Environment
New Book Proposes Safety Measures for Fracking
Written by Wall Street Journal energy reporter Russell Gold, the new book offers three recommendations that should be acceptable to all parties, from fracking's strongest supporters to its most ardent opponents.
Rebuild By Design: Building Resilience along the Atlantic Coast
Rebuild By Design, a design competition under the purview of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, released ten final proposals for projects that could protect and strengthen the Atlantic Coast in the event of another Hurricane Sandy.
Record Pollution Settlement: $5.15 Billion
Surpassing the BP Gulf spill fine by $1 billion, the settlement covers multi-state environmental sites. While levied on Anadarko Petroleum, the chemical contamination was the fault of subsidiary Kerr-McGee Corp., which Anadarko purchased in 2006.
The Political Foundation Behind America's Worst Tap Water Contamination
NPR host Linda Wertheimer interviews Evan Osnos about his current New Yorker piece on the Jan. chemical spill into W. Va.'s Elk River. His focus is less on the spill and more on the influence of Big Coal in government and how it contributed to it.
Google Bus Opponents Lose CEQA Appeal
Yes—that's right: fervent opponents of Google (et.al) buses tried to use California's environmental law to get them off the streets of San Francisco—which would lead to tech employees driving their own vehicles to Silicon Valley.
''D.C.'s High Line" Could Transform the Banks of the Anacostia
The proposed elevated park across the Anacostia would be a first for D.C. The group backing it has launched a national design competition to design a bridge that fosters economic development, promotes community health, and cleans the river.
Climate Change Harms People, not just Polar Bears, Warns IPCC in Exhaustive Report
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued a follow-up report to another in September that focused on the cause of climate change. The report released Monday focuses on the disruption that climate change will cause human society.
'People Habitat': Kaid Benfield Takes Smart Growth to a Higher Level
Kaid Benfield has a new book out, which Scott Doyon found positively uplifting. In ways beyond what you might be thinking.
Extreme Weather Could Replace Climate Change as Focus of Federal Agency
A bill sponsored by Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.) whose state has suffered the ravages of recurrent tornadoes would direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to research predicting extreme weather events in lieu of climate change.
Air Pollution Kills 7 Million Annually
In September, 2011 the above title read two million. Figures from both years are based on reports from the World Health Organization, a United Nations agency. Is air quality getting worse, or are more deaths being attributed to air pollution?
China Makes Moves to Cleaner Coal
Charles C. Mann reports on the benefits and obstacles to cleaner coal and why we need to explore carbon capture and storage even as we transition to renewable energy.
Mapping the Health of America’s Counties
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, in partnership with the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, this week released the annual County Health Rankings. The rankings aim to inspire healthy community action.
Catastrophic Mud Slide in Washington—Could it Have Been Prevented?
The death toll in this rural area 55 miles north of Seattle in Snohomish County is expected to rise. Rain had saturated the ground and led to the collapse of a hillside about 600 feet high and 1,500 feet long. But was the slide foreseeable?
25 Years after the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, Another Major Spill Occurs
A barge spilled 168,000 gallons of heavy oil after colliding with a ship in Galveston Bay outside of Texas City on March 22, just two days shy of the 25th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez, 11 million gallon oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska.
Are Environmentalists Digging Their Own Fracking Hole in Opposing Natural Gas Exports?
In a pair of articles, The Hill's energy and environment blogger Timothy Cara looks at political efforts to increase natural gas exports to Europe on account of Russia's annexation of Crimea, part of Ukraine, and environmental groups opposed to it.
Regulation Success Story: Diesel Emissions Greatly Reduced
Thanks to the 2010 federal requirement of ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel and new Tier 4 emissions standards by the EPA, particulate emissions from non-road diesel engines, including agricultural and construction equipment, have been reduced by 99%.
N.C. Coal Ash Spill Sheds Light On Role Played by EPA
The federal investigation of Duke Energy's Feb. 2 coal ash spill sheds light not only on the company and its state regulator, but also on that of the Environmental Protection Agency and holds wider implications for the coal industry as a whole.
Web-Tool Maps Real-Time Deforestation
A new web-based program, Global Forest Watch, provides access to almost real-time visualization of forests around the world.
Home on the Range: Plans to Expand Wild Bison Roaming
Montana state officials are considering a plan to allow wild bison to roam in a larger area outside of Yellowstone National Park. Ranchers oppose the project for fear of disease spreading to area livestock.
Deconstructing the Policing of Conservation Subdivision Design Standards
Continuing a conversation about the definition of conservation subdivisions, this article examines the inconsistent application of the term by policymakers. Moreover, the auto-dependent realities of rural development require more critical thinking.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
