POST CARBON INSTITUTE
This study explored how some municipalities that are already leading the way on sustainability are now understanding and applying the concept of resilience. Senior staff at fourteen selected municipalities of various regions and sizes were surveyed on their communities’ perceived risks and vulnerabilities, and how these were being addressed.
Archive for the ‘Sustainability’ Category
Resilient Against What?
Monday, October 21st, 2013Interactive Map: EV Charging Stations From Coast to Coast
Friday, October 18th, 2013Worried that there’s not enough charging infrastructure to keep your EV going? PlugShare’s user-updated, interactive map serves a dual purpose: to help drivers plan their trips by locating residential and commercial charging stations, and to help us improve our EV infra by serving as a visual guide to where more stations are needed. A quick glance at the map establishes the Pacific Northwest and the Midwest as EV hotspots, while trips around non-mainland states or rural plains states like Wyoming and Montana would still be best accomplished in an old-fashioned gas-guzzler.
View this complete post...The WalkUP Wake-Up Call: Walkable Urban Development in Atlanta
Wednesday, October 16th, 2013GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Written by Christopher B. Leinberger
This research has found the surprising and overwhelming recent emergence of walkable urban development and places in metropolitan Atlanta. Walkable urban development represents not only a growing share of new development in the Atlanta region, but recently the majority of most real estate development. Walkable urban real estate projects now command an impressive rent premium over their drivable sub-urban competition. The amount of walkable urban square feet built in each of the last three real estate cycles in metropolitan Atlanta has mushroomed, growing from a small fraction in the 1990s to a majority in the current real estate cycle.
Downtown Rebirth: The Live-Work Dynamic in 21st Century U.S. Cities
Tuesday, October 15th, 2013INTERNATIONAL DOWNTOWN ASSOCIATION
Downtowns across the United States are thriving. From Boston to San Diego, Seattle to Miami, cities are diversifying their economies and land use, restoring and enlivening public spaces. During the last three decades, city centers have been adding arts, culture, dining, education, medical, and research institutions, along with hospitality, leisure, and sports venues. Simultaneously, there has been a dramatic and sustained increase in residents, living both within business districts and adjacent neighborhoods.
Saving Water and Energy Together
Friday, October 11th, 2013AMERICAN COUNCIL FOR AN ENERGY-EFFICIENT ECONOMY
by Rachel Young
Water and energy are inherently linked, intersecting at both the supply side (electric generation and water/wastewater facilities) and the end-use side (residential, commercial, industrial, and agriculture sectors). This intersection is commonly called the “energy-water nexus.”…If utilities recognize this intersection and work together on joint programs they could learn from one another, document their savings, share costs, and potentially achieve greater savings.
Fracking by the Numbers
Thursday, October 10th, 2013ENVIRONMENT AMERICA
Our analysis shows that damage from fracking is widespread and occurs on a scale unimagined just a few years ago. Moreover, three factors suggest that the total damage from fracking is far worse than we have tabulated here. Severe limitations in available data constrain our ability to see the full extent of the damage. Second, there are broad categories of fracking damage—such as the number of water wells contaminated—that would be difficult to ascertain under any circumstances. Finally, there remain major gaps in the scientific community’s understanding of issues such as the long-term consequences of pumping toxic fluids into the ground.
The Social Cost of Carbon
Thursday, September 26th, 2013ASSOCIATION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND SCIENCES
This paper extends the work of Johnson and Hope (2012), who re-estimated the US government’s estimates of climate change damages, called the “social cost of carbon” (SCC), to more fully account for impacts on future generations. To demonstrate the policy implications of their SCC estimates, Johnson and Hope (JH) incorporated the costs of pollution into the cost of electricity generation from coal, natural gas, onshore wind, and solar photovoltaic…Overall, for new generation, we find that all JH and government SCCs justified conventional natural gas, natural gas with CCS, and wind over conventional coal. Most estimates also justified solar and coal with CCS over conventional coal, and wind over natural gas. For existing generation, at all of JH’s SCCs, continuing to operate some of the dirtiest coal plants is more expensive than replacing them with natural gas, natural gas with CCS, or wind; at their two highest estimates, this is also true for new coal with CCS and solar photovoltaic.
Guest on The Infra Blog: Richard. M. Daley, Former Mayor of Chicago
Thursday, September 26th, 2013“You can’t say ‘Okay, we have X amount of money, go do something. You have to spend it within a year.’ I think the debate got caught up into not looking at long-range infrastructure projects that are sustainable and allow a much more efficient operation dealing with sustainability of businesses using the infrastructure or the private sector…America has to get back because it’s not just the roads, it’s the water systems, it’s the energy systems, it’s transportation, its looking at things and how, with sustainability, we can be more efficient.”
View this complete post...U.S. Domestic Airline Fuel Efficiency Ranking
Wednesday, September 25th, 2013THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON CLEAN TRANSPORTATION
The analysis presented here rigorously compares the efficiency of all airlines independent of size, network structure, or type of service, with a methodology that improves upon previous efforts in four fundamental ways. First, it uses airline-reported fuel consumption data, rather than modeled estimates, to account fully for all the ways in which airlines can reduce fuel burn…Second, it develops an efficiency metric that recognizes that airlines burn fuel to provide both mobility…and access, allowing an equitable comparison between airlines. Third, the efficiency metric distinguishes productive from nonproductive miles flown by identifying those airlines that operate particularly circuitous routes. Finally, the study attributes the transport service provided by and fuel consumption of affiliate carriers to mainline carriers in order to enable comprehensive comparisons across carriers’ full business operations.
Believe in Oklahoma Wind Power
Monday, September 23rd, 2013Oklahoma is an energy state. And, wind energy comes from our rich land just like oil, natural gas and other resources to create our diverse energy mix, which is contributing to Oklahoma’s renaissance.
View this complete post...Follow InfrastructureUSA
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