Climate Cities

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  • New museum exhibit shows visitors how to build green

    Sometimes it feels tough to get through a day without despoiling the planet. The products most of us use come through a wasteful global production chain; discarding old stuff is cheaper than repairing it; and our energy supply is inefficient and hard on the earth. Making matters worse, most of this excess centers around the […]

    Ethan Goffman Cities

  • Plugs and Kisses

    Toyota considering plug-in hybrids and flex-fuel vehicles for U.S. Toyota plans to develop a plug-in hybrid vehicle, the company announced this week. Rechargeable via any typical electrical outlet, a plug-in would be able to “travel greater distances without using its gas engine, … conserve more oil, and slice smog and greenhouse gases to nearly imperceptible […]

    Grist staff Cities

  • Act Normal

    Illinois mom blogs about her car-free month In some ways, Christine Gardner lives a normal life — she’s a mom, a writer, and, after all, she lives in Normal, Ill. But for July she’s doing something decidedly out of the norm — going car-free in a suburb without amenities right around the corner. Halfway through […]

    Grist staff Cities

  • Unimpressive at Any Speed

    Average fuel economy of U.S. vehicles no better than last year The average fuel economy of 2006 model-year vehicles in the U.S. is a guzzle-rific 21 miles per gallon, the U.S. EPA announced yesterday — the same as in 2005. (And 1994. And 1982.) SUV fuel economy rose from 18.3 to 18.5 mpg from model […]

    Grist staff Cities

  • Blake Mycoskie, founder of eco-friendly driving school, answers questions

    Blake Mycoskie. What’s your job title? I’m cofounder and chair of Drivers Ed Direct. How does your work relate to the environment? Photo: Drivers Ed Direct. We teach kids to drive in hybrids, which makes them more comfortable with the technology and educates them about environmental responsibility. We believe this makes them more likely to […]

    Grist staff Cities

  • An interview with smart-growth expert and author Anthony Flint

    Few debates in the U.S. are more emotionally charged than the one over sprawl — the exodus, since World War II, of America’s middle class from cities to far-flung residential areas. Environmentalists, small farmers, and social-justice activists deplore sprawl for its unhealthy effects on land and communities. Suburbanites bristle at the attacks on their personal […]

    David Roberts Cities

  • What’s Your Price for Flight?

    European Parliament calls for jet-fuel tax to curb enviro impact of flying The European Parliament has voted in favor of a jet-fuel tax to help offset the environmental impact of air travel. The consumer cost of the fuel tax would be up to about $75 per roundtrip flight within Europe. Also, as the European Union […]

    Grist staff Cities

  • With Our Tailpipe Between Our Legs

    U.S. cars are tops in CO2 emissions The U.S. boasts 30 percent of the world’s cars and is responsible for almost half of global car-caused greenhouse-gas emissions, according to a new report by Environmental Defense. American-driven cars emit 15 percent more carbon dioxide per mile than the global average (meaning, in essence, they get worse […]

    Grist staff Cities

  • Nice Package

    UPS will test new hydraulic hybrid trucks If you thought the muscled deliveryfolk in tight brown shorts were hot, wait ’til you get a load of their trucks. UPS drivers in Detroit will be testing new hybrid delivery trucks developed by the U.S. EPA, which the agency claims will boost fuel efficiency up to 70 […]

    Grist staff Cities

  • Vancouver family does it up right.

    Six kids, to be exact.

    The Vancouver Courier profiles the Spino family -- 2 parents and 6 kids who live in a 3-bedroom condo in downtown Vancouver. It's an interesting read, as well as a good reminder that, for some families, downtown living makes a lot of sense. Says the pater familias:

    "I don't see the need for having rooms in houses that you don't use. I don't see why you have two spare bedrooms for visitors that you just use to store boxes. I don't think that's efficient. I don't think that's a responsible way to live...You don't need that space. You don't need skis in the garage or a snowmobile somewhere and stuff in the attic-all that consumerism collecting. I don't think we're occupying a lot of space here. This high-density living is good for the city. It's good for the environment. It's good for the children-it's a fantastic way to live."

    Good stuff.

    Clark Williams-Derry Cities