FW: San Francisco's Transbay Transit Center Project Epitomizes Smart Growth

With initial funding from the 2009 Recovery Act, redevelopment of San Francisco’s 71-year-old Transbay Transit Terminal into a mixed-use multimodal Transbay Transit Center is now underway. ''This project is the ultimate manifestation of smart growth,'' said San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom at the recent groundbreaking event. The first phase of the project is slated for completion by 2017. The $4.2 billion transit center will include two underground levels – a shopping concourse, and both Caltrain commuter tracks and the future high-speed line below – and two higher levels, a bus connection platform, and a 5.4-acre rooftop park. Flanked by a first-phase 100-floor residential tower, and many other skyscrapers planned for the whole new neighborhood later, the center will link services of 11 transit agencies, serve up to 45 million people a year, and cut the area’s annual carbon dioxide emissions by some 36,000 tons.
www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7756

FW: If Cities Focus on Walkable Communities, Economic Development Will Follow

With a third of metro area populations eager for pedestrian-friendly settings, a key path out of the recession leads through urban infill and walkable mixed-use redevelopment of car-dependent suburban malls and strips. Meeting that pent-up market demand will take a generation, said Christopher Leinberger with the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program. Speaking at the fifth annual Louisiana Smart Growth Summit, Leinberger advised cities to combine transportation and affordable housing strategies to ensure the viability of walkable neighborhoods. ''Plan for your walkable future. Economic development will follow," he said.
www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7768

Article courtesy of Smart Growth News

FW: New York City Plans Major Street Improvements to Reduce Pedestrian Fatalities

New York City is planning to redesign more than 60 miles of streets for pedestrian safety next year. ''It's unprecedented re-engineering of our streets,'' said Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, to make them ''safer and better to walk around on.'' The plan involves installation of countdown pedestrian signals at 1,500 intersections, overhaul of 20 intersections on key two-way streets, and several safety programs, including a 20-mph neighborhood zone test.
www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7766

Earthquake strikes off Southern California coast

August 23, 2010 11:11 pm

A 4.0-magnitude quake struck Monday night off the Channel Islands.

The quake was recorded about 10:42 p.m., 32 miles northeast of San Nicolas Island and 39 miles south-southwest of Malibu, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

There were no immediate reports of damage.
ARticle courtesy of The Los Angeles Times by Robert J.Lopez

No additional details were available.

Woods Hole says oil trapped deep, degrading very slowly

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution researchers have mapped a snaking, 22-mile-long underwater oil plume from the BP PLC well in the Gulf of Mexico, work they say provides strong evidence that oil from the disaster could remain trapped deep in the ocean for a prolonged period.   Read more: http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/articles/2010/08/20/woods_hole_says_oil_trapped_deep_degrading_very_slowly/

Article courtesy of The Boston Globe by Beth Daley

Power to the People

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is convinced it has a solution that is win-win. For the DWP, more solar panels means a further reduction in the use of fossil fuels and an increase in renewable energy in its portfolio. For customers, there would now be an achievable alternative to traditional power, one that reduces their carbon footprint and saves them money. Add some healthy federal tax credits for individuals and private companies that enable customers to convert to solar, and you have the ingredients for a successful formula. Read more:  http://www.latimesmagazine.com/2010/07/power-to-the-people.html

Courtesy of LA Times

BEIJING —

China struggled to cope with widespread storms that left dozens missing and presumed dead Thursday as rescuers cleaned up a mudslide-stricken town, while two passenger train cars plunged into a river after crossing a flood-damaged bridge.

Read more:  http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2012664618_apaschinafloods.html

Article Courtesy of the Associates Press

Underwater turbine called a success

PORTLAND, Maine — A developer of tidal power is reporting success with its first commercial-size underwater turbine, putting it on track to have one connected to the power grid by the end of 2011. Read more:  http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/articles/2010/08/19/underwater_turbine_called_a_success/

Article courtesy of the Associates Press

 

Frack Attack

Hydrofracturing ("fracking," for short) is a brute force way to extract natural gas. It's so lucrative (and potentially dangerous) that Dick Cheney made sure it was exempted from the Safe Drinking Water Act. Unfortunately, public safety and environmental concerns about fracking have been swept aside with disastrous results. Where have we seen this before?

 

Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune writes about the dangers of letting yet another energy industry run amok -- and what the Sierra Club is doing about it. 

