June 25, 2012 - National Post

The federal government gives more research and development subsidies to fossil fuels than clean energy technologies. But, why?

June 24, 2012 - Grist

Nations like Denmark are leading the world in producing renewable energy. But the transition to renewables doesn’t just amount to the number of solar panels or wind turbines that can be built, it takes a smart grid to maximize their potential.

June 21, 2012 - THE DIRT

By partnering with banks, real estate developers and nonprofit groups, New York City will assist some 10,000 buildings to convert to cleaner fuel, a major step in reaching PlaNYC's goal of having the cleanest air of any major U.S. city.

June 18, 2012 - Good Environment

If natural gas has a future, the key is to regulate hydraulic fracking in a report by the International Energy Agency. The New York Times recommends that all concerned about the environment read it - and no better place to apply it than New York.

June 14, 2012 - The New York Times - Opinion

In a wide ranging interview with Grist reporters Chip Giller and Scott Rosenberg on her tenure at the helm of the EPA, Lisa Jackson discusses the administration’s position on coal. It’s been accused of waging a war on it by coal supporters.

June 13, 2012 - Grist

Lucrative for homeowners and industrial customers who can afford them, solar panels are not without their own issues. The equity issue - whereby the claim is made that poorer customers subsidize the utility costs of wealthier ones, is investigated.

June 7, 2012 - The New York Times - Business Day

As the Summer months heat up, Sarah Laskow reports on cities' efforts to keep retailers' doors closed.

June 3, 2012 - GOOD Magazine

The battleground is the Big Sandy coal power plant in eastern Kentucky. The owner, American Electric Power, under pressure from coal proponents, agreed to do a $1 billion retrofit rather than switching to natural gas. Victory was short-lived.

May 31, 2012 - The New York Times - Energy & Environment

Carren Jao reports on recent steps the City of Los Angeles is taking to expand is woefully under-built solar power capacity.

May 30, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper

Shell Oil's seven-year, $4 billion investment has paid off. Awaiting final Interior Dept. permits, two drilling ships, moored in Seattle, are poised to travel to the Arctic to begin drilling test wells in 150 ft of water off northern Alaska in July.

May 28, 2012 - The New York Times - Environment

Emily Badger reports on pioneering research that is looking into ways to utilize the heat trapping properties of asphalt, rather than fighting it.

May 25, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

According to the Energy Information Agency's (EIA) May outlook, expect coal-generated electric power to drop a full 15% for 2012 while natural gas generated power increases by 24%. Coal dropped from 45% to 36% as the source of U.S. power generation.

May 23, 2012 - ThinkProgress