Phoenix-area Communities Focusing on Infill Projects

Mesa, Chandler, and other Arizona communities in the Phoenix area are turning to more infill developments, reports the Tucson Citizen. "We have been pounding that drum for higher densities, for more mixed-use development, for adaptive reuse, for all the things we call smart growth strategies," says Diane Brossart, president of Valley Forward Association. "It hasn't always been popular, but I do see it starting to shift. That's good news for all of us."

http://tucsoncitizen.com/arizona-news/2011/10/02/phoenix-area-projects-reuse-resources-to-help-development-expansion/

Article courtesy of The Arizona Republic by Weldon B. Johnson

Capping Urban Highways Is A Growing Trend

A recent article in Architectural Record reported on the growing popularity of covering sunken freeways with “land bridges,” and using the found space to reconnect neighborhoods that were torn apart by the highway construction boom of the 1950s and 1960s. Seattle, Boston, and Phoenix have all constructed these highway caps, and Dallas is currently building a three-block-long park over a freeway. http://archrecord.construction.com/yb/ar/article.aspx?story_id=165215636

Article courtesy of  Smart Growth from The Chicago Tribune-by Blair Kamin-Tribune architecture critic

 

 

 

How many more coal ash spills need to happen before Americans are properly protected from this toxic waste?

Just yesterday a retaining bluff collapsed at the We Energies Oak Creek Power Plant in Wisconsin, sending toxic coal ash spewing into Lake Michigan. Coal ash, the waste product of coal-fired power plants, contains elevated levels of arsenic, mercury and lead -- and now it's spilled into the Great Lakes ecosystem!

Article courtesy of Mary Anne Hitt -Sierra Club

 

 

Obama administration announces desert 'solar energy zones'

The Obama administration on Thursday unveiled its road map for solar energy development, directing large-scale industrial projects to 285,000 acres of desert land in the western U.S. while opening 20 million acres of the Mojave for new development. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-solar-desert-20111028,0,7889585.story

 

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles times by Julie Cart

Plastic water bottle-makers sued by California over green claims

California Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris filed a lawsuit against three companies Wednesday for allegedly making false and misleading claims about their plastic water bottles' recyclability and biodegradability. The lawsuit is the first to enforce California's environmental marketing law, which  makes it illegal to label a plastic food or beverage container as biodegradable because plastic takes thousands of years to break down naturally and may never do so in a landfill. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2011/10/attorney-general-biodegradable-bottle-lawsuit.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GreenspaceEnvironmentBlog+%28Greenspace%29

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times –Greenspace-Posted by Susan Carpenter

 

 

Burning oil from BP spill produced carbon plumes

Chalk up another environmental impact from last summer's Deepwater Horizon oil spill: Nine weeks of burning off oil slicks from the surface of the Gulf of Mexico following the BP spill released an estimated 1 million pounds of soot into the atmosphere, according to a study released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2011/10/bp-oil-spill-pollution-air-quality.html

 

Article courtesy of the Los Angeles Times –Greenspace-posted by Julie Cart

Up to 20 millions tons of tsunami debris headed for U.S. shores

Prepare for a garbage deluge.

An estimated 5 tons to 20 tons of debris sucked into the ocean during Japan's massive tsunami is due to hit U.S. shores, University of Hawaii scientists say. The wall of water struck in March, so that means the garbage should be here -- sometime in 2014.

Hey, it takes a long time to cross the Pacific Ocean if you’re a couch. Or a fridge. Or a piece of a house. Or a Coke can.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/10/up-20-millions-tons-of-debris-headed-for-american-shores-in-2014.html

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times-Nation Now –posted by Deborah Netburn