New Utah State University study suggests climate change may already be pushing plants to their limits

If you have a garden, there’s a good chance it is filled with signs of climate change, though they might not always be what you would expect.

It seems obvious that as global temperatures increase, flowers might be inclined to bloom earlier. But Will Pearse, an assistant professor in Utah State University’s Department of Biology, had a hunch that the effects of a changing climate could be more profound.  http://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2017/11/06/new-utah-state-university-study-suggests-climate-change-may-already-be-pushing-plants-to-their-limits/

Article courtesy of Salt Lake Tribune by Emma Penrod

NASA satellite tracks ozone pollution by monitoring its key ingredients

Ozone pollution near Earth's surface is one of the main ingredients of summertime smog. It is also not directly measurable from space due to the abundance of ozone higher in the atmosphere, which obscures measurements of surface ozone.  https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171106121306.htm
Article courtesy of Science Daily by Ellen Gray

A glimpse inside the secret site where driverless cars undergo 20,000 tests.

This carefully shrouded 91-acre preserve in the Central Valley is the testing ground for the driverless cars being developed by Waymo, the autonomous-car company that was a division of Google before being spun off last year. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/a-glimpse-inside-the-secret-site-where-driverless-cars-undergo-20000-tests/2017/11/04/874e083c-bf15-11e7-97d9-bdab5a0ab381_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-cards_hp-card-national%3Ahomepage%2Fcard&utm_term=.a0479302410a
Article courtesy of The Washington Post by Ashley Halsey III

The Largest Ever Tropical Reforestation Is Planting 73 Million Trees

A new project should help prevent–or at least slow down–that hot future. If all goes to plan over the next six years, a project led by Conservation International will become the largest tropical reforestation project in history.  https://www.fastcompany.com/40481305/the-largest-ever-tropical-reforestation-is-planting-73-million-trees

Article courtesy of Fast Company the John Converse Townsend

 

Protecting Norfolk from Flooding Won’t Be Cheap: Army Corps Releases Its Plan

The federal government has proposed a $1.8 billion plan to help protect Norfolk, Virginia, from rising seas and increasingly powerful coastal storms by ringing the city with a series of floodwalls, storm surge barriers and tidal gates.  https://insideclimatenews.org/news/30102017/norfolk-sea-level-rising-flood-protection-plan-army-corps-engineers-climate-change
Article courtesy of Inside Climate News by Nicholas Kusnetz

Refitting Lowell’s industrial past for a sustainable future

Lowell, Massachusetts is commonly known as the cradle of the American industrial revolution. This former mill town was once the epicenter of the textile industry and at the forefront of apparel production. The fourth-largest city in Massachusetts, located an hour outside of Boston, Lowell is proud of its manufacturing legacy, but also recognizes the need to modernize their economy. Over the last few years, the city has leveraged its textile traditions to propel cutting-edge economic development strategies, attracting an influx of small-scale businesses to Lowell’s downtown and historic Acre neighborhood.  https://smartgrowthamerica.org/communities-using-small-scale-manufacturing-build-great-places-lowell-ma/
Article courtesy of Smart Growth America by Ellie Dominquez

General Motors' Fleet Plans for the Future

This past week, General Motors (GM) announced plans to introduce two more electrics vehicles within 18 months to their fleet of cars powered by batteries or fuel cells. This move is part of GM's greater goal of having an emissions free fleet. GM executives predict that the automobile industry is moving towards a standard where cars are emissions free with no traffic accidents and no highway congestion. "The future will be profitable," said Mark Reuss, GM's Chief of Global Produce Development. Full article courtesy of the Boston Globe (written by Bill Vlasic of the New York Times).


Massachusetts' Residents are Frustrated with Public Transportation Options; Willing to Pay for Better Transit

In a report issued by MassMoves, a effort by Massachusetts' legislators to better connect with their constituents, voters expressed an interest in expanded rail and bus services and furthermore, they indicated a willingness to pay for improved transit. State legislators sent the survey to 715 voters and 80% said that Massachusetts' transportation system "was not in good shape". Full article courtesy of the Boston Globe (written by Matt Murphy of the State House News Service).


The Future of Mobility in Cities

Written by a group of international NGOs concerned about the future of transportation and sustainable development, this guide calls for developments in technology, operations and service business models to be ones that support livable, sustainable and prosperous cities. Some of these principles include working together with various stakeholders, prioritizing people over vehicles, shared land use for all modes of transportation (driving, biking, walking, transit) and promoting the growth of electric vehicles with an aim towards zero emissions and renewable energy. Full article.