Amory Lovins, co-founder and chairman of Rocky Mountain Institute, believes that governments and the private sector need to identify and remove barriers to energy efficiency, rather than simply promoting "conservation."
"The world's biggest untapped energy source, according to energy expert Amory Lovins, is efficiency. But don't call it 'conservation.'
In an interview conducted by science writer Carole Bass for Yale Environment 360, Lovins...says that word connotes 'privation, discomfort and curtailment.' By contrast, 'efficiency' means 'doing more and better with less energy and money, but with more brains and technology,' he says.
The longtime renewable energy advocate and author says retooling for energy efficiency will require 'barrier-busting' at many levels. And government, Lovins says, 'should steer, not row.'"
Read the full story: Efficiency Is Our Best Untapped Energy
Gas Prices Drive Canadians to Bikes
Sunny Freeman of The Canadian Press takes to the streets to talk to bicyclists about their choice of conveyance. She says a gas price spike during the summer of 2008 pushed many Canadians onto two wheels.
Protests, Riots Go Global as Fuel Costs Soar
Protests both peaceful and violent are breaking out across Europe and Asia as people's livelihoods begin to suffer from soaring fuel costs, and some stores are running out of food as truck drivers go on strike.
Trump administration orders the removal of 900 bison from public land near Yellowstone
The action marks a drastic shift in wildlife management policy for the Yellowstone-adjacent bison herd.
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.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
In Texas, data centers are swallowing promised parkland
Residents who moved to Taylor, Texas for a rural community now have to contend with three data centers in their backyard.
How a Chicago-sized wind farm beat the odds and powered on
The project spanned five presidential administrations and a standoff with a U.S. military base.
MTA gives itself 30 days to transform pit into basketball court
The site has been under construction since 2022; the city originally estimated it would finish the court in 2024.
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