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Archive for June, 2009

Micro-algae Bred to Absorb C02 Emissions

Posted in Climate Change, Environment, Renewable Energy, Technology on 06/30/2009 | 1 Comment »

ENN, a Chinese firm, is developing a greenhouse that functions like a bioreactor. The bioreactor breeds micro-algae using carbon captured from gasified coal. Various strains of micro-algae are among the fastest growing species on earth. According to the Guardian (UK), China is one of the world’s largest emitters of C02, largely because of its reliance on [...]

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Los Angeles Offers Rebate for Ripping Out Lawns

Posted in Environment, Gardens, Sustainable Design, Water Management on 06/29/2009 | 6 Comments »

The L.A. Times reports that the L.A. Department of Water and Power (DWP) is offering single-family homes up to USD 2,000 to get rid of their lawns in favor of native, low-water-usage plants. If a homeowner rips out lawn, turns off their sprinklers, and replaces the lawn with more sustainable options, they will receive a rebate from the [...]

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New U.S. Government Partnership for Sustainable Communities

Posted in Policy and Regulation, Smart Growth, Sustainable Transportation on 06/26/2009 | 1 Comment »

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Transportation (DOT), and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced an inter-agency partnership on sustainable communities, which will be driven by a set of “livability principles,” and coordinate policy across government departments. According to an EPA press release, “the partnership will help improve access to affordable [...]

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Ocean-based Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)

Posted in Climate Change, Environment, Policy and Regulation, Technology on 06/26/2009 | 1 Comment »

MIT Technology Review wrote about a new power plant in Linden, New Jersey, which plans to test an ocean carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology in the Atlantic Ocean. If permits are provided, the plant, owned by SCS Energy, will pump C02 pollution into sandstone located two miles beneath the Atlantic Ocean floor. According to MIT Technology Review, a handful [...]

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Queens Plaza Bicycle and Pedestrian Landscape Improvement Project

Posted in Landscape Architecture, Sustainable Design, Urban Design, Urban Revitalization, Water Management on 06/25/2009 | 1 Comment »

Urban Omnibus, a project of the Architectural League of New York, interviewed the landscape architects, architects and urban planners behind the NYC Department of City Planning and Economic Development Corporation-funded Queens Plaza Bicycle and Pedestrian Landscape Improvement Project. The Improvement Project aims to “transform the tangle of urban infrastructure cutting through Long Island City from a harsh, disorienting [...]

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LEED-Neighborhood Development (ND) Rating System Gears Up for Launch

Posted in Climate Change, Policy and Regulation, Real Estate Development, Residential Design, Smart Growth, Sustainable Design, Sustainable Transportation, Urban Design on 06/25/2009 | 1 Comment »

The National Building Museum held a session on Sustainable Communities, which highlighted the latest changes to the LEED Neighborhood Development (ND) rating system, and featured one pilot project developed using LEED-ND in the Washington, D.C. area. LEED-ND will be fully launched as a rating system in late summer /early fall 2009. LEED-ND credit categories include: smart location and [...]

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21st Century Parks

Posted in Landscape Architecture, Public Spaces, Urban Design, Urban Revitalization on 06/23/2009 | Leave a Comment »

The Globe and Mail (UK) did a series on 21st century parks, including the High Line Park in NYC (see earlier post), Canada’s new “high-design” parks, and the Promenade Plantee in Paris. According to the Globe and Mail, “contemporary urban park design has [...] transformed some of the worst areas of our cities into arenas [...]

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U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu: “Global Warming Is the Greatest Challenge Facing Science”

Posted in Climate Change, Environment, Policy and Regulation, Technology on 06/22/2009 | 3 Comments »

During his keynote address at the Asia Society Washington, D.C. center awards dinner, where he was honored for his efforts on climate change, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said “climate change is the greatest challenge facing science.” Chu added that we must all “understand the challenge of containing climate change.” Introduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein, California, [...]

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Re-integrating Wildlife into Urban Areas

Posted in Environment, Green Roofs, Sustainable Design on 06/22/2009 | Leave a Comment »

Inhabitat wrote about a new design concept for a green roof aviary by Ballistic Architecture Machine (BAM). BAM’s green roof would support a “functioning biotope for migrating birds.” According to Inhabitat, BAM wants to implement their concept aviary along the Atlantic Coast Flyway, which is overlooked by the Goldman Sachs Headquarters in Lower Manhattan. ”It is intended to [...]

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China’s Pollution Victims

Posted in Environment, Waste on 06/18/2009 | Leave a Comment »

Wang Canfa, a prominent environmental lawyer and activist, spoke at an event at the World Resources Institute, an environmental think tank in Washington, D.C. on how the lack of enforcement of environmental law is creating a new class of “pollution victims” across China. As demonstrated in a video presentation, villagers touching highly-polluted river water will [...]

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