Prolonged outage generates rage toward Edison

Of the 6,100 Edison customers in the San Gabriel Valley still without power after last week's windstorm, few suffered like 40-year-old Tim Cutress of Altadena.

When the power came back on Sunday, Cutress celebrated along with his wife, 4-year-old son and elderly mother visiting from New Zealand. After four days of darkness, the family eagerly cleaned out their stinky refrigerator, heated up the home and bought $400 worth of groceries to replace the food that had spoiled. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-wind-20111207,0,7268437.story

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times by Rong-Rong Lin II and Abby Sewell

Geoengineering could save Earth -- or destroy it

DURBAN, South Africa—Brighten clouds with sea water? Spray aerosols high in the stratosphere? Paint roofs white and plant light-colored crops? How about positioning "sun shades" over the Earth?

At a time of deep concern over global warming, a group of scientists, philosophers and legal scholars examined whether human intervention could artificially cool the Earth -- and what would happen if it did.

A report released late Thursday in London and discussed Friday at the U.N. climate conference in South Africa said that -- in theory -- reflecting a small amount of sunlight back into space before it strike's the Earth's surface would have an immediate and dramatic effect.  http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2011/12/02/geoengineering_could_save_earth____or_destroy_it/

Article courtesy of Arthur Max Associated Press

 

 

Molten salt keeps solar power flowing

By storing solar energy in molten salt, BrightSource Energy can now build one less solar power plant.

The company said today that it is adding energy storage to three planned solar projects that will supply power to utility Southern California Edison.

Instead of building seven power plants to provide about 4 million megawatt-hours per year, BrightSource now expects to be able to meet that with six concentrating solar plants to be built over the next six years, including three that will have storage. It is now constructing its first project, the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, which will not have storage. http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-57333789-54/molten-salt-keeps-solar-power-flowing/?tag=mncol;txt

Article courtesy of CNET News by Martin LaMonica

 

 

 

Shrimp Farming in the Vegas Desert

Nearly a decade ago, I drove northeast out of the Davis Mountains of west Texas into the barren plain of the Permian Basin on the advice of a gourmand I trust. His directions: detour 25 miles off of IH-10 to a tiny town called Imperial and ask for a lean, weathered marine biologist named Bart. There, in the most landlocked place imaginable, Bart the biologist would provide me the most delicious shrimp I had ever eaten, grown in his backyard.   http://responsibility-project.libertymutual.com/blog/shrimp-farming-in-the-vegas-desert#fbid=56CPVLhBr1M

Article courtesy of Liberty Mutual’s Responsibility Project posted by Andrea Bennett

 

 

Curbside Composting in Portland

This month, the famously eco-conscious city of Portland, Ore., started a new – and controversially stinky – garbage collection program. The city is paring down its traditional garbage collection system in favor of “curbside composting;” compost materials (food scraps, egg shells, etc.) will be picked up weekly, while old-fashioned garbage pickups by the city will be reduced to twice monthly.  http://responsibility-project.libertymutual.com/blog/curbside-composting-in-portland#fbid=56CPVLhBr1M

Article courtesy of Liberty Mutual’s Responsibility Project posted by Andrea Bennett

 

 

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://www.smartgrowth.org/engine/index.php/news/2011/capping-urban-highways-is-a

Article courtesy of Smart Growth Online

 

 

 

HUD ANNOUNCES 2011 SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES AWARDS

Grants to create jobs, improve housing, transportation, and economy in urban & rural areas

WASHINGTON - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced the recipients of the 2011 Sustainable Communities Grants, totaling nearly $96 million. Twenty-seven communities and organizations will receive Community Challenge grants and 29 regional areas will receive Regional Planning grants. The goal of HUD's Sustainable Communities grants is to help communities and regions improve their economic competitiveness by connecting housing with good jobs, quality schools and transportation (see attached grant chart). http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2011/HUDNo.11-274

Article courtesy of Smart Growth Newsletter