Environment

After a two day hearing late last week, the Richmond Planning Commission approved a contentious $1 billion plan to expand a Chevron refinery located in the city. The plan still requires city council approval.

July 14, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

The U.S. Conference of Mayors signed a voluntary agreement to reduce carbon emissions in their respective cities, as they did ten years ago, but dropped the provision that they lobby Congress to pass a cap and trade bill to reduce emissions.

July 13, 2014 - Governing

Patch bills advanced in the Senate and the House on Thursday that would keep the Highway Trust Fund solvent through May 2015—good news for state DOTs that will see reduced federal reimbursements on August 1 unless a funding bill is passed soon.

July 12, 2014 - Politico Morning Transportation

A new book called 'Blue Urbanism: Exploring Connections between Cities and Oceans,' by Timothy Beatley, argues that cities must expand their understanding of urbanism to include their impacts on the oceans.

July 11, 2014 - ASLA The Dirt

Tubers and tourists had their right to litter protected by a district judge in Texas. What they got as a result was…a lot more litter.

July 11, 2014 - New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung

Opposition is stirring in industry and within the California legislature over the inclusion of oil refineries* in the cap and trade program come Jan. 1. Warning of a new tax on gas, opponents hope to delay the requirement for transportation fuels.

July 10, 2014 - Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

A group that coined the term, "stack and pack" to deride density and its role in reducing carbon emissions lost in court when the judge rejected their argument that only technological improvements in cars and fuels were necessary to reduce emissions.

July 9, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

Two projects proposed for the South Rim plateau of the Grand Canyon have raised alarms at the National Park Service, who see a serious threat from impacts to the views, water supply, and ecology of the canyon.

July 8, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

The GreaterPlaces website gathered information from the "Shared Stormwater Systems as Economic Incentives" panel at the 2014 APA National Conference to outline how shared stormwater systems can enhance the environment and retain business.

July 8, 2014 - GreaterPlaces

California has approved nearly $700 million in "emergency" drought relief funding, but much of it remains unspent, which begs the question: Are emergency measures an appropriate of effective response to the drought?

July 7, 2014 - Capital Public Radio

When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced its preference for a $1.08 billion plan to restore habitat in the Los Angeles River, many credited Lewis MacAdams's fight to change the city's relationship with its waterway over nearly three decades.

July 3, 2014 - The Planning Report

Open Access to Anna Osland's Article, "Using Planning to Mitigate Hazards from Hazardous Liquid and Natural Gas Transmission Pipelines." Link here: http://goo.gl/bDYGJg. Osland finds land use planning is overlooked in N.C. pipeline networks.

July 3, 2014 - JPER

A key regulation in California's war on global warming emissions withstood a major court challenge by the energy industry—both oil and corn ethanol—when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear their challenge to an Appeals Court ruling on June 30.

July 2, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

Christian McPhate and Ashlea Sigman provide a thorough and insightful read about the environmental impacts of Texas' water management policies, especially along the Brazos River, a drought-stricken water supply that cuts across the state.

June 29, 2014 - The Dallas Morning News

The green, quieter model runs on lithium batteries and gets 100 miles per charge. The Milwaukee company hopes it will appeal to a younger, urban, environmentally-conscious demographic as it's main market has been "aging white male baby boomers."

June 26, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

A new study by the World Bank examines the benefits for policies addressing clean transportation, energy efficiency in industry, and energy efficiency in buildings in five countries and the European Union.

June 26, 2014 - The World Bank

Little Tokyo in Los Angeles was selected to be part of the EcoDistrict Target City program. Global Green is excited to be part of this collaborative effort to promote neighborhood scale sustainability and further the concept of "Mottainai."

June 25, 2014 - Walker Wells

Allegheny County officials have embarked on an experiment to allow companies to drill for oil and gas below one of the county's eight parks. Whether operations expand beyond the initial test site remains to be seen.

June 25, 2014 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Two down, two to go. Rarely has a regional transportation/land use plan been sued by so many diverse groups. Environmentalists settled with Bay Area regional planning agencies with assurances that the 2017 plan will better account for GHG reductions.

June 24, 2014 - Contra Costa Times

In a 5-4 decision on June 23, the Supreme Court ruled that EPA erred in the permitting processes for new carbon-cutting rules. However, most of the Clean Power Plant rule that reduces emissions 30 percent will not be affected.

June 23, 2014 - Los Angeles Times