Environment

When Los Angeles drained Owens Lake to bring water into its quickly growing urban basin, it simultaneously created a dry lakebed and one of the worst dust pollution problems in America. Various efforts to fight the problem have only failed.

January 27, 2011 - Places

With a downtown largely devoid of trees, Minneapolis is considering a new plan that would add more green life and greenspace to the city's center.

January 26, 2011 - MinnPost

The rural Midwest produces much of our nation's food supply, and yet small towns in the heartland and around America are increasingly and ironically becoming food deserts - places where citizens have little access to fresh, healthy foods.

January 25, 2011 - Grist

A new project is seeking to create the first citywide, comprehensive urban agriculture plan for New York City.

January 24, 2011 - Urban Omnibus

A new report from BP projects world energy use for the next 20 years: decreased oil growth but more OPEC-dependent; increased coal, natural gas, and renewable usage; and a major growth in carbon emissions.

January 24, 2011 - USA Today

Dickson Despommier says that the goal of cities today should be to be a "closed loop" ecosystem, where everything that is needed to support the city - energy, food, etc. - is contained within its borders.

January 22, 2011 - McKinsey & Company

Officials in Jordan are moving closer to creating an ambitious project aimed at producing food, fresh water and energy in the Sahara Desert.

January 22, 2011 - Gizmag

The Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Colorado State has indentified five particular species of plant that work well in semi-arid climates for green roofs.

January 21, 2011 - Energy Daily

Renewable energy is still only 2.3% of the U.S. energy production. David Biello asks, can renewables be ramped up in time to combat global warming?

January 20, 2011 - Yale Environment 360

As New Yorkers prepare for city-mandated, publicly-accessible 'report cards' on their buildings' energy use, they're finding fault with the LEED rating system for its lack of attention to actual energy measurement.

January 20, 2011 - Crain's New York Business

Rising sea waters are eroding the coast of California. The City of Ventura faces reality, and moves a wasting bike path inland.

January 20, 2011 - The Los Angeles Times

Three California schools are seeking to quantify the effects of efficiency-conscious driving in a study to establish a baseline for drivers' behavior.

January 19, 2011 - TheCityFix

As the world's population urbanizes, rural areas are being abandoned. But they don't have to sit empty and unused, according to this piece from GOOD.

January 18, 2011 - Good

A second Pew Center report on transportation and climate change has been released. It places most emphasis on vehicle technology and fuel, less on transit and smart growth. However, urban planners should note that pricing policies are stressed.

January 17, 2011 - Pew Center on Global Climate Change

Devastating floods have inundated Brisbane, Australia. Some say the city's sprawling development pattern fueled the destruction.

January 14, 2011 - Grist

January 13, 2011 - Tim Halbur

Jeff Prant of Carbusters pays a visit to New York's Times Square, and marvels at its transformation into a true public square.

January 13, 2011 - Carbusters Online

The city still known for its smog will not have its buses to blame - the last of its diesel-fueled ones retired Jan. 12 in a celebration. All but 7 of the 2,221 buses will be compressed-natural-gas powered; electric and gas-electric the remainder.

January 13, 2011 - Los Angeles Times: Environment

Beyond the fact that supplying lots of parking encourages driving, a new study quantifies the environmental impact of parking lot construction.

January 12, 2011 - The Infrastructurist

Opting for a small residence and living car-free can bring other environmental consequences, writes Carla Saulter.

January 12, 2011 - Grist