Energy
Chicago Program a Model for Preserving Affordable Housing and Cutting Pollution
A Chicago-based community development financial institution (CDFI) and efficiency group help apartment building owners tame high utility costs, preserve affordable housing, and cut global warming emissions.
Battle Over Gas Exports Pits Manufacturers Against Energy Industry
America's oil and gas boom has energy companies ramping up their ability to export natural gas, and the feds eager to approve export terminal projects. But Dow Chemical’s chief executive warns that exports threaten the U.S. manufacturing renaissance.
New Reports Show Wind Power Growing at Full Sail
Two new reports published by the Department of Energy detail the remarkable rise in wind power in the United States. Energy derived from the wind can now power more than 15 millions homes.
Fracking Battle Consumes Britain
Prime Minister David Cameron is hoping that Britons will support hydraulic fracturing for natural gas, pointing to its use in the US as a success to be replicated. Religious leaders and some conservatives in his party aren't sold.
Proposed Energy Reforms in Mexico Could Reverse Oil Production Decline
Mexico, the world's 9th largest oil producer and first to nationalize its oil production, has seen steep production declines as the state-owned oil company lacks capital resources and expertise. Constitutional reforms would entice private investment.
Powering L.A.'s Future Without Breaking the Bank
Through determined investment, L.A. is on track to generate a third of its power from renewables by 2020. Varun Sivaram, formerly Mayor Villaraigosa's senior advisor on energy and water policy, explains how the city must modernize its power system.
Confessions of a Failed Energy Martyr
Somewhere along the ramifying pathways of the possible, Raymond Welch became an energy consultant. In this Terrain.org guest editorial, he rants on a troubling future that he helped create.
How Green Is Your Electric Car? Depends Where You Live
According to a new report from Climate Central, your EV is only as clean as the power plant used to generate the electricity it runs on. Furthermore, due to the huge carbon cost of batteries, a hybrid may be more climate-friendly than a plug-in.
California Already Confronting ‘Significant’ Impacts of Climate Change
A new report by state scientists identifies three dozen environmental indicators that confirm the effects of climate change on California are ‘significant and growing.’
Second Transcontinental Pipeline May Succeed if Keystone XL Fails
As the Keystone XL pipeline project remains mired in political muck, a second pipeline project is quietly moving toward approval.
Oil and Gas Revenue May Fund Texas Roads
The nation's largest oil and natural gas producer is flush with revenue from energy production. If Gov. Rick Perry signs the bill supported by two-thirds of both chambers, voters will decide whether to use about $1.2 billion of it annually for roads.
Sustainability: What’s In a Word?
The term "sustainability" carries so much baggage that we're no longer able to talk about what we actually need to talk about. What can we do to depoliticize it?
The Positive Energy Potential of Suburban Sprawl
What if most cars were electrics, most electricity was generated locally, and new development was required to have solar? Would this paradigm make sprawl more energy sustainable than compact growth? A new paper argues yes.
Regulators Push New Tools for Preventing Massive Blackouts
A decade ago, a power failure in northern Ohio caused a cascading series of outages that knocked out power to 50 million people in the United States and Canada. New tools aim to reduce the chances that such events could happen in the future.
Polluting 'Platinum' Tower Pierces LEED Balloon
When the Bank of America Tower opened in 2010 it was praised as the world's first LEED Platinum skyscraper. But data on the building's performance, post-occupation, show that it's actually an energy hog and massive greenhouse gas polluter.
Can America Salvage Its Waste-to-Energy Opportunities?
With 87 total waste-to-energy plants in the U.S., the country is only able to convert 12 percent of its trash to electricity (compared to 38 percent for Germany, for instance). Why is America still sending 55 percent of its trash to landfills?
Solar's Existential Threat to America's Electricity Industry
Government incentives have long sought to boost the viability of renewable energy sources. Though it accounts for less than a quarter of 1 percent of America's power generation, utility companies say its time to stop subsidizing solar.
Louisiana Sues Energy Companies for Killing Coastal Defenses
For a century, energy companies have been digging up Louisiana's coast for exploration and pipelines. A state board that oversees flood-protection has now sued them for destroying the coastal wetlands that stood as a natural buffer against flooding.
College Campuses Test Tomorrow's Solutions for Combating Climate Change
Driven by student activism and less idealistic motivations for improving energy efficiency, college campuses across the Unites States are pioneering 'innovative approaches to rethinking energy infrastructure'.
Should Electric Cars Get Free Parking?
Ideally, the best way to encourage sales of non-polluting electric vehicles would be to price carbon emissions. But if that isn't possible, why not reward EV owners with perks such as free parking; or would that be a distortionary incentive?
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
Tyler Technologies
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
