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Archive for the ‘Sustainability’ Category

Effects of Natural Gas Vehicles and Fuel Prices on Key Transportation Economic Metrics

Monday, July 7th, 2014
Figure 1: World, OECD, and U.S. Oil Demand (U.S. EIA, 2012)

WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
This report responds to an inquiry by the State of Washington about the viability of natural gas as an alternative source of energy for transportation. The report is organized around responses to several key research tasks. These tasks are to: 1) Document the increase in supply of natural gas, estimate future price, and availability; 2) Assess the extent to which natural gas is likely to substitute for petroleum; 3) Estimate the extent to which price and performance effects will influence VMT trends in Washington State; 4) Estimate changes in GHG emissions in Washington State attributable to increased use of natural gas; 5) Estimate potential loss of fuel tax revenue attributable to substitution of natural gas for petroleum fuels.

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Features of a Fully Renewable US Electricity System: Wind and Solar PV

Thursday, July 3rd, 2014
Figures 1 and 2

STANFORD UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
CO2 and air pollution emission reduction goals as well as energy security, price stability, and affordability considerations make renewable electricity generation attractive. A highly renewable electricity supply will be based to a large extent on wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) power, since these two resources are both abundant and either relatively inexpensive or rapidly becoming cost competitive. Such a system demands a fundamentally different design approach: While electricity generation was traditionally constructed to be dispatchable in order to follow the demand, wind and solar PV power output is largely determined by weather conditions that are out of human control.

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The Untapped Potential of California’s Water Supply

Monday, June 30th, 2014
Figure 2. Total water supply and demand changes with four drought response strategies, in thousand acre-feet per year, by hydrologic region

PACIFIC INSTITUTE
NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL

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Streetfilms: Charles Montgomery Discusses “Happy City” with Mark Gorton

Tuesday, June 17th, 2014

Mark Gorton interviews award-winning journalist Charles Montgomery about his fantastic new book “Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Thru Urban Design,” which delves in to the hard-to-measure metric of happiness and how the built environment of the place we live directly affects us.

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Block Island, RI: How Offshore Wind Affects the Fish

Friday, June 13th, 2014

Deepwater Wind discusses their research alongside commercial fishermen in Rhode Island, ensuring that their offshore wind installations will benefit everyone.

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Integrating Conservation and Highway Planning

Thursday, June 12th, 2014
Figure ES.1. Steps of the Integrated Ecological Framework.

TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD
This project addresses the questions of how to (1) achieve interagency agreement on ecological solutions, (2) identify and leverage existing ways to increase predictability and assurance that credit will be allowed for addressing agency conservation and restoration priorities early in planning, (3) identify and leverage existing tools to increase resource agency confidence that mitigation commitments will be kept, and (4) make decisions last over time and across jurisdictions.

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Retro Infra: Bill Cosby, ’70s film “Bicycles are Beautiful”

Thursday, June 12th, 2014

1970s Bicycles Are Beautiful – Film With Bill Cosby.

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Why Creating & Preserving Affordable Homes Near Transit is a Highly Effective Climate Protection Strategy

Thursday, June 5th, 2014
FIGURE 1. Household VMT per Day

TRANSFORM
CALIFORNIA HOUSING PARTNERSHIP CORPORATION
A new analysis of data from Caltrans’ California Household Travel Survey (CHTS) completed in February 2013 shows that a well-designed program to put more affordable homes near transit would not just meet the requirements set by the California Air Resources Board (ARB), but would be a powerful and durable GHG reduction strategy – directly reducing driving while creating a host of economic and social benefits.

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Interactive Map: Our Energy Democracy

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2014
Center for Social Inclusion: Energy Democracy

A new interactive map from the Center for Social Inclusion illustrates projects across the country where local communities are taking a stand to improve their economic futures and fight climate change. The map, called Energy Democracy for All, highlights “over 100 projects that are rooted in communities, with a particular lens toward communities of color, who by 2042, will become the majority in our nation.”

From energy conservation in Dover to biofuel crops in Durham, these projects are a testament to the effectiveness of civic engagement across the USA. Visit energydemocracy.centerforinclusion.org to see what’s happening in your region!

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The All-of-the-Above Energy Strategy as a Path to Sustainable Economic Growth

Monday, June 2nd, 2014
Figure 1-1: U.S. Crude Oil Production and Net Imports

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
The All-of-the-Above energy strategy has three key elements: to support economic growth and job creation, to enhance energy security, and to deploy low-carbon energy technologies and lay the foundation for a clean energy future. This report lays out these three elements of the All-of-the-Above energy strategy, and takes stock of the progress that has been made to date and the work that remains to be done.

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