A new study issued today by the Urban Land Institute confirms what many of us living in California already know--sprawl has had its heyday, and more and more people are choosing to live closer to where they work and play. The study finds that Generations X and Y--which will dominate market demand in the coming decades-- don't want to live in far flung housing developments that require a car and long commutes to work, school or to run errands. By comparing 2010 supply of different housing types to 2035 projected demand in Calfiornia's four largest regions--Sacramento, the Bay Area, Southern California, which includes Los Angeles, and San Diego-- the report makes some stunning observations about the direction future growth should take to help the housing ... Continue reading →
Minke whales loaded aboard the Japanese whaling factory ship, Nisshin Maru, in the Southern Ocean. Credit: Australian Customs and Border Protection Service.Japan has admitted that some of its disaster funds earmarked for earthquake and tsunami relief will instead go to boost security for its so-called "scientific" whale hunts. The Japan Times reports: It was a comparatively minor entry in the annual, ritualized battle between pro- and anti-whalers. Japan's whaling fleet pulled out of Shimonoseki port near Nagasaki earlier this week on its way to another controversial four-month Antarctic cull. In the fine print of the 2011 departure, however, was a PR land mine that would detonate and send ripples across the world. Traveling with the whalers was what the Japanese media called "beefed-up security," a ... Continue reading →
You don’t have to wander very far off the road this time of year before stumbling upon Amanita phalloides, the deadliest mushroom in California. On a recent foray in Roy’s Redwoods Open Space Preserve in Marin County, David Campbell, who has been hunting mushrooms in the county for 40 years, immediately spotted specimens of that toxic fungus, more commonly known as the death cap, growing near an entrance to the preserve. Local conditions are ripe for fungus feasting gone wrong, according to Campbell, who has helped the San Francisco division of the California Poison Control System identify mushrooms when a poisoning has been suspected. The death cap, which is native to Europe, has been flourishing in the Bay Area, in a symbiotic relationship with local ... Continue reading →
Reporting from Washington— When an energized U.S. delegation arrived in Copenhagen for world climate talks two years ago, environmentalists were encouraged by its willingness to tackle global warming. In the months before Copenhagen, the House of Representatives had passed climate change legislation, and the new Obama administration had crafted an agreement with the auto industry to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the main contributor to global warming. But now, halfway through a two-week round of climate talks in Durban, South Africa, that excitement has disappeared. Weakened by reversals in Congress and the ailing economy as a presidential election looms, the U.S. delegation has staked out a position that has confused and frustrated environmentalists and other nations. Doubts have arisen about Washington's willingness to cut emissions more ... Continue reading →
Climatewire | Energy & Sustainability 'Water Poor' Will Suffer Most as Climate Change Hits Cities A report recommends that all levels of government invest in water infrastructure to prevent wastage and expand the delivery of treated water to poor communities By Julia Pyper | December 5, 2011 | 3 Image: Flickr/Ajay Tallam Indore is the fastest-growing city in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, India. The industrial center has grown rapidly in the past 20 years, reaching a population of nearly 3.3 million people. But as the city grows in numbers, its water supply becomes increasingly insecure. Like many cities in the developing world, Indore's water infrastructure and institutions face the mounting pressures of population and growth and urbanization. Experts worry that global warming will ... Continue reading →