 

Article courtesy of the Sierra Club Insider

Greenhouse Gas Emission Impacts of Carsharing in North America

by: Mineta Transportation Institute, San José State University   

This report presents the results of a study evaluating the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission changes that result from individuals participating in a carsharing organization. The principle of carsharing is simple: individuals gain the benefits of private vehicle use without the costs and responsibilities of ownership. Carsharing is most common in major urban areas where transportation alternatives are easily accessible. Individuals typically access vehicles by joining an organization that maintains a fleet of cars and light trucks deployed in lots located within neighborhoods, public transit stations, employment centers, and colleges/universities. 
Read more: http://www.smartgrowth.org/library/article.asp?resource=4716

 

China Said to Be Top Energy User in 2009

With a population of 1.3 billion and economic growth that reached 11.9 percent in the first quarter of 2010, China has overtaken the U.S. as the top energy consumer for 2009, says the International Energy Agency (IEA). According to reporter Jenny Barchfield, China's ''flood of new office towers, shopping malls, hotels and apartment complexes are straining generating stations in cities, where demand exceeds supply – forcing the government to order rolling blackouts during the summer."
www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7752

Article courtesy of Smart Growth News

Virginia Beach Businesses Lead Another Campaign for Light Rail

Light Rail Now recently held its first meeting, where it rallied support for a long-envisioned 10-mile Virginia Beach light-rail line that would link with Norfolk's 7.4-mile Tide line opening next May. Formed by the business community in 1993, the non-partisan Virginia Beach Vision organization lost a light-rail referendum in 1999, and the loss has now inspired its inclusive Light Rail Now nonprofit to run the campaign.
www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7747

Article courtesy of Smart Growth News

Senate Banking Committee Passes Livable Communities Act

The Senate Banking Committee on August 3 passed Chairman Chris Dodd's (D-CT) Livable Communities Act (S. 1619) to improve the coordination between our housing, community development, transportation, energy, and environmental policies to help create better places to live, work and raise families. The bill will promote sustainable development and enable communities to cut traffic congestion; reduce greenhouse gas emissions and oil consumption; protect farmland and green spaces; revitalize existing Main Streets and urban centers; spur economic development; and create more affordable housing.  www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7745

Article courtesy of Smart Growth Network State by State and International News Headlines

 

Blumenauer Introduces Transportation and Housing Affordability Transparency Act

Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore), Chair of the Livable Communities Task Force, recently introduced legislation to provide homebuyers with information on the actual cost of their homes, which includes the cost of transportation. The average family spends about half of its income on transportation and housing, but transportation costs can vary based on a home's location. While housing affordability traditionally has been measured by the extent to which a household can cover the purchase price of a home, Blumenauer has introduced the Transportation and Housing Affordability Transparency Act, or ''THAT Act,'' to create a transportation affordability index that will provide information about the costs associated with the location of a home.
http://68.236.127.4/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103608739644%26s=10826%26e=001jxilQm6x24i51ZG0gypE2228dzxcyM-r6U1Eefvi3gq-ehInATuSt12ex8qU19K4LwG6lDTCx_N_NMKxKTUlCnRSP29T1TiijytoDU0P2PR2evgQ-0vMEN7DEyPkkUicfNmKfwuX_JsGBvn2Wly1C69NQE2vxnud
Article courtesy of Smart Growth Network State by State and International News Headlines

Deadly bat disease on track to wipe out a species in the Northeast

A deadly disease is destroying Northeast bat populations so rapidly that one of New England’s most common species is likely to disappear within 20 years, Boston University and other scientists conclude in a study published today.

 

White nose syndrome is named for a fungus that appears on hibernating bats’ noses, wings, and other body parts. Scientists believe the fungus irritates bats so greatly they wake up during hibernation, expending precious body fat in the process. Many of the flying mammals then leave caves and mines only to die as they search for food on barren winter landscapes.

 

Read more:  http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/greenblog/2010/08/bat_illness_may_wipe_out_a_new.html

Article courtesy of The Boston Globe by Beth Daley

 

Mangrove forests in worldwide decline

Gland, Switzerland / Washington, DC - More than one in six mangrove species worldwide are in danger of extinction due to coastal development and other factors, including climate change, logging, and agriculture, according to the first-ever global assessment on the conservation status of mangroves for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™.

 

Mangrove forests grow where saltwater meets the shore in tropical and subtropical regions, thus serving as an interface between terrestrial, fresh-water and marine ecosystems. These forests provide at least $1.6 billion each year in ecosystem services.

Read more:  http://www.conservation.org/newsroom/pressreleases/Pages/Report-Mangroves-Worldwide-Decline-IUCN.aspx

Article courtesy of  Conservation International