Tag Archives: cities

The world needs better sidewalks and bike paths, like now.

by DanutaAddy69363 Posted on October 20, 2016

According to a study by Australian researchers, adding very small amounts of a particular seaweed to bovine diets could reduce the amount of methane cows release by up to 99 percent.

The seaweed, Asparagopsis taxiformis, produces a compound called bromoform that disrupts the enzymes that make methane in a cow’s gut, the Conversation reports. And methane in cows’ guts is a serious issue because it escapes into the atmosphere in the form of burps (and to a lesser degree, farts). Livestock is a major global contributor to methane emissions, and methane traps 86 times more heat than carbon dioxide over a 20-year time frame.

While this reduction in cow methane has only been demonstrated in the lab, if adding seaweed works in the field, it could be a big benefit to this ol’ planet we call home — and further evidence that seaweed in general may be the salty savior we’ve been looking for. Beyond its potential application in reducing cow burps, seaweed is also inexpensive, resilient, easy to grow, and improves aquatic ecosystems by filtering excess nitrogen and phosphorous from the watershed and reducing ocean acidification.

So while we are loathe to attach the term “miracle” to any food, seaweed might actually warrant it.

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The world needs better sidewalks and bike paths, like now.

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Barcelona is kicking cars off many of its streets.

by Veola28Njffo Posted on October 4, 2016

According to a paper released Tuesday by former NASA director James Hansen, the landmark Paris Agreement is solid C-minus work — but when it comes to climate commitments, mediocrity is basically criminal. Slacker countries making only modest emissions reductions will lock future generations into dangerous levels of climate change.

The average global temperature is already 1 to 1.3 degrees Celsius warmer than preindustrial levels, according to Hansen’s group. That’s on par with the Earth’s climate of 115,000 years ago, when the seas were 20 feet higher than they are today.

Unless we phase out fossil fuels entirely in the next few years, Hansen told reporters on Monday, future generations will have to achieve “negative emissions” by actively removing carbon from the atmosphere. Seeing as we don’t even know if that’s possible, that’d be a helluva task for our progeny.

Hansen and his coauthors’ work, which is undergoing peer review, supports a lawsuit brought by 21 young people against the U.S. government. It charges our lawmakers with not fairly protecting the “life, liberty, and property” of future citizens by allowing fossil fuel interests to keep polluting.

But a solution is possible, Hansen explained, if we commit to a fee on carbon pollution and more investment in renewable energy.

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Barcelona is kicking cars off many of its streets.

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London is banning dangerous trucks — and that’s great news for cyclists.

by LashawnJudy Posted on October 3, 2016

The congressman accused the Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday of unfairly targeting the oil giant by investigating whether the company disclosed its financial risks from climate change and greenhouse gas regulations to investors.

In a letter to SEC Chair Mary Jo White, Smith demands that the commission provide his committee with documents related to the Exxon probe by Oct. 13.

Smith writes that the SEC has advanced “a prescriptive climate change orthodoxy that may chill further climate change research,” which seems odd for someone who doesn’t actually believe in climate change.

Still, it’s about what we’d expect from Smith, a recipient of $680,000 from oil and gas over his career.

Smith — who, ironically, is both a climate denier and the head of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology — has used his position to aid Exxon before: He’s accused 17 state attorneys general of violating the corporation’s right to free speech by looking into allegations that Exxon has known about climate change for decades.

Why does Smith go to bat for Exxon repeatedly, despite risking political backlash? Gretchen Goldman, an analyst at Union of Concerned Scientists (one of the groups being targeted by Smith), has a theory.

“If you’re talking about climate change and doing anything to try to hold actors accountable, he wants to intimidate you.”

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London is banning dangerous trucks — and that’s great news for cyclists.

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A farm bill just for urban agriculture?

by TheodorP64 Posted on September 27, 2016

Yes, if Sen. Debbie Stabenow has her way. The Michigan Democrat announced The Urban Agriculture Act in Detroit on Monday.

The Department of Agriculture already offers support for city farmers, but this bill would add to those grants, loans, and education programs. It would also provide $10 million for urban ag research, $5 million for community gardens, incentives for farmers to provision neighbors with fresh food, and resources for composting and cleaning up contaminated soil.

So far Stabenow hasn’t released much more than a list of bullet points. The road from proposing a bill and passing a law is long, and details could change, which means there’s not much to analyze. But in general, urban ag is a mixed bag of policy greens.

