Government / Politics

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%.

March 24, 2014 - Environmental Health News

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.

March 23, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal - U.S.

Lessons from a successful urban farming effort can be applied to achieve resource independence aside from just food.

March 22, 2014 - Architectural Review

He might be an outsider to some New Yorkers, but Mitchell Silver is one of the most recognizable and respected planners in the country. For his new job as New York’s parks commissioner, Silver will oversee 29,000 acres of parkland and 1,900 parks.

March 21, 2014 - New York Times

A unanimous vote by the Carson city council for the 45-day moratorium on all oil drilling, with or without fracking, was done in response to an application for drilling by Occidental Petroleum even though the company agreed not to utilize fracking.

March 21, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles had been counting on a $30 million Choice Neighborhoods federal grant to help fund a massive makeover for Jordan Downs—one of the most downtrodden sections of Watts in South Los Angeles.

March 19, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

The Bay Area already has express lanes - but these 23 miles in Contra Costa County on I-680 will be the first built and operated by the new Bay Area Infrastructure Financing Authority, a division of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC).

March 19, 2014 - Contra Costa Times

Unlike the U.S., most passenger vehicles in Europe run on diesel fuel, not gasoline, and from a public health perspective, diesel emissions can severely exacerbate particle pollution during weather inversions like the one Paris is now experiencing.

March 19, 2014 - The Atlantic Cities

Many New Jersey residents are waiting for state aid to help them rebuild after Hurricane Sandy. But not everyone is receiving a fair share of recovery funds. How will Governor Chris Christie respond?

March 19, 2014 - Rooflines

February data shows a perceptible increase in the number of moving violations enforced in New York City compared to the year prior. The increase is at least partly because of how few traffic tickets were written in 2013.

March 18, 2014 - WNYC: Transportation Nation

The 2015 federal budget proposes a $50 minimum rent on subsidized rural rental housing to encourage “financial responsibility.” Will this really help the rural poor?

March 17, 2014 - Rooflines

The Port of Albany is thriving as a major hub for CBR shipments from the Bakken field in North Dakota and Saskatchewan province. But we learn there are limits to further growth after the city slapped a moratorium on expansion to oil sands from Canada

March 17, 2014 - Climate Progress

We've come to expect hight air pollution levels in Beijing and other Asian cities with high traffic levels and surrounded by dirty coal plants, but not in cities using emission-free nuclear energy and lots of bikes and mass transit. So why Paris?

March 17, 2014 - The New York Times - Europe

The city of San Francisco will vote on Prop. B, an ordinance that would limit the height of developments along the waterfront, in June. The ballot will list the campaign manager for the Yes on B campaign as the official opponent of the measure.

March 14, 2014 - SFGate

Yes, one is with and the other without oxygen, and both divert waste from the landfill—but in terms of the end products, what is the advantage of anaerobic digestion? Simply put, does society face a shortage of compost or renewable energy?

March 14, 2014 - NPR Morning Edition

A strange scene this week: members of Congress discussing height restrictions in one of the country's largest urban centers. In the end, a House committee approved a bill that would loosen D.C.’s century-old Height of Buildings Act.

March 13, 2014 - Washington Business Journal

Chuck Eckenstahler examines the “Benton Harbor Rule”—the desired funding and support that comes from a designation by the federal government as “metropolitan.” But does the “metropolitan” designation pay off as intended?

March 12, 2014 - Urbanophile

With the Crimean referendum just days away, President Obama hopes that economic sanctions will cause Russia to back-off its threatened annexation from Ukraine. However, Europe may be unlikely to go along due to it's dependence on Russian natural gas.

March 11, 2014 - Living on Earth

Working for a small town doesn't just teach you how to plan a community; it teaches you how to be a part of it.

March 11, 2014 - Norman Wright

First came plastic bags, then styrofoam cups, and now, plastic water bottles—though the ban is not as far-reaching as the former two in that it is restricted to sales on city property, including street fairs.

March 8, 2014 - San Francisco Examiner