The right course to smart growth

The folks who run the trolley, the Metropolitan Transit System, have completed the final touches on the Grossmont Transit Center. What a difference.

Once there were six football fields of asphalt parking lot, a trolley platform and nothing more. Passengers wanting to go to a shopping mall or a hospital on a bluff high overhead were confronted with a cliffside stairway. Disabled? Good luck.

The acreage has been converted into 527 apartment units and a parking structure for residents and trolley users. The dedication of two new elevators and a skybridge Saturday gives everyone access. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/nov/29/the-right-course-to-smart-growth/ Article courtesy of Smart Growth Online from The San Diego United-Tribune Editorial Board

 

 

 

 

Climate talks fail despite warnings

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - The hard-fought deal at a global climate conference in South Africa keeps talks alive but doesn't address the core problem: The world's biggest carbon polluters aren't willing to cut emissions of greenhouse gases enough to stave off dangerous levels of global warming.

With many scientists saying time is running out, a bigger part of the solution may have to come from the rise of climate-friendly technologies being developed outside the U.N. process.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/12/11/20111211climate-talks-fail-warnings.html#ixzz1gKQxuTni

Article courtesy of AZCentral.com by Karl Ritter Associated Press

 

EPA says 'fracking' probably contaminated well water in Wyoming

Reporting from Washington—

The Environmental Protection Agency said that hydraulic fracturing, a controversial natural gas drilling process, probably contaminated well water in Wyoming, a finding sure to roil the debate about expanding natural gas drilling around the country.

The EPA's new draft report found dangerous amounts of benzene in a monitoring well near the town of Pavillion, in central Wyoming.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-fracking-20111209,0,1034865.story

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times by By Neela Banerjee, Washington Bureau

 

Advocacy group's extreme weather map brings climate change home

Climate change much? A new map published today by the Natural Resources Defense Council makes it plain that extreme weather attributable to climate change isn’t something that only happens in other parts of the world. Chances are you’ve had your own Hurricane Irene, or drought, or something like it in your own backyard.

The interactive map lays out 2,941 monthly weather records broken in communities throughout the U.S. from January thru October of this year, and traces an onslaught of severe storms, drought, flooding and calamity. The point is to show how climate change is affecting your community every day.  http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2011/12/nrdc-extreme-weather-map-brings-climate-change-home.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GreenspaceEnvironmentBlog+%28Greenspace%29

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times -Greenspace

 

 

 

Buffett investment in California solar farm could boost industry

The agreement by investor Warren Buffett's MidAmerican Energy Holdings to buy a $2-billion photovoltaic farm in San Luis Obispo County could bring a ray of financial sunshine to the battered solar-energy industry.

The scale of Buffett's foray into this sector of the renewable energy scene is considerably more modest than his $34-billion purchase of BNSF Railway, but it could provide the same kind of boost to the solar power business that the 2009 acquisition did to the railroad industry, experts said.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-buffett-solar-20111208,0,6937593.story

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times by Ronald D. White

 

Earthquake: 3.3 quake strikes near The Geysers

A shallow magnitude 3.3 earthquake was reported Thursday morning near The Geysers, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor occurred at 1:57 a.m. PST at a depth of 1.9 miles.

According to the USGS, the epicenter was six miles from Cobb, seven miles from Anderson Springs, 25 miles from Santa Rosa and 74 miles from San Francisco City Hall.

In the last 10 days, there has been one earthquake magnitude 3.0 and greater centered nearby.

Read more about California earthquakes on L.A. Now.

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times –LA Now-posted by Ken Schwencke

 

 

Californians would reject bullet train in revote, polls finds

With the cost of the state's high-speed rail project rising dramatically, a new public opinion poll shows that a clear majority of California's registered voters would reject the proposal if given a second chance to vote on it today. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-train-poll-20111207,0,3366380.story

Article courtesy of the Los Angeles Times by Dan Weikel and Ralph Vartabedian