Urban farms can build community, teach people about farming, and provide extra cash to laborers in cities, but they don’t create many good-paying jobs. If we farm vacant lots, rooftops, and former lawns, that’s likely a win for the environment. But if farms displace housing and spread cities out, that’s a loss. Similarly, if we replace plants grown under the sun with plants grown indoors under artificial lights, that’s no good for the climate.

For more on urban farms see our previous work, and this Next City analysis.

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A farm bill just for urban agriculture?

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A new car from Toyota runs on a very renewable resource: human waste.

by WillisBrenner1 Posted on September 20, 2016

Despite the political and market forces arrayed against it, the coal industry is still clinging to life, pushing forward massive new mines, export terminals, railway lines, and power plants.

In a special report this week, Grist examines the struggling industry’s long game, including one company’s efforts to build a $700 million project on the Chuitna River in south-central Alaska. Here are seven other places where the American coal industry is trying to resuscitate itself at the expense of, well, the rest of us:

  1. Millennium Bulk Coal Terminal Longview, Washington

Even after major backer Arch Coal declared bankruptcy and dropped its stake in 2016, the $640 million export terminal won’t die.

  1. Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal Oakland, California

The city council and Gov. Jerry Brown oppose the $1.2 billion proposal, but developers are threatening legal action.

  1. Wishbone Hill Coal Mine Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska

The project had cleared most of its regulatory hurdles when members of the the nearby Chickaloon tribe filed a lawsuit.

  1. Coal Hollow Mine Kane County, Utah

A company with a history of cleanup violations wants an expansion that would double the mine’s annual output.

  1. Kayenta Mine Navajo County, Arizona

Located on reservation lands on Arizona’s Black Mesa, the Peabody-owned mine opened in 1973 but faces new opposition.

  1. Dos Republicas Mine Eagle Pass, Texas

Opened for business in November 2015, the mine on the U.S.-Mexico border threatens archaeological sites and burial grounds.

  1. Kemper County Energy Facility Kemper County, Mississippi

Mississippi’s $6.7 billion “clean coal” plant has been criticized as excessively expensive and too carbon-heavy, but officials say it could be operational by October.

Read our special report: Coal’s Last Gamble.

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A new car from Toyota runs on a very renewable resource: human waste.

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Who wins from L.A.’s bid to go 100 percent renewable? The kids.

by romaniacardpayoneer Posted on September 19, 2016

Or so says Lyft’s cofounder and president in a manifesto published on Sunday. John Zimmer writes that he has loved cars ever since getting introduced to Hot Wheels as a 3-year old. But then college ruined all the fun.

“Next time you walk outside, pay really close attention to the space around you,” Zimmer writes, referring to an uncomfortable realization picked up in a city-planning class. “Look at how much land is devoted to cars  — and nothing else.”

For decades now, those with similar epiphanies have concluded that we just need to take that space away from cars, period.

Zimmer proposes something else: a Lyft-branded car subscription service. Composed of both self-driving and people-driven automobiles, it would eliminate the need for private ownership of cars, Zimmer argues. And as this goal gets within reach, the space formerly occupied by parking spots will gradually return to public space.

Zimmer doesn’t have a particular date that this subscription service will be rolled out, which is sensible, because it would have to take a very long time. For now, though, Zimmer’s proposal should be read for what it is — high-quality futurism.

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Who wins from L.A.’s bid to go 100 percent renewable? The kids.

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One city is making a good start at tackling its homelessness problems — thanks to a lawsuit.

by MireyaErickson9 Posted on September 13, 2016

What could go wrong?

The Stones field, 200 miles south of New Orleans and 1.8 miles beneath the water surface, is far deeper than the field tapped by the Deepwater Horizon rig, which exploded in 2010, killing 11 workers and spilling about 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

The new project, the Guardian reports, could be a boon to Shell CEO Ben van Beurden, whose annual bonus is linked to completing major new projects. But some Shell shareholders will be less than pleased. At the company’s annual meeting last year, many shareholders pushed to end CEO bonuses for actions that harm the climate and to require investments in renewables.

Last year, van Beurden admitted that we cannot burn all the fossil fuel reserves on the planet and expect global temperature rise to stay below 2 degrees Celsius. Above 2C, climate scientists warn that the consequences will be severe and, in some cases, irreversible. So far, we’re halfway there.

But Shell is just continuing on with business as usual: The company forecasts that its deep-water production capacity will grow dramatically by the early 2020s.

