Environment
EPA Power Plant Rule Hinges on Unproven Technology
In order for new coal power plants to meet the EPA's new rules for reduced emissions, they will have to rely on unproven carbon capture and storage (or sequester) technologies, putting the legality of the rule in doubt.
Environmentalists Fight Feds Over Drilling in Utah's Treasured Public Lands
Utah's San Rafael Swell is the scene of an energy showdown between conservationists who want to preserve this unique landscape (potentially a national monument), private oil and gas companies that want to drill there, and the BLM that has to decide.
EPA Announces Controversial Limits on Power Plant Emissions
A year and 2.5 million public comments after the Obama Administration first proposed setting limits for the emission of carbon dioxide by power plants, the EPA is set to announce its final plan today. Could this mean the end of new coal plants?
Fed. Appeals Court Upholds CA's Low Carbon Fuel Standard
The Calif. Air Resources Board received uplifting news from the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this week when they rejected the charge that the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, designed to reduce carbon intensity in fuel, impeded interstate commerce.
Can Urban Forests Save the Planet?
Urban forests may possess the power to battle climate change. We just have to figure out what is more important: quantity or quality?
Is Fracking Less Harmful Than Suspected?
How much methane, a powerful but short-lived greenhouse gas is released during fracking operations for natural gas? Until now, all studies, including those by the EPA, were done by estimates. This study went to over 500 well sites to measure leaks.
China Announces Ambitious Plan to Tackle its Atrocious Air
As China's hazardous environment becomes a "potent political issue", the central government has released a detailed plan that aims to clean up the country's abysmal air pollution.
Streamlined CEQA Reform Passes Under a New Bill
Senator Steinberg's CEQA reform bill, SB 731, which we have been following all year, died - but many of the most important aspects - LOS, aesthetic and parking impacts, have been transferred to SB 743 (Kings Arena bill), though applied more narrowly.
Fearing Worse, California OK's Higher Densities Around Lake Tahoe
Bowing to threats that Nevada would pull out of a regional planning compact, California lawmakers agreed to increase development around Lake Tahoe last week. Environmentalists who are challenging the plan see the agreement as a capitulation.
Disaster-Insurance Premiums Provide a Guide to Smarter Living
Disaster insurance isn’t just a pain in the neck. It could help us live better within a changing climate.
Feds Weigh In on L.A. River Restoration After Seven Years of Study
While the alternative outlined in a long-awaited U.S. Army Corps of Engineers feasibility study envisions a major reshaping of an 11-mile stretch of the L.A. River, the recommendation falls far short of what local leaders and activists had preferred.
Nation's Toughest Fracking Bill To Be Signed By CA Gov. Jerry Brown
SB 4 passed the legislature over strong objections from the oil and business community. California will go from having no well stimulation (includes acidizing) regulation set in statute to the nation's toughest, so why are environmentalists unhappy?
CEQA Reform Amendments Strengthen Social and Traffic Impact Analysis
As long-debated reforms meant to streamline California's landmark Environmental Quality Act near passage, interest groups from the right and left have found plenty to quibble with. But in two key areas, observers are cheering new amendments.
Meant to Deter, Utah's Bad Air Alerts Actually Increase Driving
Call it the law of unintended consequences. Alerts of "bad air days" that ask motorists in the Wasatch Front to reduce driving had the opposite effect, prompting some residents to drive away from lowlands to the mountains where air may be healthier.
Study Finds Food Waste Is Third-Largest Greenhouse Gas Source
A new study from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization found that the 1.3 billion tons of food wasted every year make it one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions.
ASLA Assembles Reservoir of Resources on Health Benefits of Nature
For years, science has been catching up to the intuitive wisdom that spending time in, or adjacent to, nature has physical and mental health benefits. The ASLA has collected a trove of this research in one easy to navigate website.
Is U.N. Panel Being Overly Conservative with Climate Change Predictions?
As one of the world's most respected voices on climate change prepares the final draft of its latest report on the warming planet, a debate is playing out behind the scenes as to whether it is intentionally downplaying the potential impacts.
What is the Key to Improving New York City's Livability?
The candidates competing to emerge from today's mayoral primary confront a host of challenges that threaten the quality of life in the Big Apple. Five experts identify the issues they believe are key to improving the city's livability.
Fracking is Causing Earthquakes in Ohio
The wastewater well from the process of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, triggered 167 earthquakes in and around Youngstown, Ohio, during a single year of operation, according to research in the Journal of Geophysical Research.
NOAA Report Links Extreme Weather To Climate Change
A report by NOAA & UK's Met Office says climate change may have contributed some of the extreme weather events in 2012.
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
