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Archive for the ‘Sustainability’ Category

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Washington, DC: Bicycle Infrastructure and Traffic Congestion

Monday, September 14th, 2015
Figure 1: Bikeshare Trips (departures and arrivals)

RESOURCES FOR THE FUTURE
A new mechanism to reduce urban traffic congestion that is currently gaining traction for its purported cost-effectiveness, environmental-friendliness, and positive health impacts is the adoption of citywide bicycle-sharing systems. This infrastructure provides an alternative to driving for short trips and extends the existing network of public transit within a metropolitan area. Further, bicycling infrastructure augments the environmental bona fides of densely populated urban areas (Kahn, 2010). If bikeshares reduce traffic congestion, they may provide a low-cost policy lever to reduce automobile externalities in urban areas.

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Posted in Biking, Congestion, Environment, Infra Views, Local, Sustainability, Urban Planning

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CALSTART Successfully Commercializing Zero-Emission Buses

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2015
John Boesel

CALSTART, a non-profit member organization, has been expanding and supporting the clean transportation sector since 1992. Its president and CEO John Boesel checked in with TPR when zero-emission buses recently achieved a milestone. He gives readers a status report on advanced-bus technology and the market for these vehicles, as well as commenting on California regulators’ impact on the clean-vehicle industry in the state.

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Posted in Buses, Clean Air, Environment, Green, Local, Public Transportation, Sustainability, Technology, The Infra Blog, Transit

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Cool Solutions: New Technology to Fight Climate Change in Massachusetts

Tuesday, September 1st, 2015
Figure ES-1. Historical Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Trajectories Needed to Achieve 2020, 2030 and 2050 Emission Reduction Targets

ENVIRONMENT MASSACHUSETTS
To ensure that the Commonwealth stays on track to meet its target under the Global Warming Solutions Act of cutting emissions by at least 80 percent by 2050, Massachusetts should adopt a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to at least 45 percent below 1990 levels by 2030…Achieving that goal will require Massachusetts to fully implement previous commitments to reduce global warming pollution. It will also require us to take full advantage of a new wave of game-changing opportunities – from cutting-edge technologies to emerging societal trends – that can help Massachusetts build on its position of national leadership in the fight against global warming.

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Posted in Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Green, Infra Views, Local, Policy, Pollution, Sustainability, Technology

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Toward a 21st Century Electricity System in California

Monday, August 31st, 2015
Figure 1: California

ADVANCED ENERGY ECONOMY INSTITUTE (AEE INSTITUTE)
California’s portfolio of policies, statutes and regulatory actions, whether existing or proposed, has set the state on a path to significant de-carbonization of its energy sector. When coupled with broader industry and societal trends, a transformation of the grid is underway at both the wholesale and retail levels.

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Posted in Energy, Environment, Infra Views, Local, Private Investment, Smart Grid, Sustainability

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Interactive Map: California Climate Investments

Wednesday, August 26th, 2015
California Climate Investment Map - broad

A new interactive map from the State of California shows just how serious the Golden State is about the climate. Literally hundreds of pins dot the map, from San Diego to Humboldt, and each one represents a unique effort to mitigate climate change and promote sustainable living.

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Posted in Climate Change, Environment, Green, Local, Sustainability, The Infra Blog

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An Evaluation Study of Plants for Use on Green Roofs

Tuesday, August 25th, 2015
Green Roof plants

CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN
The environmental benefits include conserving water, reducing interior noise pollution, mitigating stormwater runoff, reducing the urban heat-island effect, improving urban air quality through carbon dioxide-oxygen exchange, and creating habitats for a diversity of birds, insects, and animals. Along with extending the life of the roof by two to three times over a conventional roof, economic benefits include reducing energy costs—both heating and cooling—increasing property values, and meeting requirements for stormwater management.

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Posted in Energy, Environment, Infra Views, Public Parks & Recreation, Sustainability, Urban Planning

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Wind Technologies Market Report

Friday, August 21st, 2015
Figure 1. Annual and cumulative growth in U.S. wind power capacity

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Annual wind power capacity additions in the United States rebounded in 2014, and continued growth through 2016 is anticipated. Recent and projected near-term growth is supported by the industry’s primary federal incentive—the production tax credit (PTC)—which is available for projects that began construction by the end of 2014. Wind additions are also being driven by recent improvements in the cost and performance of wind power technologies, which have resulted in the lowest power sales prices ever seen in the U.S. wind sector.

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Posted in Energy, Infra Views, National, Private Investment, Sustainability, Technology

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Guest on The Infra Blog: Graham Richard, CEO, Advanced Energy Economy (AEE)

Wednesday, August 19th, 2015
Graham Richard, CEO, Advanced Energy Economy (AEE)

Graham Richard is CEO of Advanced Energy Economy (AEE), a fast growing national association of businesses working toward a prosperous future based on secure, clean, affordable energy, and CEO of the Advanced Energy Economy Institute, AEE’s charitable and educational affiliate.

“We’re seeing consumer power has been growing, meaning the clout that consumers have in many different dimensions of our economy. And I see that happening now in energy. In that same opportunity where consumers want to know where that power’s coming from, they want to know what the cost is—but they’re also willing, when you have an opportunity to explain what the technology could do, to improve that aging infrastructure.”

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Posted in Energy, Guests on The Infra Blog, Smart Grid, Sustainability, Technology, The Infra Blog

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Cool Innovators: Cutting Carbon & Growing the Economy in Massachusetts

Wednesday, August 19th, 2015

ENVIRONMENT MASSACHUSETTS
This document profiles Massachusetts-based companies and projects that are embracing each of the ten innovative, game-changing trends identified in Cool Solutions. The businesses profiled here are just a handful of the thousands of Massachusetts companies making a difference in the fight against global warming while creating jobs and boosting the state’s economy.

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Snake River, WA: Restoring America’s Greatest Salmon River

Monday, August 17th, 2015

Snake River Salmon have been trucked, put on barges, diverted up fish ladders — all in the hope that enough would bypass the four dams standing in their way to reach their historic habitat, and ensure their future existence.. But it’s not working. The time has come to breach the dams and reconnect wild salmon to this important watershed.

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Posted in Environment, Inland Waterways, Local, Show Us Your Infra, Sustainability

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