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One city is making a good start at tackling its homelessness problems — thanks to a lawsuit.

Posted in alo, Anchor, eco-friendly, FF, G & F, GE, ONA, The Atlantic, Uncategorized, wind power | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on One city is making a good start at tackling its homelessness problems — thanks to a lawsuit.

As the Potomac River rises, cherry trees planted along the sloped bank will drown, row by row.

by ShawnaZQSraf Posted on September 9, 2016

Former ACLU attorney Laura Murphy reviewed the company’s policies and platform after allegations from non-white customers that they were denied housing based on race.

Those include Kristin Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, who wrote in the New York Times about being denied three Airbnb reservations in a row when planning a trip to Buenos Aires: “Because Airbnb strongly recommends display of a profile picture … it was hard to believe that race didn’t come into play.”

In an email to users, co-founder Brian Chesky outlined the steps Airbnb plans to take to address discrimination. As of Nov. 1, Airbnb users must agree to a “stronger, more detailed nondiscrimination policy.” That includes “Open Doors,” a procedure by which the company will find alternate accommodations for anyone who feels they’ve been discriminated against.

But not everyone believes Airbnb’s policy change will fully address the problem.

Rohan Gilkes, who was also denied lodging on Airbnb, says the new changes don’t go far enough. Instead, he told Grist, they need to remove users’ names and photos entirely: “It’s the only fix.”

Meanwhile, Gilkes is working to accommodate people of color and other marginalized groups: His new venture, a home-sharing platform called Innclusive, is set to launch soon.

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As the Potomac River rises, cherry trees planted along the sloped bank will drown, row by row.

Posted in alo, Anchor, Everyone, FF, G & F, GE, Landmark, LG, ONA, PUR, The Atlantic, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on As the Potomac River rises, cherry trees planted along the sloped bank will drown, row by row.

Electric cars are so popular we’re running out of plugs

by ElidaHuskz Posted on August 11, 2016

Plug Ugly

Electric cars are so popular we’re running out of plugs

By on Aug 11, 2016Share

In Los Angeles, there are approximately 20 electric vehicles for every public electric car charger. In a fair and just world, that ratio should be more like four to one, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power told Utility Dive. But as things stand, L.A. Water and Power has some of the most heavily used car chargers in the state.

And this isn’t just true in L.A. — similar situations in other cities confirm that we’re staring down a plug shortage.

Faced with a world of cutthroat plug competition, many electric car owners choose to charge at home. But home charging often means that electric cars are pulling energy from the electrical grid during the time it’s used most heavily — i.e., nighttime hours when commuters come home, make dinner, watch The Bachelor in Paradise, have living room disco parties, et cetera. If electric cars could charge all day, they could actually help the grid work more efficiently.

A hundred years ago, drivers of gasoline-powered cars were in the same fix — gas stations were few and far between. Less than 1 percent of cars on the road are electric right now. But when that percentage gets higher, then we’ll see a serious plug boom.

Election Guide ★ 2016Making America Green AgainOur experts weigh in on the real issues at stake in this electionGet Grist in your inbox

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Electric cars are so popular we’re running out of plugs

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These huge buses drive right over the top of cars

by CharlieIVP Posted on August 4, 2016

Not your parents’ transit

These huge buses drive right over the top of cars

By on Aug 4, 2016Share

You may have imagined the future of transit as jetpacks that fly above traffic or self-driving cars that transport you back from the bar while you drool in the backseat, but it’s much stranger. Meet the straddle bus.

China has begun testing the long-teased concept of an elevated bus, an odd-looking machine that gets around traffic by going over it.

The bus, which can carry 300 passengers at a time and is partly solar-powered, is meant to help ease some of China’s notorious congestion problems. Last year, thousands of travelers were stuck in a 50-lane traffic jam, and in 2010, a 62-mile bottleneck left motorists stranded for 12 days. Kind of puts your morning commute in perspective.

Smog from traffic is tied to respiratory distress, eye, nose, throat irritation, and even birth defects. In China, where smog is particularly terrible, birth defects are far more likely in urban areas with lots of traffic congestion than in rural areas without.

If the straddle bus fails, then there’s always another miracle technology that can bypass traffic. You might know it as the train.

See footage of the future above, brought to us from New China TV.

Election Guide ★ 2016Making America Green AgainOur experts weigh in on the real issues at stake in this electionGet Grist in your inbox

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These huge buses drive right over the top of cars

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