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  • Mining claims encroaching on Western population centers

    Mining claims on federal land in the West are coming increasingly close to urban areas, according to a new report from the Environmental Working Group. Thanks to a spike in the value of many minerals — and antiquated U.S. mining law, which is highly prospector-friendly — there are now 51,600 hardrock claims within five miles […]

    Grist staff Cities

  • Climate change has it out for transportation infrastructure, says report

    Climate change is likely to wreak havoc on U.S. transportation infrastructure, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Research Council. Think bridge joints weakened by too-high temperatures, flooded tunnels, shipping disrupted by heavy storms, roads threatened by erosion, and much, much more! Coastal regions are likely to be especially hard hit, as more […]

    Grist staff Cities

  • New certification planned by safety group

    Maybe this all makes more sense to green builders than it does to me, but I see news today of plans to develop another new green-building certification, this one sponsored by the International Code Council. It seems like only yesterday three weeks ago that the National Association of Home Builders launched its own “education, verification, […]

    Katharine Wroth Cities

  • The next generation of infrastructure should help more Americans go carless

    It appears that oil has reached a new all-time high in real terms. Given that gas prices normally peak during the summer season, the stage could be set for some ugly pump prices this year, although expensive oil may not be the most painful part of the current commodity price boom for consumers (an honor […]

    Ryan Avent Cities

  • ‘Eco-terrorism’ suspected in Seattle-area arson

    Four unoccupied multimillion-dollar homes burned in a Seattle suburb Monday in what officials have reason to believe was eco-related arson. Explosives were found in the homes, and a spray-painted sign out front — “Built green? Nope black! McMansions in RCDs r not green” — bore the initials of radical environmental group the Earth Liberation Front. […]

    Grist staff Cities

  • PETA wants Hollywood hills ad space

    Remember when I said the land just west of the iconic "Hollywood" sign was for sale? And then joked about interesting advertising opportunities? Yeah, I wasn’t too far off … PETA officials said they want to erect a large sign of their own to the west of the famed landmark that would spell out "Go […]

    Grist staff Cities

  • Carl Pope talks market failures with energy execs at Houston energy conference

    Today's second panel -- Carl's, on "conservation and the environment" -- opened with remarks from Houston Mayor Bill White. Despite my earlier comments about the road-crazy Bayou City, Mayor White laid out some items from what appears to be a truly progressive energy agenda for Houston, including making it an international leader in green buildings.

    Some of his more interesting comments came when White told the story of being one of the staffers that helped write the Energy Policy & Conservation Act of 1975, the original fuel economy law. He spoke of the doubling in fuel economy occasioned by the law, but then -- in a story I'd never heard -- spoke of trying to incorporate pickups and the forebears of today's gas-guzzling SUVs into the law. Unfortunately, this provision was "hijacked," as he put it, and became an exemption for so-called "work trucks," even when they did nothing more than ferry suburban hausfraus around. Thankfully last year's energy bill finally closed this disastrous SUV loophole.

    White noted that he himself drives a car that gets 49 miles per gallon and while he's happy about the big boost in CAFE, we "can do, shoulda done, and will do better." He agreed that doubling our current fuel economy is "not a stretch" and could be done with technology that exists today. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that he's switched over the vast majority of the city's fleet of passenger vehicles and public buses to hybrids and is now looking to the other vehicles like garbage trucks.

    Josh Dorner Cities

  • Sustainable, carbon-neutral community built in Oregon

    Last week the Center for American Progress began a series called "It's Easy Being Green," meant to recognize the steps communities, individuals, and organizations are taking to transform our country's energy use. Last week's column featured a new kind of neighborhood:

    Joseph Romm Cities

  • In North Carolina’s Triangle, a severe drought has leaders stumped

    North Carolina’s Triangle — Durham, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh — counts as the state’s economic, educational, and political engine. It’s also very quickly running out of water, parched by a severe drought. Are the area’s leaders doing anything constructive to respond to the situation? So far, the signs aren’t encouraging. I’ve been following the story […]

    Tom Philpott Cities

  • Curitiba’s Jaime Lerner on why the car is like your mother-in-law

    JMG Cities