As Climate Change Accelerates, Floating Cities Look Like Less of a Pipe Dream

You might call it a Noah’s Ark for an era of melting polar ice sheets.

An audacious plan to respond to climate change by building a city of floating islands in the South Pacific is moving forward, with the government of French Polynesia agreeing to consider hosting the islands in a tropical lagoon.   https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/27/world/australia/climate-change-floating-islands.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Ftechnology&action=click&contentCollection=technology&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=8&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0

Article courtesy of the New York Times by Mike Ives

Miami Beach to begin new $100 million flood prevention project in face of sea level rise

The city will embark on a $100 million project to raise roads, install pumps and water mains and redo sewer connections during the next two years across a swath of single-family homes in the La Gorce and Lakeview neighborhoods of Mid-Beach. A sizable chunk of a citywide effort estimated to cost $400 to $500 million, the work is meant to keep streets dry in the face of sea level rise.  http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article129284119.html
Article courtesy of The Miami Herald by Joey Flechas

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article129284119.html#storylink=cpy

Off Long Island, Wind Power Tests the Waters

And in New York, after years of stymied progress, the Long Island Power Authority has reached an agreement with Deepwater Wind, which built the Rhode Island turbine array, to drop a much larger farm — 15 turbines capable of running 50,000 average homes — into the ocean about 35 miles from Montauk. If approved by the utility board on Wednesday, the $1 billion installation could become the first of several in a 256-square-mile parcel, with room for as many as 200 turbines, that Deepwater is leasing from the federal government.  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/21/business/energy-environment/offshore-wind-energy-long-island.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0
Article courtesy of the New York Times by Diane Cardwell

Paris tests electric driverless minibus to fight pollution

In a city hit by chronic pollution and traffic problems, Paris officials are experimenting with a self-driving shuttle linking two train stations in the French capital.  http://lancasteronline.com/news/world/paris-tests-electric-driverless-minibus-to-fight-pollution/article_9c4ccba2-81db-5c22-b415-a145f9921f46.html
Article courtesy the Associated Press by Samuel Petrequin

L.A. Metro launches hotline for transit riders who have been harassed

Los Angeles County transportation officials Wednesday launched a 24-hour hotline for riders who are harassed or assaulted on buses and trains.  http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-metro-sexual-harassment-20170111-story.htm
Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times by Laura J. Nelson

California's bullet train is hurtling toward a multibillion-dollar overrun, a confidential federal report warns

California’s bullet train could cost taxpayers 50% more than estimated — as much as $3.6 billion more. And that’s just for the first 118 miles through the Central Valley, which was supposed to be the easiest part of the route between Los Angeles and San Francisco. http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-bullet-cost-overruns-20170106-story.html
Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times By Ralph Vartabedian