- LA looks into recycling treated wastewater for use as drinking water, via an aquifer, like Orange County just started doing.
- USGBC rolls out their new LEED 2009 rating system for public comment on Monday.
- PlaNYC 2030 may involve legislation to require large commercial buildings to provide secure bike parking on or near the premises.
- A DOE study thinks its possible to increase wind generated electricity from 1% of total energy production to 20% by 2020.
- Talk of the Nation covers the Great Lakes, and the protection efforts going into preserving 1/5th of the world’s surface fresh water.
- The NYC Department of Environmental Protection is installing a stop gap measure to deal with combined sewer overflow to the East River by installing a balloon in the sewer pipe to hold sewage during an intense rain event to prevent it from flowing into the East River and the New York Harbor.
- The Bust administration has listed polar bears as threatened species, due to decline in Arctic sea ice from global warming. It will be very interesting to see what law suits pop up because of this. The World Wildlife Foundation could be suing coal plants for causing global warming.
- Going green is the next big thing for restaurants, as the Green Restaurant Association drums up a lot of participants.
- Spain is building two 50 MW solar thermal power plants. Solar power makes a lot of sense for Spain where most of the power demand is proportional to air conditioning needs, so the sunnier it gets, the more power is generated.
- Some facts about European sprawl show that sprawl isn’t necessarily an unavoidable byproduct of affluence, so there is hope for American cities as well.
- Rising gas prices are leading to significant increases in public transportation ridership in the US, particularly in the west and south.
A photo of a crowded NYC subway train from Saw Lady’s Blog
