Funding for air and water quality programs still at risk.
$2.1 billion in frozen federal funds have been made accessible to Pennsylvania again following a lawsuit filed by Democrat governor Josh Shapiro, reports John Hurdle for Inside Climate News. The lawsuit itself is still ongoing despite the return of the funds, which ICN reports stemmed from a “direct engagement” between the governor and administration officials last week.
“The frozen funds included money for remediating Pennsylvania’s many abandoned mines, for helping the state reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and for reducing energy costs for homeowners. The freeze also prompted separate legal action by 22 other states and the District of Columbia, leading a federal judge in Rhode Island to order the administration to lift its spending ban,” writes Hurdle.
Read the full story: Trump Administration Restores $2.1 billion in Funding to Pennsylvania After State’s Lawsuit
Poll Shows Residents of Western States Prefer Conservation Over Oil and Gas
The majority of the poll’s respondents identified as politically conservative or independent, with 40 percent supporting MAGA platform.
New Jersey to Consider Charging Fossil Fuel Companies for Pollution
A proposed law would make companies liable for damages caused by burning fossil fuels.
Do Environmentalists Confuse Oil Production With Oil Demand?
Samantha Gross, the director of the Energy Security and Climate Initiative at the Brookings Institution, argues that the key to reducing emissions is to do the hard work of reducing oil demand rather than focusing on ending U.S. oil drilling.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
Satanic Place Names
From streams and lakes to valleys and canyons, I mapped more than 1,000 places named after the Devil.
California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO resigns after $600,000 scandal
Under Ian Choudri, the authority used taxpayer dollars to fund first class flights and trips to nightclubs.
Want to study the Missouri River? Soon, you may need unanimous approval from 10 states
Legislation would require 10 governors’ permission to study or build projects moving water outside the basin.
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
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority