2010 confirmed as warmest year on record in Mass.

The unusually balmy start to 2011 yesterday seemed a fitting follow-up act to 2010, as final temperature data for the year confirmed that 2010 was the warmest on record in Massachusetts, according to the National Weather Service in Taunton.

The average temperature last year registered 53.8 degrees, breaking the previous record of 53.6 degrees, set in both 1949 and 1953.

Read more:  http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/articles/2011/01/02/2010_confirmed_as_warmest_year_on_record_in_mass/

 

Article courtesy of The Boston Globe-Green Blog by L Finch

Swedish City Cuts Fossil Fuel Use with Waste

A decade ago, Kristianstad, Sweden vowed to end fossil fuel use. Very close to their ultimate goal, the city of 80,000 now uses essentially no oil, natural gas or coal to heat homes and businesses. The replacement energy source comes from byproducts from the city’s farming and food processing industries. A ten-year-old plant outside of the city uses a biological process to transform wastes including potato peels, manure, used cooking oil, stale cookies and pig intestines into biogas, a form of methane. The fuel can be burned to generate electricity or refined for car fuel.
www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7875

Article courtesy of smart Growth Network

KeepSpace Initiative Helps Rhode Island Make the Most of State Resources

Rhode Island’s KeepSpace initiative, which aims to create prosperous and healthy communities throughout the state, was recently selected as one of seven communities to receive assistance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Smart Growth Implementation Assistance program.
www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7880

Article courtesy of Smart Growth Network

 

Urban Gardening Evolution

Urban farming is growing to accommodate more than community gardens grown in backyards and abandoned lots. Innovations for both individual and industrial scale urban farming are being developed across the continent. Business owners are beginning to use warehouses to meet the urban demand for locally grown and organic food. One example is an indoor farm that opened in Vancouver Canada, growing lettuce and spinach with high-efficiency LED lighting and a hydroponic system. Another farming opportunity for the individual agriculture enthusiast is the Windowfarms Project, which allows urban apartment dwellers to grow food in a modular, hydroponic “farm” that hangs in a window.
www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7873

Article courtesy of Smart Growth Network

Car Connection Says Billboards Are Dangerous

The Car Connection, a website that reviews automobiles, recently published a list of the “7 Most Dangerous Things You Can Do in Your Car,” and reading billboards is listed among them as a “potentially deadly distraction.” Digital billboard technology is especially distracting, presenting a new array of challenges to drivers. These new digital distractions include bright screens that change every 6 to 8 seconds, and high-resolution signs that show video right next to the roadway. "The best advice is keep your eyes on the road," Car Connections editors say, but that can be easier said than done when it comes to out-of-car distractions. The human eye is designed to notice movement, particularly in our peripheral vision, so a bright, changing screen may in fact be nearly impossible to ignore.
www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7870

Article courtesy of Smart Growth Network

Total lunar eclipse visible Monday night

A total eclipse of the moon will be visible throughout North and Central America from 11:41 p.m. PST Monday until 12:53 a.m. Tuesday, the first such eclipse in almost three years.

Weather permitting, observers will see the moon enter the Earth's inner shadow, or umbra, at 10:33 p.m., with a red-brown shadow creeping across the bright moon. This shadow has a curved edge, a fact that was taken as proof to at least some ancients that the Earth is round. The sky will get darker as the shadow progresses across the moon, and more stars will be visible as sunlight reflected from the moon fades.

The total phase of the eclipse will last 72 minutes, then the moon will begin to emerge from the umbra, coming totally out of the inner shadow at 2:01 a.m.

Article courtesy of the Los Angeles Times by Thomas H. Haugh II

Mudslides, flooding close roads including PCH; 'huge' storm expected Monday afternoon

Rain continued to pound Southern California overnight, prompting several major road closures due to flooding and mudslides.

The California Highway Patrol closed a 10-mile section of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu due to the rock slide on the road in Ventura County. The 710 Freeway was closed for several hours at Willow Street in Long Beach due to flooding.

Read more:   http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/12/mudslides-flooding-close-roads-pch-huge-storm-set-for-monday-afternoon.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+lanowblog+(L.A.+Now)

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times Metro Staff